Technics SL-1500C: would you recommend it?

I read the whole post. I did not see sufficient support or explanation for your assertion that preferring a model made in Japan was “snobbery” compared with accepting the multiple deficiencies about which you had just complained (and I really haven’t seen complaints about warped GR platters; I have seen complaints about G platters, which seem to be an issue with the addition of the plate on top, not really warping). That “snobbery” comment seemed unrelated to anything you had just written, and even contrary to it.

 

Olewapper...That does look sweet but 700 dollars humm...In my photo is the VM540ML which came with headshell. 2m red did sound harsh took off in short time ,im running my DL-110 now which sounds really good,all through the onboard preamp..

 

The Concorde Century is 600 euros over here, with some selling it for 500.
The Concorde Pro is a conical that’s only 80 bucks, if you can find it (it’s being discontinued).
The SQ of the Pro isn’t that great, but the stylus is upgradeable (all first generation Concorde styli are still in full production).
For about 150 bucks, Pro-Ject offers its own variant, the Pick it S2C:
Pick it S2 C – Pro-Ject Audio Systems

 

I saw that "review" a while back and recall him mentioning those specific remarks regarding the preamp and thinking to myself that sounds like conjecture. I'm not so sure the onboard stage was designed around so much as it is just a very decent stage (hopefully designed around a proper RIAA) and the Red benefits. For my part I've had this table about a month and had no intention of using the built-in, and yet I am now because I actually enjoy the sound of it. I only spent perhaps 30 minutes with the Red before it went in my sale bin (it's already gone) and installed my current preferred cart, a Vessel A3SV and it's a wonderful combination - that much I was expecting. The onboard pre is very, very quiet.

Briefly, (as I can) the table is very well built. The dampening of the plinth is excellent. I thought I'd take issue with the feet but I find them very nice as well. Many have complained about the VTA adjust but I'm not sure many of those complaints are based on actual use of this new implementation - I quite like it. It's very quick and easy and is by no means as fiddly or cumbersome as some have made it out to be. You unlock it (and it's a very solid lock) adjust with push/pull by eye or by measure and then re-lock it. Easy.

Also the tonearm lifting mechanism I have found to be far, far, far less of an issue than has been made out. No, there is not as much damping as found in many other lifters which I believe has something to do with how the auto-lift mechanism is tied to lifting lever itself; it simply feels different and you get used to it. I've actually come to prefer it to past table because the moment of lift and descent is very specific and once muscle memory sets in you know exactly what the arm will do. It is very unlike the lifters where you can just flick the lever up and then flick it down and rely on damping the entire way up or down, and I think that bothers some. It doesn't me at all.

Speeds have been rock-solid at 33 1/3, 45 and 78 as expected of a Technics. But everything else just feels like a Technics, regardless of which Panasonic factory does the build. Only time will tell (a lot of it) how these shake out in comparison to their grandparents, but from what I can tell so far, the future looks bright. I'm incredibly happy with the SL1200c in my short week or two with it.

edit: not a bit of platter warp on mine. There is a tiny amount of variation in the outer trim which can look like warp as the platter spins, but the platter itself is dead flat and perfectly rounded, both sides. Was the first thing I checked.

 

EDIT! SL-1500c ... not "SL-1200c" obviously. My mind is still holding onto the past in part.

Also just wanted to add, in regard to Malaysia vs. MiJ ... this debate is largely conjecture too at this point. It's a Panasonic factory, not an OEM outsource or hands-off ODM plant sort of situation. It is Panasonic. I'm well aware of and considered the history of the brand, but the truth is that it's history. Even the new MiJ models are new, and after Technics exited the game entirely for quite a while both of these facilities would have been entirely re-tooled and fitted out for the models on offer. Point being, in the long-run they're all still subject to scrutiny because none of them are the same tables as from the past. I'd certainly put more money on the longevity of the MiJ tables, but that's my own bias as well. We won't know for quite a long while.

 

I bought the 1500c and fully intended to get rid of the mat, cartridge and use an external phono. Well 2 of those things went but do not knock that phono inside the 1500, it's very good. You would have to spend a lot of money to beat it, I tried a few (Cambridge, Rothwell, Tube Box) and every blind test I picked the internal amp and by a clear margin. Stick on a Concorde with at least a 20 stylus and you really can't go wrong. Keep it simple.

 

Agreed -- I ended up getting this but never upgraded the phono. It'd be nice to upgrade, but I don't think it's essential.

 

Same here. I've been running the 1500c for almost 2 months now and actually parted with another pre. I still slightly prefer the onboard stage of the my old Marantz 2235B but that's really for space and flavor more than anything else - it is certainly not quieter or cleaner. I switch between them depending on my mood, but for simplicity I've more and more just left the Technics' onboard to run the show.

 

I saw a video on the Panasonic factory in Malaysia....it is completely automated. When a robot breaks down, another robot is sent to fix the ailing robot.

 

Anyone seen this?

 

Anyone seen this?
Betteridge's law of headlines - Wikipedia

 

When my business picks back up, I'm going to hunt for a Concorde Century. Not many new ones left

 

That and it's a very crap clickbait question.

 

I watch this guy on my Apple TV once in a while. He put a 2M black on the audio technica. I think he felt the blue and and the AT table were good enough for most users. We all know we aren’t most users...

 

Yes, and the argument is also, if you actually watch the video, is that he would take the Audio-Technica LP-140XP + Ortofon 2MBlack over the SL-1500c + Ortofon 2MRed for the same price. If someone here asked this very question, after narrowing it down to these two choices, everyone would say, "Take the SL-1500c and save up until you have enough for the Black." But non-SH people are thinking: I have a grand to spend and $1200 is already stretching it, so what would you recommend? Andrew Robinson offers an answer that makes a lot of sense for these people. To his ears the Audio-Technica LP-140XP + Ortofon 2M Black provides a better experience, and I am inclined to believe him. But of course we all know the Technics will last a hell of a lot longer and be more reliable in the long run, but he doesn't address this in his video.

 

Andrew never addresses lifespan in his reviews.
He has reviewed a lot of products that are controlled by a smartphone app instead of a remote, containing essential controls required for operation.
Never did he ever mention that, if the smartphone is updated and the app becomes incompatible, the product becomes a useless brick of e-waste as if the remote went missing.

 

I understand quality concerns with the 1500C being made in Malaysia instead of Japan.

Since the 1970's Made in Japan has always been a symbol of quality for audio products while products made in other APAC countries, like China, have been thought of as possibly being lesser or variable quality.

As someone mentioned Panasonic is Mfg these tables at their own factory, and is their own design, and not contracted to a third party like Hanpin.

This allows Panasonic to have complete control over the factory quality control processes which is not usually the case when using a third-party vendor. As a result, I would expect any table made in the Panasonic owned Malaysia factories to have excellent quality.

I would be careful in comparing the SL-1200 GAE/G and GR to the 1500C model made in Malaysia as they are different Mfg processes to be sold at a different price point.

The SL1200's are hand-made in small batches by specially trained Japanese personnel while the 1500C Mfg process in Malaysia looks like it is highly automated and most likely made in larger quantities for the consumer market.

This does not mean the SL1500C is lower quality but it is at a different price level and target consumer so in order to meet the price point for the table it is necessary to Mfg this model outside of Japan and automate the Mfg process while still maintaining the an expected Panasonic level of quality.

I base the above opinion on my years of working with and now working for an audio company so I assume Panasonic has similar processes and challenges.

 

I don't think life span is an issue with the audio technica vs the technics. The materials that a TT is made of have a direct impact on the sound. Better isolation, better tonearm, solid platter all add up to a different experience sonically. You'll have better detail retrieval & blacker backgrounds. I can't believe he would say that the AT is the equal of the 1210 GAE.

A good review of the Technics 1500 was done by John Darko.

 

I'm sure everyone has been waiting my weighing on the topic...

Since I do not own one and have never used one, I have no right whatsoever to offer any advice.

 

There's a comparison between I believe a MK5 and a LP-120 on Youtube somewhere. Even on Youtube you can clearly hear the differences, though the LP-120 actually doesn't sound bad at all by itself. Still, with the 1210 GAE being miles ahead of the MK5 and the new AT probably being just a hint better than the LP-120, I think Andrew should be careful about what he's saying. I believe a couple months passed between his 1210GAE review and the new AT review too, so that's not a fair comparison. It's a must that you go back and forth between tables at the same time, not at various points in the year.

Here's part one of that video,

 

Been a couple of years since I handled a Hanpin OEM but the last time I did both examples I looked at the same day had sloppy tonearm bearings and felt like a cheap knockoff overall. Sort of like buying a counterfeit luxury item at a swap meet or whatever. W/F is also a lot higher on these Hanpins due the inferior motor system compared to what Technics and DD decks of yesteryear offered.

 

I wouldn't expect him to address lifespans when talking about 2 TTs that have only been around for a few years.

 

Technics turntables are known to be excellent for their durability though. You could practically drop one off of a skyscraper and it'd still work just fine (I'm joking, don't do that).

 

I think Andrew's conclusion was any sonic differences between the AT deck fitted with the $750+ Ortofon Black vs the $4000 Technics (same cartridge) would likely not be noticed by most people. I would guess it's actually a fair statement assuming a great cartridge and speakers and casual listeners.

 

I don’t really get that, but lifespan is about how old a product can get, not about how old it already is.

Besides lifespan, how well it retains value is also important, since purchase price minus the yield of selling it years later, determines the actual cost of the product.
For example, Technics turntables retain value quite well; a product controlled by an app that becomes outdated with security issues will retain (nearly) 0 value.