The Technics SL-1200 GAE/G/GR general questions thread

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Halloween_Jack, Aug 1, 2018.

  1. Ingenieur

    Ingenieur Just a dog looking for a home...

    Location:
    Back in PA
    I've measured my 540ML.
    It is at spec , 4 mV
    At output of phono amp (gain 38 dB 79x)
    Measured 330 and 320, ~4.1 mV
    Balance <0.5 dB
    cross talk/separation 21.3 +/- 0.2 dB

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 29, 2022
  2. Pmds55889397

    Pmds55889397 Forum Resident

    The "G color looks different black, more like the mk7L
    Great stuff indeed
     
    punkmusick likes this.
  3. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
    Still in time to edit it, thanks
     
  4. Oelewapper

    Oelewapper Plays vinyl instead of installing it on the floor.

    The black makes the brass platter really pop out… Nice.
    Time for a side by side needle drop comparison? :D
     
    AudioOut58 likes this.
  5. RWAudio

    RWAudio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brick NJ
    Do let us know if and what sonic differences you hear of the G vs. GR.
     
    HiFi Guy likes this.
  6. HiFi Guy

    HiFi Guy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lakeland, FL
    I did the same as you in regards to the magnesium headshell. I found I preferred the factory headshell, which was even better with A/T 6018 headshell wires.
     
    Triffid and punkmusick like this.
  7. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
    Nice!

    By the way, I found a little difference between the GR and G factory headshells. In the left, it's the GR headshell with my Nagaoka MP-500 mounted on it. In the right, the G's one. There's something like two dots inside a box in the left side of the screw on the G and not on the GR. Not sure if this means any real difference or just something they are doing now (my GR is older from when they were still made in Japan).

    [​IMG]
     
    Dignan2000 likes this.
  8. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
    Regarding sound differences, hard to say as I'm in my second LP only and can't put the GR back to A/B, but I sense more precision (clarity?) with the G.
    It seems easier to discern the bass guitar from the kick drum for example, the bass seems more precisely located in the soundstage. I also think that maybe the snare drum sound "faster" and more precise (less decay). I'm a drummer so I tend to pay attention to these things. Hard to say, really, but that's what it seems so far.
     
  9. aorecords

    aorecords Forum Resident

    Sorry if I missed it, but are you using the same cartridge that you were using on the GR?
     
    punkmusick likes this.
  10. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
    Yes, I just moved the headshell with the cartridge that I've been using on the GR to the G.

    Later on, I tried a record with a blurry mix and it sounded as blurry as I always heard it, no difference. I suppose that the differences will be more audible on excellent recordings.
     
    Big Blue and aorecords like this.
  11. zombiemodernist

    zombiemodernist Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northeastern USA
    Interesting. My Malaysian GR headshell looks like yours. Wonder if that’s a balancing measure like the holes they sometimes drill out of the platter?
     
    Big Blue and punkmusick like this.
  12. Joel S

    Joel S Forum Resident

    Has anybody found a current-manufacture 5-6mm rubber mat for the Technics?
     
  13. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
    Does it make any sense to say that with the G I can hear more differences in different MC cartridge loading settings than I heard with the GR? Or am I experiencing an illusion?

    (I'm sober, but I believe in illusion, bias, placebo effect etc.)
     
    Danmar likes this.
  14. W/O having both decks with identical carts on them, it would be safe to say, the G should be the better sounding deck.
     
  15. GungaLagunga

    GungaLagunga c̶r̶u̶n̶c̶h̶ lunch time

    Location:
    Uptown
    Like my Way Excellent II quite a bit. Went with 5mm... Turntable Mats
     
    Joel S likes this.
  16. Oelewapper

    Oelewapper Plays vinyl instead of installing it on the floor.

    Only when the tonearm wiring is lower capacitance on the 1200G compared to the GR.
    Because this leaves the loading options as more significant to the total amount of capacitance.
    But a placebo effect is definitely just as likely.
    Or maybe you’re paying more attention to it now that you have this new table?
     
    punkmusick likes this.
  17. 5-String

    5-String μηδὲν ἄγαν

    Location:
    Sunshine State
    Also look at the wires.
    Do they look longer in the GR headshell vs the G?

    When I mounted my Cadenza Bronze in a brand new G headshell I found that the wires are too short and do not allow for a Baerwald alignment, only the Stevenson.
    In the Baerward the cartridge needs to be further forward.

    This is not the case with the headshell that came with my G, as I have aligned many cartridges with Baerward in this headshell, only with the new headshell that I purchased from Panasonic.

    I do not know for a fact if indeed the GR headshell has longer wires but they look longer in the photo that you posted.
     
  18. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
    When I first bought my first (and only) MC cartridge, I experimented with loading and couldn't notice much difference. I was paying a lot of attention.

    Yesterday I thought that a record (Frank Black) was a bit too bright on cymbals and tried reducing loading from 500 to 50 and it clearly tamed the highs. At least to my ears...
     
    Oelewapper likes this.
  19. ODS123

    ODS123 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    Has anyone disassembled a 1210GAE"? ..Mine has a visually annoying flaw I'd like to fix. The seam b/w the rubber base and aluminum top plate is uneven. My hope is that by turning it over (carefully of course) I could simply loosen a few screws, smooth the seam w/ my finger, then re-tighten. ..Can anyone confirm that this would work? ..I know mine isn't the only one with this issue. Indeed, I see this imperfection on most of the pics I see of these units. ..And it seems to be mostly with the 1210GAE's. Haven't seen it as much w/ the G's.
     
  20. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
    It seemed that the wires were the same length but I didn't compare them. Now that the cartridge is mounted on the G headshell I would have to dismount it again to measure, not sure I want to do that now.
     
    5-String likes this.
  21. I've had mine apart. If you ca hold a screwdriver steady you should be fine. I would loosen all the screws, then start from scratch. Good Luck!
     
  22. 5-String

    5-String μηδὲν ἄγαν

    Location:
    Sunshine State
    It's alright, I did not want you to do that.
    I was was referring to my recent experience with a replacement headshell for my G.
    If someone uses the Technics alignment, which is essentially a Stevenson, it does not matter.
    I always thought that there was something wrong with the headshell that I received from Panasonic but looking at your picture I can see that yours also is the same as mine with the wires only allowing the cartridge to get to the middle of the headshell but not much forward.
     
    punkmusick likes this.
  23. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
    That's fine. Now that I'm thinking about it, as I have multiple sets of wires, I'm not even sure I was using the original wires in the GR headshell of that picture.
     
    5-String likes this.
  24. Ingenieur

    Ingenieur Just a dog looking for a home...

    Location:
    Back in PA
    has the C been measured for a G?
    My GR is 30-40 pF
     
  25. punkmusick

    punkmusick Amateur drummer

    Location:
    Brazil
    You're gonna destroy a GAE exclusive feature?
     
    Big Blue likes this.

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