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

You're welcome

 

I just rinse under warm water
Spray with diluted simple green (I saw Oyaide recommendation, not sure SG is an organic solvent?) leave on only for a few seconds.
Rinse again
Shake off water, dry with a cotton rag

I've done it a dozen times no issues...so far lol
I use the regular diluted much more than 1:3, maybe 1:10.


SG website
Is Simple Green safe for rubber?

A: Simple Green Pro HD can be used to clean rubber surfaces so long as contact time is incidental. You can spray a dilution of our Pro HD, 1:3 for heavy cleaning, onto a rubber surface, scrub, and rinse before the cleaning mixture dries on the surface.

 

Much of the time I will just spray it off with canned compressed air.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

I had to do a double take - I thought you'd put Soylent Green down

 

Have you considered HiFi Heaven in Green Bay, WI? I bought a brand new Technics SL-1200GR and it arrived double-boxed in excellent condition.

https://hifiheaven.net/shop/Product...rntable-System-Silver?sort=pd.name&order=DESC

 

I picked up a protractor with Stevenson on one side and Baerwald on the other. Checking my AT-VM95 cart set up with the Technics overhang gauge, they both appear to line up perfectly. Is that normal?

This is what I used: GOLD BAERWALD+STEVENSON PROTRACTOR ALIGNMENT TOOL Turntable Phono Record Stylus | eBay

 

No, just means your perfection isn't precise enough

 

It means I'm aligned for everything!

 

Starting to toy with the idea of a cartridge upgrade for my 1200G. I am running an AT 540ML at the moment. Thinking of going to the AT740ml or Nagaoka Mp-500. Any thoughts on those or any other MM that are worth considering?

 

A concorde with OM40 stylus.

 

If you have a silicone tonearm damper I'd recommend the AT-OC9XML.

 

What’s the downside to no damper? (I have that cart on the way for my GR)

 

The scale on that makes it look much worse than it is.

 

Letting self-doubt creep in and initiated a return request for the AT cart. I don't want to buy a damper anytime soon and my Blue still has plenty of life left in it. 2M Bronze/Black might be the next move on that front but I might try to chase speakers before cart changes.

 

The 740 is the 540 with a metal body. There is no difference electrically. Just more mass and different mounting material.
Seriously. You are great!
Do you like what you hear?

 

Just get the Rigby (I think) metal body upgrade for the 540, it upgrades the body to metal and provides captive threading so you won't need nuts.

Other than that a Nagaoka MP 500 would be nice.

 

I have the following:
AT-VM95ML/SH/EN, and C
Nagaoka MP-200
KAB ProS40 (Ortofon OM40)
2M Bronze

For pristine vinyl, the ProS40 is the best imo. The Bronze is a close second. It sounds amazing to my ears. The OM30 (less than the 40) is supposed to be comparable to the Bronze. I'll likely try one in time. Setup with a Concorde body is also super simple. You only have to adjust VTA via tonearm height, and tracking force. Overhang and azimuth are locked in place.

With any cart there is both a break-in period and an adjustment period. If you don't immediately like the sound give it some time. I wasn't sure I made the right purchase with the Bronze, but now that I switched back to the ATs I realize how good it sounds and am looking forward to going back to it.

If you go with a Concorde be sure to research the different bodies. I believe some are better than others. I went straight through KABUSA for mine.

 

Considering the alignment situation via the jig vs protractor, the last cart I would get would be a Concorde.
It would be stuck at 17mm overhang and probably not hit any null spots.

 

better buy the RigB for your cart or upgrade to an MC cart.

 

So I'm running the OC9XML with the stock SL-1200GR headshell, no damper, and things sounds great to my ears. I had it running with the LH11H Headshell, and that's where I hit a snag, as something just sounded off to me. Nothing unlistenable, just a little flat--somewhat lacking, which shouldn't be the case for a cartridge that costs $600ish. I think (and someone please call me out of if I am wrong) that a damper is only advised when running the OC9XML with a heavier shell like the 11H.

A shame because mounting the OC9 to the LH11H is such a breeze compared to everything else.

 

I bought by SL-1200GR from them back in early March and highly recommend. They seem to be the only spot with the SL-1200 model in stock. Chances are if you buy an 'open box' model, they'll counter offer you a new model at a discount--they did that for me anyway. Shipped pretty quickly and came double boxed--zero issues there.

 

Yeah I've gotta do some thinking. My speakers are probably the weakest link in my system right now and I'd like to upgrade those next, but that's a bigger ask financially than the AT cart. The Blue can be improved upon but it's still a pretty decent cart all things considered.