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

Perhaps. Well, I'll just leave it as it is then.
I assumed that I was the only one with a squeaking arm lift and it shouldn't be like that, apparently it does.
Thanks for clearing that up.

 

Use the rubber washer that came with the stock headshell.

 

It's a thought, not that it will be something drastic. Thing is the antiskate still pulls the tonearm the moment you raise the lift, so the rubber keeps the cone (ie tonearm) from sliding back under the antiskate force.

 

Jup, I've seen the effect of that on a Reloop RP-2000, it had a hard plastic tonearmlift without the rubber on it.
Used fine sand paper to roughen that up, but grinding down components of a 4k deck might not be the best idea

 

I was thinking of a MK7 as my cheapo Audio Technica 1240 now has loose tonearm bearings.

I want to be done with one table and enjoy, this thread talked me into a 1210GR. At 48 months 0% finance through guitar center, how could I not.

 

I am sure you will not regret your decision. If you ever upgrade the rest of your gear, you won't have to upgrade your table. Maybe upgrade your cartridge.

 

I have heard the AT 440MLB cart not so great with this table ? The cart stylus sounds great to me, but its the best I have owned so far. Hoping I hear greater detail and wider soundstage in the GR, as the AT 1240 had a preamp that impacted sound even "bypassed" to the Lounge preamp.

I really tried to talk myself into the MK7, but all the talk of cheaper build and talk of how great the GR is made my decision. I want it to be my last table, having had many vintage tables including a Sony PS-X75 Biotracer which sounded great and new AT junk. I now want a real and last table. Tired of messing around with subpar turntables.

 

IMO, the mk7 does not cost enough less to not just go for the GR. You should be done buying turntables now unless you want to have multiple tables or want to really, really make a step up (which I can’t imagine feeling necessary for quite some time, if ever). I think the mk7 seems better suited to somebody who is looking for a $1k first turntable and/or who cannot budget higher. Given means to do so, splurging on the GR makes more sense to me as a long-term cost savings (buy right, buy once). Of course, I’m biased as a satisfied GR owner.

 

As a vinyl newbie thats what I did. With the help and advice from this place including "Big Blue" I was new to vinyl this year and its not my main format for listening, but wanted a table that would give me zero buyers remorse and pretty much last me for a very long time or maybe forever. One & done so to speak.
The GR so far has been great, I've been very happy with it. I didn't go crazy with the cartridge(ortofon 2m blue), but it seems to be working out nicely with the GR.

 

I actually started with a uturn, but the darn thing was so finicky and skipped and relooped on certain tracks I had had enough. Jumped straight to the GR and started with a 2m blue as well, and couldn’t have been happier. Doing it right the first time, or in my case making one significant jump/upgrade, will save us many dollars and hours of frustration.

 

You couldn't! Sweet deal that.

 

the u-turn was originally one of my choices, but you know this place..before you know it I'm ordering a GR!
No regrets. As I stated before- chances are I will never buy another turntable again in my life.

 

I am hearing IGD of late and not sure if it’s due to just worn out records (not hearing on all but most)

I have a 1200 GAE and run an Ortofon Windfield Ti. Set up using the overhang tool and null points verified using the Mint Tractor.

VTF, height and anti skate all set to 2.3. -2.4. Still troubleshooting. Ordered an Ortofon headshell as I see a crack of free space between the stock headshell and the cart. ie. The cart is not fully flush to the headshell towards the back end.

thoughts on troubleshooting? Appreciate the help!

 

Doubt it’s the headshell. How many hours on the cartridge? Could it be worn?

As for alignment, do you mean you used the Technics gauge and confirmed with the Mint? If so, that’s probably good.

 

Cart is new. Probably running around 6 months, so definitely less than 1000 hours. No way it could be worn.

Affirmative on the alignment. Replicant stylus is a bit tricky to get the SRA right.

 

The "Replicant" stylus is nothing more than a variant of the FG-S profile.

It's an extreme profile and the contact is at the back angle, not the middle. Where people screw up is they take a microscope picture, then try to draw a line down the center, then make an wacky SRA/VTA adjustment. You can't do that with an FG-S stylus. Oh, and these things will pick up gunk on the back facet as well and don't like records with wear from a previous owner, or old records you might have played a lot, IME.

Given what your dealing with here, I'd get the cart inspected. It might just need some type of cleaning on the diamond, and Ortofon doesn't recommend liquid cleaners. If there is wear, inspection under a 200x microscope will show it. See the thread on stylus wear where the poster's expensive Ortofon MC wore out much sooner than they expected.

 

I'm still strongly considering the MK7 and GR for my next table. I had to put off the upgrade for this year but I'm hoping to get it done in 2020. We'll see. I haven't ruled out the MK7, despite the fact that it's not as "good" as the GR.

 

Thanks for that. I’ve been playing a lot of old records that were bought used. I don’t hear much IGD on new records but will need to test tomorrow.

 

Of course, make sure it’s not just damaged records. If they’re used, pretty good chance IGD is baked-in from the previous owner’s setup.

I’ve had situations where a good stylus cleaning resolved some IGD. I know Ortofon doesn’t recommend liquid cleaners, but I frankly don’t know how else you’d clean a stylus that was really gunked-up. The Onzow doesn’t work for that kind of build-up.

 

I don’t see any gunk on the front facet which is where it should build up given the profile. I do only use an Onzow by the way...
I started noticing this only a couple of weeks ago so the theory that the stylus is worn or gunked up could be true as this is a more recent phenomenon (I have not changed anything else on the set up). I’ve also been playing a lot of old records but that’s not really something new.

 

Some stylus profiles ride below previous groove wear if the groove wear is minor. The Namiki Microridge is like that. The FG-S is not like that at all IME. If you have pristine, virgin audiophile vinyl, the FG-S is very, very good, but for any used bin record, you may hear more noise and a touch more sibilance than you would with a MR. This is why I probably won't buy another cart with an FG-S stylus.

If you look at the patent drawings for these two stylus shapes you'll see how different they are and why they ride the groove differently.

 

Here is what Soundsmith has to say about the FG-S, which they call an OCL in their marketing lingo:

The OCL stylus looks to be raked back by about 20 degrees, but that is the shaft of the stylus ONLY, and NOT the last facet on the bottom tip, which restores the angle to 2 degrees. This stylus has a flat back, and can tend to build up debris easily on its back surface, and should be cleaned via the Blue – Stik method described on our website on every play. Alcohol should be used ONLY when this cleaning process is suspect of not removing the debris. The Azimuth setting of this stylus design is very critical, as incorrect setting can result in sibilance and excessive groove noise.

 

Very interesting. I am beginning to think if it’s the Azimuth. All I’ve done is use a mirror as suggested by Ortofon.
I will have to try to blue stick method.

 

The mirror should've gotten you very close. I assumed you used a loupe or magnifier or some sort?

You can try the Ortofon test record if you want to mess around with crosstalk, but there are pitfalls to that as well. It's the best current production test record for that purpose, but you will need to check the record to make sure it's not warped or off-center. The program is the same on both sides, so at least one side should be perfectly centered if you want to use it. If not, send it back and get another one.

 

I did use a lupe. Many thanks for all your help. I will do some more troubleshooting and report back later.