AudiogoN Forums: TECHNICS SL1200 MKII.......THE REAL FACTS

TECHNICS SL1200 MKII.......THE REAL FACTS

I have been a very active participant in this hobby for many years (going on 30). I have owned amplifiers by B&K, Marantz, Forte, VanAlstine, Accuphase, GAS, Onkyo Grand Integra, Musical Fidelity.....Speakers by Thiel, Energy, Genesis, Vandersteen, PSB, Definitive Tech, KEF, Mission, B&W....Turntables by Sota, Rega, Linn, AR, Thorens, Dual, and yes; Technics. I have a Technics SL1200 MKII which I have had for a few years now. It has been modified in the following ways (all mods based on trial and error and final listening results):
-TT Weights 454 record weight
-XPM1 Acrylic mat with 1/4" heavy Technics rubber mat underneath
-Steel plinth cover (chrome finish). I cannot explain why, but the background is more quiet and micro dynamics are better with this in place.
-Armtube stuffed loosely with cotton.
-Heat shrink tubing on outside of arm tube.
-Stock headshell replaced with Sumiko with Sumiko headshell wires (do NOT underestimate what headshell quality can do with these things).
-Plugs on the stock cables replaced with better plugs: Vampire OFC RCA plugs.
-Bearings adjusted for minimal play with minimal friction.
-KAB Power Supply added

Now, this is the scoop. I do not want a Technics turntable. I am an audio snob. I want only salon approved brands; period. That is why this situation sucks dog. Out of all the turntables I have owned. This Technics with this combination of mods has the blackest background, the best dynamics, the most detail, the clearest stage, the most pace and timing and overall just simply plays the song in the least-confused manner of ANY turntable I have ever owned. In many ways it makes every other turntable I have ever owned sound like Amateur Night in sonic comparisons. Facts are facts. The Technics SL1200 MKII, when properly tweeked, is one serious LP playback unit. At least the chrome plated steel plinth cover covers up the name.

Audiomaster1967 (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

10-12-11

Responses (1-73 of 73)

Click title to read one, or click date to read all below it.

10-13-11 Where does one get such a plinth? Peter_s

10-13-11 Imagine what you could do with one of the high-end japanese ... Aigenga

10-13-11 You are an audio snob. not that there is anything wrong with ... Glenfihi

10-13-11 -armtube stuffed loosely with cotton. -heat shrink tubing on ... Jsd52756

10-13-11 Ok, so your technics sounds better to you than did your &quo ... Lewm

10-13-11 I started off with a technics 1210, and have been very happy ... Jmoog08

10-13-11 There is something to be said for tts made back in the day w ... Mapman

10-13-11 Are we supposed to respond to try to convince you otherwise? Dan_ed

10-13-11 You should. Jmoog08

10-13-11 I initiated my vinyl renaissance 4-1/2 years ago by purchasi ... Johnnyb53

10-13-11: Audiomaster1967
I certainly am not trying to start an argument or controversy or anything of the sort. I am stating this for the sake of fellow analog lovers. How I even wound up with this thing is funny. At the time, I owned a Linn LP12 with the Basik arm. The Linn was a 1980 model with no updates. Sounded nice though. I was in a pawn shop that was going out of business and everything was "make an offer". There sat this SL1200 MKII in like new condition. I offered $50. He said $100. We settled on $80. I had never heard one I had no desire to own one. I bought it to "flip" it. Before walking out the door, this guy hands me a chrome cover (steel, fits over the cast aluminum top of the turntable and totally covers all the aluminum, allowing only the controls, tonearm and platter to show) and he says "You might as well take this too. It fits nothing here." I have just played with and experimented with this thing and it really does not take much to make it really sing. After some tweeks, I discovered that it resolved better than my Linn (plus it did not go out of whack every time the barametric pressure changed). In detail, the turntables that in some way or another this modified Technics has bettered are: Sota-Comet, Rega Planar 3 with motor upgrade in 1999, Thorens TD320 with Audioquest PT5 arm, AR ES1 with Sumiko Premier MMT, Linn Axis, Dual CS5000, and I forgot about the VPI HW19 JR with the MKIII platter. The modded Technics: Is more 3 dimensional with more images that are both more forward and further rearward- The bass is dynamic as all hell. It is tight and defined with superb pitch definition- The midrange is unravled in a sense.... Example: On Abby Road, the song Something in the Way She Moves there is a spot where there is organ, bass guitar and electric guitar. Normally (with EVERY other table I have owned) these would all be homogenized to the point that you could kind of tell what all was making up these notes, but with the modded Technics they are clearly individualized; the timbre of each instrument being revealed. In a nutshell, the modded Technics offers the pitch stability, freedom from peaks or dips or bloat in the bass yet with bass slam, the separation of voices and instruments......things that are actually strong points of CD yet with the musical harmonic structure of analog. Overall, pretty cool. Without the mods, you get tastes of this, but the mods solidify it. It started out as money making purchase, then an experiment, now I am trying to de-throne it without mortgaging my home doing it. (LOL) I am not looking to stir any pots, I am not looking for validation, I am simply stating what I (and numerous audiophile friends) have heard. By the way, the motor has no trouble at all getting up to speed. It's like the extra weight isn't even there. All this performance with so little maintenance. Kind of neat, but it does make my "snob meter" go off every once in a while.
Audiomaster1967 (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

10-13-11 I bought a 1210m5g a couple years ago in order to play my vi ... Audiofeil

10-13-11 Compared top of the line mods on 1200 vs. used stock vintage ... Marakanetz

10-13-11 i'm not saying the technics arm is better than an rb500 or 7 ... Johnnyb53

10-13-11: Audiomaster1967
I am certainly not stating "Throw away your Goldmund and get a Technics!"; what I AM saying is that all of the tables I mentioned were entry levelish in nature. The modded Technics holds it's own pretty damn well, it has surpassed all of them I mentioned in one or more areas and the overall versatility and "set it up and forget it" nature of the Technics is pretty damn nice.
Audiomaster1967 (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

10-14-11 The 1210 suitably mod is a great tt so far the best example ... Johnjc

10-14-11 10-14-11: johnjc the 1210 suitably mod is a great tt incorr ... Audiofeil

10-14-11 For the sake of argument let's say there is a hypothetical a ... Jmoog08

10-14-11 10-14-11: jmoog08 "what would he say about the technics ... Sebrof

10-14-11 As in anything, getting that last 10% takes 90% of the effor ... Manitunc

10-14-11 Jmoog08, why don't you stop by here some time and decide for ... Audiofeil

10-14-11 Yup. i'd plug in yer 12xx. Dan_ed

10-14-11 Perhaps you would find the following titles interesting read ... Jmoog08

10-15-11 Jmoog08, i forgot more about analog than you've ever learned ... Audiofeil

10-15-11 Hi audiofell i heard the 1210 with a the mike new platter an ... Johnjc

10-15-11 Filling an arm with cotton and then covering it with shrinkw ... Onetwothreego

10-15-11 Hi johnjc, modify the bearing, add isolation, change the po ... Audiofeil

10-16-11 Forgot to add the arm was also changed and totally agree the ... Johnjc

10-17-11 Enjoyed your post, sold my scoutmaster/dyna xx2 combo (thank ... Jdaniel13

11-06-11: Audiomaster1967
I found that after adjusting the bearings, new arm wire, cotton internal filling and heat shrink on the outside and a Sumiko headshell (which is not only a better headshell but also adds Azimuth adjustment) the arm sounded way better. I installed a Sumiko Premier MMT with the thought that it would be better yet only to find that I really did not gain a thing, but lost lots of the original arm's ease of adjustment.
Audiomaster1967 (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

11-07-11 There are a lot of needle-drops on pink fish media that have ... Mmakshak

11-07-11 i understand your situation. i owned a sl1200 for awhile ... Dklk

11-07-11 i'm one of those geeks who gets a perverse pleasure in getti ... Johnnyb53

11-08-11 I agree with audiofeil w/regards to the arm of the 1200. nic ... Atmasphere

11-08-11 Hi audiomaster1967, today, i am listening to computer au ... Timlub

11-08-11 i can recommend getting a jvc ql-7 and start modding with t ... Hiho

11-09-11 true enough. at some point you have to know when to quit, or ... Johnnyb53

11-09-11 if you really want a technics and to improve on the sl ... Hiho

01-29-12 I have a technics sl-1210 with kab fluid damper,cardas arm r ... Zenkai1950

01-29-12 one thing i left out from my previous post was my allnic au ... Zenkai1950

01-29-12 It is clear that the technics tt is best in class for speed ... Tonywinsc

01-29-12 i think that in the '70s the technics dd turntables posed a ... Johnnyb53

01-29-12 Johnnyb53, i totally agree with your statements and personal ... Zenkai1950

02-02-12 I owned a technics sl1200 and it was mediocre. it sounded e ... Tomjoe

02-02-12 Real nice tomjoe. you're a veritable festival of constructiv ... Vinyladdict

02-03-12 that's pretty consistent with how most of us perceive a tech ... Johnnyb53

02-03-12 This will always be a battle of the hatfields vs the mccoy's ... Schw06

02-21-12 I set up a new sl1200mk5 that i found on ebay last december ... Dsper

02-21-12 I love my ugly 1210mkii. what sweet sounding beast! Vegasears

02-21-12 I dunno, i like my 1210m5g as is, bone stock without tweeks. ... Dave_72

02-22-12 "tt weights 454 record weight" what does this mean ... Vicdamone

02-22-12 i suspect it means the turntable weight weighs 454 grams, wh ... Johnnyb53

02-22-12 Hey ralph, (atmasphere), i was surprised to see your stateme ... Pryso

02-23-12 Its hard to discern that the original table is one of the be ... Mapman

02-24-12 it depends on how you look at it. when they were still in pr ... Johnnyb53

02-24-12 Funny, i used to sell many japanese turntables back in their ... Mapman

02-24-12 Well, i say leave well enough alone. how much improvement do ... Dave_72

02-24-12 funny, so did i. i would say that the dds didn't come in to ... Johnnyb53

02-24-12 Yes, back then i recall both belt and dd tables that cost mo ... Mapman

02-25-12 In the days of the lp and top of the chart radio much of wha ... Vicdamone

03-01-12 how many of the super expensive belt drive tt's need a spee ... Zenkai1950

12-26-12 Audiofeil said.."and believe me, audiophiles with great ... Davvie

12-26-12 Audiofeil forgot to add, that there are audiophiles out ther ... Syntax

12-26-12 And some audiophiles "feel" threatened that the so ... Davvie

12-27-12 I've owned hi-end pro-jects (which were beautiful and very n ... Dconsmack

12-27-12 Audiofeil mentioned that the most significant factor blockin ... Johnnyb53

12-27-12 With the cardas re-wire and fluid damper offered by kab the ... Davvie

12-29-12 Assuming that we all hear sound the same way, the only metho ... Dsper

01-14-13 I found this (and some familiar old characters) and thought ... Tjnindc

01-15-13 I am using a denon dl-103r. Vegasears

01-17-13 I too have just evaluated an old mkii with a very good well ... Lharasim

01-18-13 Lawrence, you sign with "fidelity forward" and ha ... Redglobe

01-18-13 Please contact me offline fidelity_forward@mail2lawrence.co ... Lharasim