New TT -- $1k - $1500

You'd be amazed how a few low cost tweaks can elevate the SL1200's performance.

You're starting with an extremely precise, extremely rugged high torque design that would cost much more in the belt drive world to approach its speed accuracy, S/N ratio, and torque.

You could get the tonearm rewire and fluid damper, but with your budget you could instead get a Rega, Jelco, or SME armboard and one of those tonearms or one of the many Rega-compatible arms, such as Origin, Michell, etc.

Here's a thread that lists several Rega-compatible tonearms:

http://www.canuckaudiomart.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32321

ToneAudio mounted a used SME on an SL1200 and proclaimed it the standalone turntable value at around $2K.

Even out of the box, I wouldn't characterize the SL12x0 series as "thin" unless there's a cartridge mismatch or bad setup. Murky, yes, but thin? I don't think so. The most significant sonic shortcomings of the SL12x0 TTs are minor and cheaply remedied. You just have to know whtat to do: Get an LpGear ZuPreme headshell, get the fluid damper for the tonearm, wrap the tonearm in teflon pipe thread tape, toss the stock footers and replace them with Vibrapod Cones and Isolators, get a better mat, and platform the table on a thick maple butcher block cutting board. Do these and the murkiness disappears and you find it an overachiever in inner detail.

I regularly visit a local Rega and British-heavy dealer and often hear the upper end Rega tables with great setups and excellent downstream electronics (e.g., Naim), and also the nicer Roksan tables. I have *never* returned home from one of those sessions to play my SL1210 M5G (with all the tweaks mentioned above) and wished I had a better rig or setup. "Thin" never came into the equation. The Technics trumped them in propulsive tempo and lack of stylus drag on heavily modulated passages (e.g., orchestral crescendos). I'll grant you that the soundstage is usually narrow, but the depth is excellent and imaging is pretty good.

Well, Martinman, I’m *not* a DIY-er, and yet all the tweaks I mentioned I did myself. Installing the KAB fluid damper was pretty simple, and everything else was easier.

I had one advantage, however. The SL1210 M5G model comes standard with oxygen-free copper wiring in the tonearm, so I never had that rewired. I suspect that a low-capacitance the tonearm rewire on the standard models is essential for all the other good things to follow. I wonder if your any of your local audiosnob shops would be willing to stoop to rewire the tonearm. KAB has a low-friction hyperlitz tonearm wire that’s only $10/foot. https://www.kabusa.com/frameset.htm?/superflex.htm

Tone Publications review of SL-1200 with SME tonearm and other upgrades here:

http://www.tonepublications.com/analogaholic/sl-1200-upgrades-sound-hifi/

The fluid damper works very well, and the Technics tonearm bearings seem to hold up well. My deck has been in daily service for almost 9 years. Technics actually stated the bearing drag (7.5mg, I think) as one of its published specs.

Concerning the damping fluid: Fill it too high (over 50%) and it kills the liveliness and detail of the music. 1/3 full is j-u-u-s-t right. It'll track like a mofo (including very warped thrift shop records) and the music has a nice flow with excellent dynamics.