vintage turntables?

never liked technics...... fancy word for panasonic....matsushita...all the same

I contacted Kevin (KAB) last year to ask about his mods and their potential. He told me to keep the SP-10 because the best he can achieve with the 1200 series won't quite reach that level. Bigger, better motor, etc.

I already had the SP-10 so the debate does not apply to me but I can see where the KAB mods might be a better deal considering you can get one with zero miles on it whereas, if you found an SP-10 brand new, it would cost a fortune and a half.
Also, you can move up incrementally with KAB instead of having to plunk it all down at once on an SP-10. In my experience it is more fun to get your improvements in small doses.
Bottom line, in my opinion, is that you can get way more bang for your bucks with a high end, vintage, Japanese direct drive than any modern table can deliver.

Check out yard sales. You may very well get lucky and buy a very serious DD table for $15. If it is heavy, holds speed, and appears to be complete, buy it.

Raul,

Do you have any thoughts to a London Decca cartridge on the Phantom? I have the Ortofon 2M Black on the way. This will be my first MM.

thanks,
James

A few thoughts about vintage direct drive tables.

In the '70s many Japanese manufacturers developed quality, precision DD tables - Technics, Denon, Sony, Trio/Kenwood, even Sansui. While these became fairly popular, they were expensive to design and build. So, to broaden sales potential, many lightweight and less expensive DD models were introduced. They may have been affordable but their sonics, and ultimately the reputation of DD, suffered.

In addition, several smaller American and European companies (who did not have the resources to develop quality DD systems) introduced belt drive tables, noting how much quieter they were than the (inexpensive) DD and rim drive tables. As a result, belt drive tables quickly dominated the market and then proceeded to expand to all price points.

Recently (5 years ago?) a revived interest began for quality DD and even rim drive tables, this time with heavy plinths and other isolation measures that better addressed the torque and vibration issues inherent in these designs. As a result, there is now serious interest in older Garrard, Thorens, Lenco, Technics, Denon, etc. tables.

So while the majority of consumer (less expensive) DD tables may have been lacking in performance, it is not fair disregard every DD table. And as Les pointed out, the Technics 12XX series was not designed as a DJ table, but it was adopted later by club DJs because of it's torque and build quality. It was up to Kevin at KAB to bring out the sonic potential of these (consumer) DD tables.

So Chuckelator, it's not just the look, there is great sonic quality potential if you choose the right vintage model.

I agree with Mapman 'bout the Philips 312. I picked one up off ebay last Christmas for $80.00. Absolutely mint, sounds incredibly good. And it LOOKS like a tt should, IMO.