Seeking advice from the SL1200 fan s

I listen to everything...I was recommended the X5 by Kenny of Needledoctor, who told me owns a 1200 and listens to everything like me. The other choice he said would be a Benz ACE.

Kenny also recommended that I try the X5, but I wound up spending more and getting a B-M Glider M2 from Bob at the Elusive Disk, who I felt was the best to deal with. Various input I got said it was the best in the around $600 range (w/trade), and I haven't had any problems with it in the 1200, but the shopping experience underscored for me how compromised your ability to choose is when you can't actually audition anything in your system beofore committing. No shops in my area (DC) could play me anything I was considering, much less do a comparision. You've almost got to go on faith unless you know someone who owns a cart you're interested in.

Will something like The Lifter work with the 1200? I've gotten used to auto-shut off for years. How about the dust cover. Do you remove it? I want to have a wall shelf built before it gets here so I can start playing more quickly! I'm going to do more research on cartridges. Way too many choices! I've posted ?? on other forums, but, since the 1200 is treated like a red-headed stepchild, I've NOT gotten any kind of useful info. You folks have helped alot. Many thanks. Brad

I asked the people that make the lifter about my modded 1200 w/the fluid damper assembly and they never replied my email.

The Ortofon X5 I got for $110 from member 2Juki in Hong Kong. Sesarch the classifieds. It is unbeatable for the money. Break in is nasty--be warned.

The 1200 *needs* to be properly isolated. Wall mounting sounds very good.

People who bash the 1200 only reveal their prejudices and lack of knowledge about what makes a good turntable. First of all, although the 1200 is direct drive, there is NO physical contact of a motor with the platter--end of vibration transmition by the motor argument. The 1200 has a magnetically driven motor. These same people would buy a feeble glass and particle board turntable in a heartbeat because it is an European "audiophile" product--yeah, right.

I am glad you're joining the 1200 club. It is a very neutral sounding deck, extremely reliable and FUN to use...

Just to clarify for Brad, the platters on ANY direct drive are mechanically fastened directly to or are a part of the motor, hence the term "direct drive". In many cases, the platter is an integral part of the motor, forming either part of the stator or part of the rotor. In order for the platter to turn, the motor must contact the platter either indirectly (belt or wheel drive) or directly by being mechanically fastened or being an integral part of the motor (direct drive).

Also, ALL electric motors are electro-magnetically driven and ALL electric motors make noise. The trick is to minimize the noise as much as possible. Glass, acrylic or MDF dampen noise far more effectively than a thin piece of aluminum.

Regards
Jim