Soon to be new deck

[Prince of Darkness]

I'll try to dig out the article, probably monday.

[Marco]

That would be good, mate

Marco.

[Prince of Darkness]

Hi Marco, Griffo & all,

Managed to find the review, September 2003. Price was £300, with a note that it had been discontinued and was selling for around £150.
Here are some excerpts.

"The motor has the same start up time as the Technics SL1200, about half a platter rotation to full speed - however braking was a little slower. With quartz lock selected the unit was rock-solid at the speed indicated. If the quartz lock was not in use and the pitch control in the centre detent, the stroboscope indicated speed fluctuation. These critiscisms may seem irrelevant but in a mix it would appear that the vocalist was slurring. This is not a good thing!
How then did it sound? I'm afraid to report that it was dramatically poorer than a similarly priced hi-fi deck, such as NAD's 533 or Rega's P2. Bass was light with an extremely prominent upper midrange, along with a large amount of distortion. On investigation I discovered that the headshell was not sitting square in the arm. The cartidge was unable to be set at the correct VTA. This was due to a spacer weight under the cartridge in the headshell coupled with the slip mat thickness (4 or 5 mm). This would instantly catch out any newcomers to vinyl - and is something where the real hi-fi decks score over the Sony, along with the higher priced Technics.
Having access to an ADC LMG1 magnesium headshell - a very high quality aftermarket design for 'SME' arms and now no longer available - I installed the Stanton properly. Along with a felt slip mat, this solved the VTA problem, although the VTA control was still very coarse to use.
I then tried to align the cartridge, only to find that pick up arm was not aligned to the protractor! As there was nothing I could do about this, the listening session carried on.
My next impressions were of a more tuneful bass and a much smoother mid to treble balance. The sound was still very wearing and shrill, doubtless due to poor manufacture of the pickup arm and also the loose pickup arm base that can be moved around! These are not good attributes. When compared with a SL 1200 the difference was staggering. The Technics was better in all aspects. This is all the more depressing, as the SL-1200's arm is a cheap generic S-shaped design that's miles behind the likes of the Rega RB250, as fitted the NAD 533 or Rega P2. ..." I'm sure Marco, at least will disagree with this last bit
"Overall then, the Sony proved deeply disappointing. In truth, it's pretty much par-for-the-course as far as budget DJ decks are concerned. It's certainly no shortcut to vinyl Nirvana - if you want decent sound then a pukka hi-fi design is your only option, or if you want a decent DJ tool, then the Technics SL1200 at twice the price is the real deal. Subjected to the rigours of life on the road showed just how far behind it - and I suspect, it's rivals - are compared to both the aforementioned Technics 'pro' deck and any of the entry-level hi-fi designs. ..."

So not too promising, but I suspect a better performance could be obtained with a bit tweeking, though not up to Technics levels.

[griffo104]

Thanks for printing the review.

I'd hope I would pick up on the VTA, especially considering how anal I am about that nowadays.

It's pretty much at the level I expected, to be honest. I'm not really expecting too much but as you say there is room for improvement through some tweaks. I've seen an SL1200 in the local Cash Converters so I may also take the gamble and swipe that as well.

[Peter Stockwell]

Theres an Audio technica TT that looks like a Technics clone that's very cheap too, even has a model number with 120 in it.

Sony did some stonking decks, from what I read around. the 6750 and the particularly the 8750 being highly regarded. There's a 4750 too, which from what I readn, is notch below the other two.

[Marco]

Thanks for posting that Kevin - most enlightening!

I had no idea such decks existed, and yet it looks *so* much like a 1210...

I'm sure Griffo can get a good sound out of it though, although I'd be tempted to shelve the Sony and buy the SL-1200 from the local Cash Converters and concentrate my efforts on that.

This is all the more depressing, as the SL-1200's arm is a cheap generic S-shaped design that's miles behind the likes of the Rega RB250, as fitted the NAD 533 or Rega P2. ..." I'm sure Marco, at least will disagree with this last bit

LOL. It's just simply pure ignorance, that's all, as are the references to "pukka hi-fi designs", etc. It's because of such hi-fi reporting that people today are so indoctrinated in the whole Linn/Rega nonsense!

Marco.

[Prince of Darkness]

I had no idea such decks existed, and yet it looks *so* much like a 1210...

Every wannabee DJ wants a Technics, if they can't afford one they'll probably be happy to by a cheaper lookalike.

LOL. It's just simply pure ignorance, that's all, as are the references to "pukka hi-fi designs", etc. It's because of such hi-fi reporting that people today are so indoctrinated in the whole Linn/Rega nonsense!

Even back then Hi-Fi World actually rated the Technics 1200/1210, though only with an arm transplant.

[Marco]

Indeed - and they deserve respect for that much

TBH, if you're into 'proper' hi-fi (and for me that means vinyl, valves and top-notch classic gear) it's the only magazine worth reading these days!

The rest are either full of computer/AV shit, boring, non-descript, mainstream run-of-the-mill tat, or shiny pictures of over-priced, over-engineered, badge-snob wanking material.

Marco.

[griffo104]

shiny pictures of over-priced, over-engineered, badge-snob wanking material.

Yummy

I still remain a bit non-plussed about valves, although recently got to hear a very nice Croft pre-amp which I was very impressed with. It made a significant change to the sound of the system it was in but then it was replacing an MF pre-amp so I'm not too surprised it made a positive difference.

I used to really enjoy Hifi World but find it's just too off the mark for my tastes in Hifi nowadays. Having said that, if it wasn't for Hifi World, back when Noel Keywood was the Editor, then I would never have gotten in to turntables.

I have heard some very nice valve gear but it's always been silly expensive.

[Ali Tait]

That's the beauty of their kits.They've given a lot of people entry into the valve world,and many have gone on to build their own stuff,though many have also stuck with the kits,which I don't think can be beaten for the money.