1210 - Journey to audionirvana @ PT

[Marco]

Nope - I can say with some certainty that the sonic effect of the Mike New bearing is NOT subtle (providing that the rest of the turntable has been optimised to take full advantage of it)

In my experience, there are three fundamental items, which transform the SL-1200/1210 into a genuine high-end turntable, capable of competing with the best (as opposed to merely a very good one):

1) Mike New bearing.
2) Paul Hynes SR7 PSU (with internal regulator mods).
3) Funk Firm platter.

Without those three items (or others of comparable quality) the Technics will sound fab (if judiciously modified in other areas), but escape true greatness. However, it all depends on what your goals are in the first place!

Marco.

[Tiff_Needle]

Althoug I have no experience with the MN bearing, I don't have a hard time believing that it actually does big difference.

My first upgrade might be the tone arm as for a stock unit it seems to me as the weakest point of the 1210 stock.

These Origin Live tone arms seem promising...

I wouldn't say jumping to a conquer but maybe an illustration would be reasonable.

Has anyone have any experience with these tone arms and the 1210?

Would a OL illustration and a Denon DL-103R be a nice choice?

I imagine most of you would recommend that I first strip off the 1210 PSU and plug it outside, but before going into that I'd say it would only be logical doing that after buying a good external PSU, wouldn't you agree?

[Clive197]

Have you tried one? I find your comment very hard to believe.

Andrew, I did look at the MN Bearing today by coincidence. So as I understand your comment, you think the bearing will make a huge difference. So if I purchase said item and don't find the improvement to be be large, will you agree to buy it from me for what I paid for it?
Clive

[Stratmangler]

I have been running a MNB in my deck since the MCRU weekend, and it is IMO a serious improvement over the stock bearing.
It brings greater bass solidity and improved inner detailing to the party.
I haven't noticed any timing issues, despite the nonsense posted in some places on the interweb about drag issues.

I had improved the performance of my deck's original bearing by placing an O ring in the bearing well on the chassis, and damping the bearing brought gains in overall resolution.
The MNB brought further improvements again.

Why not give David at MCRU a call about the MNB?

[Tarzan]

I have been running a MNB in my deck since the MCRU weekend, and it is IMO a serious improvement over the stock bearing.
It brings greater bass solidity and improved inner detailing to the party.
I haven't noticed any timing issues, despite the nonsense posted in some places on the interweb about drag issues.

I had improved the performance of my deck's original bearing by placing an O ring in the bearing well on the chassis, and damping the bearing brought gains in overall resolution.
The MNB brought further improvements again.

Why not give David at MCRU a call about the MNB?

Chris do you have any images of your tweak, as l love playing with my bits

[Wakefield Turntables]

Andrew, I did look at the MN Bearing today by coincidence. So as I understand your comment, you think the bearing will make a huge difference. So if I purchase said item and don't find the improvement to be be large, will you agree to buy it from me for what I paid for it?
Clive

Clive, why the hell would I want two MN bearings?

[Clive197]

Clive, why the hell would I want two MN bearings?

AhHa, so you are not confident I would find a huge improvement. So I will stick with my original thought, unless proved otherwise.
I totally understand that we all have different perceptions, so may I take this opportunity to say that we agree to disagree.

[Tiff_Needle]

Five pages of posts and still no recommendation on cartridge????

SOS 1210 101... Please!

I think I'm going to pull the trigger on a Denon DL-103R with the stock arm and had a sumiko head shell to it an a weight (of how much and bought from where?).

Thereafter I'll start my actual upgrade path...

The 103r should be ok for a future SME or Origin live tonearm, right?

[Stratmangler]

An Ortofon 2m Red is a very capable performer.
Doesn't cost a wedge either.

[Tiff_Needle]

An Ortofon 2m Red is a very capable performer.
Doesn't cost a wedge either.

Could be an option, but I have the general impression that ortofons sound a tad "digital" in terms of a bit of hardness on the top frequencies...

Very clean, some detail but a tad less color. It seems a great match for people who already have woody, colored, romantic system.

But that is not my case.

My system is currently towards the neutral side and was looking something of a nostalgic analog tube feel to it with my turntable as source.