Which step next??

[RickeyM]

Hi all. I have a SL-1200MK2 with a few mods (listed below) and it sounds quite nice. Even with a humble AT-120e cart, I've been amazed at how good a nice clean record sounds. Thanks to Qwin and Andrei for their pioneering on the tonearm and platter mods and 6L6 for the PS mod.

Given what's been done already, I've come to the experts to ask for recommendations on what upgrade to add next. Up for consideration are a better outboard PS, a tonearm damper or a set of Isonoe's. Of course, any other recommendations will be considered as well.

Stock tonearm modded with the addition of a straight carbon fiber/aluminum tube. Wired with Litz wire and lightly stuffed with cotton.
Stock platter modded with a layer of Dynamat Extreme to the bottom side in place of the stock Technics rubber.
DIY external PS with the stock transformer.
Halved Racquetballs replacing the stock Techie feet.
IANMAC bearing.
Res-O-Mat





At some point in the near future I hope to add a Denon DL-110 to see how I like the MC sound.
TIA for any help rendered

[CageyH]

I think the bjggest gains will be had by changing the tonearm and/or cartridge.
The basics of the deck seem OK and changing the feet may give you s slight improvement.
After that you can look at an aftermarket platter.

I can't comment on the tonearm damper, as I have never tried one.

[RickeyM]

It seems that those who've added the tonearm damper are quite taken with it. Also the Denon DL-110 seems quite popular.

[RichB]

It seems that those who've added the tonearm damper are quite taken with it. Also the Denon DL-110 seems quite popular.

I love my DL-110 on the Techie.

[struth]

I love my DL-110 on the Techie.

Does your wife know ?

[RichB]

Does your wife know ?

We have an understanding ;-)

[walpurgis]

It seems that those who've added the tonearm damper are quite taken with it. Also the Denon DL-110 seems quite popular.

Having used a Denon DL-110 in a Mission 774 arm, I can say it definitely seems to behave better with fluid damping applied. The discontinued DL-160 is a nicer sounding MC high output though. Worth looking out for a good second hand example.

[6L6]

The external PSU is the single biggest improvement you can make to the table. I doubt that a 'better' external supply will be any better, as 95% of the mod is removing the vibrating transformer from the TT chassis.

I'd suggest Isonoe feet. Big improvements from anything else used.

Of course, changing cartridges will make huge differences in sound, they are as unique as speakers, being transducers. I used the DL-110 as my primary cartridge for a couple of years, it's quite nice and can unashamedly recommend it.

That said, I'd re-wire the tonearm cables with the lowest capacitance cables you can find. (And a exhaustive look will show that Bluejeans Cable LC-1 is an amazingly low 12pF/ft) Most cartridges (especially MM) get too loaded by capacitance, usually due to cabling, and can cause a rising in response of 8-10K on up. Low capacitance cables will allow you to load as necessary.

[Wakefield Turntables]

External PSU and then Isonoe feet.

[Packgrog]

On my previous Technics, I had the fluid damper and a DL-110. It was a nice combo. I was actually able to dial back the VTF a bit with the damper installed, which had a nice effect, but you really do need to be careful of how much fluid you add to the trough (1/3 seemed about right, more caused too much damping), and be careful not to over-tighten the paddle to the arm. I imagine the fluid damper would work well on most (though not all) Technics clone arms, so long as they have the little side extension for the cueing level where the paddle gets attached (the Audio Technica AT-LP120 arm does NOT have this, and thus is not compatible). I'm curious how other people with straight arm mods have enjoyed the fluid damper.

The DL-110 is still a good buy for the money if you know where to look. $175 is a good target price right now. FWIW, cable capacitance shouldn't matter with the DL-110, being HOMC, but it absolutely would matter if you stick with MM.