Technics SLP1200 'B' Broadcast CD Player!

[Macca]

Here is the beast in situ and so far working fine:

http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac233/Macca_photos_2009/Technics001.jpg

Sound is not so far off my Sony 791E but seems to have a little more 'authorit - tay' as Cartman might say. Just enjoying playing CDs on this thing it is so totally over the top for home use. Elapsed time readout down to the micro-second!

[Marco]

Fantastic CDP, Martin - one of the best vintage ones ever made... I kid you not! Have that lightly modified (in the right areas) and it'll be a veritable giant-killer! :trust:

Marco.

[DSJR]

These used to be a well kept (and cheap!) secret. No longer I fear :)

[Macca]

What mods would you suggest, Marco? I have semi-tame 'double E' who could fit them for me.

[tommy6206]

They do sound very good love mine.Try getting a remote for one tho, like rocking horse poo

[Beobloke]

Looking great - I really DO like them! Still holding out for an SL-P50 though....

[Marco]

What mods would you suggest, Marco? I have semi-tame 'double E' who could fit them for me.

Hi Martin,

Sorry, I missed this! I'd give Mark from Audiocom International a call. He'll give you good advice, but from experience, I'd say that re-clocking (Mark has a number of different modules for this) and re-capping the PSU and output stage, would be the way to go.

What sets these top-notch vintage players apart from 90% of what is made today is their proper CD-only transport mechanisms, (including often better sounding DAC chips), big 'n' beefy linear (individually regulated) power supplies and overall 'battleship' build quality. A few tweaks to the internals, as outlined, will result in them pissing all over most of what's made now, at a fraction of the cost of the stuff that said 'most' doesn't refer to! :exactly:

Marco.

[Macca]

Thanks Marco - the damn thing is so heavy I would balk at having to ship it off to Audiocom although it is tempting.

Trouble is I am now torn between this and my Sony 791E - the Sony is sweeter sounding and (in my system anyways) has deeper, more satisfying bass. The Technics has a more detailed and better separated top and more impact on percussion - a lot more. Two very different presentations of the music.

[Rare Bird]

Looking great - I really DO like them! Still holding out for an SL-P50 though....
Aye much better looking imho.. VU's a go go..

Wouldnt swap my SLP1000' tho :eyebrows:

[Marco]

Hi Martin,


Thanks Marco - the damn thing is so heavy I would balk at having to ship it off to Audiocom although it is tempting.

Trouble is I am now torn between this and my Sony 791E - the Sony is sweeter sounding and (in my system anyways) has deeper, more satisfying bass. The Technics has a more detailed and better separated top and more impact on percussion - a lot more. Two very different presentations of the music.

My Sony CDP and DAC both weigh 30kg and survived the return trip to Mark's! You just need to invest in proper cartons and internal packaging, for the job :)

Adequate packaging aside, the biggest consideration is whether your SLP1200 has a transport lock. This is absolutely essential when shipping ANY CD player, as otherwise the mechanism will rattle around in transit and very likely be f*cked when it arrives at its destination! Therefore, if the Technics contains a transport lock and you obtain proper cartons and packaging, in order to ship the unit safely to Audiocom, the investment in time and money will be recouped 100-fold, when you hear the results of it having been judiciously modified.

As for the sound of the Technics, in comparison with the Sony, I'm not surprised. I'd bet that they use very different DAC chips. Perhaps you could check? The intrinsic sound of any CDP is basically that of the DAC chips used, and how well they're implemented into the circuit, especially in terms of the influence of filters and PSU arrangements.

All DAC chips inherently sound different, especially between multi-bit and bitstream. If the Sony is fitted with, say, TDA 1541s, and the Technics, one of the PCM-type chips favoured at that time, then that would certainly explain the Sony's better bass! Properly implemented, the old Philips 16-bit chipsets were fantastic.

However, there's no reason why, after some judicious modifications in the areas I've mentioned, the Technics couldn't end up combining the traits you love about the Sony, with its more detailed and impactful sonic presentation. Trust me, if you let Mark 'breathe' on it appropriately, you won't look back! ;)

Marco.

[julesd68]

Adequate packaging aside, the biggest consideration is whether your SLP1200 has a transport lock. This is absolutely essential when shipping ANY CD player, as otherwise the mechanism will rattle around in transit and very likely be f*cked when it arrives at its destination!

I just had to learn this lesson the hard way. Had my cdp serviced and when it came back to me it wouldn't even read a disc, so had to send it back again. Apparently some cable came lose when it was couriered back to me. I used original packing but there isn't a transport lock :doh: I'll be collecting the player by car next week.

[Rare Bird]

Yeh it's a bit like taking your Turntable to be serviced & set up in such a specialist way that thicko general public could never do on their own :lol: to find it's even worse when you get back home asfter all the humps & bumps your car travelled over with the poor little blighter sat on the back seat :eyebrows:

[istari_knight]

Adequate packaging aside, the biggest consideration is whether your SLP1200 has a transport lock. This is absolutely essential when shipping ANY CD player, as otherwise the mechanism will rattle around in transit and very likely be f*cked when it arrives at its destination!n

Not necessarily the case anymore, lots of modern transports have laser blocks that are very stiff & difficult to move manually along the rail/s [pushed with a finger for example] They wont budge unless dropped off a fully raised forklift... but then the whole player would be FUBAR. Dont think I've seen a transport lock on a new player since '95.

[Marco]

Yeh it's a bit like taking your Turntable to be serviced & set up in such a specialist way that thicko general public could never do on their own to find it's even worse when you get back home asfter all the humps & bumps your car travelled over with the poor little blighter sat on the back seat :eyebrows:

Hehehe... Why do you think that direct-drive was invented to improve vastly on bouncy-wouncy 'I go out of tune if someone so much as breathes on me the wrong way' rubber-banders? ;)

Marco (whose Techy cares not a jot if it's been 'humped to death' on someone's back seat) :lol:

[Marco]

Not necessarily the case anymore, lots of modern transports have laser blocks that are very stiff & difficult to move manually along the rail/s [pushed with a finger for example] They wont budge unless dropped off a fully raised forklift... but then the whole player would be FUBAR. Dont think I've seen a transport lock on a new player since '95.

Good point, James, although My Naim CDX and CDS2, bought new in 2000 and 2001, respectively, both had transport locks. Also, as it's more likely that vintage players would be getting shipped to Audiocom for modifying, I feel that my warning is justified :)

Marco.

[istari_knight]

Good point, James, although My Naim CDX and CDS2, bought new in 2000 and 2001, respectively, both had transport locks. Also, as it's more likely that vintage players would be getting shipped to Audiocom for modifying, I feel that my warning is justified :)

Marco.

Fair point :thumbsup: I had forgotten about Naim !

[Rare Bird]

Hehehe... Why do you think that direct-drive was invented to improve vastly on bouncy-wouncy 'I go out of tune if someone so much as breathes on me the wrong way' rubber-banders? ;)

Marco (whose Techy cares not a jot if it's been 'humped to death' on someone's back seat) :lol:

I had enough of Suspended sub decks to last me a lifetime.

[Macca]

Hi Martin,



My Sony CDP and DAC both weigh 30kg and survived the return trip to Mark's! You just need to invest in proper cartons and internal packaging, for the job :)

Adequate packaging aside, the biggest consideration is whether your SLP1200 has a transport lock. This is absolutely essential when shipping ANY CD player, as otherwise the mechanism will rattle around in transit and very likely be f*cked when it arrives at its destination! Therefore, if the Technics contains a transport lock and you obtain proper cartons and packaging, in order to ship the unit safely to Audiocom, the investment in time and money will be recouped 100-fold, when you hear the results of it having been judiciously modified.

As for the sound of the Technics, in comparison with the Sony, I'm not surprised. I'd bet that they use very different DAC chips. Perhaps you could check? The intrinsic sound of any CDP is basically that of the DAC chips used, and how well they're implemented into the circuit, especially in terms of the influence of filters and PSU arrangements.

All DAC chips inherently sound different, especially between multi-bit and bitstream. If the Sony is fitted with, say, TDA 1541s, and the Technics, one of the PCM-type chips favoured at that time, then that would certainly explain the Sony's better bass! Properly implemented, the old Philips 16-bit chipsets were fantastic.

However, there's no reason why, after some judicious modifications in the areas I've mentioned, the Technics couldn't end up combining the traits you love about the Sony, with its more detailed and impactful sonic presentation. Trust me, if you let Mark 'breathe' on it appropriately, you won't look back! ;)

Marco.

Hi Marco

Yes the Technics has a transport lock, and it survived the journey to me intact. I believe it uses Burr Brown PCM54HP chips. The Sony is a Bitstream player, I'm pretty sure it doesn't use the TD1541 although I may be wrong. It is a little bland in the mid top but superb in the bass whereas the Technics is a riveting listen except for the bass. So to combine the two strengths would be ideal. What I intend to do is sort a new pre-amp then revisit the Technics.

[Graeme]

Ive been using a slp1200 for about 8 year now, good arent they :)
I also have a PS1 with the output stage bypassed and a valve buffer fitted, thats slightly better in some ways than the technics but the technics gets more use.
I did briefly consider doing similar valve output stage mods to the technics but thought better of it at the time.

I borrowed a rega isis for a while too but prefered both of my players.

Ignoring all that, the technics is just a lovely piece of kit to use too :)

[RochaCullen]

Its a real pity that the unit doesnt have a digital output. If it did you could try all sorts of combinations: it on its own with various mods and with varioius dac combinations.

[Wakefield Turntables]

I also have a PS1 with the output stage bypassed and a valve buffer fitted, thats slightly better in some ways than the technics but the technics gets more use.
)

REALLY! Pictures please, I have a modified PS1 as well. I'd like to see what you did to yours. :D

[Graeme]

Looks standard from the outside, followed some online instructions as far as bypassing the output stage.
Buffer stage was built as a little ball of point to point wiring with flying leads powered from my WD PSUIII clone.

Nothing to look at, i'd have built it properly if i hadn't ended up just using the technics all the time.

Ill take some pics anyway, probably next week :)