What next for the SL1210

[diviy]

So far I have fitted a Ian Mac bearing ,KAB fluid damper ,ADC head shell,Achromat ,LDA power supply ,Isonoe isolator feet and pitch slider removed .
Next project is to Dynamat the platter I am then thinking of getting the tone arm rewired or replace the tone arm if I can find one cheap enough and would be better than the Technics arm and not silly money .
Does anyone have any other ideas what I can do to upgrade the deck I am on a tight budget as I am medically retired,I am also looking at making sand filled isolation base for the deck if the turntable shelf idea does not work out .It has taken me six years to get to this stage but I was lucky enough for a friend to build me a custom set of mono block tube amps ,passive pre amp,phono stage .
The other items I have are a Ortophon 2m blue cartridge,Klotz mc5000 interconnects ,2.5mm sv power supply leads and Chord Rumour 2 Speaker Cable.
Regarding the Chord Rumour 2 Speaker Cables they are five metre lengths I am de baiting selling these to raise some funds and replace them with something like Van Damme Blue Series 4mm Speaker Cable or does anyone have any recommendations for a better speaker cable ?

Any thoughts,advice and recommendations would be great.

Regards Gerry

[CageyH]

Foam fill the arm after the re-wire, and cover it in heat shrink. Users who have done this have reported a good gain.
I have never tried it.

Decent replacement arms are not cheap.

There is also the wax mod to the bearing well. KAB sell a kit, but I did my own version.
I cannot honestly say it made a big difference, as I am not sure it did.

[mikeyb]

Best upgrade left would be a better cartridge, the 2m Blue is fine but it's now out of its league compared to your turntable. Trouble is that's a whole new can of worms.

[diviy]

Foam fill the arm after the re-wire, and cover it in heat shrink. Users who have done this have reported a good gain.
I have never tried it.
would that be after a arm rewire ?


Best upgrade left would be a better cartridge, the 2m Blue is fine but it's now out of its league compared to your turntable. Trouble is that's a whole new can of worms.
Can we open the can of worms LOL
My thinking was arm rewire first as I thought the 2M Blue was a good enough cartridge as I have stated the upgrades have taken me years to get my system to where it is ,A few people who have listened to my system have complemented me on the sound quality but I have never had another audiophile come to the house and given there opinion .

Also what about my speaker cables ?

[mikeyb]

would that be after a arm rewire ?


Can we open the can of worms LOL
My thinking was arm rewire first as I thought the 2M Blue was a good enough cartridge as I have stated the upgrades have taken me years to get my system to where it is ,A few people who have listened to my system have complemented me on the sound quality but I have never had another audiophile come to the house and given there opinion .

Also what about my speaker cables ?Well reading that, STOP, it sounds ( pardon the pun ) that you don't need to do anything else other than listen to the music.

Sometimes you just have to sit down, listen and stop chasing because you're there already. If you like how it sounds now and this has been confirmed by friends then sometimes changing something else knocks it off kilter and you send up back on the merry go round again.

[lovejoy]

The arm rewire is essential IMO. Out of all of the mods I did on my 1210:
- Externalise the power supply
- Add a super-reg to the motor supply
- remove the existing platter damping and replace with Dynamat
- Change the mat for an Achromat
- Fit BOING isolation feet
- Disable the pitch slider and strobe

Re-wiring the arm brought about the biggest improvement in sound by some margin. The stock arm is actually very good as long as the bearings are sound and its the internal wiring that is the bottleneck. I fitted the one piece wiring loom from KAB which cost around £90, a few hours and a LOT of swearing as its not a job for the fainthearted, but it was worth it. You'll get a lot more out of your 2M Blue with a re-wire. You'd need to spend at least a couple of grand on an arm to get any worthwhile improvement and for me, I wouldn't change to any arm that didn't offer a detachable headshell now.

[graham67]

Agree that rewiring a Technics arm is worthwhile, I had the more basic arm on a 1510 internally and externally rewired and it is substantial improvement.

[diviy]

The arm rewire is essential IMO. Out of all of the mods I did on my 1210:
- Externalise the power supply
- Add a super-reg to the motor supply
- remove the existing platter damping and replace with Dynamat
- Change the mat for an Achromat
- Fit BOING isolation feet
- Disable the pitch slider and strobe

I have spoken to someone who cant do the rewire for about6 to 8 weeks
I have a power supply that just needs fitting
Awaiting for Dynamat to come
Got Achromat and have Isonoe Turntable Isolation Feet allready
Could you expand on the super-reg to the motor supply please ?

Cheers Gerry

[lovejoy]

Could you expand on the super-reg to the motor supply please ?

Cheers Gerry

Yes, if you remove the platter, and then the plastic cover over the electronics, just to the right of where the mains cable comes into the chassis there is a regulator which supplies the motor with 21 volts. It's sat on its own using the turntable chassis as a heatsink. These can be improved upon if you're making some modifications to the standard power supply, although if you're fitting a complete aftermarket power supply then it might be done away with completely, but I didn't go down this route, preferring to go completely DIY, so having externalised the power supply, adding some extra reservoir caps in the now external supply and beefing up a couple of the internal caps, I then upgraded the regulator with one from Fidelity Audio. I used the 21 volt version of this:

https://www.fidelityaudio.co.uk/spower-low-noise-ve-regulator-112-p.asp

I would say it was worth doing, assuming your power supply upgrade doesn't bypass it of course.

[diviy]

Yes, if you remove the platter, and then the plastic cover over the electronics, just to the right of where the mains cable comes into the chassis there is a regulator which supplies the motor with 21 volts. It's sat on its own using the turntable chassis as a heatsink. These can be improved upon if you're making some modifications to the standard power supply, although if you're fitting a complete aftermarket power supply then it might be done away with completely, but I didn't go down this route, preferring to go completely DIY, so having externalised the power supply, adding some extra reservoir caps in the now external supply and beefing up a couple of the internal caps, I then upgraded the regulator with one from Fidelity Audio. I used the 21 volt version of this:

I have allready got a Timestep external power supply fitted and the old power supply has been removed .
I have a LDA power supply to replace the Timestep .

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Search for a good arm on ebay or seek out a tonearm maker there are still some in business, silvernote tonearms are very good

[diviy]

Just a small update I managed to pick up a Jelco SA750D man o man what a difference I have also used Dodo sound deading to the platter it is like fitting the last piece in a jigsaw I am like a dog with two dick`s now :):):)

[Ianmac]

Gerry, Nice to read that replacing your techie rubber fitted on the platter underside works well. Dynamat or Dodo its worth the effort .
One of the cheapest mods and one of the most effective.
Ian

[Wakefield Turntables]

Try recapping your PCB, remove your cue light, replace your tonearm board, + loads of other stuff! The list goes on.

[diviy]

remove your cue light, replace your tonearm board

I have done these allready on another thread I was told don`t bother with the recap as the LDA power supply is the two box system :scratch::scratch:

I am now playing with a Lenco GL75 that I managed to get at a bargin price with bearing upgrade etc etc, I have managed to pick up a second platter dirt cheap to try the mod out and only other plan is to change the arm to the Jelco S arm that Lenco fitted to the Gl78Se as I can change head shells and cartridges easier plus I like the look of them .


Gerry, Nice to read that replacing your techie rubber fitted on the platter underside works well. Dynamat or Dodo its worth the effort .
One of the cheapest mods and one of the most effective.
Ian

Ian for value for money replacing the rubber on the platter is a fantastic upgrade it has tightened up the sound is the best way to describe it :):):)

Since becoming medically retired in 2010 I have has to go the second hand route to get most of the extras but it shows with time and Patience you can build a really good system without throwing money at it the bargins are out there you just need to keep looking and waiting and I feel great satisfaction when things come together .

The question is do I now get a laminated plinth for Lenco to see how much better the deck can be made a friend did have a set of templates to use with a roughter but they got wet and ruined:(:(

[Wakefield Turntables]

Here's my story, you probably done all the stuff already, I did this 10 years ago..... :eek: https://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?9568-Me-and-the-1210-are-gunna-have-us-some-me-time

[diviy]

REXTON I have been going through your thread a lot of reading still to do on it .

[Wakefield Turntables]

Gerald, I think you've pretty much done most things that I did. If you come up with something original or new then please send me a mail. ;)