PDA

View Full Version : Another Technics question (or two)



magoorty
30-08-2010, 15:19
Hi all,

I've finally got myself a 1210 in decent nick and am now looking at upgrade possibilities. First off, the timestep psu is way out of my budget for the moment so I'm looking at what other little tweaks can be made.
I have a sumiko headshell with a nagaoka mp110 and also a 'red ed' on the technics headshell. Both are sounding quite nice. I've been reading here that the technics mat can be improved on. Is it possible for under £50? I think it would break my heart to spend more than that on a mat! I tried putting a rega felt mat on top of the technics but this didn't sound good (and left the spindle a bit short).
Also, I have the stock technics feet (Very handy for levelling, there's hardly a flat surface in my house). It's sat on a misson isoplat. Should I be looking at improving that?

All cheap and cheerful tweak recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers
Stewart

Tarzan
30-08-2010, 15:57
How about one of the cork mats on E-Bay, around £20 ish?:)

magoorty
30-08-2010, 16:19
Sounds interesting. Would it be suitable on its own or would I need to use it with the technics mat. What about the lip on the edge of the technics platter?

Cheers
Stewart

Tarzan
30-08-2010, 16:43
Try it with the Techie mat and without the Techie mat, yes l belive they do a mat for the Techie:).

Spectral Morn
30-08-2010, 17:25
Try an Originlive mat on top of the Technics one.

I have been listening to a Technics 1200 this way recently and it sounds very good to me. In fairness though I have not tried any of the other mats out there yet and many say that the Sound HiFi mat is very good and probably overall the best but it is more than your budget.

Regards D S D L

magoorty
09-09-2010, 12:41
I picked up an interesting mat on ebay. It's a rubber and cork composite and the seller tells me it's made by a (now defunct) company called Supersonics. Anyone heard of them? Anyway, the mat is a tremendous improvement. Still fiddling about with the deck, but this is the best change so far. The sound has a punchier, faster quality than before. Well worth the £20 it cost.

Jason P
09-09-2010, 16:34
Depending on what you've got the deck sat on, you could try spikes. Standard speaker spikes should fit (can't remember the diameter offhand) and you can have a play - I've got mine spiked on top of a weighty stone floor tile (a big one!) that sits on a cork mat. I prefer it to the stock feet, a much leaner sound with more detail. If you've some old spikes around it costs very little!

Reid Malenfant
09-09-2010, 16:40
Standard speaker spikes should fit (can't remember the diameter offhand) and you can have a play
Most would be M6, if that's of any use :)

magoorty
09-09-2010, 20:53
That's a good idea. I've a few spikes knocking around so that'll be the next thing to try!

Cheers!

MartinT
10-09-2010, 07:55
The mat is very important since the Technics platter rings so badly. If you can't stretch to a Herbies/Sound Hi-Fi mat then do try a few alternatives as they make a dramatic difference to the sound. A Sumiko headshell will also help. How about Foculpod sorbothane feet? While not as good as the Isonoes, they are effective and inexpensive.

Beobloke
10-09-2010, 08:29
It is interesting to hear about the platter 'ringing' as I have read this before and mine doeesn't, so I can only assume there are different versions of it about!

Stewart,
If yours does not ring when you tap it with the mat removed, then a simple felt mat works a treat compared to the original Technics rubber type. If you want to spend a bit more though, the Funk Firm Achromat does a brilliant job and will also damp a ringing platter as well.

The Sumiko headshell is a good start (don't forget to remove the rubber washer before you screw it in) and the MP110 is a good cartridge so I would enjoy it for now and get used to what the deck does well before you start spending any more money on it.

DSJR
10-09-2010, 08:43
I used to rail against removal of the rubber washer on headshells, accepting that some washers are very thin and others rather thicker and mainly because the Linn LVV worked better with the supplied "flexible" headshell, but apart from Grahams HiFi, who used to sell the magnesium ADC headshells as an upgrade to the old Rega R200 tonearm (and other "SME/Ortofon" types as well), I don't know if a definitive test has been done - I can hear a slight change, but can't say either way.