Technics 1210 Gr vs Modded old skool 1210

[CageyH]

Does it not depend on the mods on an old school 1200?
The Paul Rigby review suggested that a few changes needed to be made to get the benefit from the newer version?

A 1200G is tempting, but €3500 would buy me a lot of alternative turntable.

[lovejoy]

Thanks for the info Rich. So you went for the 1200G ! By the sounds of it a big move from the modded Techie but can you give a bit more detail on that ?

Cheers

Simon

Certainly... So as a reference, this is the full set of mods I did to my 1200 MKII:

Power transformer removed and put in an external box along with extra capacitor smoothing and snubber circuit.
Internal DC regulator replaced with an SPower Regulator from Fidelity Audio and up-rated the reservoir capacitors on the main board that feed it.
Standard mat replaced with a Funk Achromat
Main platter bearing replaced with a TimeStep bearing
Arm fully re-wired from tube to phono plugs with the re-wiring kit from KABUSA, along with the silicone insert to dampen the arm internally (I thought this made the biggest difference of all the mods)
Standard headshell replaced with a Yamamoto HS-1A Ebony headshell
Replaced the standard feet with FUNK BOING feet - Even with the deck sat on a thick slab with sorbothane feet underneath it, these were a good improvement.
Arm tube covered with heatshrink to dampen it further

All of the mods made a noticeable difference, but I would say that the arm re-wire, the power supply mods and the replacement feet were the ones that made the biggest differences, and I very much enjoyed modding the deck and hearing the improvements that were brought throughout, but they all pale into insignificance when swapping to the 1200G. The playing field here is a fair one because when I bought the new deck, I simply placed it where the old 1200 had been and swapped the HS-1A headshell onto it with my Dynavector DV20X2L fitted to it.

The first thing that strikes you is the bass. There's not necessarily more of it, but it goes down further, it is MUCH tighter and overall it is a lot more tuneful and agile than with the MKII. Timing is much improved. The timing on the 1200 is excellent but the G is on another level. I think the biggest difference of all is in detail retrieval though. It's always a bit of a cliche to say that you're hearing things you've never heard before, but almost every single record I've played on the new deck has revealed details or entire new bass lines buried down in the mix that I've never heard before, and this is where the addiction is kicking in, because not only do I want to listen to my entire collection anew, but when I do, I'm finding myself playing entire albums for the first time ever... Even back in the days of owning an LP12, or my Well Tempered decks, I always had a tendency to play one side of a record before moving on, but I'm playing everything from start to finish now and loving every second of it. The other major surprise is the reduction in surface noise - Given that I'm still using the same cartridge, I've never experienced it before where you're playing a good clean record and there is NO noise whatsoever.. Just inky black silence where there shouldn't be any sound and that's giving even greater insight into recordings.

If I have any reservations about the 1200G, I did start to think early on that it had a tendency to be a touch over analytical, to pull recordings into their constituent parts, but these thoughts have subsided in the last couple of days so I guess the deck is still in the process of running in and I can now level no such criticism, but it'll be interesting to come back in a couple of weeks time and see if things have developed any further...

[lovejoy]

Oh and I got my 1200G for £2599 From Doug Brady Hi-Fi in Warrington.. I couldn't recommend them highly enough.

[CageyH]

Interestingly, it appears that the Funk Firm are re-releasing the FX-1200 for the 1200G etc. The price seems more reasonable this time.too.

[lovejoy]

If only it was S shaped..

[CageyH]

I have one on my old school 1200, and I am very happy with the performance of it. Sure, the looks are not to everybody's taste, as usual.

[SiT4]

Certainly... So as a reference, this is the full set of mods I did to my 1200 MKII:


All of the mods made a noticeable difference, but I would say that the arm re-wire, the power supply mods and the replacement feet were the ones that made the biggest differences, and I very much enjoyed modding the deck and hearing the improvements that were brought throughout, but they all pale into insignificance when swapping to the 1200G. The playing field here is a fair one because when I bought the new deck, I simply placed it where the old 1200 had been and swapped the HS-1A headshell onto it with my Dynavector DV20X2L fitted to it.

The first thing that strikes you is the bass. There's not necessarily more of it, but it goes down further, it is MUCH tighter and overall it is a lot more tuneful and agile than with the MKII. Timing is much improved. The timing on the 1200 is excellent but the G is on another level. I think the biggest difference of all is in detail retrieval though. It's always a bit of a cliche to say that you're hearing things you've never heard before, but almost every single record I've played on the new deck has revealed details or entire new bass lines buried down in the mix that I've never heard before, and this is where the addiction is kicking in, because not only do I want to listen to my entire collection anew, but when I do, I'm finding myself playing entire albums for the first time ever... Even back in the days of owning an LP12, or my Well Tempered decks, I always had a tendency to play one side of a record before moving on, but I'm playing everything from start to finish now and loving every second of it. The other major surprise is the reduction in surface noise - Given that I'm still using the same cartridge, I've never experienced it before where you're playing a good clean record and there is NO noise whatsoever.. Just inky black silence where there shouldn't be any sound and that's giving even greater insight into recordings.

If I have any reservations about the 1200G, I did start to think early on that it had a tendency to be a touch over analytical, to pull recordings into their constituent parts, but these thoughts have subsided in the last couple of days so I guess the deck is still in the process of running in and I can now level no such criticism, but it'll be interesting to come back in a couple of weeks time and see if things have developed any further...

I don't know whether thats great news or frustrating because now i have to save up for one of these ! Very pleased you are finding out that the deck is worth the money they charge for it !
I am guessing that this arm will take MC's of an even higher calibre ? Not that the DV cart you have is a slouch.

In a way this is the first review which really reveals a fair comparison from a 1210, with the sort of mods most of us carry out, to 1200G.

Congratulations on a fantastic deckand enjoy !

[lovejoy]

Many thanks, and yes, it really has re-kindled my enthusiasm for listening to vinyl. It was reading this article comparing the 1200G to the £14K (minus arm) SL-1000R: https://www.criterionaudio.com/techn...rntable-shoot/
It should be a while before I get the itch to start trying different interconnects on it I think...

Agreed on the cartridge front. One of the things I really love about owning a Technics deck is having a few spare headshells, fitting them all with cartridges and just swapping them out quickly. My DV is a good few years old now and so probably nearing the end of its life, but for every day use at the moment, I'm really loving the sound of my Shure M55e. It's not as refined as the DV but there's this real full bodied lush midrange the Shure does that the DV does not. A shame I seem to have missed the boat on the Jico SAS styli as that would be a no-brainer as my next move, so as it stands I'm not yet sure what will ultimately replace the DV..

[SiT4]

Agreed on the cartridge front. One of the things I really love about owning a Technics deck is having a few spare headshells, fitting them all with cartridges and just swapping them out quickly.

Yes that and the simplicity of using the deck with that stop start button and seeing a disc get up to speed almost instantly. Its the little things sometimes !

[Eagle123]

Yes that right i got the g as well i got mine for £2649. Inc ortofon bronze cartridge.
Easy to set up.and align and a fuss free turntable.
Worth it over the gr due to better materials and motor control

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