SL-1200 MKII mods or upgrade to 1200G

[WullieD20]

Do you think Brexit has pushed the prices up?

Can't see it having anything to do with Brexit really..... Technics announced price rises many months ago and the SL1000R remained stable for a long time, although I notice that it has now increased in price by £2k!...... (and yes, you don't get a headshell with it!!!!).

I can't speak for the other models in the range.

[Wakefield Turntables]

I suppose the thing is you would then need to match it carefully with amp and speakers to really benefit from the upgrade. I need my arms and legs at the moment. But when you think it the cost of a decent new car nowadays with it a massive depreciation then it doesn’t look like such a bad thing.

If I went down the SL1200G route in the future do you think my Harbeth C7ES3 or Proac Response 1SC speakers would be able to make the most of it?

I've not heard either pairs of your speakers so can't comment, sorry mate!

[CageyH]

I think a fully upgraded Technics Mk2 or Mk5 won’t be that far away from a 1200G.
However, the 1200G has a motor with overlapping coils, so the wow and flutter should be better, without any clogging effect.
For less money, you could have an awesome Mk2 or Mk5 though.

The G would also benefit from a better arm, as although better than the aluminium arm, it is still not the best. Sure, it will work, but if you want to extract the best out of the deck, budget for a new arm, and possibly a better platter mat.

[MindRise]

Let's start from the obvious, we all want the SL100R but not many will have it.

The 1200 MK2 is an iconic deck (IMO) and I like the stock look, I got a NOS one and I won't change it. I will rewire and check or even upgrade the arm's bearings but I won't change anything else. I view it this way because it's not my only deck, I like having more than one decks so I can afford to do that. I also think it gets harder with time to find either NOS or only home used MK2's so one should think about it before modding it to the point it does not remind the stock deck anymore. There are people who love doing the mods and seeing how the sound is improving step by step, if you are into it it's the way to go. Personally if I had to choose between extensive mods and the 1200G I would go for the 1200G. Also, the SP25 and the SP10 MK2 can still be found for sensible amount of money. Yes, the less expensive ones don't come with an arm or plinth but I would prefer building a deck to my specs based on those two than the 1200 MK2.

[lovejoy]

I've been down this route... I had a lot of fun modifying a 1200MK2 but there's no contest, the 1200G is an altogether more refined and musical beast.

I bought a 1200MKII about 2 years ago just out of sheer curiosity having lived with belt drives all of my adult life - LP12, Origin Live, Well Tempered. I really wasn't expecting much from a stock 1200MKII but it didn't take long to realise that there were things this deck did that no belt drive I'd ever heard had ever achieved, so I set about modifying it over the next year and my Well Tempered Versalex was sold on because by the time I'd re-wired the arm on the Technics (overall the biggest difference of any of the mods I did), the Versalex was no longer any competition. In total I performed these mods on the SL1200MKII:
Externalised the power supply, beefed it up following the threads elsewhere on here and replaced the stock motor regulator for an SPower regulator.
Stock platter bearing replaced with a Timestep bearing
Stock rubber platter mat replaced with Funk Achromat
Platter damping removed and replaced with Dynamat
Complete arm rewire from the end of the tube to the RCA connectors from KABUSA along with arm tube dampening
Funk BOING feet fitted
Strobe and speed control removed from circuit

It was all great fun to do and every change was worthwhile. If I was to put them in order of bang for buck then I would say: Arm rewire, PSU mods, platter damping, Achromat, BOING feet, strobe and speed control mods and lastly the bearing which I found to be marginal if I'm honest.

But then I got the itch having read some rave reviews about the 1200G. I was obviously totally invested in Technics and direct drive so I decided it was time to jump in fully. This was back in January 2020 but even back then, the Richer Sounds price had just jumped up to over £3K but I managed to get one from Doug Brady in Warrington for £2600 (I know that this was still the price about 6 months ago, so worth checking with them).

Although I was really enjoying listening to vinyl with the 1200MKII, it didn't take more than a few minutes of listening to the 1200G to realise what was missing with even the modified 1200MKII. There is still a certain 'greyness' (that's the only word I can use to describe it) about the sound of the MKII. It lacks the colour and the sheer scale you get from the 1200G. It follows that if you like the 1200 then you will definitely love the 1200G, but what the 1200G brings most of is finesse. The 1200 always feels like something of a workhorse - A solid and dependable one, the 1200G is just so much more refined and you really do feel like you're extracting everything out of each record you play without limitation or colouration. The guys I chatted to at Doug Brady told me that the 1200G is 90% of the way in terms of sound to a 1000R. This article also went a long way towards convincing me:
https://criterionaudio.com/2019/05/2...rntable-shoot/

To me, and as someone who has been through a fair few turntables, I feel like the 1200G is everything I ever wanted from a good deck. It's an absolute joy to use, there's no faff, no constantly having to tweak about with it. It's pretty much set and forget. It could well be my last turntable.

[CageyH]

I guess it depends on how far you modify the SL1200?
I have a different platter and arm on my deck (Funk Strata and FX1200) so I expect the difference not to be that big.
The arm on the 1200G can be improved on, which is one of the biggest changes you can make.
If I go for an SL1200G, I will try the standard arm with a Houdini.

Out of interest, does the old SL1200 arm fit on the newer versions?

[chris@panteg]

I would definitely go for the 1200G if I was to get another Techie.

[mikeyb]

I would definitely go for the 1200G if I was to get another Techie.

Agreed, the 1210 is a great deck but too much of a faff to get it to its best, and much of the parts to do that (Mike New bits) are almost unobtanuim these days. My 1210 was modded to the max.

I got rid of it and bought an SP10 mk2 instead and other than a Panzerholz plinth it’s bog standard and is to my ears better than my modded 1210, and looks better too.

From this...





To this...

[SiT4]

I've been down this route... I had a lot of fun modifying a 1200MK2 but there's no contest, the 1200G is an altogether more refined and musical beast.

I bought a 1200MKII about 2 years ago just out of sheer curiosity having lived with belt drives all of my adult life - LP12, Origin Live, Well Tempered. I really wasn't expecting much from a stock 1200MKII but it didn't take long to realise that there were things this deck did that no belt drive I'd ever heard had ever achieved, so I set about modifying it over the next year and my Well Tempered Versalex was sold on because by the time I'd re-wired the arm on the Technics (overall the biggest difference of any of the mods I did), the Versalex was no longer any competition. In total I performed these mods on the SL1200MKII:
Externalised the power supply, beefed it up following the threads elsewhere on here and replaced the stock motor regulator for an SPower regulator.
Stock platter bearing replaced with a Timestep bearing
Stock rubber platter mat replaced with Funk Achromat
Platter damping removed and replaced with Dynamat
Complete arm rewire from the end of the tube to the RCA connectors from KABUSA along with arm tube dampening
Funk BOING feet fitted
Strobe and speed control removed from circuit

It was all great fun to do and every change was worthwhile. If I was to put them in order of bang for buck then I would say: Arm rewire, PSU mods, platter damping, Achromat, BOING feet, strobe and speed control mods and lastly the bearing which I found to be marginal if I'm honest.

But then I got the itch having read some rave reviews about the 1200G. I was obviously totally invested in Technics and direct drive so I decided it was time to jump in fully. This was back in January 2020 but even back then, the Richer Sounds price had just jumped up to over £3K but I managed to get one from Doug Brady in Warrington for £2600 (I know that this was still the price about 6 months ago, so worth checking with them).

Although I was really enjoying listening to vinyl with the 1200MKII, it didn't take more than a few minutes of listening to the 1200G to realise what was missing with even the modified 1200MKII. There is still a certain 'greyness' (that's the only word I can use to describe it) about the sound of the MKII. It lacks the colour and the sheer scale you get from the 1200G. It follows that if you like the 1200 then you will definitely love the 1200G, but what the 1200G brings most of is finesse. The 1200 always feels like something of a workhorse - A solid and dependable one, the 1200G is just so much more refined and you really do feel like you're extracting everything out of each record you play without limitation or colouration. The guys I chatted to at Doug Brady told me that the 1200G is 90% of the way in terms of sound to a 1000R. This article also went a long way towards convincing me:
https://criterionaudio.com/2019/05/2...rntable-shoot/

To me, and as someone who has been through a fair few turntables, I feel like the 1200G is everything I ever wanted from a good deck. It's an absolute joy to use, there's no faff, no constantly having to tweak about with it. It's pretty much set and forget. It could well be my last turntable.

Thats a great write up and like the OP i have been in a similar mindset myself for a while. I love my 1210 with not much else but a rewire from AO and acromat, but damn does it sound fine ! But the itch has been there for a 1200G for a while and i would love to hear the two side by side. I guess your write up sells it to me.
The problem is that even a S/H model is still out of my budget for now, oh well, maybe in a few years.

Out of interest did you try the 1200G with a range of carts ? I came to the conclusion that for me a top notch Audio technica MM cart is all that is needed to get the best out of it, synergy and all that. Or another way of putting it was that MC carts did not seem better musically as a combo than an AT540ML cart. But maybe thats because the arm isn't up to it on the stock 1210 ? So i wonder if it is with the 1200G ? For example, i would love to hear the AT Art 9 with the 1200G. I reckon that combo would be sublime but whats your take here ?

[CageyH]

Has much changed with the new arm?