The end of the (upgrade) road?

[CageyH]

I have not heard any hum today. Too early to claim a victory though.

The JLX aluminium caps have been installed now, and are "burning in".
The BB3 seems to sound less "clinical" at the moment, which was the goal.
Time will tell if this was the right move.

[CageyH]

Still no hum heard, so I am feeling happy.

I also think that the JLX Aluminium foil caps are starting to open up a bit more.
Hopefully they will be run in fully sometime during the weekend.

I took Oli's advice on the capacitors, and it seems to have paid off.

[Tim]

Still no hum heard, so I am feeling happy.

[CageyH]

I have just finished measuring the capacitors removed from my SL1200.
All were OK, except for C209, which was 37% lower than it should have been.

C209 is the capacitor located in the darkened area of my main board, so realistically, I could have got away with replacing just this one.

[Tim]

That's good to know Kevin . . . how old is your 1200 by the way? Just looked at the C209 location and yeah, it's right in your hot zone.

I'm possibly not going to externalise my new power board and transformer, it's apparently much quieter than the original - the maker claims "Upgraded toroidal transformer for audiophile quality power with a fraction of the electromagnetic noise as the original transformer".

We shall see?

[CageyH]

Personally, I would move the PSU to an external case.
It is all about removing a source of vibration and electrical noise away from the platter/cartridge.

[CageyH]

As for the year, my SL1200 MK2-A-XA (and I am guessing) it is a April 1991 deck, as the serial number starts GE1DX with quite a low serial number (less than 2000).

Additional info on the changes on my capacitors - C1 was replaced by a 1000uF cap as found on some of the different models, and C2 is a 50V 33uF instead of the 25V originally fitted.
I think I will also a spare board, whilst they are still available at a sensible price.

[CageyH]

As for the year, my SL1200 MK2-A-XA (and I am guessing) it is a April 1991 deck, as the serial number starts GE1DX with quite a low serial number (less than 2000).

Additional info on the changes on my capacitors - C1 was replaced by a 1000uF cap as found on some of the different models, and C2 is a 50V 33uF instead of the 25V originally fitted.
I think I will also a spare board, whilst they are still available at a sensible price.

I think Imshould have done some more research before buying "upgraded" capacitors to replace new ones from the kit.

​If your external power supply has its own internal voltage regulator and sends a clean, steady, flat 21V DC straight into the turntable mainboard, it completely replaces the turntable’s original internal regulation circuitry.
​In this case, you can strip the entire onboard power regulation section. Along with C1, you can remove:
​C2 (Typically 100\,\mu\text{F} / 25\text{V}): This is the output smoothing capacitor for the onboard regulator. Since the external supply is already delivering regulated, smooth DC, this capacitor is redundant.
​C3 (Typically 33\,\mu\text{F} / 25\text{V}): This sits on the base of the main regulation transistor (Q1 / Q2 depending on board revision) to stabilize the reference voltage. If the internal regulator isn't working, C3 does nothing.
​The Rectifier Diodes (D1): Usually a 4-diode package or four discrete diodes near C1. Because no AC is entering the deck, these are entirely idle.
​The Main Regulator Transistor & Zener Diode: While not capacitors, you can also unsolder the pass transistor (mounted to the small metal bracket/chassis) and its accompanying Zener diode (D2 or D301), as they are completely bypassed.

That is €3.60 down the drain.

[Tim]

Personally, I would move the PSU to an external case.

I'm on the fence about this Kevin, I have all the bits from Maplin and it's a simple enough job, but TBH I don't really fancy the extra box. I'm not an audiophile by any stretch of the imagination, I just like playing music. When it's sorted it'll be the best deck I've used anyway, having not had a TT since the 80s. I've only had two before, a Pioneer PL12D then an Ariston Q Deck. I did briefly have a 401 but never used it . . . should have kept that really, but there you go. I had an SL-1200GR2 for 2 days, but took that back wanting to fix mine up instead.

So I've nothing to judge it against really to say it's not going to be better than what I had before, so good enough for occasional use. I've only got about 300 LPs left and mostly play my FLAC files, but want a half decent turntable available if the fancy takes me.

We'll see, but right now I think it will be more than enough to keep me happy with the new paint job, lid, bearing and a Rega RB330 arm.

[CageyH]

Well, play it by ear then.
Personally, when the deck is stripped down, I would do it, and fit a long lead between the power supply and the TT.
Then the PSU can be put on the floor out of the way, and out of sight.