Calling all SL-1200/1210 owners!

[Peter Stockwell]

Btw, while you're in contact with Johnnie ask him to give you a small tube of his 'extra-slippy' bearing oil. You'll be able to see where it goes since removing the platter - that makes a noticeable improvement. You'll have to flush out the old stuff, though. You may as well get that done, too, and dot all the 'i's and cross the 't's!

Marco.

Interesting, is it like the GT85 that Slatedeck reccomends for the "tight" Garrard bearings ?

[Marco]

Have a look, dude. Scroll down and check out the 'Booster Oil':

http://www.audioorigami.co.uk/F_Sale/ForSale.htm

Trust me, it works!

Marco.

[Marco]

Superb pictures, Peter! Like Nick says, they will be a very useful resource for other people contemplating doing the same thing. As such, I think I'll move them to a separate thread and make it a sticky...

Now done!

Marco.

[muffinman]

Hi all,
new member to the site and recently aquired a new 1200 to replace a gorbe with a transfi evo arm.
first impressions are excellent but there is an obvious lack of air to proceedings.
I always knew i would have to upgrade various components, primarily the arm wire and mat. i'm currently using the renowned rubber jobbie.
my requests for info are thus:
am i better off getting a full j7 rewire int+ext or going the KAB route with arms,junction boxes etc? i don't mind a bit of soldering, i just don't like destroying new kit! does anyone know how much a j7 rewire would cost compared to the KAB route off hand?
i see that the sds mat gets most thumbs up around here although at the price the srm appears worth a look.
i'm currently using a stock headshell and C/W so these are also on the shopping list
which is the greater improvement arm rewire or psu?
finally, how much is all this going to cost me? i want to keep my initial spend to around £300. dissapointingly i contacted emmodd ref his sale but he appears to have 'gone dark' - if anyone knows if he has actually sold his deck please let me know so i can start looking elsewhere.
many thanks in advance

Gareth.


technics1200/ortofon samba/WDph3s/WAD6550

[Marco]

Hi Gareth,

Welcome to the forum

The "lack of air" you're experiencing is most likely down to the poor quality of the standard tonearm cable, which can lend a 'grey' colourless quality to the sound. Rewiring the arm with good quality Cardas cable completely cures this.

Mat-wise, the best thing you can do is buy an SDS Isoplatmat which removes platter ringing and provides a 'solid base' from which to use the mat of your choice to interface with the record. The Isoplatmat is not best suited to this, so here I would use either the stock thick rubber mat on top or a Funk Firm Achromat.

I'm sure J7 could do just as good a job as KAB with rewiring the arm, so that's probably the way to go, and then buy the fluid damper from KAB, which adds silicon damping to the arm and increases its performance significantly. I'm pretty sure this will also be the most cost effective route, too.

The PSU upgrade has without doubt the biggest effect on the deck's performance, followed by the arm rewire. Adding the separate PSU has a fundamental effect of the deck's performance that no other upgrade can emulate - see Peter's (User 34) comments on this in his separate thread on the subject.

As for how much it is going to cost you in total, the KAB prices are clear on the website (fluid damper, PSU), for rewiring you will have to contact J7, and for mats do a search and you'll find all the relevant prices.

If there's anything else I can help with let me know.

Marco.

[Peter Stockwell]

am i better off getting a full j7 rewire int+ext or going the KAB route with arms,junction boxes etc? i don't mind a bit of soldering, i just don't like destroying new kit! does anyone know how much a j7 rewire would cost compared to the KAB route off hand?
i see that the sds mat gets most thumbs up around here although at the price the srm appears worth a look.
i'm currently using a stock headshell and C/W so these are also on the shopping list
which is the greater improvement arm rewire or psu?
finally, how much is all this going to cost me? i want to keep my initial spend to around £300.

Gareth,

Welcome to the Technics SL1200/SL1210 bandwagon . I have to agree with Marco that the PS1200 is the single most significant upgrade you can do for the Teccie. I bought the PS1200/Cardas Rewired Armwand/Cardas Headshell wires and a few other bits and bobs from Kabusa. In retrospect, I'd say that getting the PS1200 and the Cardas headshell wires from Kevin (KAB) are the only essential buys. Be aware that when importing from the US you'll pay a c. 25% premium to pay for your roads and hospitals, etc.

I'm going to get J7 to fit the Cardas wand I bought from Kevin, because the Cardas wires are extremely fine, and I don't have a steady hand, nor an impeccable Solder technique. Contact Johnnie for a price for an arm rewire, but I think you'd be better off doing things this way. When I'm done I'll have a standard technics arm wand doing nothing, but I can at least sell it on.

So, in short, at less than £300 get the PS1200, and a sumiko headshell.

regards

[Mike]

dissapointingly i contacted emmodd ref his sale but he appears to have 'gone dark' - if anyone knows if he has actually sold his deck please let me know so i can start looking elsewhere.
many thanks in advance

He advertised his deck on the WD forum also. He has posted on there that the deck is now sold.

http://www.wduk.worldomain.net/forum...ead.php?t=4534

Cheers...

[muffinman]

Thanks for the replies.

emmodd did get in touch - shame that. it does look like i'll get get the arm sorted and the psu at the same time. i'm trying to save a few quid on it though (every little helps after all). what i may do is get the cardas arm and plate from KAB and then hopefully get j7 to put it all together depending on how i feel about the undertaking. i'm waiting on a Kab shipping quote but the flat rate is such that a cardas arm and headshell leads is £110. j7 quotes £130 for the same (99 for int re-wire, 50 for ext, 30 for headshell). i will of course have a spare arm to sell which, even if it makes a tenner (combined with the re-wire saving),will pay for a sumiko headshell. swmbo has upped my budget to £500 even though 'i won't be able to hear a difference'

i'll keep you posted on progress and findings

[Peter Stockwell]

Thanks for the replies.

i'm waiting on a Kab shipping quote but the flat rate is such that a cardas arm and headshell leads is £110. j7 quotes £130 for the same (99 for int re-wire, 50 for ext, 30 for headshell). i will of course have a spare arm to sell which, even if it makes a tenner (combined with the re-wire saving),will pay for a sumiko headshell. swmbo has upped my budget to £500 even though 'i won't be able to hear a difference'

i'll keep you posted on progress and findings

Looks like we're headed down the same path

cheers

[Mike]

Whats the difference betweem the Mk2 and Mk5 ???

Does this look like a good deal or what?

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/p...Product_ID/228