The Mike New Technics Bearing

[Marco]

Stu, you need to read some of the archived threads here on the subject, otherwise it'll just be a case of repeating the same old, same old. Do some searching and then come back and we'll fill in any blanks

Marco.

[chelsea]

No probs.

[WOStantonCS100]

Ok just intrigued why some spend 2 - 3 grand on a £500 deck.

I think the better question would be, "Why would anyone spend several grand on anything?" The answer to that, is the answer to both.

Oh good grief...

At last check, new, it is on average a $1 K to $1.2 K deck.

[chelsea]

Oh good grief, because the base unit and motor are world class. Don't get fixated on prices. Have you ever heard one?
...and I've probably spent 4 grand on mine.

No does that make me exempt from asking questions.
I have heard a few decks since the early 80s though.

If you heard of someone who bought an amp for £500 then spent thousands on tweeking it would you not be curious?

[Mike_New]

No probs.

Hi Chelsie.
If you are genuinely interested in obtaining a good SL1200 and intend fitting an external power supply, then look at what is on offer on Ebay from Japan, an Australian living there, offers some very good deals on 120V units.

[chelsea]

Hi mike.
Not interested in getting one just curious to why people spend so much on tweeking one when at 3-4 grand your into some serious stuff on the 2nd hand market,maybe £10,000 deck.

Will have to get to listen to one at some point.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Hi mike.
Not interested in getting one just curious to why people spend so much on tweeking one when at 3-4 grand your into some serious stuff on the 2nd hand market,maybe £10,000 deck.

Will have to get to listen to one at some point.

Stuart,
You've kind of answered your own question really! Some folks have sold what are normally considered to be properly heavy hitting turntables in order to follow this route, because it gives them the sound that they prefer from a machine with the reliability of a new unit.
It may not be your particular flavour, and that's fine but I can promise you, that they're not doing it out of some perverse need to be different for the sake of it.

[Marco]

Ok, to briefly answer Stu's earlier question, without regurgitating old info:

How much does it cost in upgrades to beat an sp10?

TBH, it was only after I'd fitted Mike's superb bearing and platter - or more precisely, the platter, after the bearing was already in situ, that I felt my SL-1210 was outperforming any SP10 I'd heard (and I've been fortunate to have heard some very good ones).

Those items, coupled with the superb Paul Hynes SR5 PSU, are what truly elevate the SL-1200/1210 into the T/T 'super-league'. Without those items in place, but with some other mods fitted, it is simply a very good turntable, but not one which is pretty much as good as it gets.

Therefore returning to your question: "How much does it cost in upgrades to beat an sp10?" (and let's emphasise that it must be a good SP10, not any old ropey and unloved ex-broadcast one), the answer is A LOT (at least the combined cost of the three items I mentioned above)

The ultimate, of course, would be a fully modified SP10 (see DC or Richard, from Vantage audio), but then you are really talking megabucks (certainly if you gave DC the job)!!

Does that help?

Marco.

[MartinT]

No does that make me exempt from asking questions.
I have heard a few decks since the early 80s though.

If you heard of someone who bought an amp for £500 then spent thousands on tweeking it would you not be curious?

Of course not - my apologies, you have every right to be curious. It doesn't start as a financial equation, just a list of items which together make a great deck. The foundation is that previously mentioned great motor and plinth. I really can't think of how I could have better spent my money for the sound I get.

[Marco]

Me neither

Martin mentions the superb Technics direct-drive motor unit; let's not forget that if a hi-end UK T/T manufacturer, say SME, were today to produce a motor unit of comparable quality (presuming that they'd have the engineering prowess and tooling to do so in the first place), then this alone, before turning it into a fully functional turntable, would cost many thousands of pounds!

Now digest that fact carefully for a moment................

The mistake people make, therefore, is in judging the SL-1200/1210 as a "£500 turntable". Quite simply, in real terms, it is not!

It was only that because Matsushita Electric, a MASSIVE Japanese company with huge resources and man power, were able to mass-produce the Technics motor unit so efficiently to a flawless standard (in huge quantities over a period of 30-odd years), and therefore keep costs down, due to economies of scale.

That, and the fact that after having produced the motor unit in huge quantities, since its birth in 1972, Matsushita Electric had long since recouped their initial costs, and so that would therefore allow National Panasonic (Technics) to sell the SL-1200/1210 at a ridiculously low price, considering the quality of its engineering.

Modifications aside, if you examine a bog standard SL-1200 or 1210 next to £1000 'audiophile T/Ts' (and some even more expensive than that), many look like toys in comparison....!

So, no, the 'Techy', in real terms, was NEVER a £500 T/T

Marco.