Technics SL1210mk2 - Where to start

[Marco]

Hi Richard,

Glad that things are progressing nicely with your Techy

I was just wondering in what way you are preferring what it's doing compared to the PL-71?

Marco.

[chelsea]

Not really. Getting the basic turntable optimised is worth much more in sound quality.

Surely if your on a tight budget the cart has to give more soundwise than feet.

[MartinT]

Not really, Stuart. If the deck and arm don't form a rigid and immovable platform for the cartridge to transduce the groove into a signal, a better cartridge is only going to better reproduce the problems with feedback, lack of rigidity, rattles, standing waves etc.

Taking it to extremes: an expensive cartridge in a poor deck will sound lousy. A cheap cartridge in a truly sorted deck will give glimpses of greatness.

Sort the deck out first, then the arm and finally the cartridge.

[Tarzan]

Here you go...



Very simple little things which just screw into the existing threads. They're made of natural rubber apparently, quite soft and whilst the deck can be moved side to side slightly they don't have much up and down movement. Wondering if they strike a good compromise between coupling/de-coupling. I can thump the shelf fairly hard and very little noise gets through to the speakers anyway.


Thanks Richard, they look nice on your Techie, better than the Isonoes you say............

[chelsea]

Are the original feet on a 1210 really that bad.
Would squash balls not sufice?

[MartinT]

The original feet are very bad, although they look like they should work. Sorbothane feet like Foculpods are much better. Isonoes are the best. For me, at least.

[jostber]

Are the original feet on a 1210 really that bad.
Would squash balls not sufice?

Those Herbie Lab's Iso Cups might work under the original feet. Have not tested it though.

[Stratmangler]

Those Herbie Lab's Iso Cups might work under the original feet. Have not tested it though.

I doubt it - the original feet are unbelievably bad.
The Iso Cups under the deck might be good after removing the original feet and throwing them away.

[Gromit]

Thanks Richard, they look nice on your Techie, better than the Isonoes you say............

They certainly are in my set-up Andy, which wasn't expected. Reading this thread made me briefly re-fit the Isonoes this afternoon, just to check, and yup the VA feet are definitely better - they just seem to give the deck more life, less musical intertia.

Gives me a lot of faith in what Richard at Vantage Audio knows about what makes the Tecchy tick.

Of course I've no doubt that others will prefer what the Iso's do in their respective rigs but it's nice to there is other really good (cheaper!) stuff out there...especially for poor underpaid muso's like me.

Hi Marco - this 1210's really singing nicely now, and unlike before where I was always impressed at the fireworks the Tecchy could set off, it's now joining the musical dots up in a way that my previous ones never quite managed. Compared to the 71? Hard to say in many ways - I'm not 100% sure the Jico'd Shure was a good match for the Pioneer arm. It was far happier with big, chunky cartridges like 103's and SPU's and of course my beloved Decca SG. The 71 is softer (unless you fit the Decca then it gets real teeth!) more lyrical perhaps and makes more challanging music, free jazz especially, make more sense, more easily.

My 1210 isn't doing too bad a job - the bearing has helped here without a doubt. It's a much tidier-sounding deck, sounding so much larger and more expansive than it did a fortnight ago and I'm more than happy to give it house room. It's making listening to records at least as enjoyable as the Pioneer and for me, that is a small but important milestone achieved.

[Spectral Morn]

Aah - them's the same ones Neil. Richard doesn't sell his with those little 'discs' (I presume they're designed to go under the feet?) just the feet on their own. They do work damn well though - took me a bit by surprise tbh.

They do look interesting I have a set of these for playing around with but not really got round to it yet.

Yes the cork discs go under the feet.


Regards D S D L