Technics 1210 internal regulation mods

[NRG]

Mods to the SP-10 have been done, there where a couple of HFW articles many years back detailing regulator and PSU mods for the deck plus theres a few owners who have completley re-designed the electronics this is primarily DIY stuff though....however, there's at least one UK company who can supply an upgraded or replacement PSU.

The trouble with the SP-10 is its age. You can replace 'lytic caps etc but the decks also need proper electrical adjustment and setup with attention paid to cleaning and oiling of the bearing. When setup correctly they are impressive, when not their age works against them.

[Dingdong]

I'll be popping by to have a listen to it Martin.

[Marco]

Marco,

There is only one 'um, and thats f_ck 'um! Let them believe what they want. I nearly bought an sp10 best thing I ever did spending 90 quid, yep, 90 quid on my 1210, then several thousand getting it to the position its in now...

Andrew, the last SP10 I heard was Speedy Steve's, when I was down at his place having my ebony armboard fitted last month.

Steve's SP10 is superb - it's in a lovely plinth, is fitted with a gorgeous FR64 tonearm and SPU Silver Meister, and he runs it through an UBER-REVEALING horn-based system (you've all seen the pictures in the DIY room).

Obviously, when the armboard had been fitted, we had a listen to my T/T in his system, after listening to Steve's SP10 up until that point, so I could ascertain what the armboard was doing.

He'll tell you himself what happened, but let's just say that we both agreed that superb as his T/T was, no-one would be rushing out to buy an SP10, after hearing how good my modded SL-1210 sounded

I'm sure that the results were exactly the same when Martin's T/T was put into Steve's system, after his ebony armboard had been fitted. I'm afraid the fact is that unless you've taken part in these sort of comparisons, and heard the results for yourself, you simply don't have a clue.

Marco.

[synsei]

Mods to the SP-10 have been done, there where a couple of HFW articles many years back detailing regulator and PSU mods for the deck plus theres a few owners who have completley re-designed the electronics this is primarily DIY stuff though....however, there's at least one UK company who can supply an upgraded or replacement PSU.

The trouble with the SP-10 is its age. You can replace 'lytic caps etc but the decks also need proper electrical adjustment and setup with attention paid to cleaning and oiling of the bearing. When setup correctly they are impressive, when not their age works against them.

Thanks for that Neal. Granted, availability is an issue, after all there are many thousands of SL's out there in the wild and probably far fewer SP10's, in which case I suppose it comes down to simple economics regarding mods

[NRG]

Thanks for that Neal. Granted, availability is an issue, after all there are many thousands of SL's out there in the wild and probably a lot less SP10's, in which case I suppose it comes down to simple economics regarding mods

Yes, and in the end getting a good return from modding is probably best performed on the SL...

[Marco]

The trouble with the SP-10 is its age. You can replace 'lytic caps etc but the decks also need proper electrical adjustment and setup with attention paid to cleaning and oiling of the bearing. When setup correctly they are impressive, when not their age works against them.

Completely agree, Neal!

And the trouble is, how do you know for sure beyond any doubt that a correctly set-up/fettled one today is as good as it would have been when brand new, many years ago, when it left the Panasonic factory....?

There's no way of ever *really* knowing that, short of taking a journey in a time machine.

Marco.

[synsei]

I am looking forward to taking my SL through its various mods as I am to hearing Marco's SL at Scalford. Marco you are absolutely right, it is impossible to come to any conclusions until one has heard a Techy that has had loads 'o' love lavished on it so I await Scalford with baited testicles...

[synsei]

Completely agree, Neal!

And the trouble is, how do you know for sure beyond any doubt that a correctly set-up/fettled one today is as good as it would have been when brand new, many years ago, when it left the Panasonic factory....?

There's no way of ever *really* knowing that, short of taking a journey in a time machine.

Marco.

To be fair, the same goes for any classic TT, even an SL

[Marco]

Nope, not when it was bought brand new three and a half years ago (like mine)!

Marco.

[Mike_New]

The basic unknown in the SP10 and a very very important one, is the condition of the bearing. I have had a number of people from around the globe ask if I can produce a bearing for the SP10 (and the other models) of the same High Precision quality as the one I offer for the SL1200 series.
Unfortunately this is not a very practical proposition due to the design of the system.
So in reality anyone contemplating an SP10, whilst they may have been regarded as a superb TT in their day; must put out up with all of it's shortcomings which normal wear would produce.

And in any TurnTable the only thing that is going to seriously wear over time is the bearing. The tone arm of course will also wear but this can be replaced as many have done.

Further I am pretty sure that the SP10 has a less capable speed and control circuitry than is available in the SL1200 series.