1210's! The jury is out.

[Gromit]

I'd love to hear a good SP10, after being suitably 'tweaked'! And look at the superb mods you can get now for Garrards, Lencos and TD124s!

Marco.

Agreed - and more evidence that it is a great time to be into vinyl these days.

My last 1210 wasn't overly modded, but sounded very fine - not as fine as the Sony PS-6750 which replaced it - but very good all the same. I'd definitely say that it was the first of several 1210's I've owned which I could be satisfied with though. I've heard Marco's 1210 and it really is superb; 'well of course it should be, look at what he's done to it/spent on it' I hear you cry. Well fair play to the guy I say - it shows what the deck is capable of when fully unleashed. It also appeals to my anti-bling sense of taste - I cannot abide hifi jewellery.

My own experience of the deck (not going anywhere near Marco's in terms of the amount of modification) has brought me to the conclusion that by all means tweak it here and there - you will lift its performance quite significantly - but unless you're going to spend some fairly serious ££ on it, there will always be other turntables out there which will equal or better it for similar money. The Technics for me scores in its ease of use, its compact, and highly practical design and of course you know it'll always start first turn of the key.

[Roy S]

It'll never have a photokinetic end-of-play mechanism like my JVC QL-A7

[Reid Malenfant]

It'll never have a photokinetic end-of-play mechanism like my JVC QL-A7

Talking of JVCs, I have a QL-Y5F, at least I think that's right

Lovely deck, a little searching confirms I was correct



Not sure about this guys musical taste though

[Thermionic Idler]

My two cents...

It seems to me that the SL1200/1210 offers such good potential performance because its base engineering is of a quality that would usually cost the end user a lot more money. Because they were produced in such large numbers and sold by the shedload to budding DJ's in the last couple of decades, the per-unit costs could be kept lower.

Most low volume turntable manufacturers would simply have found it too cost-prohibitive to produce something like that. Same principle with the Garrard 301 and 401. Look at what a 501 costs these days.

I really love the look of the SL1200 actually, I had a pair in the 90's when I wanted to get into DJ-ing like everyone else. The DJ-ing thing kinda faded but I didn't get over the vinyl addiction! If I'd known at the time what a tricked up 1200 was capable of, I might never have gone down the route I went down. But that was over a decade ago.

[Marco]

Hi Richard,

I've heard Marco's 1210 and it really is superb; 'well of course it should be, look at what he's done to it/spent on it' I hear you cry. Well fair play to the guy I say - it shows what the deck is capable of when fully unleashed. It also appeals to my anti-bling sense of taste - I cannot abide hifi jewellery.

Thanks for your kind comments. I'm not a 'box-swapper' (for whatever genuine and/or justifiable reasons others may have for being so).

I'm the type who likes to get the most out of the kit that I own and keep it for a long time, if not indefinitely, so it makes sense to invest in what I see as being 'the ultimate', without any concern for resale value. That approach, of course, isn't for everyone, but it's right for me - and it works!

I completely agree about "hi-fi jewellery"... Rest assured that no such nonsense will ever be actively promoted on AoS, as it's the complete antithesis of what we stand for!

Where has Steve gone? He makes some critical, but perfectly reasonable remarks about the Techy, yet when justifiably asked to qualify them, seemingly runs for the hills...

Marco.

[synsei]

It's Sunday dude, he's probably chillin' with his family or out and about

[Floyddroid]

New bearing, SME V, New feet of which the name escapes me and an ortofon black. It was my friend Brendan's turntable who despises forums of any nature. As i said, it did sound very good indeed though a tad mechanican compared to my own little cherub.

[chris@panteg]

Hi Steve , It didn't sound overly dull/opaque or a touch bass heavy did it ? I ask as that's how I would describe mine at the moment and I use an SME 309 .

[Marco]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for coming back with some more info. I always think it's important to qualify these types of observations, as information can often be revealed that helps explain the results obtained.

New bearing, SME V, New feet of which the name escapes me and an ortofon black. It was my friend Brendan's turntable who despises forums of any nature. As i said, it did sound very good indeed though a tad mechanican compared to my own little cherub.

...such as the case here.

It's well-known that modern SME arms aren't a good match for the Techy. Your 'mechanical' comment appears to back this up. Also, which new bearing was used, and was the same arm and cartridge fitted to both T/Ts when the comparison was made? If not, with respect, I don't see how any accurate comparisons could be done, as there are simply too many variables.

*However*, and let me make this crystal clear: none of that matters if you intrinsically feel that you still prefer your Nottingham Analogue to the Techy - ANY Techy. At the end of the day, you like what you like. However, for others reading, it's important to put things into a proper context

Marco.

[Floyddroid]

Hi chaps

My findings with the technics were all positive really. It was a lot faster than mine with a cleaner tighter bass. however, when i listened to my Notts it painted a fuller picture of the music having a deeper front to back sound stage and when listening to strings and brass sounded much sweeter. A big plus with the Technics was the way it presented synth bass sounds and drum kit. It is all down to taste and i much prefered my Notts. I have this day being tinkering with my SL1500. It still has a stock arm as the 1500 doesn't have a cut out arm board. I have been securing surgical jel-pads to the inside of the plinth and fitting some Russ Andrews oak cones. i will let you know my findings when i get chance to finish the job. sorry i didn't get back sooner. sunday and all that! away to the pub now.