Scored a nice Technics SL-D2

Via that auction site, I just scored a very nice Technics SL-D2.



Looks like it came out of the box yesterday. Even the dustcover is clean, no cracks or scratches. A tiny split in the mat by the spindle hole, but nothing to worry about. Everything very clean. The seller packed well, too.

This TT is heavy, with nice springy feet.

This tone arm is hip. Nicer than my present Technics/Panasonic SL-H402.



This TT came with a Shure D15DX, which the seller said needed a new stylus, and it does. The D15DX is apparently an OEM numbered version of the Shure SPS-4, and takes any of the SPS series stylii. Some were .2 x .7 elliptical, some .4 x .7 elliptical, some hyper elliptical.



I found aftermarket replacements at Jico (ordered one, elliptical, for $24.00) and at LPGear (elliptical and HE), and a few other places. This cartridge looks new but for the tip broken off the cantilever. I have no idea how it will sound, will have to wait a few days to find out.

Update: More pictures and other info on the Shure D15DX Cartridge in this thread: http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1312969#post1312969

On my other TT I have a Radio Shack-Shure RXT6, which is a rebadged Shure M111E. I plan to put the RXT6 on this new SL-D2 (done!), and put the D15DX that came with the SL-D2 on the other turntable. And make the SL-D2 with RXT6 my main turntable. (Update - done!)

Those are nice at a reasonable price. I've owned 2 of them. Both of mine needed a shot of deoxit on the speed control but after that they were very reliable.

Beautiful condition!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Doesn't look like it was used very much at all.
I found an old beat up D-1 a few years ago when I got back into vinyl and
it will do a decent job.
A little tweak that I found to be effective in damping resonances was to wrap the arm with rope caulk[Mortite}, although I guess blu-tak or something like that will also do. Mortite is cheap and easily gotten a local hardware.
I also used just a tiny bit on the underside of platter to check ringing.
Good luck and good find.

Nice. Very nice looking table.

Good score Paul, and congrats!

I had one of these until about 3 months ago- very, very reliable tables!

I got a Technics SL-1300 that I'll mod at some point- you could probably apply the mod to the D2 as well. Member 88gibson used putty to further weight the table base- you just gotta be careful to not have it come in contact with the motor.

To him, it made a marked improvement to an already good table.

There was no cleaning to do on this turntable... pristine. I've put a drop of oil on the spindle. Even under there, no dust.

The cartridge looks to be in very good condition but for the tip. I have a new Jico stylus on the way, and an extra headshell ordered, too. There's a hole in the back left to place a spare headshell.

I'll be playing this TT some tonight.

Well, a little update... have the RXT6 cartridge installed and this arm and cartridge combo seems to track very well. I have it set up for 1.5 grams, which with the brush on the stylus, is only 1 gram on the tip. Antiskate is also set to 1.5 grams.

Well, back to listening to some music!

Nice table Paul...enjoy...:yes:


Bill

That's the only TT I've bought new.

It served me well for over 20 years.:thmbsp:

I have a quirk... my other turntable is automatic. Hit the big button on the right front and it does the rest.

This one is semiauto. The big button on the right front ends play, picks up the arm and moves it back to the rest.

MY problem, not the turntable's, is that when I manually position the arm to start play, I hit the stop button with my wrist. Duh. Something I'll get used to.

It's tracking great, it sounds good. I'm a happy camper.

It'll be interesting to see what the D15DX cartridge sounds like with a fresh stylus.

I picked up a SL-D1 with a stanton 6800EL cartridge and 4 new stanton D6800El
stylus on craigs list this year for 25 bucks it sounds great! glad I bought it.

I'm jealous!!! Looks like my old table. Good score.

Got the Radio Shack RXT6 (rebadged Shure M111E) installed and playing... very nice! I'm going to enjoy using this new TT.

Really, it looks like new. Not even a scratch on the dust cover.

I scored an SL-D202 for $45 with the original Technics EPS-U22 cartridge in almost perfect condition. The only thing missing was the dustcover, which my beat up SL-220 was happy to donate to the new deck. it was a perfect fit and the deck performs very nicely, in fact I would say it easily keeps up with my Dual CS 508 which I'd been led to believe would be superior due to its ULM arm. nice and heavy plinth too.

Great score.

Vintage Technics 'tables seem to age well if taken care of properly (as my dad's '79 SL-1700MK2 has been, even after I aquired it). Nice score indeed...I'm sure you'll enjoy your "new" 'table as well as I have mine!

bikehorn said:

I scored an SL-D202 for $45 with the original Technics EPS-U22 cartridge in almost perfect condition. The only thing missing was the dustcover, which my beat up SL-220 was happy to donate to the new deck. it was a perfect fit and the deck performs very nicely, in fact I would say it easily keeps up with my Dual CS 508 which I'd been led to believe would be superior due to its ULM arm. nice and heavy plinth too.

Great score.

Click to expand...

Yes, interesting how Technics went back to a suspended table with that series. It was the successor to the SL-D2 and the last of the s-arms. I have a SL-Q303 (same but auto and quartz) which performs very nicely. And yes, suprisingly heavy.

Urizen said:

That's the only TT I bought new.

It served me well for over 20 years.:thmbsp:

Click to expand...

Same here, my friend still has it and uses it.

Very nice TT Paul, congratulations. :thmbsp:

thedelihaus said:

Good score Paul, and congrats!

I had one of these until about 3 months ago- very, very reliable tables!

I got a Technics SL-1300 that I'll mod at some point- you could probably apply the mod to the D2 as well. Member 88gibson used putty to further weight the table base- you just gotta be careful to not have it come in contact with the motor.

To him, it made a marked improvement to an already good table.

Click to expand...

You could also use BlueTack on the underside of the platter and imbed lead sinkers into it.

Nice find! Nice table Paul, enjoy!

Gohan

I have two SL-D5's, and they are built like tanks - dead on speed, and the best damped cueing. If you want the full-auto version, go get a SL-D3. Your D2 will spoil you.......

Do you have an aftermarket mat on your platter in the picture you posted? Or is that the actual rubber mat that came with it?- it doesn't look original. If that's the original mat, it should have more 'rings', and be a little smaller in diameter - the chrome edge of the platter should be shining through...or am I not seeing it correctly?

Rob