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Fedex lady brought me...a Technics SL 1700 mkII. Questions, issues!

speedle

speedle

Peanut gallery owner
OK, so great gift from Santa! :banana:

(actually my wife, early even!)

But. l have questions, and the table appears to have two issues after its "travels" to the great up north here. First off, it came with a Shure V15 Type IV. So far, so good. It appears to have some sort of aftermarket stylus (supposedly nearly "new") that says "Special Tracking" on it. Seems flimsy, but on the other hand it looks just like the photo for the JICO V15 Type III SAS replacement stylus, words and all.

How to tell for "shure"? (Good god that's a lousy pun, even for here) :D

Plenty o'pics attached.

Second issue, there is no ground wire. Clearly, the manual states there is supposed to be a ground wire. No worries, I'll add one. But where do I attach it to the 1700? It seems unclear from the manual, it just appears at the end of the cable.

Last issue. The seller wrapped the damn thing in some sort of industrial Saran (tm) wrap, tight as a drum. Without removing the headshell (or, indeed, following any of the instructions I sent on how to do this), thus placing tremendous stress on the end of the arm. It looks a teeny bit twisted to me, but I can't really tell. Is there a particular way I should jiggle or gently tug to see?

Any assistance or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated! Last two pics are pre-shipment.

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could you take a pic of the back of the table specifically , what i want to see is the left side of the back as it's( The back) facing you......... I'm intrigued that it doesn't have a ground wire............. Something isn't rite there but it might be an easy fix.............

Looks really clean.................

You'll have to open it up to install a ground wire but as I said earlier seems strange someone would remove it. Here is a tip to make reassemble easier and you see what I mean once you put it back together,


Remove the platter


as well as the 5 or 6 screws that hold down the under platter dust coverTurn the table upside down

1 Remove all four feet
2 remove the two gold color screws located next to the adjustment springs.
3 Loosen the hold down for the audio cables ignore the other one has it holds down the power cord.

also and here is the tip remove the foot holder as well makes it easier to remove the plinth.
It's the one closest to the back of the tonearm.
Turn it right side up
move the arm over to the center of the motor then

remove the two BLUE wires coming from the transformer that connect to the motor board unplug the 2 or 3 white connectors and then take off the plinth
There are 3 screws that hold the arm in place remove those and you will have access to the underside of the arm.

Good Luck
 
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Stanton, yes, that's the one! I did manage to loosen one of the screws on the clamp holding the RCA cables in, wrap a wire around the screw and tighten it down. That seems to have given me a ground wire, though I will put one in the "right" way per your directions ASAP. And yes, packing = subpar for sure.
 
Aerobat said:
The way it was packed was a frickin' crime.
Click to expand...

Just noticed that myself ridiculous:thumbsdn: It's amazing it made it all the way across the country in one piece with no damage..............

Some of these seller just don't have a clue or the bulb in there head isn't in the on position................
 
Any thoughts on the stylus? It doesn't seem to work very well, and I can't tell if it's the garden variety JICO VN35 or the SAS version. In any case, it's a VN45 that I need, and I'll want an SAS, so that means springtime. In the meantime though, what would you put on it? My choices are the Shure Me97HE with the M97xE stylus; Grado F3+ with the Grado Blue stylus, or the Empire 485LT (.3 x .7 elliptical). I'm thinking the Shure, but really don't want to undo my now perfect alignment job on my h/k T35C, and doubt that the Grado would work in that very low mass arm. So, maybe the Grado on the Technics?
 
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The way that TT was packed is a shame, especially since it was in very nice condition to start with. However, I can attest to the ability of this particular model (and no doubt other Technics in this series) to shrug off harsh treatment that no TT should be expected to endure.

I found mine at a Goodwill Outlet, where it had literally been thrown into a bin with a bunch of junk and broken into about a dozen pieces. Although this had no noticeable effect on the aluminum plinth, platter, or even the tonearm, the anti-resonant TNRC base material is pretty brittle, so it basically shattered on impact. Fortunately, nearly all of the TNRC pieces were still attached or sitting inside the plinth. This made it possible to glue the base back together like a puzzle ("Gorilla Glue" works great with this material), and the deck has worked like a champ ever since. The only thing I have done to it is mount an M97XE cart and replace the flimsy original interconnects (with dead left channel) with some shielded A/V cables. At the time, I thought I might have overpaid at $10 for what looked like a pile of junk, but I got lucky, and this still represents my best thrift store find.

Stanton681EEES provided good instructions on how to get to the soldering points under the tonearm so you can properly attach a ground wire. In addition, you can find free User and Service manuals for this model on www.vinylengine.com. While you have the unit disassembled, you might consider replacing the original RCA interconnects if that hasn't been done by a previous owner. You won't want to go back in there later if you can avoid it. I noticed a marked improvement in sound quality and reduced hum/noise when I upgraded the cables on my deck, so I think it is a worthwhile investment. Finally, while you have the cover off, be sure to check the condition of the rubber belt that drives the arm cueing mechanism. This is a common point of failure on these models, and you won't have any arm automation or cueing ability if that belt breaks. A small rubber O ring from the hardware store works fine as a replacement belt.

Enjoy your new turntable! It is a high-quality, excellent sounding piece of equipment that should give you many years of service.

(A couple of photos attached. Second one shows some of the Gorilla Glue "welds" on the TNRC base. Will get around to painting and dealing with the cosmetics someday, but too busy enjoying the tunes to take it out of service any time soon.)
 

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Aerobat said:
Funny you should mention that - here's my thread about Gorilla glueing the TNRC base on my 1700MK2:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=286581
Click to expand...

Thanks, Aerobat. I may very well have gotten the Gorilla Glue idea from you in that thread, so full props to you. When I first brought the TT home, I did a bunch of research on AK and other sites to figure out the best way to deal with my new "puzzle." BTW, I know that some folks dismissed the idea of using this glue to repair TNRC, but I can report that the joints between the pieces are now far stronger than the base material itself. Good recommendation there!


Aerobat said:
I would do a check on the tonearm bearings (there are videos on Youtube about this) and the straightness of the tonearm tube and tightness/straightness of the collar that the headshell connects to.
Click to expand...

Amazingly enough, everything looks, feels, and sounds good, but I will check out that video to do a more thorough check. Thanks for the link.



beatcomber said:
CygnusDen - Nice save! Looks terrific.
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Thanks, beatcomber! Would have been a crime for it to go to the landfill. It's now on the short list of gear that I likely will never part with.
 
I would take that hack wrap job, even a slightly bent tonearm, just as long as the cue and auto return works.
Unfortunately mine does not...:cry:
And it is not something that can be easily fixed either.
It is a nice and hefty table, enjoy.
 
Yes, but imagine how many already have? Nice save there Cygnus. I think I'll check out that issue of the bearings as well, one never knows. As for the cueing, I was very relieved when it, and the power button, and the auto-return, all worked! For now.
 
speedle said:
Yes, but imagine how many already have? Nice save there Cygnus. I think I'll check out that issue of the bearings as well, one never knows. As for the cueing, I was very relieved when it, and the power button, and the auto-return, all worked! For now.
Click to expand...

Those checks were actually meant for you, Speedle! I hope the arm survived the lazy packing job.
 
CygnusDen said:
Thanks, Aerobat. I may very well have gotten the Gorilla Glue idea from you in that thread, so full props to you. When I first brought the TT home, I did a bunch of research on AK and other sites to figure out the best way to deal with my new "puzzle." BTW, I know that some folks dismissed the idea of using this glue to repair TNRC, but I can report that the joints between the pieces are now far stronger than the base material itself. Good recommendation there!
Click to expand...

Gorilla Glue is amazing stuff. The only problem is the foaming, so it's not always good for visible areas. I'm glad to hear you found it to be stronger than the TNRC itself.
 
Congrats on the new acquisition, especially one that's still fully functional. Just picked up another myself, so now I have one fully working to compliment one with dead cue functions (PCB problem, or so I've concluded).
 
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