Denon 59L or Technics SL-1200 Mk II
- Thread starter mcp1
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targeteye
Super Member
um.... for $300 does it mater? I'd be all over that denon for $300!!! Then you'll have both and you can decide for yourself. If you decide to get rid of the Denon after your comparison you can probably ebay it for a profit.
I've never owned a 1200 but the Denon spec wise is a notch up on the Technics. I love my 62L.
As others have pointed out is the parts availability of the Denon. It could stop working at any moment and depending on what fails could be very difficut to find spare parts. For this very reason i'm actively looking for a more simple table to compliment my 62L.
Steve
I've never owned a 1200 but the Denon spec wise is a notch up on the Technics. I love my 62L.
As others have pointed out is the parts availability of the Denon. It could stop working at any moment and depending on what fails could be very difficut to find spare parts. For this very reason i'm actively looking for a more simple table to compliment my 62L.
Steve
ETI_5000
Super Member
Well, how many companies are still producing turntables? Matsushita, owner of Panasonic/Technics (and for many years JVC), are a much larger company than D&M Holdings, owner of Denon. The only reason that the SL-1200 is still in existence is due to the large, continuing market for it from DJ's. That's mainly due to the fact that it's predominately made of aluminium alloy and can be bashed around, not due to the fact that it's the best turntable out there. It's certainly capable of good performance, but not of equivalent performance to any of the later 1980's top end Denon turntables (or top end Technics, come to that). It's not the best turntable that Technics made, although it is probably the most profitable, and the highest selling. The SP-10 and SP-15 were actually far better in performance than the SL-1200 (similar to the better Denons), and were seen in far more radio stations than the SL-1200, which wasn't originally aimed at professional use. Where are they now? Based on your logic, you'd think that because they were really good and tough, they'd still be in existence. Have you been in a radio station recently, and seen a turntable anywhere? I'd be surprised if you had.
I don't own a Denon turntable, or a Technics, but I have got hi-fi reviews of them, using the calibrated test records that aren't available any more, and which gave independent, believable results which allowed comparison between different turntables, similar to the testing which is still done with amplifiers and other equipment these days. I'm purely an impartial observer, to whom performance at reasonable cost is more important than buying the toughest, or most popular turntable. I wouldn't mind owning a Denon, at the right price, and nor would I mind owning a Technics SL-1300 or SL-1400, which are the auto and semi-auto versions of the SL-1200, and hence capable of utilising most of the SL-1200 spares out there. But I don't kid myself that the Technics SL-12/13/1400 will be the best turntable I could own - I've seen tests, and unless the particular SL-1200's were bad examples, there were plenty of late-1970's and 1980's turntables by manufacturers such as Denon, Luxman, Linn, Thorens, Sansui, Sony, Rega, JVC and Yamaha, which produced measurably better results. As far as I know, the only ones which still exist today relatively unchanged are the Linn Sondek LP12, and The Rega P3, which are produced by small companies still run by their founders. Even the Technics SL-1300 and 1400, which were much more popular among hi-fi buyers (according to my mate the former hi-fi salesman, who sold them), don't exist today, although they were essentially identical in performance and build to the SL-1200 (and yes, I have worked on all of them, as a repairer). There isn't a major market for turntables these days, in case you've been in a coma for the past 25 years, because most music is sold in different forms, so many manufacturers dropped them (along with most tape players) from their ranges to concentrate on equipment which sold better.
-Don
bsujeep
Go Boise State!!!
Fred Longworth
audio fanatic
This is an easy one.
Denon does NOT provide product support (e.g. parts) for the DP-59L.
Technics (Panasonic) does support the entire SL-1200MK series.
Fred
Denon does NOT provide product support (e.g. parts) for the DP-59L.
Technics (Panasonic) does support the entire SL-1200MK series.
Fred
I own a DP-62L and love it. I've had it for about a year now and have spent much quality time with it.
Just yesterday I picked up a brand new Technics SL-1210M5G, essentially a 1200 with some nice cosmetic differences, a better tonearm and tonearm wiring. i spent part of this morning setting it up, mounting the cart etc (a Denon DL-160 that had been on the DP-62L) and have played one LP so far. My initial impression of the Technics is very favourable but I'll need to spend more time with it before I can really say. So far so good and I think I'd be happy in the long haul with either.
Just yesterday I picked up a brand new Technics SL-1210M5G, essentially a 1200 with some nice cosmetic differences, a better tonearm and tonearm wiring. i spent part of this morning setting it up, mounting the cart etc (a Denon DL-160 that had been on the DP-62L) and have played one LP so far. My initial impression of the Technics is very favourable but I'll need to spend more time with it before I can really say. So far so good and I think I'd be happy in the long haul with either.
