NEW TECHNICS SL 1200 MK2 OWNER

[djproben]

If you want a blank record, search discogs for "S/Sided" and you should be able to find a random record for under $2 that will do the trick (though you'll pay shipping); cheaper but more time consuming to go to a used record store and find one (but it won't be hard to find one if they have a large house music section). Congratulations on an excellent turntable; I love all of my 1200s

 

[WaynerN]

I have the 1982 "Era V Audio Obstacle Course" record, also known as the TTR [Trackability Test Record] -117. The two are the same.
Though modulation level does affect skating force, the really important reason to use the modulated test grooves is that they let you hear when you have your antiskate set correctly (with a silent groove or a blank (ungrooved) disc, how would you really know?). You don't need an official test record; you could simply use any unworn record with centered sounds (vocals are usually centered) that are difficult to track and adjust your antiskate until the distortion is equal in the left and right channels. Using a test record gets the job done simpler and quicker.

Remember, there's no one antiskate setting that's absolutely correct for every record, every stylus shape and every tracking force. As I said, it's a compromise.

I believe there are some folks that think that modulated grooves actually interfere with correctly setting AS, and I am one of them. I use the blank disc method. AS settings and its results can be witnessed by the stylus/arm behavior on a spinning blank disc. When the tonearm stands still in almost any spot on the disc, its setting is ideal. The proof is then in the listening, resulting in balanced sound stage, lack of any kind of IGD, and most importantly, uniform stylus wear, which the user will find out later.

Even if you do not like using the blank disc, or the method, or you believe that it applies "too much" compensation, the blank disc will certainly prove that the AS function actually works on your TT. In the end your ears should always be the final judge, but I have been very comfortable using this method for more then a decade, and have had great sound stage and have actually viewed uniform stylus wear. Records also benefit, because there is no "mis-tracking".

 

[Northwinds]

There is no auto return feature with the 1200mk2, it's a manual table. I love mine to death and contrary to what people say, it's dead quiet, no tonearm resonance issues (I stuffed the tube with cotton anyway) and I certainly do not hear the motor

 

[gazious]

djproben; I had heard that some LP's came with a blank side but have not found one yet, thank you though, for the input.

WaynerN; I am not against learning, without a blank disc I have set the anti-skid to match the tracking, in accordance with the owner's manual.

Northwinds; thank you for clarifying the manual return only for the sl 1200 mk2. So far I have not heard anything other than the LP from my deck, even at very high gain but I have read, prior to receiving it that it was simply the result of the transformer being so close to the pick-up, which made complete sense to me, having experience with guitars.

What am I up against to correct my non-working cue lever? I have not fully disassembled it or tried to understand the service manual on this issue yet: I have an odd way of learning so I thought, to embrace that I would ask about the difficulty, complexity and or if it requires a new tonearm?

 

[gazious]

What difference should I expect to hear if I replace only the Radio Shack Premium Gold series phono interconnect output from my deck with a set of solid silver interconnects?