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Possible upgrade?

njb182

njb182

Active Member
Possible Technics upgrade?

I currently have this baby. I want to upgrade to a better working/looking table. I have been looking at the Technics SL-1900 as a replacement. Would that be an upgrade or a downgrade? I don't know what to look for when it comes to upgrading.
 
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Hmmm.... Maybe not. The SL-1900 is a little better on rumble but the SL-303 is a little better on wow & flutter. The SL-303 is quartz locked and the SL-1900 isn't but it has separate pitch controls for 33 & 45. Also, the SL-303 is a newer model and farther up the Technics food chain for its year of manufacture.

If your SL-303 is giving you good service I probably wouldn't bother.

John
 
boreas said:
Hmmm.... Maybe not. The SL-1900 is a little better on rumble but the SL-303 is a little better on wow & flutter. The SL-303 is quartz locked and the SL-1900 isn't but it has separate pitch controls for 33 & 45. Also, the SL-303 is a newer model and farther up the Technics food chain for its year of manufacture.

If your SL-303 is giving you good service I probably wouldn't bother.

John
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Ugh, my SL-Q303 works amazing but it's so damn ugly compared to other turntables. I want one that gives me performance as well as beauty. Any ideas? (Technics FTW!)
 
njb182 said:
I currently have this baby. I want to upgrade to a better working/looking table. I have been looking at the Technics SL-1900 as a replacement. Would that be an upgrade or a downgrade? I don't know what to look for when it comes to upgrading.
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The SL-Q303 has the cast aluminum chassis, right? Along with the quartz locked loop, this is a great table to start with. You could change out the arm (and remove any arm moving mechanical parts if present inside) and further dampen the chassis and you would have one heck of a high performance machine. However, I do not believe there is a standard adapter plate available like there is for the SL-1200MKII. As such, you would have to make a custom adapter plate - if are the DIYer type it would be worth it. I would probably go for a Jelco SA-250ST arm as a substantial upgrade over the Technics arm.

-Chris
 
WmAx said:
The SL-Q303 has the cast aluminum chassis, right? Along with the quartz locked loop, this is a great table to start with. You could change out the arm (and remove any arm moving mechanical parts if present inside) and further dampen the chassis and you would have one heck of a high performance machine. However, I do not believe there is a standard adapter plate available like there is for the SL-1200MKII. As such, you would have to make a custom adapter plate - if are the DIYer type it would be worth it. I would probably go for a Jelco SA-250ST arm as a substantial upgrade over the Technics arm.

-Chris
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Not the DIY type. :D
 
njb182 said:
Not the DIY type. :D
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OH, okay. I am currently in the process of doing a similar thing to a Technics SL-Q3. I'll post pics when complete. I have an arm from a high end Rotel I am installing, and I have refinished the unit in gloss black lacquer and added a lot of Dynamat Extreme under the aluminum chassis.

-Chris
 
njb182 said:
I currently have this baby. I want to upgrade to a better working/looking table. I have been looking at the Technics SL-1900 as a replacement. Would that be an upgrade or a downgrade? I don't know what to look for when it comes to upgrading.
Click to expand...

Yes, the SL1900 would be an upgrade. Althought he two units are not dissimilar in terms of internal mechanics, and the Q303 is indeed newer, the fact remains that it is limited by the P-mount cartridge system used on the arm. These cartridges are becoming more and more difficult to find and so your range of upgrades are seriously reduced.

The SL1900 has a conventional arm with scope for experimenting with different headshells and cartridges so, for long term tinkering and upgradeability, I'd go for it.
 
Sl-1100's are damn good value for money for now. Might be worth a look.
There's one on eGay for $25 no reserve (I think) at the moment.
 
Based on specs, the Q303 is the better of the 2 tables. IMHO other than the cart availability, I would stick with the Q303 over the 1900. Or just swap out the 2 and enjoy both. I do realize NO ONE here has more than 1 table :D
 
Beobloke said:
Althought he two units are not dissimilar in terms of internal mechanics, and the Q303 is indeed newer, the fact remains that it is limited by the P-mount cartridge system used on the arm.
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The SL-Q303 is a standard mount, not a P-mount. The photo at the Vinyl Engine is of the wrong table.

John
 
njb182 said:
So is this q303 i have an upper end table or a lower end? Or just in the middle?
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In terms of consumer grade quartz controlled conventional arm direct drive tables, probably lower middle. It listed for $240.00. Five years earlier the SL-1900 listed for $160.00. It was pretty much bottom of the line. There was a manual version of it, the SL-2000, that was a little cheaper.

The thing is, it's not like now. Now cheap tables are really junk but then everyone had vinyl and every manufacturer made turntables so the competition was fierce. Junk never made it off the shelf so nobody made it.

John
 
boreas said:
In terms of consumer grade quartz controlled conventional arm direct drive tables, probably lower middle. It listed for $240.00. Five years earlier the SL-1900 listed for $160.00. It was pretty much bottom of the line. There was a manual version of it, the SL-2000, that was a little cheaper.

The thing is, it's not like now. Now cheap tables are really junk but then everyone had vinyl and every manufacturer made turntables so the competition was fierce. Junk never made it off the shelf so nobody made it.

John
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You have to understand Technics's marketing approach. There were two levels of turntables, the pro, consisting of the SL-1200 through 1800 and MK2, and the consumer level consisting of the smaller, lighter models. Within the consumer level the quartz were at the top, followed by plain direct drive, then belt. And within each drive category, the more automation, the higher the model. So the SL-Q303 was the top consumer level model of that year (1981). Of course, above it that year were the pro models--the SL-16/17/1800MK2. Note for nitpickers: this doesn't include changers :D.
 
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It's a shame nothing like this is really sold as/marketed to the hi-fi crowd today. Today's similarly priced tables (by way of inflation adjustment) such as Project Debut, etc., have no where near the build quality/parts quality/engineering invested into them. However, the modern arms are better in terms of resonance behaviour (but the Technics arms still tended to have superior bearings and have very complicated close tolerance construction for the price you paid). One can point to the SL-1200MKII, but this is primarily sold/marketed as a DJ tool today. A version with a high performance arm and high quality paint job could be sold easily to the hi-fi crowd; it's a shame Technics won't do that (and except the arm, many parts would be stock SL-1200MKII parts).

-Chris
 
hakaplan said:
You have to understand Technics's marketing approach. There were two levels of turntables, the pro, consisting of the SL-1200 through 1800 and MK2, and the consumer level consisting of the smaller, lighter models. Within the consumer level the quartz were at the top, followed by plain direct drive, then belt. And within each drive category, the more automation, the higher the model. So the SL-Q303 was the top consumer level model of that year (1981). Of course, above it that year were the pro models--the SL-16/17/1800MK2. Note for nitpickers: this doesn't include changers :D.
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I guess my mistake was including the SL-1200 thru 1800 Mk2 in the consumer grade category, although clearly more of an audiophile quality. I was thinking that the pro level would have been limited to models like the SL-1015 & 1025.

John
 
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