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The Official *Technics SL-1200* Owners Club

I just became an SL-1200 owner! It's a black mk2 from around 2005, I believe. I saw it on craigslist yesterday, but on the other side of the country from where I'm currently at (long story). Luckily, the seller lives right by my brother-in-law, so I had buy it for me. He said it's in great shape too! Can't wait to use it!
 
okay, well, damned if I didn't just join the club! I'm now the proud owner of a pre-owned SL-1200 M3D w/ Shure M44-7 cart. Everything checked out in the store. Just have to give it a listening audition. The guarantee is I can return it if I notice "anything funky" when listening to it at home.

Can't wait to check this out.
 
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gmku said:
okay, well, damned if I didn't just join the club! I'm now the proud owner of a pre-owned SL-1200 M3D w/ Shure M44-7 cart. Everything checked out in the store. Just have to give it a listening audition. The guarantee is I can return it if I notice "anything funky" when listening to it at home.

Can't wait to check this out.
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Cool, I have an M3D as well as an MK5. They're pretty much identical except for the pop-up light, which was changed to an LED for the MK5 revision. Enjoy!
 
I'm going to set this up as my second tt through my Sansui rcvr. I'm enjoying thinking about the options this presents. For one, I've heard good things about how the M44 treats older mono recordings, so this will be my go-to table for that.

Also, I can see this table presenting some opportunities for both simple and more advance modifications. For one, I'd like some day to switch out tone arms. For right now, I need to find a better mat and maybe better feet.
 
synclavier82 said:
Cool, I have an M3D as well as an MK5. They're pretty much identical except for the pop-up light, which was changed to an LED for the MK5 revision. Enjoy!
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Explain to me what the pop-up light does, by the way. There's the strobe and then the pop-up. I assume the pop-up is to light up the area where the stylus touches down, just as a way to see what you're doing?
 
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Test driving it now. In a word, nice! Nice enough to swap out the JVC. It's punchier than the JVC/MX97E set up, louder, but it really seems like a nice fit, sonically, with the Sansui and the Advents.

Much as I'd love to run 2 turntables, I don't really have the room, and it just seems cumbersome.

EDIT: Okay, I just have to gush. Man, this sounds good! I'm driving Junior Wells' Hoodoo Man Blues LP on it right now, and the room is alive. Don't get me wrong, the JVC is nice but there's just something about this table.
 
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GMKU I'm sharing your enjoyment of the 1200, no fuss/no muss, sounds outstanding and really makes the music come alive. About all it needs is a stable level stand, everything from there is a cinch to adjust/setup. A couple simple mods is upgrade the phono cables to the M5G (KAB) and litz headshell leads for the Technics headshell. Also the plastic stub that goes on the end of the tonearm, Technics bearing oil and if you don't have it the Technics overhang gauge. KAB also has the heavier Technics rubber mat, if it has the stock Technics feet I'd stick with them. All the Technics/KAB items are very inexspensive. Don't dismiss the 1200 tonearm, it is very good and has some excellent features as in the on the fly VTA adjustment.
 
gmku said:
Doesn't anybody share my SL1200 joy?
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Oh hell yeah! :)

I've got a heavily modified KAB SL-1200MK5 with:

78 RPM mod
Cardas tonearm rewire
Tonearm dampener
PS-1200 regulated power supply

I spin everything from 100 year old shellac to audiophile LPs on it. Everything sounds fantastic. I've owned it for over three years and have put over 5,000 hours on it. Pure joy. :thmbsp::thmbsp:
 
I just picked one up about two weeks ago at a pawn shop. They had it marked at 140, I offered 100 and the guy said he could do 125. I was thinking that would be before tax, but they gave it to me for that out the door. So I think a fair score. It will take a bit more to be fully ready though. It is a 1200 M3D. Looks like it served as a bit of a DJ table in its past life. A few dings. Came with a Stanton Trackmaster II RS cartridge. I read on vinylengine a guy really likes the Stanton D71EE stylus on the Groovemaster cartridge. I happened to have one of those laying around and it does sound pretty good. I have to finish repairs before I can make a full judgment. Right now I don't have another headshell for it but sounds pretty decent with that. Seems to have a bit of sibilance on certain high level treble sounds. It didn't come with a dustcover or a mat and for some reason the ground wire is sticking out the side between the base and the plinth... :scratch2: So right now I am using the mat off my Sansui, which doesn't seem quite high enough to get the tonearm perfectly level, even at the lowest setting.

I've been digging into it a bit more the last few days. Seemed like the platter had a wobble to it and then I noticed it only has one screw holding the spindle on! Also, noticed an issue where the tonearm would just stop about halfway through and skip back a few grooves and start a perpetual loop. Looked on youtube and got the idea to look at the bearings in the tonearm. I loosened up the top vertical bearing by a little over half turn in the end and it seems to have fixed the issue. I know you aren't supposed to fiddle with it, but I may get a new arm in the future if I need to so not a huge deal. I'm trying to get it going for as cheap as possible for the time being, you know the drill I'm sure.

So I have a few items I need to get it up to snuff. Headshell, audiophile/hi-fi type cartridge, and further down the road maybe rewire the tonearm and add some damping. Also, probably will redo the RCA's as they look a bit beat. Eventually I may repaint it to a darker black or metallic color. I think they look really good like that. I did spin a few "club" records I had and I can definitely hear this more bass than my other turntable! (Sansui FR-5080S)

I've always thought 1200's were cool. I'm not really into the DJ'ing thing, but I think it speaks a lot to their reliability. It's the standard of the industry. They get used and abused like an old pickup, but they just keep goin'.

Technics1200M3D1024a.jpg


Technics1200M3D1024b.jpg
 
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Thanks, everyone. By the way, can I find an owner's manual (free, downloadable) somewhere? I tried HIFI Engine and didn't come up with anything. EDIT: Never mind, I found one on vinyl engine.

Also, a few questions:

1. I understand VTA enough to mess with it a bit. The turntable came to me basically ready to go, all set up. And my eyes and ears seem to confirm that where it is, between 1.5 and 2.0 mm, seems to be the sweet spot (I ran it up and down a bit while listening to a record through headphones.

Is there a recommended VTA per cartridge or whatever? And does it really make much difference with thicker or thinner LPs, e.g., if I play my 180 gram new issues should I bother changing the VTA?

2. What about tonearm damping? I've read some things and I'm on the fence. I'm thinking about the blue plumbing tape method but I'm wondering if it's necessary. The tonearm is really light, but isn't that a good thing?

3. Where do I get the bearing oil? And where and how do I apply it?
 
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& while I'm at it... the manual talks about setting the VTA per the cart's height. What is this referring to exactly? The actual size of the cart?

I don't think I saw anything in the Shure cart manual about the cart's height measurement.

Sorry about the newbie-type questions. I appreciate any advice.
 
gmku said:
& while I'm at it... the manual talks about setting the VTA per the cart's height. What is this referring to exactly? The actual size of the cart?
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Correct Vertical Tracking Angle (VTA), in most cases, is achieved when the tonearm is level with the surface of the record.

Different cartridges have different measurements and would require VTA adjustment to get the arm level.
 
Why go with the SL-1200 when the higher series 1400,1500,1600,1700 have dual suspensions? I read some old reports that say that is better for footstep isolation and lead to a less muddy bass.
 
tmblack said:
Why go with the SL-1200 when the higher series 1400,1500,1600,1700 have dual suspensions? I read some old reports that say that is better for footstep isolation and lead to a less muddy bass.
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Well, if I ever saw a 1400-1700 in good shape for sale around here, I'd probably grab it without hesitation. I'm sold on the Technics thing.
 
xphada said:
Correct Vertical Tracking Angle (VTA), in most cases, is achieved when the tonearm is level with the surface of the record.

Different cartridges have different measurements and would require VTA adjustment to get the arm level.
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Thanks. And that's what I'm trying to understand--what is the measurement I'm looking for?

Does this mean the actual dimensions of the cartridge, i.e., height, width, depth?
 
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