Hi there! Newbie Here! I just got my hands on one of these. Estate Sale in San Marino, CA. Went looking for photo equipment and found this beauty kinda hidden in the dark in one of the living rooms. Didn't know a lot about it but I knew what it was, and I knew it was special. It came with all you see in the pic - less a fair amount of dirt - and when I tried it there, the speeds fluctuated a lot and were hard to correct. Also once plugged in, it will stay always on. Speeds switched fine, but if turned the switch to "off", it will still play @ 45 RPM's.
They asked $150, I argued the apparent faults and offered $60, which were accepted. Now, knowing exactly what it is and it's actual condition, I know it was an unusually lucky deal.
I've been playin' with a few old TT's at home over the years. At the moment I still have a Technics SL-D2 with a 681EEE, a Pioneer PL-518 with an Empire LTD450 UG and a rare Stanton Gyropoise 8004 II with the original 681EE and stylus. All very decent sounding machines.
This SL-1100A (S/N 002002) came with the cover (and someone added a pair of very solid hinges to it!), the original Strobo Illuminator, a cleaning anti-static arm, a round level screwed to the tonearm board, the original tiny bottle of oil under the platter, and the best of all: The original headshell with a Shure V15 Type III on it and the original stylus in what appears to be new condition! I didn't look at it on the microscope yet but the magnifier in my iPhone shows a very nice clean elliptical shape.
So far all I did was removed the base, clean the main switch and the potes with Deoxit D5, cleaned the gunky exterior and cover and adjusted the arm/cartridge to my taste. Plug it in and I'm happy as a clown. All seems to be perfect, just needed a little of well deserved TLC. The speeds take 10/15 minutes to get consistent but after that they're rock-solid.
I will not review this beast for you. I'm sure most of you know how wonderfully it works. My own experience, though, I will share briefly: I'm amazed by it. All this years I day-dreamed about finding a decent 1200 for a decent price, but never imagined I'd find one of these "rarities". I'm 65, you know... I lived through the HI-FI era. I'm also an engineer and can value fine craftsmanship and efficient design; my take is simple: This is the best turntable I ever got my hands on, period. No-nonsense-top-of-the-line stuff. The innovative system, the robustness, the notorious Japanese devotion to efficiency, quality and detail, all combined here and simply result in a great sounding experience, surely the greatest for me at home so far.
As the old magazine ads read: Perfect execution and outstanding performance on a beautiful, unique design.
I bought the capacitors, transistors and diode kit on the bay. I believe she deserves the effort. I'll be doing the renewal soon and will post the results here. This is a procedure I'm not familiar with but I have experience soldering and fixing hardware of all kinds. I hope it'll not be over-complicated.
If someone have any useful advice, I'd greatly appreciate it. For example: I know the manual tells the oposite, but my first instinct was to remove the clamp, lift the top and clean the motor inside before lubricating. The old oil has been there for more than 55 years. Makes sense?
Truly honored to be part of this club.
