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The SL-110/Sl-1100 and SP owners club.

Kit Carson said:
Luckiestman at this stage preserving these early direct drive tables in their original form as much as possible should be the goal. Failure wasn't an option for Panasonic/Technics and they threw everything but the kitchen sink into the design and materials of the table. Given a well recorded album and compatible cartridge they stand up to the test of time holding their own against newer tables.
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I agree - my wife and I have a sizeable collection of records we built up over 25 years but my choice of new turntables (gotta be better than old tech, right?) and less good cartridge choices meant we were only listening for nostalgia reasons. It is only since I got this classic table and AT150ea cartridge a few years ago that we have uncovered the real music in those vinyl grooves!
 
Another big step forward for records is in record cleaning with ultra sonic cleaners to preserve treasured records at a price almost everyone can afford. I wouldn't be in any hurry to discard older VPI and Nitty Gritty RCMs, combined with ultra sonic cleaners it doesn't get much better.
 
The only concern I have about my EPA-110 tonearm is the state of the bearing, which is unknown. I know that the balancing process is very sensitive and the anti-skate, even when set to zero, still seems to cause the arm to move out slowly.

Also, very gently pushing the arm (while balanced in the air) in or out doesn't result in an entirely smooth swing of the arm. Pushed inward, the tonearm will tend to stop and bounce back a little from where the record label would be and pushed outward, the tonearm seems to want to stop a little before the edge of the platter.

I wonder if anyone knows how to maintain and adjust this tonearm?
 
I've given up on that as I suspect any unsmooth actions of the arm when coming to a stop is likely due to the tonearm wires. The tonearm tracks just fine and the music sounds great so I will try to leave well enough alone.
 
In case anyone wants to fix the drop-like-a-stone tonearm problem when you flick the armlift to the down position, I figured out how to dampen it without having to take the tonearm board off. You can use the same dampening silicon dampening fluid syringes other SL owners use. Turn the table over making sure you use the lid or something similar on the sides/front/back to keep it steady and off the arm and spindle (best remove the headshell and secure the tonearm in the bracket). Remove the feet and take all the screws out of the bottom pan to allow you to remove it. Locate the arm lift piston and draw it up as far as it will go. Then squeeze a small blob at the bottom of the piston. Manipulate the armlift mechanism up and down a few times then put everything back together. I was disappointed at first to find only the last fraction of the arm lift drop had slowed. However, with some use over a few days, I've found the dampening has crept up to a point where now I can flick the armlift lever to fully down and the tonearm descends gracefully onto the record. So satisfying! I used the 300K viscosity silicone and it is pretty slow so I suggest this or lower viscosity.
 
I guess I can join this thread now.

I had a horrible, shipping-damage experience on a lovely, all-original SL-1100A, but after winning a dispute and getting refunded, I found this:

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It is rather enormous compared to my not-small Thorens

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I posted this on the more generic "What TT's do you folks have" and then found where it really belongs.

Downside is the fixed SME headshell, missing its finger lift. I'm not complaining, still busy being impressed with the build quality of this thing.
 
Wow! Your one looks in great nick and has all the accessories (strobe and wooden skirt surround)! Shame about the headshell thing - I presume you're already onto fixing that? How're you enjoying it? I've got mine setup so well now I can't imagine improvements being significant. Even the stock arm isn't bothering me anymore.
 
Luckiestman said:
Wow! Your one looks in great nick and has all the accessories (strobe and wooden skirt surround)! Shame about the headshell thing - I presume you're already onto fixing that? How're you enjoying it? I've got mine setup so well now I can't imagine improvements being significant. Even the stock arm isn't bothering me anymore.
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Thanks - if my first purchase hadn't gone so horribly wrong, I'd likely have been quite content with the stock EPA-110 arm. That unit was bone stock, but w/skirt and strobe. A shame for a mid-'70s survivor to be carelessly packed. Can you tell I've not moved on?

Seriously this deck is helping with that, and yup I have ordered a finger lift. Not so terrible not having one btw. I place the arm then using the cue lever from there.
 
Yeah, I build up excitement when I've hit the buy button or win the auction and become completely invested in the thing before it even arrives. It happened to me with a Thorens TD115 turntable about ten years ago - arrived busted and the courier took it away again. I was devastated. Getting my money back was poor compensation.

Still, you have seriously lucked out with your model, given it has the strobe and skirt. I would have preferred the SL110 when I was looking but I got the Sl1100 on a low-ball auction bid and I've grown to respect the stock arm and armboard. I'd be interested in how you rate your SL110 cf your Thorens table. I hope it brings you as much enjoyment as mine does me.

I can tell you that the TLC I've given my SL1100 has repaid me in spades. I've never had a turntable that rivalled digital playback until this one. I had ProJect Debut III and then an MMF 7 turntable for over a decade and I would play a record only occasionally, overwhelmingly preferring CDs or streaming. Now my wife and I are playing all our old records and finding more music and life in them than they've every revealed before. We notice that some old tracks and albums sound better on vinyl (probably because the digital mastering is a bit ****). And now we have great vinyl playback, we might choose to buy the record over the CD (we like having the physical media).

The cartridge has made a big difference, I think. It is an AT150Ea cartridge with original elliptical stylus. I picked up an AT95ML cartridge a few weeks ago as a backup and tried it to see if it might usurp the 150Ea cart. Nup. It is nice and smooth (which some might prefer) but the 150Ea cart gives the music more life and there is no difference in detail retrieval.
 
I just joined the ranks myself. A very nice looking SL-110 with a Mayware Formula 4 tonearm, that I got for what I consider to be a pretty good price. No dust cover unfortunately, but the previous owner did replace all the caps so it should be good for another couple of decades. Ill have to try and post some pics later.
 
So happy to have found this
Have an SL-110 if I remember correctly
I know it has an SME3009 S2 arm
Not sure on the cartridge
Hoping for a mid priced ($2-300?) suggestion
Has seen daylight in 10+ yrs
Now is the time …!!!!!
Cheers
 
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Still no finger lift, I bought one from a seller in England weeks ago, then a fellow AKer and old friend offered one from his parts drawer. I bet it arrives sooner.
 
How do you like the playback quality? Mine is so good I've convinced myself I'd have to spend quite a bit of money to do better, which holds upgradeitis at bay). However, have you used RPM or similar app to plot wow and flutter? Mine reads 0.05-0.06% 2-sigma and 0.03-0.04% RMS. It annoys me this is slightly above spec, even though I'm sure it makes no material difference.
 
Luckiestman said:
How do you like the playback quality? Mine is so good I've convinced myself I'd have to spend quite a bit of money to do better, which holds upgradeitis at bay). However, have you used RPM or similar app to plot wow and flutter? Mine reads 0.05-0.06% 2-sigma and 0.03-0.04% RMS. It annoys me this is slightly above spec, even though I'm sure it makes no material difference.
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I'm quite pleased with this deck overall, and haven't bothered to experiment with other cartridges yet, kinda waiting on the finger lift to kill two birds. I must've deleted my RPM app but my "RPM/Wow" app delivered this result. I could trim the speed pot to nail 33.33 but, pretty good as-is. I had the phone on a centered jar lid over the spindle, never sure the extent to which that changes anything.


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enricosonic said:
I'd been working on convincing myself the lift was a luxury, not really needed. No.
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A lot of people remove the lift because it adds noise to the shell via vibrations coming up from the needle. Some arms like Rega with fixed lifts are either cut off or wrapped in shrink tubing for the same reason. It explains why yours was missing when you bought the deck.

Anyhoo, a little noise barely noticeable is not a problem if the convenience of the lift outweighs the noise.

Nice deck. Enjoy! :music:
 
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