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Trying to Make a Setup for Technics Direct Drive SL-1200MK5

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apollo2ares

New Member
Hello everyone! I'm new to the site, and I've recently come across a Technics Quartz Direct Drive Turntable System SL-1200MK5 in my possession. I've tried playing various records on it and it's very quiet. I've tried hooking it up to multiple amplifiers, and I have yet to find one that works well with the turntable. I was told that a Pioneer SX650 would work well, but I wanted to get your input first. What do you guys think I should do? Would it make more sense to buy a newer turntable? Or should I invest in an amplifier? If so, which amplifier is best? What is the best course of action here?

Thanks again!!!
 
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apollo2ares said:
Hello everyone! I'm new to the site, and I've recently come across a Technics Quartz Direct Drive Turntable System SL-1200MK5 in my possession. I've tried playing various records on it and it's very quiet. I've tried hooking it up to multiple amplifiers, and I have yet to find one that works well with the turntable. I was told that a Pioneer SX650 would work well, but I wanted to get your input first. What do you guys think I should do? Would it make more sense to buy a newer turntable? Or should I invest in an amplifier? If so, which amplifier is best? What is the best course of action here?

Thanks again!!!
Click to expand...

Welcome to the AK turn table forum.

Do you already have a receiver such as the Pioneer SX 650 in your possession?

If not, may need a stand alone phono amp to use with - what have got ........? :idea:
 
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Welcome! That's a nice TT with a large group of followers everywhere. I think Balifly meant to say that in order to setup a turntable for listening one needs a designated phono stage. Back in the day it was a built in part of every household receiver. Now days, with home cinema, it's a lot less common. The Pioneer SX-650 is just another receiver from 'back in the day'. Any with a phono pre-amp section would do. If you don't have one, you could use an external unit. They can come small, crappy and cheap and they can grow in size, price and quality.
 
tnsilver said:
Welcome! That's a nice TT with a large group of followers everywhere. I think Balifly meant to say that in order to setup a turntable for listening one needs a designated phono stage. Back in the day it was a built in part of every household receiver. Now days, with home cinema, it's a lot less common. The Pioneer SX-650 is just another receiver from 'back in the day'. Any with a phono pre-amp section would do. If you don't have one, you could use an external unit. They can come small, crappy and cheap and they can grow in size, price and quality.
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So I have more modern receivers - would it make more sense to buy an external unit as opposed to buying another receiver? I want a good balance between price and quality, and I'm wondering if the external unit would help increase the volume of the turntable.

Also (I'm very unknowledgeable on this subject), this is a nice TT?
 
tnsilver said:
Welcome! That's a nice TT with a large group of followers everywhere. I think Balifly meant to say that in order to setup a turntable for listening one needs a designated phono stage. Back in the day it was a built in part of every household receiver. Now days, with home cinema, it's a lot less common. The Pioneer SX-650 is just another receiver from 'back in the day'. Any with a phono pre-amp section would do. If you don't have one, you could use an external unit. They can come small, crappy and cheap and they can grow in size, price and quality.
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Something like this? http://www.amazon.com/TC-400G-Phono...5260489&sr=8-1&keywords=external+phono+preamp

Would that make my TT work with any receiver?
 
What phono cartridge do you have. It also makes a big difference if you have a moving magnet/moving iron cartridge or a moving coil cartridge. Give us the make and model and we can tell you what it is and offer additional advice.
 
So the receiver I have is a Yamaha Natural Sound AV Receiver RX-V361

How can I find out the information about the cart and input sensitivity? Also is that a good receiver? Would it make more sense to just buy a new receiver?
 
The cartridge question was the first thing that crossed my mind when you said that it was quiet. If you are new to turntables outside of old DJ knowledge, the best information you could give this community would be the cartridge that is attached to your tonearm.

I don't want to be too basic, but at the end of the tonearm there will be a colored plastic cube with the needle. This will usually have a brand and model designation on it. Any and all information that you can provide off of that unit (cartridge) will be translated by a knowledgable community like this one.

There is a wide range of amplification called for with different cartridge styles. Scratch DJs tend to use moving magnet (MM) -- but this is not a given with a nice deck. You have a solid turntable that would do justice by many different cartridge options.
 
For your receiver, I believe it is a very nice receiver. I am not experienced with it.

That said, I am not sure that it will do the best by your turntable. For a 5.1 (or 2.1, 3.1) system, the Yamaha RX-V361 looks to be a reasonable choice. You could make a very strong system with your receiver and your turntable, but the receiver does not look to be built with turntables in mind. How you want to go from here will be based on your budget. Still, the cartridge that is currently on your turntable will make a difference to the recommendations you will receive.
 
welcomdmat said:
For your receiver, I believe it is a very nice receiver. I am not experienced with it.

That said, I am not sure that it will do the best by your turntable. For a 5.1 (or 2.1, 3.1) system, the Yamaha RX-V361 looks to be a reasonable choice. You could make a very strong system with your receiver and your turntable, but the receiver does not look to be built with turntables in mind. How you want to go from here will be based on your budget. Still, the cartridge that is currently on your turntable will make a difference to the recommendations you will receive.
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So the cartridge says Shure WHLB on it. Is that helpful? And this isn't helpful but my budget probably depends on the kinds of recommendations I receive.
 
Yes, the Technics Direct Drive SL-1200MK5 is a nice turntable. To hear it, you will need something with a pair of RCA input jacks, labeled "Phono". As others have said, most equipment built before 1984 or so has a phono input. Or you could get a stand-alone phono preamp, that will do the RIAA equalization and amplification to line level, so it can plug into any line-level input.

Phono preamps, whether internal or external, are difficult to do well, and affect the sound a great deal. Any old vintage unit won't do - some models are way better than others, as now. I can vouch for the phono stages in the Hafler DH-110, and the Apt-Holman preamp. The former is about $160-200 on flea-bay, the latter would need restoration unless already performed. To get as good a phono section new these days, IMO, requires a step above the $200 name brand entry level, like another $150-300 above, i.e. $350-500. Even then one can choose poorly, I'm afraid.

By all means get it going with something inexpensive or temporary if the alternative is silence. :)
 
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We still need to determine the output of your cartridge depending on what type it is; moving magnet/iron or moving coil. It's best to know that before recommending a phono preamp.
 
apollo2ares said:
So I'm trying to go with an external preamp, but I can't find one with a company name behind it. What do you guys recommend? Would this be a smart purchase given my cartridge?
http://www.amazon.com/TC-750-BLACK-...4?ie=UTF8&redirect=true&ref_=s9_hps_bw_g23_i1
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It has very good feedback on Amazon and seems decent for the price. If it's true it claims a very flat frequency response of +/- 01.5gr dB from 20-20k Hz. I also notice they have a model TC-750LC which has a level control which could come in handy. Pro-Ject shows a basic one for $79 and one that handles both MM and MC cartridges for $129. There are many more. Hopefully others will chime in that have hands on experience without pushing you to spend $10,000!
 
By the way .... welcome to AK!

The Art DJ Pre-II phono pre-amp is a decent budget pre-amp that would get you going. I wouldn't worry too much to begin with ..... get your system up and running .... learn how to set-up the turntable correctly .... and then the upgrade bug will hit you anyway!

You're probably only hearing anything right now due to the rather high output (6mV) of the Shure Whitelabel cartridge!

We should explain that the phono pre-amplifier does two things ... it amplifies the signal up to the point where it can be plugged into any of the analog inputs on your AV receiver (such as CD, AUX) and it also applies the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) equalization curve to the recording. When a record is created, the low frequencies are de-emphasized and the high frequencies are boosted ... and on playback the opposite occurs through the circuitry of the pre-amp. Normal inputs don't have this ... and even if the signal was amplified up to 'line-level', odd sounds are the result.

But it is difficult to recommend something without knowing where you are planning to go with the whole turntable experience and what sort of budget you are working with and what sort of music you are listening to. For example, AV multi-channel receivers typically don't give the best results when pressed into service for 2-channel vinyl setups.

Regarding your cartridge, 2 things to consider. One is .... how old is the needle (stylus)? If you don't know then it's wise to get a new needle to avoid damage to your records. I think they are in the range of $25 or so for a stylus made for that cartridge. Second is, be aware the cartridge is designed for DJ / club use ... not listening playback ... assuming that's what you are planning to use the turntable for. It will lack detail. It will be bold and somewhat brash and 'in-your-face'. Also since it is a all-in-one cartridge + headshell you'd have to get a separate headshell if you want to upgrade to a more 'audiophile' orientated cartridge down the road. Typically around $25 to $30 for a Technics headshell. You can buy a cartridge for just about whatever you want to spend. Usually, you're in the starting range of $100 to $150 or so to get something worthwhile to put on the SL-1200. I'm thinking of something like a Shure m97xe here ... or an Audio Technica AT120e. There are also a few vendors, such as turntableneedles.com that sell cartridges pre-mounted on headshells, which helps when one is just starting out.

Don't get me wrong, the Shure you have will certainly work for you but as I said hard to make firm recommendations without some more info.
 
I agree with Van_Isle. Get a better cartridge. The SL1200 is a nice sounding table with lots of potential for upgrades. Audio Technica, Grado, and Shure all make nice sounding/affordable cartridges in the $80.00 to $120.00 range. Plus, each model can be upgraded later simply by replacing the stock stylus. Example: You could get a Grado Black and when the upgrade bug hits, put the $150.00 Grado 8MZ stylus in it without having to go through the whole new cartridge purchase and setup routine.

!
 
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