Turntable advice needed, upgrade Technics or get something new

C

Christianjs1

New Member
Hey guys, I have not been on here in a long time. I need some turntable advice. I have a Technics 1200 that I have had for many years. It has always worked fine, sounded ok, and overall I have been happy with it. I am looking to upgrade and have read some posts about upgrading the 1200 (arm, feet, etc). I am wondering about your thoughts on this. My other option would be to buy something new. I would like to stay below $1000. Again, any suggestions and or advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
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There are a lot of nice mods offered by KAB for the 1200. Most feedback on those mods is very positive. Why not try to upgrade since you already have the TT?
 
Christianjs1 said:
Hey guys, I have not been on here in a long time. I need some turntable advice. I have a Technics 1200 that I have had for many years. It has always worked fine, sounded ok, and overall I have been happy with it. I am looking to upgrade and have read some posts about upgrading the 1200 (arm, feet, etc). I am wondering about your thoughts on this. My other option would be to buy something new. I would like to stay below $1000. Again, any suggestions and or advice would be greatly appreciated.
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If your're thinking about upgrading it means you're looking for something that maybe the 1200 is missing. If you can articulate that, then others may be better able to narrow down possibilities
 
If you really want to upgrade the arm, you could get the Audiomods for the 1200. I have the regular Audiomods and it is a fantastic tonearm. It made a believer of me that tonearms make an enormous difference in sound quality. The arm is under $1000, half that if they offer a kit for the 1200 version.

http://www.audiomods.co.uk/technicsarm.html
 
I would not say the Technics is lacking or missing anything, i just figured I could get more out of my listening experience and it led me to the possibility of modifying. I am more inclined to do that, as i have been happy with the turntable thus far and am inclined to improve what i have.
 
Is it a quartz referenced 1200?

If the tonearm bearings are in good shape I would do the tonearm wiring and rca cable mods as a start. If the spindle bearing is worn I would replace that, too.
 
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What cart do you have? I think you'd be more likely to hear a difference by trying a new cart. Talk to KAB and see what upgrades will bring you the most audible change.
 
DougMac said:
Talk to KAB and see what upgrades will bring you the most audible change.
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As a smart businessperson, Kevin might be inclined to suggest the most profitable upgrades. It would be better to check with those of us who have installed them in our own tables.
 
beatcomber said:
As a smart businessperson, Kevin might be inclined to suggest the most profitable upgrades. It would be better to check with those of us who have installed them in our own tables.
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That's a good suggestion. I have gotten the feeling here, though, that Kevin is a stand up guy and would try to balance profitability with customer needs.

It makes me think of Dave Fabrikant at Ascend Acoustics. He helped me choose speakers based on my needs and actually recommended less expensive speakers (340's over Sierra's). Perhaps his margins were better on the 340's but I'll try not to be cynical.
 
Christianjs1 said:
I would not say the Technics is lacking or missing anything, i just figured I could get more out of my listening experience and it led me to the possibility of modifying. I am more inclined to do that, as i have been happy with the turntable thus far and am inclined to improve what i have.
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In that case the tonearm damper is a must before anything else IMO if you stick with the stock arm. Really 'tamed' my 1200 into a more refined sounding table. I think it was a better upgrade than the tonearm rewire.

But Best bang for the buck sounds like that Audiomods tonearm kit mentioned above. It's supposed to be pretty easy to do by oneself (and educational too). Reviews I've read indicates the tonearm blows other megabuck out of the water. They sell a kit just for the 1200. I think they run about $600 in kit form here.
 
Also take a serious look at your phono stage if you are contemplating either upgrading or new. It doesnt matter how good your deck and cartridge are, if your phono stage in only average your results will be only everage.

Steve
 
I'm running an Ortofon DJ S, which I realize is all wrong. I did not want to buy anything new until i got a game plan together on what i'm going to do with the turntable. i think i will go with the upgrade. any suggestions on new cartridge. i listen to rock, prog rock, jazz run thru a pioneer sx1010. i have a variety of different speakers, but listen prob. 50% of the time thru Sennheiser HD280's
 
If you speak to Kevin at KAB about his upgrade offerings, it might be worthwhile to ask if he has any before & after high-resolution audio clips that he can email to you which demonstrate the audibility of these improvements. You can then play these back through your own system (this assume you have your computer connected to your system, most people do these days) to decide for yourself if they make any difference, let alone a big one. If he says no, ask why, then consider for yourself whether or not you want to spend all that money if the seller isn't willing to do this. ..Just a thought.
 
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