value of technics SL-B303

[omarismyhero]

Ok so i am just wondering about how much money a good condition technics SL-B303 with a decent cart is worth? also if it needs a new belt are those hard to install? Lastly is it a good table for a beginner? thanks

 

[danj]

Retail, in my part of the world, depending upon the quality of the cartridge and the condition of it and the turntable, is $40 to $60. It is a very good starter table but it is common and has just average performance therefore the low value.

Belts are very easy to change. Many websites sell the belts, which are cheap, and some of them have diagrams which give general changing instructions. Total time to change one = maybe 60 seconds.

 

[Joey1127]

Note that the SL-B303 usses the FG Servo so you may want to check for speed issues BEFORE you buy it. These FG Servo BD decks are prone to speed issues as the speed pots get dirty. Also the IC chips tend to fail on these... I would say avoid it. The B303 was the last BD deck from Technics with the S arm. The SL-330 was the better version of the B303 in terms of BD geneology (SL-330, SL-B3, SL-B303).

The speed issue can be cured by cleaning the speed pot, but for the effort, you should just look for one of the DD versions of the B3 series decks which are the D3, D303, Q3, and Q303. These are decent enough and will not have the speed issues as the BD ones tend to. Remember, Technics sunk all their money into DD first. BD was an after thought if you will that did not come out from Technics till 1976.

Enjoy

 

[hakaplan]

Ditto on Joey's comments. If you're talking about $10 at a thrift shop by all means grab it and start enjoying vinyl. Otherwise be aware that belt drive was not Technics specialty.