Technic SL1200MK5 turntable

[1KW]

I received my AT-440 MLA replacement stylus/cart. the other day and had the time to install it today and now I know what all the fuss is about with analog sounding amazing. My previous AT440 MLA was very noisy due to a defective suspension. This new one sounds great. First I mounted the cartridge using the overhang gauge provided with the turntable . Then I went to this website:Cartridge Alignment Protractors | Free Turntable, Tonearm & Cartridge Tools | Vinyl Engine and printed out the technicis baerwald arc protractor and what I found was that I had to move the stylus/cartridge assembly forward nearly .5 cm which amazes me that such a difference occured. I had never used a protractor before but it is really simple. I put the cartridge and LP on the tt, adjusted the VTA since I have a double thick rubber matt now. Aligned the stylus tip at point C by adjusting the position on the headshell and by rotating the platter until the two met perfectly. Then I rotated the tone arm to be sure all the other points were in alignment and thats it, very simple. I set up the balance weight, tracking weight and anti skate. I put my new Dave Matthews album on: Big Whiskey and the GruGrux King. The first thing I noticed is how neutral and yet full the sound is as far as bass, treble, midrange ie tone controls can finally be set flat. Imaging is great too, drums sounds so real, vocals sucked my attention away from what I was reading and make it so I can only concentrate on what I was hearing ie make you feel more involved with the music. I decided to pull out my Nora Jones Album-Come Away With Me, an album I'm very familiar with. I want to do a direct comparison with the cd on my MCD500 to the LP. I adjusted the trim on the C220 so the volume of the Lp and cd were the same. I then started to play the song "Don't know why" on both the cd and LP at the same time so I could switch back and forth using the remote from my listening chair. The LP and CD both sound very good, nearly sounding the same. This is quite an achievement for a $500 tt and $100 cart. to match the sound of my MCD500 playing a redbook cd. It may be that the LP was made from the same digital master which might account for the similarity in sound. Today I'm going to get some more LP's.

[jdandy]

David.......This is good news. I am happy to hear the new replacement AT cartridge is performing well. and that you took the time to set it up correctly.

[1KW]

I have been listening to LP's for the past 3 hours . This TT/cart. combo is very very nice sounding. One thing I like about the direct drive motor is no problems dragging a cleaning brush along the records ie no slowing down the record. Cueing is very easy, I turn the tt off, put the stylus right where I want it and start the direct drive motor. No skipping or waiting for the platter to reach speed; 33 1/3 speed is reached instantly. I realize that belt drives are more popular for other reasons. What is great about this hobby is having different choices of sources to choose at different times and each having its own inherent advantage for different listening sessions. Yesterday I had 25 people over and the sonos music server had a lot of use, today LP's.

[Alberto]

Congratulations. It must have sucked to have a defective cartridge. Now that you are "hooked on vinyl" who knows what'll come next in your system :-).

Alberto

[MC352]

David,

Glad you got your TT and cartridge all set up so it is sounding sweeeet.



Enjoy your LP's.

['cisco]

David....Now that you got your TT/cart up and going.......

Scratch DJ Equipment: Turntables: Scratch DJ Equipment | eHow.com

All kidding aside .....Congrats from one of few non-vinyl members here

[jdandy]

'cisco.......Gotta love the care in handling lesson for vinyl albums. What a wizard.

[Cadillac Kid]

I have a similar set up. Technics SL-1200 II with Shure V15 III cart and Jico stylus. Also using a C220 with NOS Telefunken 12AX7s. My amp is a MC2102.

Oh, and one recent addition. FATPadz via Sympsoium and MasterLu. My C220 sounds better with some vibration isolation.

Vinyl is lots of fun and can sound pretty good too.

[1KW]

Cisco I was not sure last year if I was going to like fooling around with vinyl again so I bought this Technic SL1200 MK5 new last year with a Ortofon cart. . I then upgraded to the audiotechnica AT440 MLA at the suggestion of Alberto. What I heard was a lot of scratch and surface noise. I recently sent the cart/stylus back to audiotechnica who gave me a replacement. I no longer have issues with surface noise, my records sound remarkably free from noise ie no pops and cracks ; the music I'm hearing sounds very good. It you want to experiment with vinyl you can't go wrong with this turntable as a starting point and many have done fairly reasonably priced KAB mods. and not felt the need for a much more expensive tt .

[1KW]

from http://www.enjoythemusic.com/news/
"While perhaps not 'audiophile', those who have tried the Technics SL-1200 turntable have generally came away impressed for the money and it has been reported that sales of this legend is coming to an end. A sad day as word on the street is that Technics has stopped making these jewels after producing well over 3,000,000 units since its introduction in 1972 and many evolutions and variants over the years. From Wikipedia, "The Technics SL-1200 is a series of turntables manufactured since October 1972 by Matsushita under the brand name of Technics. Originally released as a high fidelity consumer record player, it quickly became adopted among radio and club disc jockeys. Since its release in 1978, SL-1200MK2 and its successors have been the most common turntable for DJ'ing and scratching. The MK2 presented several improvements, including to the motor and casing. Since 1972, more than 3 million units have been sold. It is widely regarded as one of the most durable and reliable turntables ever produced." This turntable in its most recent generation features a magnetic (no wear) direct drive (low slip) mechanism, high torque of 1.5 kgf·cm (0.15 N·m), which means the platter will spin at the desired speed within 0.7 seconds to reach 33.3 rpm from standstill. Very low wow and flutter of 0.01 percent so that the platter will stay within 1/100 of 1 percent of the desired speed. A heavy base of over 27 lbs aid in reducing the likelihood of feedback or stylus jumping. There is also a variable pitch control so users may adjust the speed -8 to +8 percent, which DJs used for beat matching. Even after many years of DJ use, the Technics SL-1200 has proven reliability. As a ex-DJ myself, have personally used these during gigs and am right debating buying a new pair for future use."