I am considering one because sometimes, you want a more convenient and non fussy table that just works.
Technics SL-1500c or Vintage non Ultra deck?
- Thread starter S0und Dragon
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Amen brother! Amen!
(Or a non-fussy no nonsense table that your wife can also use because she’s afraid to touch the Palmer because “it looks extraterrestrial”.)
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It's nice to have a reliable, new, table that has a healthy aftermarket taking care of it. Funk Firm has some feet ("bounce feet" or something like that) specifically made for the 1200/1500 weight and also an off-board DC power supply/regulator. I also think a Funk Firm Achromat is a go-to for any DD deck. I'm not affiliated, just a fan of their products, they really do help. They're all about resonance and vibration control (currently listening to my Merrill deck with the achromat on it...helps open up the soundstage on a tablet that's already ace at it).
Maybe I’m getting old, but that sometimes now means all the time for me. It’s also why I decided to dump the Rega and buy the Kenwood.
Evidence that sometimes "just works" can be an older table. I've had fussy vintage decks and ones that were rock-solid, and it was pretty obvious going in which one was going to be which. After I cleaned the switched on the YP-D8, there was really nothing to go wrong with it. But my Mitsubishi linear tracker is like being in love with a very difficult, moody, woman who's also very charming and sweet on the good days.
I happen to like both simple/reliable and weird/complicated so ... I have several turntables
The 1200G has a darn good arm on it. Different arms would probably give some different flavors to try though. My thing now is that being able to swap a cart in a minute or two is something I will probably need more of going forward. The 1200s can play at 78 RPM as well, so that's yet another cart I need in the rack.
Let me know where to send the bubble wrap. 👍
That was me also. I just wanted to play records. Prior to this, it was always a gamble whether or not the turdtable would decide to work properly on any given day. And the long startup time made playing records a painful task. So nice to press a button and the platter is nearly instantly up to speed. (I think the spec is ¼ second? I'd have to look.)
I think the IsoAcoustics Gaia III (the smallest in that line) is also within the weight range, and will screw right into the existing threads. I think all together, a fully assembled 1200G is about 42 pounds. A thick 3-inch maple isolation platform and set of four of the less expensive IsoAcoustics pucks do an ample job of isolation. It helps that the rack also spikes its way down to the concrete slab.
I need to try that Achromat as I'm using a similar one that IMHO might sound a little dead. (One of the Herbie's mats.) I keep telling myself I should have bought one all along.
Question--is the Achromat a "squishy" type of foam, or is it more dense?
The Achromat is a rigid thing with a dense closed-cell foam of some sort between two hard discs (from what I can tell). It's not squish and what I like about it...its the opposite of 'dead' sounding. It always seems to add a bit of air and liveliness to things. I bought it for my VPI Classic, which was designed to have the record clamped to the giant 20lb+ aluminum platter.. presumably to suck the life out of recordings? My current deck has a lead-impregnated mat permanently attached to the acrylic platter, which works well but I just like that bit of air the Achromat brings. Though, to be honest, the real reason I'm using it on this deck is that the new tonearm wanted more height on the platter end for it have its full range of VTA adjustment.
I'm all for getting rid of the resonances in the vinyl but too much of a good thing is, well, too much. The Herbie's mat is like a softer foam, which wasn't what I was expecting since some users compared it favorably to the Achromat. Many like it but I don't know, really...my gut instinct originally was to get the Achromat and I wanted to save maybe $10-$20. I can just reuse it elsewhere or sell it off cheap. That crappy Realistic Lab-400 I keep as a junker rings like a bell, so maybe I'll slap it on there if I ever decide to use it again. (I kept it to play dollar bin records to see if they were worth cleaning...or tossing.)
To share with the collective and solicit more advice. I am vacillating between the Technics SL-1500c/100c or a Pioneer PL-70LII. I am going to be listing the GT at some point and put that towards resto-modding my Garrard 401 at some point. But a semi-auto table for daily use is really appealing to me in this season.
I would go for the PL-70II.... but I think you already knew that. I mean... show-off but reasonably* sized deck from the heyday of turntableness with all the money and scale they had to throw at it vs a competently made current deck that still has some limitations due to cost concerns...
*in comparison to, say, an Exclusive P10
Maybe buy that PL-50 that's been haunting me on my local CL and Marketplace for 5 months.... remove this temptation!
I have resembled that remark.
I looked hard at the SL-1500C, the 100C and the 1200GR. Almost bought the 1200GR right up until I caught a mint SL-1210 MK2 for 5 bennies. It was one of the last built in 2010 prior to shutting down that model so I felt good about it. Not sure how it stands up to the 3 newer models, but I really like it.
If it’s one thing that has been consistent in my audio experience, it’s the desire for change at various points in the journey. This has nothing to do apparently with how good or bad end game the item may be. I have thankfully slowed down with churning through gear the last year or two.
The GT has been a really good deck. Great even. And I won’t be too sad if it doesn’t find a new home. But I don’t want to get into a situation where I am not using it and it is just sitting around. It deserves better than that. And if I can recoup some funds to bring my wreck of a Garrard back to life, that seems like a good thing to me.
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I think one thing to consider re: the Pioneer is - are there any components that are unobtanium if something bad happened ?
I haven't encountered a PL-70LII, but I have gotten hands on with the 1500. It (the 1500) may sound just fine but I didn't like the feel of the arm and cuing lever, and how the auto lift operated. Didn't give me confidence, and made me think I'd need to check out models further up the line if I were to go Technics. I am at the point where enjoying how something works is part of the puzzle. I'd guess that the tactile experience of the Pioneer would be miles ahead of the Technics, no matter how good the motor is of the latter.
Just my two bits worth, and IMO, etc etc.
That is my sentiment as well. The Pio is pretty robust as it was made by the same team that built the exclusive P3&10.
Excuse my last post...somehow I missed John's reference. However, I'm still curious of other's opinions.
the looks are classier than the technics - beautiful. i'd posit that you can't go wrong either way.
a positive review here:
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