Technics SL-1210Mk2 Turntables

pongshi

Recently acquired a couple excellent Technics SL-1210Mk2 turntables. I have to admit I had always looked down on them a bit as just a DJ table, but after cleaning them up and getting them properly set up, they are not audiophile quality, but I am pretty impressed. I love the look. Definitely Mucho Macho.

I have parked the sports car (for now) and I am now driving the Humvee . The sound is not quite as detailed as some of my other tables, but great low end response, excellent tracking and rock solid speed control. These tables will never be sold.

honestaquarian

I too have a pair.
One in each system.
What cartridge are you using?

erniejade

I'm gonna disagree on not audiophile quality. When they came out there were considered high end but DJ's used them because they could take beating and how fast the motor could get up to speed. There is a lot of tweaks out there to bring one up to more of today's standard of audiophile like different wiring for the tonarm and RCA's. one of the easiest teeeks I've done with mine is the fluid dampening. They also do well with Denon moving coil and Dynavector 10X5 .


Check KAB https://www.kabusa.com/frameset.htm?/m1200.htm

honestaquarian

Yeah
What he^ said

pongshi

honestaquarian wrote: »

I too have a pair.
One in each system.
What cartridge are you using?

I am currently running an AT-440MLa at 1.42 grams in my living room system. Just a wee bit bright, but very detailed. I will be trying a few other catridges in the coming weeks.

mhardy6647

Perfectly good tt and more than decent arm. Medium mass; medium compliance cartridges are best.

I don't have an SL-1200 family member, but I do have an SL-Q2. I use a low compliance, low output moving coil cartridge (Denon DL-103). In theory these arms are somewhat too light for the DL-103 -- but I am not unhappy with the combination.

WTS

I assume that most of the cartridges you folks mentioned don't permit back cueing -- not needed in a home system, but of critical importance for DJ work, whether party or on the air.

honestaquarian

I've been very happy with my Shures (*V15 Type V MR bedroom that I've had since 1991 and V15 Type VxMR living room that I've had since the turn of the century*) and they seem to be a good match for the 1200's. Especially the VxMR. Too bad they don't make them anymore. Shure's V15 series cartridges were known for their amazing tracking abilities.
They'll both play right through the digitally recorded cannon shots on Telarc's infamous1812 overture LP (*YES on these turntables*) Every other arm/cartridge combo I've ever seen will quite literally jump right off the record. Once I decided to take a very close look at the grooves on this lp.The modulations are so large on the cannon shots that you can actually see where the cannons go off. The initial crack of the cannon produces a huge and almost 90 degree undulation in the groove,which is why most arm/cartridge combo's jump right off the record.

honestaquarian

WTS wrote: »

I assume that most of the cartridges you folks mentioned don't permit back cueing -- not needed in a home system, but of critical importance for DJ work, whether party or on the air.

@WTS
You are absolutely correct. DJ cartridges have strong cantilevers to allow back cueing.Cartridges made for straight audio purposes do not and back cueing would break the cantilever.

erniejade

@WTS I dj. I started out on tables in the late 70's / early 80's. The Ortofon intigrated headshell cart.concord series are a solid dj cart.And does well for scratching and tracking. Good ssounding also vs the shure m44. Back on the day, stanton was the king but in the 90's, in my opinion, ortofon overtook them in sound quality and durability especially when they made the headshell built into the cart. The mis-alignment of amatures installing cartridges was gone and resulted in a better sound and less prone to groove jumping when cueing.


Sorry to derail the thread.

The AT440 is a good cartridge but on the brighter side of the spectrum. When I had one, replaced it with a goldring, currently using a denon dl160. To my ears it was smoother sounding and more musical. Not sure if its because its a moving coil vs MM ?? But it matched up well to my ears.

honestaquarian

@pongshi
Just out of curiosity what color are yours? I have one black one and one silver one.

Also I don't know if anyone knows this,but this table is one of the very few that maintains a quartz lock when the pitch control is moved off center to higher or lower speeds.

@erniejade
How did you derail the thread??
We're talking about a turntable that has been used by DJ's all over the world for decades as the defacto standard.

mhardy6647

Well, the DL-103 was developed for broadcast (radio station) use, and radio station DJs are (were) notorious for back-cueing, but... umm... yeah, I wouldn't back-cue with a DL-103

Still a fine if decidedly idiosyncratic cartridge, though. They've been in continuous production since the early 1960s.

DSC_2461 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr

pongshi

honestaquarian wrote: »

@pongshi
Just out of curiosity what color are yours? I have one black one and one silver one.

Mine are both SL-1210MK2 models. They are the same as the SL-1200MK2 but they are black with switchable voltage.

The dude I bought them from is a USAF retiree like myself. He did some DJing with them, and he treated them well. They look pretty good and play well. He showed me his recently bought pair of Pioneer PLX-1000 tables, and I guess he is content with those now.

I didn't buy these to DJ with them, unless you want to count "Club Crib." They were reasonably priced, and came with 2 crates of Ol' Skool hip hop and club music. Simply too cool to pass up. The first record I played C+C Music Factory - Gonna Make You Sweat cranked to 11. That bass was thumpin'

I am going to audition a couple more cartridges and I will try to get a pic or two up tonight if anyone wants to see them.

Dawgfish

Have one myself. It was my first decent table. I have several others and have moved up the chain a bit, but I will never sell my 1200. Like the others have mentioned, put the KAB fluid damper on it, get one of the KAB rewired tonearms (very reasonable I might add), through on a decent mat and clamp/weight, and you will have a very good deck that will run forever. It's a keeper.

gmcman

I don't have a fluid damper on mine yet, but I did get it on a sturdy table, rewired the RCA with the Blue Jeans LC1 and added a Denon 301 Mk2 cart.....the 301 really sounds nice.