Jump to content

Technics SL-1200GAE announced


Steve

Recommended Posts

That was unexpected ! Does anyone understand the blurb about the 'upgraded' motor ? Seems to have +/-16 which would be good. Prob would be worth spunking some on the limited edition ones, both literally and figuratively..

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whats weird to me is it's an "audiophile" TT but has pitch control. Do audiophiles want to change the pitch of a record? I would think not. Seems like they are trying to half ass cater to two different markets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think I would be willing to pay more for better audio quality and less noise. You all ever do shit like isolate one turntable in your mixer, put on the headphones, turn them up and then listen really carefully? You'll catch all sorts of stuff that way. If your carts aren't on tight they can put off noise, or sometimes you'll catch grounding or interference through the RCAs. My Controller 1 is way noisier than a 1200 and the "hummmm" from the C1 varies based on if you have phono vs. line output set. The EFX chain on the mixer will usually add noise, etc. etc. I 'll start tripping out on it and that shit bugs me for some reason.

 

Anyway, I agree they're likely aiming for the DJs and the hipsters by stepping up the audio quality (instead of adding a bunch of features.) I don't think they're trying to reach the true audiophile market.

Edited by Jam Burglar
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If they were really going for the audiophile market, they would have/should have changed that arm. As some of the aftermarket conversions have proved, a 1200 can be an audiophile deck but the arm is a well known weak link.

 

I don't think you'll get the whole "straight is better" answer from audiophiles as much these days. Consensus almost seems to be that it doesn't matter all that much. Plus, a true overhung, audiophile, straight tonearm is also not going to be as good for scratching as the S shaped arm. Scratch tables tend to use underhung straight tonearms but those things are not built for sound quality and they eat your records so much faster. Now, I don't do hardly any juggling, but as far as cutting goes I'll take the S arm any day. I feel like a 1200 tracks better than a Vestax, doesn't eat your records anywhere near as fast, and sounds better. They're in the sweet spot for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Symatic

That was unexpected ! Does anyone understand the blurb about the 'upgraded' motor ? Seems to have +/-16 which would be good. Prob would be worth spunking some on the limited edition ones, both literally and figuratively..

 

 

the upgraded motor does look nice, but +/-16 is pathetic. if theyre going for audiophile markets specifically i'd say thats even more of an incentive to give it a wider pitch range including 16 and 78 rpm.

 

meh

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

If it really is several thousand pounds as that Wired article suggests then even I might have to pass on buying a pair.

 

Deft! have a word with yourself. Don't tarnish your brand.

What I really mean is that I would have to get my accountant to move money from my Cayman Islands holding company account to my Swiss proxy account whilst claiming non-dom status. This might mean increased scrutiny from HMRC that I could do without.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jam Burglar - I have no great specific knowledge of hifi decks but every bit of info ive read on those independent hifi conversions of 1200s slates the original arm and replaces it with a more modern straight arm. Also, any serious hifi decks I've seen in at least the last couple of decades at least have straight arms... maybe that's because I don't move in the right circles though?

 

As for the DJ kind of straight tonearm, maybe it comes down to the individual moments of each specific DJ? With about 3-4grams and a nicely bedded in Shure on my PDX or Stanton I can't get them to skip even if it try, on my 1200s I'd need double that weight and still they'd skip more. For me, the difference is night and day but for you and many other people I've encountered they either aren't bothered or prefer S arms.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...