The 1300 looks exactly like my 1500c
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What head shell is that? Unusual.
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It’s a RigB LNR milled from solid..visit iptaudio
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RigB LNR, the ultimate for a G deck.
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Very cool. Price less so
Might want to remove that hyperlink bit sharpish.
After 15 years of belt drive last a classic combo of Thorens TD125 + SME 3009 (re wired) tonearm I wanted a modern TT with a removable head shell as old age and fat fingers were making it tricky to set up carts on the fixed head shell of the SME.
Earlier this year I purchased a Technics SL1300G the TT is simplicity itself to set up the Technics let you dial in precise adjustments easily and repeatedly.
The improvement in sonics from just swapping the same cart to the new TT were to be honest much bigger than I was expecting 
I used it at first with my Naim Nait 50’s inbuilt phono as was curious to try the inbuilt one out and later moved on to my normal tube phono which brought further improvements over the NN50 inbuilt one.
Very happy with the SL1300G all those little gains Technics have implemented in lowering the noise floor and reducing vibration have really ratcheted up the performance.
I suspect its my last TT and that it will see me out.
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Trying to set up my new SL1300G with a Grado Platinum 3. Very tricky as the cartridge body is very large and stylus is buried deep in the middle and virtually impossible to eyeball! Is it enough to just use the included Technics overhang gauge and set the sides of the cartridge parallel with the headshell sides (forget using the invisible cantilever!) or should I persist with the Baerwald protractor I generated online?
Also what RCA interconnects suggested for my SN3 phono stage? I’m considering Chord Clearway.
Yes. The gauge will give the correct 52mm overhang and the alignment is perpendicular.
I actually got my dealer to give me a Denon overhang gauge because they are clear plastic with a magnifying lense built in so you can get tylus dead on.
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ONLY if the Technics arm and arm pivot to spindle parameters were designed to Baerwold. You are better using the Technics protractos, ensoring that the stylus sits in the marked position and that it sits parallel in the headshell.
Removable headshells use a simple overhang tool for just this reason.
Having affixed many cartridges to several removable headshells, checking with the protractor afterwards has alway shown them to totally accurate. Though with a rounded headshell (I don’t use any anymore) the protractor is still useful for getting the angle right.
Make sure that you use a protractor which has two points to align at (or the complete arc)….then you will know.
Removable head shells are for me a totally new concept. For all the years I messed with an LP12 with Ittok, Aro, RB600 etc the philosophy was that fixed was the ‘correct’ approach and detachable headshells weren’t ‘proper’ hifi. If it really is as simple as using the little overhang gauge then hallelujah, something else I won’t miss along with springs, grommets and tonearm cable dressing. Im in my mid 60s and eyesight isn’t what it was!
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I’ll be in Tokyo in April 26. Is this a good place to shop for direct drive turntable accessories eg cartridges, interconnects? I see you have a Sumiko Moonstone which is on my shortlist of cartridges to try. Works ok with your phono stage?
Yeah the Moonstone and Sumiko MM in general are a good match with Naim MM phono stages. In fact, the reviews of the Moonstone I read were on a Technics deck with a SuperNait 3 which is basically the same as a Stageline but internal.
Some of the best classic DD turntables have only been sold in Japan. But they’re pricey, and most of them probably still 110 Volt. Nagaoka is much cheaper there, then in Europe. Using a Nagaoka MP200 stylus in a MP100 cart; it suits the rythmic drive of the Nait xs2 perfectly, without spending a lawyers salary. Something like a 1600 mk2 230 V, would be good enough for me some time, but there nothing wrong with my current sl-d2, since the MP200 is digging the grooves!
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Anything only sold in Japan will only be rated for 90-100v, not 110.
But the market is too small now for domestic only turntables. It takes a lot of money to develop and build DD motors. Unless you can shift a lot of decks, it’s a non starter these days.
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Ah, it is 100 Volts there, thanks! You’re absolutely right about the market; it should be much smaller now than in the 80’s. But luckily there is a new Yamaha GT5000 230V for the few… And the rest of us might find a old converted GT750 under a grand.
The chord Clearway RCA is a very nice cable by the way, especially when your speakers have enough foundation. The sound is so much more refined than the rather basic looks. But to my taste, the high frequencies can be a bit too present, a little bit too sharp in combination with a turntable. Still prefer an old Oehlbach nf214 for that reason.
There are some non Japanese direct drive turntables too, as Brinkman from Germany, VPI from US, Thorens/ SME Td124 dd from UK, and one from Switzerland, but i forgot the brand name.
The most expensive one, owned by Michael Fremer, is a direct drive too. ( OMA, 500k).