Out of curiousity, which spec LP12 was this?
Linn Majik which is about the same price as the 1200G. I found the 1200G to have more rhythm and punch, but the Linn to have marginally better detail.
Use a better power lead and good interconnects and it’s miles ahead of the LP12.
That’s what I’ve heard and a better mat.
I haven’t played around with mats yet. The dynamics on it are on a completely on another level. The bass also trounces the Linn. You can hear bass notes and kick dreams clearly with complete delineation -No smearing. The stereo imaging is also something I’ve never experienced before on a TT.
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Did it come with the come with the Nagaoka JT-1210 cartridge?
Lovely deck you have there, reminds me of my days DJing in tents in muddy fields!
At its price point I find this more aesthetically pleasing to the eye than a Rega 10.
My local dealer has an SL-1000R in their demo room (Statement amplification + Focal Utopia)
I think there’s a lot to be said for the solidity and build quality of these latest generation of products from Technics, built like a tank I expect and by the sounds of it performing rather well in your case.
More than a little jealous truth be known, enjoy!
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Nope.
I bought the original limited-edition SL-1200GAE when it was released in 2016–essentially the same model but not in black. Here are my recommendations:
- Agreed, upgrade the power cord and the interconnects. Personally I do like the stock mat.
- Upgrade the headshell. The arm is excellent, but the supplied headshell is not. I’m using the Ortofon LH-9000. This makes a big difference. There’s a reason why Technics doesn’t provide a headshell with the $18K model!
- I have followed the sage advice of a Stereophile reader, who advocates changing the torque setting (see instructions in manual):
“Place the GAE in M (manual mode) for the Torque setting instead of Auto. Then set the potentiometer to about 1/5 maximum. You will lose nada as it relates to dynamics, slam and bass but you will gain the world in sustain, decay and elasticity…”
The Nagaoka was not included with the US model.
Ant suggestion on which power cord to use? There are a billion of them on the market.
I’m using the TibiaPlus power cord from Chris West at AV Options, very reasonably priced. For the tonearm cable, the Furutech AG-12, a true classic.
While we’re on the subject, does anyone have a suggestion for a new headshell for the SL-1210GAE arm? Given that the arm is magnesium alloy, would a magnesium headshell be a good match?
Well, the Ortofon LH-9000 I mentioned above is a “hybrid”, magnesium with carbon fiber. I have several of these mounted with various cartridges, and they all sound much better than with the stock headshell. Yamamoto has some all-titanium models that look interesting. The ultimate headshell recommended by Technics is the DS Audio HS-001, very expensive at $450, made of “ultra duraluminum.” It has a special locking mechanism, pins on both top and bottom. I would avoid wood, you want rigid but lightweight metal or carbon fiber. All these headshells are heavier than stock and that is good, especially for MC cartridges, but you do need to add the weight of the headshell to your cartridge mass to ensure compatibility with the maximum weight allowed by your arm.
I’m using an Ortofon LH6000 headshell. Magnesium works well with the magnesium tonearm. Mikes better than the stock supplied headshell.
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