So, not all budget gear performs the same level....and not all budget gear is inferior to higher priced spread. In this case, the Technics is outclassed by two decks that sell for less...despite all the doo-dads done to it.
That's a very fair point and was the main gist of my last post. If you are going to judge the Technics SL1200 then judge it against its peers, which would be decks that are in roughly the same price class. Comparing it to a SME 20 and other high cost decks is absurd.
I use a SOTA Star Sapphire with a SME 309 tonearm as my daily listening setup. However, I also own a Technics SL1200MKII fitted with a Rega RB300 tonearm that I use for digital transcription duties. Between my SOTA, SME309 and cartridge I have about $7K into that rig. It performs better than my Technics...but then again I expect it to given its much higher cost. That being said, it doesn't pain me at all to say that the Technics does a very admirable job at vinyl playback and I use the 24/96 and 24/192 digital recordings I capture from it all the time. My main quibble with the SL1200 is the stock tonearm, but replacing it with the Rega RB300 was inexpensive and provided a considerable improvement in performance. To me that seems a far more sensible approach to someone on a
budget.
Some of us are approaching this subject from different perspectives. I am thinking about the Technics SL1200 from the perspective of someone who has about $800 to spend on a turntable and will not be able to invest much more than that. Coming at this topic from the angle of there being much better decks at a substantially higher price may be of interest to audiophiles with wads of cash to burn -- but I doubt these are the folks seriously thinking about a Technics.
As for the SL1200 being outclassed by lower cost decks...well
that is precisely what we should be talking about here. Do tell!
--Jerome
