[Wayner]

Doing some cleaning and calibrating, I have gone inside my Technics SL-Q2 for the first time. I must say this table is not a little plastic wonder. The gray body and bottom cover appear to be a glass filled nylon. I really can't tell, but the bottom cover is heavier than you'd expect. For about $75 on icbay, you could have a pretty nice table. It's semi-automatic, which means you have to put the tone arm on the LP, but at the end of play, it will lift the tone arm off the record and put it back into the arm rest. This table is also direct drive so you don't have to screw around with belts. It has anti-skating as well. It does not have VTA, but for a starter deck, what the hell.

Here are some pics:







The offending transformer could be moved easily as a DIY project. Put it in a little box and get one of the sources of hum out of the way. It still is a good starter table.

This table is from the 1970's. Stood the test of time very well. There are also other models with similar model numbers.

If your unsure about vinyl, don't spend thousands to find out it's not right for you. Here can put a couple of hundred in a nice deck and find out for your self.

This one goes into my garage for the summer, when it ever gets here.

Wayner.

[richidoo]

I have one too. It is a very nice unit. It is quiet with SS phono stages, but hums with the notoriously hummy Bellari tube stage. With less sensitive speakers no problem. Quieter without the ground wire, maybe that little tranny is the cuprit?? It is heavier than my old plastic Technics when I was a kid, the deck is heavy cast alum. and well built. Nice to see inside there Wayner... yours looks brand new, did you simonize it before pics? 

Small vibration isolation is OK, but footfalls skip easily, better brace the floor or use wall mount or wonder squishy iso balls under it. It does not impress with Shure M97 cart, the old stock AT was better until it crapped out.
Rich

[TheChairGuy]

ohhhh, lotsa' room for Plast-i-Clay in there.....there is lots of performance potential yet untapped with a hollow, resonance cavity like that to be filled 

Looks to me about 8-10 lbs will do it.....your $40 away from much better performance from your old friend.

Been there - done that (quite successfully).  Feedback a real problem stock with that table....after clay'ing not so much at all  aa

John

[royphil345]

Nice!!!

That particular model has attracted my attention more than once. I've watched countless auctions for them, but I never ended up buying one. Quartz-lock... Doesn't seem like it tends to develop problems with the auto functions like some of the older models with a more complex build... Quality still seems quite good... The arm looks VERY familiar, minus VTA. I still think it would be nice to have a semi-automatic around sometimes... or maybe even a (gasp) changer... 

I'll bet your garage system is better than my main one... lol.  Enjoy!!!

[Wayner]

My garage system is:

Marantz 2385 receiver w/185 watts per channel.
Dynaco A25XL speakers
Technics SL-Q2 w/AT440MLa cartridge.

Also:
Marantz 1530 receiver
Paradigm Atom speakers

Wayner

[sfox50]

OK- I'm motivated now!  I've recently upgraded the cartridge on my old SL-Q2 to a Denon DL 110,and I've been fighting the urge to buy a newer or classier 'table. I've had the old Technics since it was new- thirty years or so- and it's never failed me! So- I should give it a chance to stick around. What's a good source for Plast-i-clay? The craft stores in my area don't seem to have it. Also , I've thought about adding RCA output jacks to the base in order to try different cables- anyone done this?

[TheChairGuy]

What's a good source for Plast-i-clay? The craft stores in my area don't seem to have it.

It need not be the brand name of Plast-i-Clay...any brand of 'modelling clay' will do.  I get mine at Ben Franklin crafts (I think it's Namco brand) - usually white or grey color. I have paid about $4.00 a lb. at retail.

The cheapest guys I know of is AllArtSupplies at only $1.55 a package (1 or 1.1 lbs).  Even with shipping all the way cross country here to California from North Beverly, MA, they are usually the cheapest out there.

http://www.allartsupplies.com/item.php?articleId=120&PHPSESSID=e8fefc4dc31024e235e76ca172bc5e13

The difference with and without modeling clay with non-suspended, plastic-laden decks is sometimes eerily good   Mass-laden is done better with another 8-10 lb rammed in the innards of your Technics  aa

John

[royphil345]

OK- I'm motivated now!  I've recently upgraded the cartridge on my old SL-Q2 to a Denon DL 110,and I've been fighting the urge to buy a newer or classier 'table. I've had the old Technics since it was new- thirty years or so- and it's never failed me! So- I should give it a chance to stick around. What's a good source for Plast-i-clay? The craft stores in my area don't seem to have it. Also , I've thought about adding RCA output jacks to the base in order to try different cables- anyone done this?

I've replaced the cables on a couple older tables (hard wired, I didn't install jacks) and I was sort of sorry both times. In my system, high end cables seem to bring out any edginess with budget analog gear. The original cables sounded just a bit warmer and didn't call attention to any flaws. I recently purchased a Technics 1200 and I've decided to leave the cables alone this time. It's sounding REALLY good as it is. Cleaning all the contacts on the plugs, tonearm, headshell, and headshell leads can be a good thing on an older table. Make sure you use contact cleaner that's safe for plastics. You can clean the inside of the contacts on the headshell leads with contact cleaner and a round toothpick. You could even apply a little Pro Gold after cleaning...

The modeling clay is an excellent idea for an effective tweak... You could also try adjusting your VTA by trying different thin spacers under your mat (paper bag, plastic bag, thin cardboard from a cereal box, etc...). I've found the arms on tables without adjustable VTA are usually just a touch high for most cartridges and adding a thin spacer under the mat can really make them sing sometimes.

[bluesky]

I know it's been said before, heck even a recent in one of the British mags it was noted that the engineering behind the Technics direct drives makes most of the cheaper euro stuff almost laughable.

I was recently given a Rega Planar 2 and was surprised to see just how cheap and nasty the motor and plinth had been made.  It was not much more than some particle board with a cheap motor tacked onto it.

The journalist was of the opinion that a great turntable came from the marriage of a Technics direct drive and a slightly modded Rega tonearm to provide a killer turntable at a reasonable cost.............I thinks he's right.

Bluesky   

[sfox50]

Yeah, If only the tonearms were replacable on these!

[TheChairGuy]

The journalist was of the opinion that a great turntable came from the marriage of a Technics direct drive and a slightly modded Rega tonearm to provide a killer turntable at a reasonable cost.............I thinks he's right.

Bluesky   

I own a Technics SL-1200 Mk. II, with which the stock tonearm was damaged....so in it's place was installed an Origin Live armboard ($85) and a $3,000.00 Origin Live Illustrious MK. III tonearm.

Most recent glowing review on the OL Illustrious can be found here: http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue37/originlive.htm

So, what I have is a Technics SL-1200 MK. II (albeit beat up, some 20 years old and with possibly a loose motor housing...possibly) and a more-than-upgraded arm on it based on the Rega geometry (well advanced from the Rega 250 and 300...even with every upgrade imaginable). 

Know what? - my $100 JVC QL-F6 is consistently better than it (whether we use the same cartridge of change out to find the best match possible among the 12 that I own)

The SL-1200 sounds (consistently) 'edgy' to me...confirmed when I switched it out for the JVC, then later the VPI HW-19 MK. III with the same OL tonearm.  There is always a hint of 'whine' or 'edge' to the music that never fully relaxes me as the JVC always does and the VPI largely achieves (it has it's own issues like drowsiness due to poor speed regulation, but it is not edgy sounding at all)

I submit to all of you SL-1200 owners....the problem isn't with the tonearm (go get the KAB tonearm upgrades by all means to improve things), but the Technics fails at providing truly first-rate audiophile sonics because of something other than the tonearm.  It has something to do with the motor and or speed regulation.

Someday I think I'll send in my Technics to KAB for an outboard motor and strobe disabler mod for $300 (which will eliminate the loose motor housing and strobe as culprits for the edginess I hear).....if it's still edgy sounding after that, I'll pronounce it an vinylphile wanna'-be table - just a great deck for DJ's and their less-than-optimal sonic needs.

The folks at TONE Audio have gone ga-ga over the SL-1200 Chinese-clone Audio Technica AT-PL120 for half of what the SL-1200 goes for new.  Perhaps AT eliminated the motor/speed controller issues heard with the pricier Japanese-made, Technics? 

It may even be the case that the Technics SL-Q2 in this topic is better than the SL-1200....as it's cheaper and simpler it may not have the elaborate speed regulation of the SL-1200 and sound better because of it.  So, enjoy what you got - if it sounds good to you, then it is GOOD  (nonetheless, add the Plast-i-Clay...it will only improve from that tweek)

Don't anybody stone me in effigy because of what I found.....this I did find nonetheless 

John

[Wayner]

John,

I really don't know how you can make a statement like that with a beat-up SL-1200 from ebay. As you know, I have 3 other highly regarded "cheap" tables ala Empire 598 II, VPI Hw19jr. W/AudioQuest PT-6 tonearm and Rega P3 w/RB300 arm. My Technics has very fine sonic qualities, stable speed and no edginess. Neither do the other tables. I have to say it could be your cartridge, alignment or both. Also, they've been building these tables for 30 years, designed by some of the finest minds at Matsushita (Panasonic), and is tooled to the max. I think your issues are unique to your set-up.

Wayner 

[sfox50]

I've ordered 8 lbs of the clay from www.allartsupplies.com-  under $20 with shipping beats any local deal I found. I may go ahead & install the RCA jacks while I'm in there-the strobe LED is out also..maybe I can replace it,too.
I've tried different mats , cork and shelf liner to change VTA. Right now I have a shelf liner mat on top of the original-the Denon is pretty tall.

[TheChairGuy]

John,

I really don't know how you can make a statement like that with a beat-up SL-1200 from ebay. As you know, I have 3 other highly regarded "cheap" tables ala Empire 598 II, VPI Hw19jr. W/AudioQuest PT-6 tonearm and Rega P3 w/RB300 arm. My Technics has very fine sonic qualities, stable speed and no edginess. Neither do the other tables. I have to say it could be your cartridge, alignment or both. Also, they've been building these tables for 30 years, designed by some of the finest minds at Matsushita (Panasonic), and is tooled to the max. I think your issues are unique to your set-up.

Wayner 

Wayner -

As I said clearly enough....I will send the table in to KAB for the outboard motor and strobe disabler (as well as the once over from the trained eye and mind of Kevin Barrett).

It is not the cartridge alignment or tonearm issue as neither 'edginess' issue exists with the same cartridge on the same tonearm on the VPI.

It is either an endemic issue with the SL-1200 itself....or a problem with my old, more than slightly worn, version of the SL-1200. 

Time and $$ will tell...and I remain open to either outcome (and will report my findings when I do  ).

btw, the (terrific-sounding) JVC is of the same vintage as the Technics or older (29 years old)...and many of it's internals come from those same fine minds at Matsushita/Panasonic as JVC is a wholly-owned division of theirs.

John

[sfox50]

Update- I've pressed 5 lbs of Plast-i-clay into the underside of my SL-Q2, I could sqeeze another pound or so in, but I worry about interfering with the tonearm mechanism and the motor cooling air flow. I resisted installing the RCA jacks I was considering,and I didn't worry about trying to fix my strobe illumination light right now. I've played a half dozen sides so far, and the difference is not subtle and all positive! I had used some teflon tape on the tonearm a while back & the result was not as noticable. I have to say I'm happy with the difference this made. When I first installed my Denon DL-110 cart, it seemed a bit edgy & bright,but I'm very happy with it now!

[TheChairGuy]

Make sure the Plast-i-Clay is jammed tight in the corners especially....it looks like you can't squeeze much in, but you likely can squeeze some more in.  8-10 lbs is about average for old Japanese TT's.

Clay helps a lot.....now on to a great many other matters to help that diamond in the rough 

John

[Wayner]

Glad the SL-Q2 is coming around. I may plasticlay mine as well, but I'll do on the inside (unlike John's JVC) 

The teflon tape thing is something I like with my Audio Technica AT440MLa's. It seems to tame the slightly trebly high end down to a really nice and smooth ooz. Something cheap to try and it may not be to the liking or have much effect for other arm/cartridge combos...no bigge!

Spin Away.

Wayner aa

[TheChairGuy]

sfox50...here's something to aspire to (or maybe wretch at  ).

This was the JVC that I bought on my entry back to vinyl some 4 years ago now......$50 on ebay (with working cartridge).  It was okay out of the box (direct drive, quartz locked), but got considerably better with several tweeks - not the least of which was about 9 lb of Plast-i-Clay.

8 lbs inside and about 1 lb outside.  I knew this table was my experiment back into vinyl, so I wanted to see how far I could take it. The Plast-i-Clay on the top plinth was actually a very seriously large benefit...as was the homebrew damping trough I made for it (and the sub-platter mat, too)

I even used some clay on the arm itself...but I didn't find that too terribly beneficial (it caused about as much issues as it cleared, sonically speaking)

[Arlequen]

Hi Chairguy ,

Now I'm using the SL1210 with a Grado Prestige Gold through its Grado PH-1 Phono Stage and the combo sounds fantastic .. no edgy for sure!
Are you sure to have the right VTA for your cartridge? .. I don't understand where could come from the edginess you noticed

[sfox50]

Well- I do have 3 lbs of Grey plasticlay left over, but I dont think I could live with that look! The DIY damping trough is interesting,though.. what did you use for the fluid? I remember seeing a DIY one back in the '80s!