SL-1200 / Analog article

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2016-01-14/there-s-a-digital-backlash-in-cameras-and-music-

Fun article on analog. It talks about the return of the SL-1200 turntable, which should be available at the end of this year.  I bought an SL-1200 Mark II back in the early 1990's. I used to see them in every club I went to, and figured if they could withstand that abuse, then it would last forever with the care I'd give it. And I was right. I have very few hours on mine, and it's always covered with a soft cloth to keep it like the day it was made. It's a pleasure to use, and a work of art in terms of build quality and design.

When the reissues come out, I plan on buying a second one. The new ones are supposed to have a few enhancements to the original, but will still use the durable materials that the original was known for. I don't expect it to be cheap, but I'd think it won't be priced excessively either. We'll see on that.

Love the SL-1200 tables!

.

Thanks for the article! I'm a fan of the original SL1200, especially the motor/platter part. I'll be interested to see the quality of the construction, which IMHO was responsible for a great deal of the appeal of the original (I had an SP-10 a while back and that was impressive too).

If it's being aimed at the mid/upper part of the larger-scale consumer market, I'm assuming that it'll still be made in Japan. If it's anywhere near $3500 (or over $1000) that's what I'd expect.

You should also take a look at the Pioneer PLX-1000.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/DJ/Turntable/PLX-1000

There were still some NOS available as little as a year ago, but fetching fairly tall $$$.

Tore one down to bare frame and fully rebuilt/repainted a couple of years ago.  Prety fun project and built like a tank!  Easy to get parts, hard thing is to find used ones that haven't been DJ'd with accompanying spilled gin & tonics dried up in the chassis.

For anyone interested, kabusa is great place for rebuild and upgrade parts.

Got a 1400 (maybe a 1300? dang CRS ), '70s vintage, minus headshell and cart for $40 in a thrift store.

As above, heavy, built like a tank and works perfect.
Sounds great and I like the auto return.
Heck, I even like that bass "thump"
when the auto return kicks in at the end of the record.
haha

here's a photo and review of the new Technics SL1200 turntable, which will retail for $3995
Maybe better start trying to grab as many of the older ones as possible for resale?
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/ces-2016/?
see #2

also, BTW, that Pioneer PLX-1000 is a super nice table for $695 and has great reviews!

Does new one come with a cartridge for $4K??

Have not paid attention for about a year, but DJ pairs were fetching $350-800 locally.  I think $300 for a beat up single might be bottom end now and a full restore could eat that much again in parts if tonearm is bad.  I probably spent 20 hours on my rebuild, mostly paint time.  Still about $3k cheaper than a new one tho.

Here's a review of the Pioneer PLX-1000 that appeared in Stereophile last spring:

PioneerPLX-1000

Be forewarned that the author takes a lot of detours before actually getting to the turntable review.

Gregg R.

Wow, 4k? Don't get me wrong, they're good decks, but there are SO many better audiophile choices out there for 4k. On the other hand, none of them would last 5 minutes in the hands of a DJ, so I guess that's where these are going to be sold. Still, good luck to Pioneer/Technics: anything that encourages vinyl back into the marketplace has gotta be good IMHO.

I'm good with my Mitsu ... takes "built like a tank" to whole new levels.



Should also be good for another 40 years due to a recent rebuild.

PS ... not holding my breath for a reissue of this one ... no idea how many were built, but they hardly issued it the first time around.

I'm not sure if the 4K price is for the special edition model only, and less for the regular production model. One of the comments said that the rep stated that the regular production would be around 1K. If that's the case, then I'll be getting one. If it is 4K for all models, then I'm not doing that. But the one I have now will gain additional respect if that in fact, does turn out to be the case.

Frank111 wrote:I'm not sure if the 4K price is for the special edition model only, and less for the regular production model. One of the comments said that the rep stated that the regular production would be around 1K. If that's the case, then I'll be getting one. If it is 4K for all models, then I'm not doing that. But the one I have now will gain additional respect if that in fact, does turn out to be the case.

The 4K version is a limited release.

From what I read the SE version will be $4k and when they release the "regular" version, it will also be $4k. I read that on the internet so it must be true.