There is a Technics SL 1210 MK3 available cheap. It is in good condition except that its stylus/needle needs replacement. Mr. Kuruvila Jacob does not seem to be a fan of direct drive TT's (I wrote to him) but my interest in this is because I don't own any TT's, have no collection of records, do not expect to invest too heavily into this side as I have a decent digital based music system, records (you really want) are not easy to obtain, and I do not believe the Technics is just a DJ stuff as several users I know speak high of them. I am not looking for audiphile performances but just a nice little TT I can use with a limited number of albums (I have to buy) once in a while. Later, If I became an addict to the vinyl sound, well, we will face it then.
If anyone here is using these, I shall be grateful if he or she is willing to share the experiences and honest opinions.
Thanks in advance.
murali
Having experienced all three worlds, belt drives, idler drives and direct drives, IMO, some swear by idlers because of the punch in the music, some swear by belt drives because of the flow of music while some swear by direct drives because of "accuracy". Technics is considered the father direct drives and rightly so. If you are very keen about the accuracy of your music, in relation to speed (pitch), wow and flutter, etc, then nothing can beat a Technics direct drive. A good way to test this would be to listen to a piano performance or christmas bells tingling. Another aspect (again, IMO and from my experience) is that people invest heavily in Garrards and Thorens not just for the performance but also for the bragging rights accquired out of customization and ownership. In the flow of it all, somehow the SL1200 is forgotten most of the time. To my ears and from what all I've listened to (and there is a fair deal of them, I must say), the SL1200 is without doubt, the best TT I have heard till this point.
The SL1200 is also one of the sturdiest turntables ever built (built like a tank is a common way to describe it) and can take a ton of abuse for years together and still sing. Imagine if a Rega or Project was put through this kind of abuse, they would probably fall to bits in no time.
However, the risk at buying the SL1200 pre-used in the American, British, German and Far East market is that there is no gaurantee that the deck was not previously used for heavy duty DJing. A lot of American, European DJs and Asian DJs are going digital and that's resulted in a large influx of SL1200s on eBay. The bearing assembly and tonearm pivot assembly (and lift mechanism) are the most effected by hardcore DJing. May be difficult on eBay but there's nothing like inspecting it (and perhaps auditioning it) before buying.
Overall, IMO, you cant go wrong with deciding in favour of the SL1200
