The Legendary "1979" Technics SL-1200mk2

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bhaskarcan said:
This should definitely cure your 'upgradatitise' as far as TT goes. You now have an absolute beauty with you.

Apart from cosmetic cleaning I recommend applying very few drop of good sewing machine oil at the base of the spindle(after removing the platter). Normally this is the only maintenance required by this workhorse.

Is it possible to provide the serial no. of the table? (just for academic interest)

Regards,

Bhaskar
Click to expand...

Thanks Bhaskar.

For now everything seems very smooth, however I will lube the base of the spindle.

Any specific brand of good oil you suggest?
 
Update: Got the interconnects changed on the 1200. Upgraded them to Mr. Murthys Interconnects and listening impressions are pending now. Next in line is to change the Stylus Illuminator with the stock bulb replacement.

Only upgrade left is for the Shure M97XE Cart.
 
Shure 97 XE cart will be a good match for the SL1200. Please ensure to align the cart accurately and keep the correct VTF and anti-skate
 
Well, before I changed the interconnects there was a slight humm when the volume was above the 8 o'clock position when a record was not playing.

Changing of the RCA interconnects has now eliminated the humm completely :).

I have definitely noticed an increase in performance with the new set of cables.

Cheers...
 
A sneak peak on my 2nd 1200mk2.

Notice the slight dent on the tonearm? That was courtesy the courier guys. Before I staged it for play, I refit the tonearm and recalibrated all alignments accurately and it played flawlessly :). Compared both the TTs with the very same Record and I couldn't notice any difference apart from the obvious differences in the NAD Amps. Need to re-lubricate....following the lubrication thread closely and will most probably test with the watch Oil.

Missed a few points. Initially the height adjustment dial was jammed. It refused to move. So I sprayed some WD40 and left it over night and the next day, voil...smooth as a cat. This is a common issue with 1200s and WD40 did the trick.

Now why 2 of these? That's a long story which will be penned out later. But I am loving it as both my setups now have 1200s on them.

2unr.jpg


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4oef.jpg
 
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Congrats. IMO, the Stanton 500 gold cartridge is a superb one. Has terrific dynamics and high output. We also get a choice of stylus from elliptical to spherical.

Cheers
 
Fantastic! It's raining 1200s for Record Player!

This one looks clean too, apart from the slight ding on the tonearm. I believe, the tubular steel arm part can be replaced with any of Technics S-arm. You may need to fabricate the dustcover as I read earlier that it was broken too.:)

But nevertheless, great going! Still Drooling!

Regards,
Saket
 
anilva said:
Congrats. IMO, the Stanton 500 gold cartridge is a superb one. Has terrific dynamics and high output. We also get a choice of stylus from elliptical to spherical.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Thanks Anil and for the details on this cart which I really dint know.

In-fact the first time I used this cart, I was extremely surprised how nice sounding it was. Extremely detailed with high output like you mentioned :).

So my main carts are the Stanton and the m97xe.
 
Saket said:
Fantastic! It's raining 1200s for Record Player!

This one looks clean too, apart from the slight ding on the tonearm. I believe, the tubular steel arm part can be replaced with any of Technics S-arm. You may need to fabricate the dustcover as I read earlier that it was broken too.:)

But nevertheless, great going! Still Drooling!

Regards,
Saket
Click to expand...

LOL thanks Saket. Ive waited a while for even my first 1200 to come my way. Lets say its my time now :)

One question, can just the tubular steel arm just be replaced or only the whole unit needs to be changed (tonearm assembly only).

The reason I want to replace the tonearm is because - Once I finish playing and I bring the arm back to its rest I am not able to put the arm lock on because its a couple of mms higher. I need to lower the queuing lever for it to rest easily on the arm rest and then be locked, but dangerously close to the TT base. I presume this happened due to the dent on the arm while being couriered. Ive seen a replacement on ebay UK for abt 35 pounds but has a black base but the arm is silver so will match the 1200mk2 Technics Genuine Tonearm Assembly SL1200MK2 SL1210MK2 SL1600MK2 Black Version | eBay

Yes, I need to get a custom dust cover made. But I tell you the original dust covers are so apt and perfect and its a pity I saw this smashed in pieces due to the courier guys :(.
 
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Record Player said:
One question, can just the tubular steel arm just be replaced or only the whole unit needs to be changed (tonearm assembly only).

The reason I want to replace the tonearm is because - Once I finish playing and I bring the arm back to its rest I am not able to put the arm lock on because its a couple of mms higher. I need to lower the queuing lever for it to rest easily on the arm rest and then be locked, but dangerously close to the TT base. I presume this happened due to the dent on the arm while being couriered. Ive seen a replacement on ebay UK for abt 35 pounds but has a black base but the arm is silver so will match the 1200mk2 Technics Genuine Tonearm Assembly SL1200MK2 SL1210MK2 SL1600MK2 Black Version | eBay

Yes, I need to get a custom dust cover made. But I tell you the original dust covers are so apt and perfect and its a pity I saw this smashed in pieces due to the courier guys :(.
Click to expand...

While restoring my player, I found that the tubular S arm can be disassembled down to a quite a few stages. The tone-arm disassembly of 1200 is fairly simple as it is not an automatic, and if you have the patience & time, you can look into it yourself. There are 2 small screws as you can see in the picture you yourself posted that hold the tubular structure. Unscrewing these gets the job done. The S-Arm will come out easily. No need to buy the entire tone arm assembly. Just try to get the S-tube from a salvaged TT. Also, in the MK-2, the effective length of the arm is 230mm (against 220 mm in MK-1), which is same as many other common Technics turntables with the S Arm.

Regarding the arm lock, are you sure that the cueing lever is not the culprit? Does the tonearm ascends & descends fully while using the cueing lever? I read that the height adjusting mechanism had jammed on this TT; so, it is possible that still the VTA is not correct, and hence the problem too.

Dust cover fabrication is a painful job to get done. Since, it is also a component which 'bestows' the beauty to the turntables, the fit & finish has to be top notch, else its a total waste. I tried a few places to get it made from glass, but was never satisfied with the finish quality. Acrylic workers may do a better job, though I have not explored that area.

Regards,
Saket
 
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Thanks Saket. Will wait for some more advise from 1200 owners.

Well, the cueing lever is fine. Does what it exactly needs to do. The tonearm ascends and descends fully and correctly using the lever. I fixed the height adjustment dial and also set it to 25mm which is recommended for the 1200 (while playing it is parallel).

I am going to make a very simple box type dust cover this time made of 3mm acrylic.
 
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