Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Technics by Panasonic sl-1200 mk2 Turntables by foomh@simedarby.com Welcome Licorice Pizza (LP) lovers! Setup guides and Vinyl FAQ.

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Model:	sl-1200 mk2
Category:	Turntables
Suggested Retail Price:	$500
Description:	direct drive table with integrated arm
Manufacturer URL:	Technics by Panasonic

Review by foomh@simedarby.com on December 09, 2007 at 22:48:21 IP Address: 202.146.93.33

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To start with, I must say I already owned as my main system a Linn LP12 with Moerch UP4 arm and Ortofon Kontrapunct a cartridge and have been truly happy with it. But when a "bargain" SL1200 mk2 became available at USD 300, I thought why not give a try! Reading the whole lot of info on the various forums and reviews by TNT etc, I was indeed intrigued by the division of opinions throughout the hifi audiophile world and recently when HIFI world came up with quite a good review of this deck, I decided to take the plunge.
I took the table to my Ortofon cartridge supplier to fit an mc15super 2, and then at the shop played the first track of a Linda Rondstadt album. Surprise! The sound was immediate, bass attack was fast and deep, midrange was good although not truly first class and the treble, well quite bright! There was a slight etch to the sound but not to the point of being irritating. On the whole, very good for the money being less than just the price of my Kontrapunct a!
Things became alive by the 3rd track with warmth creeping in and the etch receding. It became apparent that speed stability is much better than the Linn or for that matter most tables I've listened to previously. It was altogether now quite clear why the advocates of this deck sing praises of it. It brings a punchy tuneful bass and a good midrange and clearly defined treble to give an overall lively sound. Quite unlike a Linn with the slightly bloated mid bass that I thought stood for musical tones. The technics sounded from a distance closer to the sound you get in a club with a live jazz band ie more lively.
There are downsides of course. Maybe its the cartridge cos complicated bass notes are not so well resolved and voices are perhaps a bit thinner than I would prefer. On the other hand trailing notes are much easier to discern and certainly that helps to make the whole seem more livelike.
The real winner here is that speed consistency is world class and the tunes are carried very well. The pace and timing of music is portrayed much better. My daughter who is 12 years old said when asked:

Daughter....Sounds better...
Daddy(me)... how is it better?
Daughter.....Just better... Can follow background music better...
Daddy..... What do you mean?
Daughter....Well, I can count to the music...

Well there you are, my girl has no idea how much money is involved or the battles between Linn and non Linn or belt drive vs direct drive or has any idea about the brands. She just can count to the music as she has been trained to do in her music lessons.

I am not trained in music but I am tapping my feet to the music more than when I listened to the Linn set up . Do I think the Linn is not as good? No I don't think we need to make such a distinction. Each has been designed to fulfil a certain expectation and price vs value proposition. On the second criteria of price vs value the technics wins hands down and in fact the sound quality vs price factor is way off the chart compared to almost all other decks. The Linn is very good but the money involved is down right crazy for what you get. The latest iteration of the Linn is really for the moneyed kind although some magazines still say its value for money! Yes compared to the coliburn or something like that.
In the recent issue of Stereophile, a new direct drive deck has arrived and it cost USD15k above. Many blogs have suggested that for a similarly engineered deck to be developed like to the level of the technics, it would cost many thousands and now we have proof. I am delighted to own the technics for the kind of money I paid for it.

As a DJ machine, the technics has proven itself for many years. Audiophiles looking for real value for money, handmade in Japan and superior engineering and an heirloom to hand over to the next generation, look no further.

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Product Weakness:	Brand consciouness among audiophiles
Product Strengths:	Superior sound vs price factor, very well engineered and compact. Easy maintenance and ease of use

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Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier:	Mcintosh mc402
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Audible Illusions M3A
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Marantz SA11S1
Speakers:	Maggie 3.6
Cables/Interconnects:	Acoustic Zen Silver Ref 2, Satori
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Jazz, vocals, pop
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

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