Can't make up your mind about a turntable?

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by Alberto

That's my strategy too. I have many of my own older records that I don't dare play with the $1K Clearaudio Maestro. I have a vintage Empire 398 with a Shure M97 and AT 440mla at the ready for those records.

Alberto

I had a blast listening to some really old vinyl today. I even listened to a record my parents gave me recently that we used to listen to when I was about 5 years old... it brought back childhood memories. It is amazing it survived all these tears and was pretty listenable too with just a few pops here and there.

[jdandy]

Serge.......It is plain to see you are happy as a lark being able to enjoy music in your two channel room. It makes me smile.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Serge.......It is plain to see you are happy as a lark being able to enjoy music in your two channel room. It makes me smile.

Dan, I've noticed I need a daily dose of music like food and water. I just don't feel complete without it. It recharges me and relieves stress. I am very happy to be able to retreat to my analog room and do some deep listening once again.

[1KW]

Originally Posted by PHC1

I don't know guys.. That a $4k, $10k or even $20k table should sound good is a no brainer but after careful setup and proper cartridge loading in the phono stage, this Technics table has absolutely no business sounding so damn good for so little money. I have a $250 MM cartridge on it too... Really, sometimes you have to ask yourself "when is good, good enough?"... I'm more impressed by the achievement of this silly cheap table than I ever was with the $18k retail SME all things and price considered...

Maybe I should buy another one and just have you set it up for me . Actually the SL1200 would cost a lot more than it sells for were it not for the shear volume Technics has sold over the last 30 years. I agree it is not a bad table .

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by 1KW

Maybe I should buy another one and just have you set it up for me . Actually the SL1200 would cost a lot more than it sells for were it not for the shear volume Technics has sold over the last 30 years. I agree it is not a bad table .

Wait until I set up the SME and we'll do a side by side comparison. Then you can decide if the difference is worth it to you to step up to a much more expensive table. I need to get a new frame of reference myself in this new system. Right now the SL1200 is sounding pretty damn nice with the EAR phono stage.

[Tonepub]

The SL1200 and the EAR is an excellent combination. However, what I noticed when the EAR was in for review is that it's a lot like a pair of Vandersteen 2Ce's. Has a pretty warm, romantic midrange and does such a nice job there, you can overlook what it doesn't do (extension at both ends of the spectrum, low level resolution, major dynamics).

Having the EAR side by side with the ARC REF 2 phono, both sounded very good with cartridges in the 400-900 dollar range, but once you used a cart in the $4000 -6000 range (Lyra Skala, Clear DaVinci, etc) the EAR didn't really sound all that much more exciting with a DaVinci as it did with a $600 grado. But once you switch to the REF, the diff between the cartridges is night and day.

And so it will be with your SME 20. With a better cartridge and phono stage, the presentation you get from the 20 will be light years beyond what the 1200 can do. That still doesn't minimize how good the 1200 is for the minimal cost, or how much better it can be with the power supply and SME arm upgrades. But even then, it's still not an SME 20.