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Any Audiophiles here using Technics SL 1210?
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| Matt_Moor |
Looking to add some mods to the technics to get the best rips possible of my old tunes.
Anyone done this or modded their technics? Any UK sites with parts etc? |
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| Stu Cox |
I've never heard of anyone doing any mods to a 1210 to improve ripping quality, apart from setting the tone arm up correctly for your needles and using decent quality carts/styli...
I guess the things which influence the sound quality of a turntable are mechanical consistency, an accurate tranducer (cart/stylus) and any noise in the electrical signal path.
Apart from setting everything up according to the relevant manuals, the only thing I can think of to improve the mechanics might be to try and improve the weight balance of the platter, but that's already pretty good on a 1210 (if it hasn't been battered too much). If it's unbalanced, it could wobble as it rotates, which can affect what the needle picks up.
The transducer stage is the conversion of mechanical movements into electrical signals, so that's basically your needles and carts. Get the needle perfectly parallel to the groove, make sure it's clean and make sure it's exerting the right amount of pressure on the record from the right height.
If you really thought they were a problem you could replace the signal wires from the cart out to the connectors on the back, maybe use shielded cables if you're worried about noise from the power supply and motor.
But tbh that all sounds like more hassle than it's worth. 1210s aren't supposed to sound amazing, they're just supposed to be bomb proof. If you're after high fidelity, I'd just spend a few hundred quid on a decent hi-fi turntable.
And of course make sure whatever sound card etc you're using to record into your PC with isn't the weak link in the chain either. |
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| djkatmaus |
I've read on a couple different forums where some folks have added a digital out (spdif) to the back of their Technics. Basically it's a little box, that's mounted in the back, underneath the 1200. There's a company in Texas. I think his name is The Turntable Doctor or something like that. But you would have to send him the deck (you pay all shipping costs) for the mod. It's not a cheap mod either. I read it's in the $400.00 range depending on the model. Not worth it in my book. Soundcard's are cheaper and have a better quality. Plus it will void the warranty if you 1210 is somewhat new.
I have a Denon DPDJ-151 for archiving vinyl. But the quality of the transfer doesn't compare to a good sound card. The levels are improved compared to the analog outs, but it's still being played back from a needle.
Only other mod I've noticed (besides the ones Stu pointed out) on 1200's is the removal of the ground wire. But that's really it. |
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| epdarks |
| did either of you guys mention replacing the red/white cables? getting some nice beefy cables in there should help with audio quality i'd guess? seems to be an easy mod too. |
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| djkatmaus |
I experimented with an older MK2. I replaced the signal cable (red and white ones) with a Canare twisted pair cable. I removed the existing ground wire and replaced it with a thicker gauge cable. I then took a headshell, replaced the four wires with a slightly larger gauge cable. I did a comparison with another MK2 without mods. I found that the one with the new cable produced a much better signal to noise ratio. The unwanted noise was greatly reduced resulting with a slightly better signal. However I didn't notice that much of a change in audio level. The cable change does help a bit.
I did this to my M5G's minus the headshells. The results were even better than the MK2. The thing I noticed between the two models is, the M5G's already came equipped with a better set up. The audio cables seem slightly better and it's noise floor was almost non existent before the mod's. |
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| Stu Cox |
| quote: | Originally posted by epdarks
did either of you guys mention replacing the red/white cables? getting some nice beefy cables in there should help with audio quality i'd guess? seems to be an easy mod too. |
No one wants weak leads, but don't get dragged into the age-old con that expensive cables make it sound a million times better.
Thicker cables will reduce the chances of a break and will give you a better connection. Higher copper purity does have some affect as it means fewer eddy currents form, but past a point ($5 worth of cable is probably plenty) it makes no noticeable difference. |
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| djkatmaus |
| One thing I failed to mention, and I should've posted this before my nerdy tech experiment post. Try cleaning the connectors. Over time the RCA connections, can become dirty and in some cases appear dull looking. Causing possible audio drop outs and most noises. A small bottle of contact cleaner or even a bottle of tarnish remover would do the trick. It would give you a cleaner, more noticeable audio signal, a better connection and it will cut down the unwanted noise (hums, buzz). Apply a little cleaner to the headshell connection points too. I would go this route first, before considering mod's. |
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| DjWoody |
Technics turntables are KING at mods. There's tons you can do to get audiophile sound but some of it will cost you an arm and a leg.
The cheapest way is to get new needles and to clean your records. Do your research. There's a lot of different needles made specifically for archiving music. The one I can think off right away is the Ortofon Archiv. Stanton used to make a really awesome 680 with a brush built in. It basically cleaned the groove right before the needle past through it. Use Gruv Glid to clean your vinyls and clean them from the inside out. Gruv Glid is amazing.
Now, if you really wanna mod your deck and have the cash for it, the first thing most audiophiles do is replace the tonearm. A high end audiophile quality tonearm can cost you upward to above $5000 USD!!! Yeap! FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS! Hi-end needles can get expensive pretty quick.
Here's a few popular mods.
http://www.soundhifi.com/sl1200/index.htm
:toothless |
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| djkatmaus |
| Damn. Now those are some mods. You're not kidding about pricey. Record weight 1 for 125.00 pounds. Feet from 19.50 to 95.00,, strobe disable for 49.95. |
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| Matt_Moor |
| thats what im talking about right there, pricey but prefer my own rips knowing they are the best they can be as opposed to juno fobbing me off with re encoded e |
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| tubby |
| the tone arm mod, repacing with the rb-300 is quite common, you can find instructions for it if you search. probably looking at $300+ for the arm alone (at least that's what they go for on ebay over here). |
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| DJ RANN |
| quote: | Originally posted by DjWoody
Technics turntables are KING at mods. There's tons you can do to get audiophile sound but some of it will cost you an arm and a leg.
The cheapest way is to get new needles and to clean your records. Do your research. There's a lot of different needles made specifically for archiving music. The one I can think off right away is the Ortofon Archiv. Stanton used to make a really awesome 680 with a brush built in. It basically cleaned the groove right before the needle past through it. Use Gruv Glid to clean your vinyls and clean them from the inside out. Gruv Glid is amazing.
Now, if you really wanna mod your deck and have the cash for it, the first thing most audiophiles do is replace the tonearm. A high end audiophile quality tonearm can cost you upward to above $5000 USD!!! Yeap! FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS! Hi-end needles can get expensive pretty quick.
Here's a few popular mods.
http://www.soundhifi.com/sl1200/index.htm
:toothless |
, I've done what I thought was some hardcore modding int he past but that is some serious there.
I don't quite understand it though, as the biggest thing when you're getting in to serious hifi audiophile turntables is that belt drives are by far better for the task, as they don't pass motor resonance on the to platter or tonearm.
As for the cable thing, there's absoltuyl no need on the M5G's, apart from removing the ground. The leads are already up to Canare/Belden/Van Damme quality, so I think the difference you noticed (Katmau5) is just a cleaning of the RCAs and ground removal.
On all the other models it will make a noticeable difference, sd the cables are quite crap, so the benefits of oxygen free, high quality copper and proper shielding are apparent. At Stu said, beyond that (like sliver or gold hifi bull) there is no difference.
The best things you can do to get great rips:
1, if you have anything other that a m5g, then do replace the leads (Van damme if you are in he UK, Klotz if you're in Germany, and Belden / canare if elsewhere). Do the ground mod while you're at it.
2, Get a damn good cartridge and calibrate the deck propery.
3, Make sure you have a really good audio interface and then calibrate your gain staging so you're coming in as hot as possible without clipping.
4, Use a vacuum vinyl cleaner like the nitty gritty or VPI. Yes it will take a while and cost you a few hundred but it's worth it if you're serious. |
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