The Technics SL-1210G Turntable Review 

Self-confessed Technics SL-1200 fan-boy here. I have a pair of silver 1200 MK2's from the 1980s (1987, 1989) and I use them daily. I love that I can change out the carts on them when I feel like it - I have a mix of musical carts to dj-centric carts and use them depending on the mood and the music on the decks. My favourite carts currently are the Goldring E1 cart/stylus, the Audio-Technica AT-XP5 cart/stylus, and the Pickering XV-15 cartridge with a Jico D-150-DJ nude conical stylus. I also have the venerable Shure M44-7 cart/stylus, but I keep that one for 80s music. The next step on my audio journey would be to take the leap to investing in a moving coil setup (cart and phono stage), but I guess that's a whole other kinda rabbit hole. Tom makes a point about phono stages making a difference - and they most certainly do. I currently have 4 different phono pre-amps, and they all sound and output differently. When I want warm and luscious I use my NAD preamp, and when I want punchy and dynamic I use either my Ecler or my Omnitronic rotary mixer. Technics SL-1200, a fave record and a comfy armchair - my midnight love affair. PS: According to my understanding, the original SL-1200 MK1 and the MK2 were designed with audiophiles in mind. But due to the fact that they had high torque motors, pitch control, quartz clocks, unbelievably low wow & flutter, were built sturdy and heavy like tanks and were amazing in their abilities to absorb room vibrations and sound frequencies - they became firm favourites among club deejays of the 70s and 80s. The MK3D versions and later were deliberately designed with djs in mind. Red Bull Music made a great documentary about the parallel innovations of the Technics SL-1200 turntable and the Sony Walkman tape deck and their profound influence on modern music and global culture. Watch it here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-I6RPbgkbIjo.html

I have the 1210gr and I'm never getting rid of it. Sounds great, super flexible, accurate, and no fiddly belt BS. My only gripe is the tonearm lift which should be made of metal.

Thank you Tom for the thoughtful manner in which you share context from your significant hifi experience about the products you review. I learn something new every time I listen, and appreciate you generously sharing on RU-vid. This is the kind of content which makes RU-vid so valuable in my opinion.

I have the 1210G as well. Absolutely love it. Good review.

Tom -That was the most interesting and satisfying audio related video I have watched in a while! If I smoked cigarettes, I'd have to smoke right now. I am in the middle of my own turntable obsession right now. I have an older Rega RP6 that I have upgraded within an inch of it's life, including the P10's RB3000 tonearm. That enabled me to hear the differences that tonearms, platters, stability, plinths, feet etc.. can make. My other is a now restored Band & Olufsen TX2 that I have has since new. I want another turntable and don't have a $10k+ budget. The 1200 make has been making the most sense to me as the most different from what I have. I'd love a G but think my budget is MkII. I can see where the real risk is that rolling cartridges could get addictive! Thank you!

Tom, you articulate sound with words, and you do it well. Very much enjoy what you have to say.

I am in love with my technics 1200g what a turntable , I also had the 1200gr and it's also a great buy.

Great comprehensive review, Tom. Would love you to tackle the Rega P10 on video too.

I have a Techic too and a love the fact that I can change head shells and thus the design and stylus style

I have the 1200-GR which for $1700 gives a similar feature set and east of setup. I'm sure it is not as silent a background as the G, but, for me, the ease of swapping out carts is a big deal. Good review.

Thank You for your excellent informative review!

Love the HIWATT T-shirt. I’ve got a ‘74 DR-103, and it’s the cleanest most powerful guitar amp I’ve ever played through. I spoke to Frank Doris about that particular amp, as he’s got one too. I’ve got an SL-1200 M3D from 2000 or so with a lot of upgrades and mods done to it from KAB. I auditioned a GR, but ended up sticking with my older M3D. The G on the other hand seems to be in another league, and I may eventually pick one up. Thanks for the in depth review. It was very helpful.

Did enjoy your video very much! Thank you!

very well put. I purchased the 1200G when it came out. Have not looked back and I listened to tables over 20K. I like this table in many ways better than the SME and the Linn for example. Seemed truer to the source. Belts seem to homogenize the music unless you are spending boatloads of cash. IMO

Hi Tom .. I really enjoyed your review ! I your thoughts and observations pretty much match my own. On my system , my 1200G/Denon 301 Mkii sounds like it has dynamic power behind it and dead accurate pitch. The sound literally explodes from my Polk L200s. !!! My Yamaha AS2200 probably helps too .. synergy is important and like you say everyone has a different impression when listening. But I have to say this is the best TT I have ever owned which includes my SL1200Mk5 which I loved to another room !! Thanks for a very insightful review , Tom :)🎉

A detailed and thoughtful review of this table. Over the years I owned several belt drive and direct drive tables. As far as cogging goes, I personally never had a DD where I could hear it. On both belt and direct drive systems I could hear motor noise, and on some belt drive systems some rumble. The quietest and easiest turntable I have ever owned is this model's older sister, the GAE. It has been the only one where I can mount a Grado and not worry about hum, its motor being so well isolated and damped. The 1200 GAE will be the last TT I think I will ever own. For the money, there are things that can match it, but there is not much out there that can outperform it, unless you go really crazy expensive.

I have a Project X1 with the basic entry level PickIt MM cartridge and its served my needs extremely well for the past couple of years. I have been pondering and sitting on the fence about an upgrade -- and the 1210GR ticks the box..so I pulled the trigger and purchased a brand new one and it cost me just under €1500 less cartridge. I like the removable head shell - direct drive and overall build quality of this TT at the price point considering some Rega's P6 /P10 are considerably more expensive. One point Tom makes what I fully agree with is to compare turntables to sound quality -- I never bought into that loose theory, for me its all about cartridge and the quality and set up of your amp and speakers and room acoustics. Greetings from Ireland

Great review! I have a 1210GR and i must say it's amazing as well and no 1200G upgrade needed here. I put MP200 with mani on it and it's sounds like heaven! Enjoy your music my friend!

This was an excellent review.

Brilliant. Bravo ... BRAVO!!! Why is it that more reviews doesn't get into the difference of cartridges as deep as you do. The small sound differences in the tables themselves is minor and if you don't have a pre-amp then it is all mostly about insulation. Pre-amp to me is only extra for those that don't have the proper amps. And now we are getting from the table to amps that actually have a bigger difference and cost big coin. This is why PLX 1000 (under AU$1000) is so good as it is all about the simplicity (no pre-amp), insulation, sound and taking the classic Technics design to a modern take. Technics SL-1210G (AU$7200) just to give some perspective. Seriously I challenge you to compare and tell if you can justify the +AU$6000 difference in price. Maybe you like the PLX 1000 even more that is very possible. Wouldn't that be a shock.

I have a SL-1210 M3 D with a Shure M44-7 also an SP10 mk2 with shure M35c . I think the M3D with Shure them best turtable for not audiophile but music lovers, who only selected records not sound quality but music, a real all rouder , any genre, any record quality, a pure enjoyment. Thre G is audiophile turtable a very good one.

My reloop RP 7000 mk2 is lovely and a stable platform absolutely Love it

Im glad your using the Korf headshell

I bought a Technics SL-1200 MK2 brand new in 2010. I used these turntables in clubs from 1979 till today. Ironically, I had a hearing test done because I used my own split cue system that dramatically reduced the SPL to my ears and my hearing at 63 years of age is excellent as I always had the headphones on. My 1200 MK 2 is sitting on thick steel brackets mounted to the brick wall in my house. I bought a 5 centimetre thick piece of marble and after making sure everything was dead level, I placed the turntable on it and it was fine. I'm using the original rubber mat which gets thinner from the outside to the centre which means that only the first 2 centimetres of any record is supported to keep as much vinyl away from the moter as is possible. Does the wall mounted system work? Absolutely. Just walking around my lounge and watching the bass speakers, the only thing that affected their excursion was if you jumped up and down to the point of absurdity! Normal everyday walking with guests in my house for example was a great litmus test. I am using an Ortofon 2M black and it suits all genres of music beautifully. This turntable will outlast me and if Michael Fremer is using the latest Technics offering, it's a damn good deck. Cheers from Australia, Andrew Collins.

This is something I would likely look to purchase in 5-10 years when I have a real job lmao. Thanks for the review

I with you have a ST-1200 Mk7 table and love it . York phono Stage, Audio Space AS-i3 tube amp Casta B horn speaker GraceF9 HanaML, AT VM740Li, Astatic MF-200

All I needed to know was that Fremer put his 6 figure rig up against this value monster and was impressed by the performance. As someone who thinks 90% of audiophile "science" is nonsense, I thought this review was stellar. I'm not really a fan of TAS because I've seen too much fawning over things like cables and some really esoteric "nonsense" HOWEVER... I do realize that the magic of analog audio does have some, for lack of a better word, magic. And this review, while carefully worded to not offend the very fragile "super audiophiles" was also very informative. Especially Tom's (Tom? sorry if I got that wrong) glee at the headshell feature. I love rolling headshells and my Sony PS-X5 was a delight. I also think that the cartridge is the most important and most influential part of a turntable system. Second is the interaction between the cart and the arm. My MMF-5 that I bought new in 1999 with the Goldring 1012GX is really hard to beat. I think it's because the Pro-Ject arm just loves the cart. Or maybe it's the Gyger stylus. Who knows? The magic (and frustration) of analog is that you never know what combination is going to sing.

Great review! Just for comparison, what is your higher price reference turntable system?

nice review, well done on the pros and cons. I used to believe in that cogging theory but think it was more BS than based on real fact. Cogging defies the wow and flutter specs most DD tables offer. The one thing you touched on was the solidity of your reference table. This is where higher priced tables offer some advantage. Their mass is usually greater, the vibrational damping is usually better than many DD tables. Its considerably above this price level but look at all the extreme steps SME took on their new table to provide better damping for the arm attachment, better platter damping etc.

Tom, thank you for this thoughtful and well considered evaluation of the SL-1210G. Since it was first introduced I have owned and enjoyed the similar SL-1200GAE and can affirm that your observations parallel my own. In particular I would emphasize not only the ease of cartridge change, but the ease of repeatability of setup. It is quite simply among the easiest TTs to set up in my experience and I used to be the TT setup man at a highend stereo shop back in college. My reference TT is a VPI HW-40 and your comments about the differences between your reference TT and the SL also ring true and I must thank you for putting the difference into words. At the same time, I would not want to swap cartridges frequently on my reference. It is a privilege to have both side by side. I also own other TTs but these are the two in daily use. Thanks again and keep up the good work!

Hello Tom , for me this video is a Master Class about tuning a turntable and a cartridge. I saw it and my conclusion is that all your knowledge is the result of experience and dedication to our hobby. I have been into it since middle sixties, when an integrated amplifier, Grundig SV 40 and a Garrard turntable arrived home. After all this years I have been learning with all the devices that have passed for my home. I am totally agree with you in all aspects you mentioned. The great secret is to do with dedication to solve the integration equation of what are in home. Each part of it is to go deep in detail, and with patience obtain the best results. Thanks for this detailed and wonderful video that is useful for many turntables!

I totally agree with you about the ease of setting up a cartridge with removable headshell. For me, as a former analog lover, as I get older I'm getting 0:32 lazier and prefer listening to CDs and even streaming for the most of my listening. People who love analog records own multiple TT's which always confuses me as to why?. As a person who has been an audio enthusiast and music lover for over 63 years now, I think that there should be one turntable with removable headshell and a second turntable with a fixed tonearm which should satisfy most analog record enthusiasts.

Have 2 of those Korf Audio headshells. Quality work he does.huh? I run a SL1500c with KAB damper

How did you set up the VTA replacing the stock 3mm rubber mat with the thin Stein Music platter mat and using the higher than stock position Korf headshell? There has got to be a 4 or more millimeter mismatch there. I don’t see any headshell shims or spacers to make up for the difference in cartridge mounting height.

Hi, Proud owner of the 1210 (two months old). Couldn't agree more with your assessment. Easy to operate, built like a tank! One attraction was the ability to, at some point, try different cartridges. Currently using a Sumiko Celebration 40. A quick question; which version of the Stein mat are you using? Thanks again. Cheers!

Love this Review. Please could you do a Rev, on the Reloop rp7000 Mk2

I have a Rega P3 and a 1210gr. Same cartridge and preamp for both. The Rega has the psu speed unit. The Rega is noticeably the better sounding table. The difference is not subtle. The Technics is fun because you can change out cartridges but that gets old quick. Ultimately I found one I like and it stays on the arm. If I had to choose it would be the Rega P3/PSU.

Good review, have you has any issues with the lifting aspect of the cueing lever? Thinking about replacing my 50 year old JVC JL-A40 DD turntable with the Technics.

It would be good to know what phono stage you were using as well as what the rest of your evaluation system consisted of. It looks like there might have been a Hegel phono stage to the left of the Techniques but hard to tell. You also made reference to your $25k analogue rig that bested it but didn’t elaborate on it was. Can you let us know what table and arm you were referring to?

what cartidge(s) are you recommending. Does this need a preamp? what did you use

My 120 is 45 years old and the tone arm was made by SME to fit the deck precisely. Incredible design and incredible longevity.

My carts : Grace F9 Rudy cantilever Hyper Elliptical stylus , Astatic MF-200 shabbita stylus, AT VM740Li line contact stylus, Hana ML Boron Cantilever Micro Ridge

Which Stein mat are you using. The Signature or Standard?

is the TT volume 3 for the AS Illustrated History ever coming out? Recently got the electronics volume and enjoy it quite a bit, but really am mostly interested in TTs. Got the Rega book and the Revolution volume. Otherwise very little TT books out there. --- What sort of cartridge measurement system do you use?

What do you think about the Acoustic Solid 311?

I have a Technics 1200G. Do you mind if I ask where did you get the white headshell? It looks neat.

Great review. It´s a great turntable, I just don´t fancy the "DJ" design features. If Technics would launch an improved SL-1500C (or SL-100C) on the same quality level I would be very interested though.

Did you really use the overhang gauge for the Hana ML? Looks a slight couple of mm’s too long in that standard G headshell

Got some 1210 mk2s that I bought in the mid 90s and never ever heard cogging. Also have an acoustic signature wow xl with matching ta1000 tonearm. The technics stand up pretty well against it.

Is the lift mech. different between the GR and the G and why didn’t they, after all the complaints, improve the lift?

5:20 Did you use that mat? The Stein PI? Because that one is way too thin and will result in incorrect VTA! That mat is not suitable for the 1200s, unless you use it in combination with some other mat. Btw, I'm a 1200G owner for over 5 years and I've experimented with mats myself, that's how I know. After a few years I've found that the thicker version of the stock Technics mat, the 6mm rubber mat, is probably the best choice. 28:45 Yes, that brightness is just part of the cartridge, not the turntable or tonearm; I've put an SME V tonearm on my 1200G and that brightness became even more apparent, still subtle though.

Due to hand issue I have restored 1600mk2 ,isolated platter.

Review of Made in Japan or Made in Malaysia? Thank you very much!

I have 2 1200mk2 units. This looks exactly like them. What is different about this one? They do make great stuff enjoy.

So the 'G' version, 1210G comes with a black tonearm? I have the 1210G but it came with a silver tonearm... Do they now offer black tonearms on the 1210G? ... They both look the same to me otherwise. (Although the black paint may alter the tonearm resonance a bit, not really sure.)

Fantastic turntable...but I can't get past it not being made in Japan for $4300...

Wow... Curious... which of the SL1200 variants offered by Technics today represents best value / bang for the buck ????

I have an RP8 and changing cartridges is a disaster, all turntables should be like the Technics. As a fault I would say that the arm-eight control ring does not go low enough, and does not give a satisfactory adjustment of the VTA (GR model). Good video on an excellent turntable often shunned by "audiophile purists", wrongly of course.

The technics turntable is excellent pity it wasn't reviewed by David price I've been using Technics for over fifty years easy on the 👀s and joy to listen to much better than the likes of the Linn etc ❤ set up and forget and play that's what you want your only concerns is the amplifier and speaker's to bring best out of each other!!!

1200GR2 coming very close now...

Has the move out of Japan to manufacturing in Malaysia affected quality in any way.? I own the SL-1210GAE, the last Japan-manufacred model.

Has some issues in certain areas but sounds good . Rega p8 much better thou.

Disco and rap? It's called Djaying Tom!

Compared to PLX 1000 I'll take the Pioneer any day. Plus it is lot cheaper.

You don't want mass in middle you want to on the outside the ring instead and suction cup in the middle. Mark twos do not like a lot of weight they have a nylon thrust bearing and will wear out very quickly

HOW MUCH?

Never heard cogging even back in the day…..

Ouch. Uturn, pro-ject, and fluance, or an old school dual for me. I’ll put the other $4k into upgrading my ride :) But thanks for the info. An 8lb platter is certainly impressive. Here’s yer’ upthumb. Did they just stack the steel higher, or did they clad some lead or tungsten for the platter?

Regardless of brand, whenever you have a direct drive turntable, that uses a servo motor, it will have worse performance than a good hi-end belt drive turntable. Why? Because anytime a servo motor is used, it will by definition, be constantly changing its speed. Try this instead, do a side by side comparison between this and a Linn LP12 turntable. Use identical tone arms and cartridges. Play the same record. You will experience hearing two different performances.

If i was into midfi sound a 1200 of any kind is a no brainer ..! Reliable , easy to setup and sounds good with dust cover up or down , JC Penny audio rack no problem ..!

Double blind testing is not impossible with turntables, it's just expensive, tedious, and requires effective use of digital recording and playback hardware. Yes, the conversion to digital will lose a little something, but with good enough hardware and careful use of the software, you can still detect when certain tweaks have an audible difference (and it also allows you to have the better mastering of vinyl for use on portable devices when you travel).

anything different with the G-K

So we've learnt double blind listening is useless, it's analogue magic although 99% of records are recorded digitally, & it shows cartridge differences which is advantageous over reproducing the recorded sound. I'm so glad I should switch to vinyl as long as I get me head shell weight correct

I know you've been around at the Absolute Sound for quite some time but I believe that you're pronouncing Technics incorrectly. It's not the end of the earth but just wanted to let you know

It's not pronounced "Techneeks"!! Technics. As in "technical"

in the future, could you please compare components to similarly priced alternatives? You always say "compared to less expensive alternatives, this is better, and compared to more expensive alternatives, it's not as good." But that's hardly informative.

Now, laws of physics. No matter their white paper attempts. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Any extra tube length between those two points is unneeded mass. Any tube bends reduces tube stiffness and causes resonances. The Japanese always claimed the bends added length thus lowering arm resonance. (I was Kenwood rep also, had a KD500, LO-7D) Throw a batch of metal for removable headshell at the worst point, furthest from pivot point. All this adds to bad tracking. Excess mass, exaggerate slight warps, ... My J.H. Formula 4 on the 398 outperformed the LO-7D! (Signet TK7e/ beryllium Shabata (demo), Goldring 900SE (demo), ...) Yes demo carts I was repping and still have. (Maggie IIIa, LO-7D/C)

You mean DJ's for the non-audiophile market. mate. Yikes. I'm an ex club DJ and none of my DJ friends have ever played disco or rap. Have a couple of 1210 MK5G hooked up to the system along with a VPI HW-40th Anniversary for 'audiophile' listening.

I am sorry. This guy makes me want to throw my entire stereo away.

only took you 23 minutes to get to the point 🤔

Your review is boring 😢