Why the Technics SL-1200 is the World's Best Selling Turntable! 

Not just a turn table a legend! It’s not just a DJ thing. Built like a new ank and made to last. A work horse.

Open up a 1200 and look at the build quality - they certainly don't make them like that anymore, definitely not for the price they were able to sell them. Cast chassis, the bulk-moulding compound, the rubber base, the rubber damped platter with integrated motor rotor unit. Pulled mine apart after buying second hand to restore the separate earth lead (a popular DJ mod was to integrate it into the phono ground) and was blown away by the engineering involved.

Got my 1200s 1990 from supper hifi £250 each a lot of money for a 19 year i saved for ages love them a great tool a classic for my generation as for hifi snobs i was in a hifi shop last week what a snob he was/is I'll neve go in that shop again, love my sl-1200s a design classic sound good ànd look fantastic to me and built like a tank

Good to hear honest views, I think back in the day we all got too influenced by market hype.

I guess it’s all down to personal preference, I’ve had my 2 Technics 1200 MK2 turntables for 23 years & im happy with the sound they produce, the thought of cannibalising a classic design that is known worldwide is a no no to me. I’m sure you can get a more defined sound by upgrading the headshell & cartridge, perfect example of this is the people who rave about Fluance turntables, those turntables only sound decent because of the Ortofon Red or Blue. The history & reliability of the Technics 1200 is already legendary & they are the best selling turntables on the market by far, most people who have owned & sold the MK2 version wish they hadn’t, like I said it’s down to personal preference.

One thing you don’t mention, and I guess it’s probably not that relevant to all the totally dedicated hifi aficionados is durability. I’ve had a pair of 1210 mk2’s (yes I used to dj) for 35 years and now they (well one of them) is on purely home duties through a Creek amp and some AE speakers. They have been all over the country, in the back of a land rover, doing house parties and now they sit in my office working just fine, never needing and repairs or fiddling. 1210’s do a stellar job for their intended purpose and a very reasonable job of hifi duties. They’ve been a remarkable product for decades and should never have been looked down on by anyone IMO. I even tried an LP12 back to back with my intended system and I couldn’t tell the difference. The chap in the shop couldn’t either.

It does make you wonder how easily people were lead by the hifi press in days gone by? Come to think of it, not much has changed in that respect. There's loads of good kit that never got a fair hearing in the press for whatever reason. Nice to see such an even handed evaluation of a classic.

The really crazy thing is that the original SL-1200/1200 MK 2 was never designed as a DJ deck….I love my MK 2, had it from new and 35 years later it’s still going strong. Looking to change it for a 1210G sometime this year. My trusted 1210 MK2 will be going to a friend.

So glad you guys did this vid. Fantastic stuff. My 2 main decks are a Yamaha PX-2 linear tracking direct drive and an SL1200 M3D. I’ve put Isonoe feet, a Herbies mat, delrin thrust plate, Cardas tonearm wires and captive cables, plus a bunch of other upgrades and mods through KAB to my 1200, and it’s just plain a super solid great sounding table. Thanks for bringing the mighty 1200 more to the forefront. It’s not just a DJ deck, nor was it ever intended to be, but DJs quickly figured out how amazing they are. 👍🔊😊🎶

I have a Technics SL-1200 MK5, I haven’t changed the arm and have added an ATVM95SH cartridge and it plays really well. I was originally after the GR, but ended up buying the SL-1200 MK5 second hand for £250 in near mint condition. It’s my second turntable system and my no-faff option for when I want to play a mix of 45s and 33s - which means it gets a lot more use when compared to my vintage Linn based system. Very happy and I think it sounds great in my room. 😎

I’m glad their is justice finally for the Technics. I bought a current 1500c because I liked its looks. No strobe or fader. I bought the Isonoe feet as well and a charcoal achromat. I have to say it looks gorgeous in silver and sounds excellent. One thing I like is cleaning the record on 45rpm.

That was very informative and interesting. Thanks guys. Jim 🙂🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

High price has never necessarily equated to high quality, I grew up on a beach northeast of Boston and there was no fee to park at and enjoy that particular beach, it was usually mostly empty. Less than a mile down the road on the same bay was a nearly identical beach excepting that beach cost $10.00. The $10.00 beach was almost always overcrowded and not nearly as enjoyable in my opinion. I equate the 1200 mk 2 turntable to the free to visit beach I grew up on. You can most certainly go spend a bunch more money on a slew of other turntables but the performance improvements are dubious at best. There are a number of reasons why Richard Long and other professional high end sound engineers here in America used 1200 mk 2s in major legendary NYC nightclubs with amazing sound systems like studio 54, Paradise garage, and many others, because they are great sounding and durable workhorses, a lot of bang for the buck. There are plenty of 1200s that were made in the 70s that are still going strong today and they sound great. I for one always preferred the free beach.

Great video guys - keep em coming! 👍

I have always loved Technics SL-1200 tables. I currently have the M3D version with an Ortofon Bronze cart, and it sounds fabulous. Anytime I have friends over, and I play vinyl, they are always blown away by the sound. I have no intentions of purchasing a different arm, as I really do not think I could hear the difference. I run it through a Yamaha A-S 1200, and have a pair of MartinLogans. The only thing I would consider adding would be a quality Phono Pre-Amp.

Really appreciate your review of this turntable, as a regular reader of What Hi-Fi they really rate the Technics turntables, the much cheaper SL-1500C at £899 the top of the range SL-1000 is What Hf-Fi's Reference Deck which shows you how much Technics have come sice the 80's

I remember 1200s being sold everywhere for £229 back in the early mid 90s, when CD was in its full pomp. The UK HIFI press gave all DD turntables in general bad press and quartz locked speed was heresy, the UK makers of turntables preferring the old belt drive 50Hz AC synchronous motors.

I own an SL-1200G for about 5 years now. It's a great deck. Even the stock tonearm is good - way better than the tonearm on the original 1200s. Better bearings, magnesium tonearm tube... it just comes with a cheap headshell and cables. If you get a good pair of phono cables, a nice magnesium headshell and good headhshell wires, you've got yourself a great performer. Adding a tonearm damper takes it up even another level! Btw, the reason the motor on these newer 1200G has even more torque is because of the heavy brass platter.

Maybe I'm easily pleased , but the closest thing to heaven is finding really good records like my Yes steven wilson box set and listening to it on my technics sl 1200g. I've had many decks in my 53 years but to date nothing comes close , the best 3k I've spent , I don't buy expensive carts I use primarily audio-technica and nagaoka, they seem good all rounders.

I have a GR and love it, swapped out my LP12 for it. I put a SME 309 on mine, took it to the next level. Even the stock arm was pretty good apart from it doesn’t go low in enough for some cartridges. Also added a Soundeck platter mat. It would be great if Technics sold the deck without arm.

There were lots of turntables throughout the 70 and 80’s that got short shrift by press etc, Marantz, Denton, and Pink Triangle all come to mind.

Actually, even the original MK2 gets up to speed in just one quarter of a turn. I DJ with them and even clean the records whilst they are playing. The speed stability is fantastic.

Hi Guys and thanks for another interesting conversation. Fortunately, I never have had hi-fi snobbery and spent many a few hours in the original Richer Sounds shop @ London Bridge 40 years ago. Across the way from them, next to the river, was a more high end outlet and my second home 'the Sound Organisation' - fantastic guys who would call me in for a listening session whenever they landed an esoteric new Japanese cartridge to evaluate. I bought my first Roksan Xerxes from those guys , though I never managed to upgrade the RB300 I had on it. I love that this little Technics unit has been performant for so many years whilst being ignored by the mainstream press. Without trying to generalise, I do take the views of outlets such as 'What Hi-Fi' with a large dollop of skepticism as I've proved to my satisfaction that they can trash review items that are actually extremely good, though its nice to see that they have reversed their former bias when it comes to the technics turntables. I've also discovered very recently, that even a very inexpensive turntable can produce magical results well above expected. With no desire to go through the loft, rescue my old Roksan xerexes and send it off to make it good, a recent decision to finally sell off all my old LP's has seen me buy a cheap USB turntable to digitise some things you just cannot get any more. I bought a Sony unit which outputs a digital DSD stream for about £300 and stuck a Japenese £150 cart on it. Whilst I certainly wouldn't want to use it via analogue outs (its not good) - the DSD streams it produces from its internal circuitry has blown my socks off. DSD's of cleaned up albums have been immaculate and unbelievably high end sound - I've even done a few old albums where I do have a Quobuz high res alternative and I'm shocked to report I often prefer the DSD's I've recorded. Mind Blown - not an expected result at all. Thanks for another great vid!

Bomb proof build quality iconic turntable..

They got the speed right... not bad already compared to so many high end turntables...

Thanks guys. My first “proper” tt was a Mk2 in 1979 with a Marantz made in Jp receiver and JBL 4333’s a literal back breaking rig haha!

I think it was also disbelief at the time about the technology, that direct drive could ever possibly rival a properly set up suspension system. Great discussion chaps.

Classic riff ❤❤❤❤

I have a 1210 mk2 with a Rega rb330 👌

This particular turntable was born out of the SP (special) research division of Matsushita corp. Who built the components for Technics which was Panasonic’s hifi division. The level of engineering put into this TT was a cut above anything else and was targeted for home Hi-Fi . The robustness of this build quality, meaning it could be knocked around and still not suffer any performance degradation is what attracted DJs. It is a fantastic sounding turntable and I’ve heard TT costing £10k which don’t sound nearly as good as this and take up an entire rack.

Love your videos, I was really considering to buy lp12 magik just because I already have a technics sld2 (which I know it’s not comparable to any of this ones), from my father, but now I really must listen to one sl1200g I believe that i can save some euros if I go with the technics. My system is very basic I got Luxman integrated amp with kef r7 speakers. Would love to know your thoughts on witch of these turntables would work better on my system. Thank you so much and keep up with the nice videos. Regards from Portugal.

The cheapest one I've seen was almost 1800 and I bought it. It's a fine record player surpassing the Theron's TD 160 I had as far as fun sounding.

I'd be very curious to hear a direct side-by-side comparison of two Tec 12s in the exact same configuration, except that one has a tonearm upgrade, and see what the differences really are. I've heard allot of conflicting information about this; that the arm is of low quality and basically any Rega bolt-in is an upgrade, and conversely that the original arm is a Swiss watch that beats out anything in its price range. For now I'm keeping the original arm as-is. I agree with the general sentiment that the Technics SL-1200 MKx series flew under the hifi radar for way too long, and even at today's inflated prices is a decent value. The prejudice around this deck helped me score a used one for very cheap about 10 years ago, so I can't be too mad about it, but it's laughable to think about the bargain you got on these machines for what they were. The best bargain in hifi, all because of the "implications" of using a DJ table.

Great review again, thanks! My SL-1200 journey started 45 years ago when my Dad bought one (Mk1) After we all left home it wasn’t played for over 20 years, and now I have it and it sounds fine. I have made some upgrades, added a AT mc cartridge, the Origin felt cartridge dampener, and the Funk Firm APM Achromat. I would like to change the arm but I’m not sure you can with this model? I’ll keep going with upgrades but it is difficult to find someone who can help with this model haha. Thanks again

Back in 1988 i heard Toto 7 (The Seventh One) on a Technics SL turntable. It´s was normal. And a NAD amp.....

Nice one guys. You can bet that Technics used a bit of science and engineering in their designs, as opposed to , well let's tweak this a bit and see what it does. I don't think Technics would go in for suck it and see audiophile engineering. Even the arch subjectivist , Stevey G. has gone from his SME TT to one of these and loves the interchangeable headshells for swapping cartridges.

Sounds like sitting through a lunch room discussion at Stereophile.

I have a custom built Rega that was constructed from every upgrade part I could find and also a Kenwood Kd990 and a Garrard 401, so for me listening to a Tecnics turntable I can find areas that I feel it is lacking, but I am still working on it.

You guys are great, and I agree 100% I've been on this ride myself since 1977 and remember the HiFi snobbery well in regards to turntables, and most things considered cheap by Audiophiles - with a few exceptions. If you followed the guru's of the time, money separated the wheat from the chaff. Probably a lot of cool kit was missed because of this attitude.

I have a technics sl 1200 mk2 and a linn lp12 and I prefer the technics simply because technics plays lps even poorly recorded ones and makes them sound great and if the recording is poor it sounds rubbish on the linn the linn is more musical but that's it I'm enjoying the music far more on the technics it not modified in any way it was my friend's till he passed away and his brother sold it to me because they needed the money for his funeral i have to say you were right pete your deck is better than mine

The audio press are serial liars pandering to advertising revenues. So it's good to see an admission of this prejudice, even if it's several decades later. Any casual side by side listen will demonstrate that even a basic Technics punches most of the highly reviewed sonically lackluster audiophile decks into the middle of next week. Ask any professional archivist/ broadcaster which one they prefer.

Ive never got on with the Technics DD sound signature.... rigid, hard, metronomic, grey, grainy upper middy. For me it just sounds too tight and rigid and it wont loosen up n boogie unless im drunk enough in a club somewhere. For some music this signature works to its advantage (electro/dance/fast, impulsive music) but for my diet of prog rock, soul, jazz, funk and so on it really does impart a rigid digital-esque signature. I wish it wasnt the case as its clearly well built to last (or is it when you see how many platters of the new models arent flat?), are super low maintenance and are very practicle/useable. The reason they sell so many is because 95% of buyers dont spend alot of time going and comparing turntables somewhere and these buyers thus have to rely on what they can read up, where they will find the outstanding measurements of a maintenance free and instantly recognisable (named and looking) device, with countless fans to boot and take comfort in what is realistically still a blind purchase. This is why so many others have copied the 1200 look and DD operation. Its a safe sales bet.

Are there any written hifi reviews of the SL1200G people would recommend?

You guys are killing me with this Hi-Fi nostalgia. Around 1980 Hampshire Audio of Chandlers Ford demoed (to a large audience) the LP12 vs a high end DD turntable (maybe Denon?) at a hotel ballroom in Southampton. Same arm & cartridge, the demo showed the LP12 to vastly superior at detail retrieval & PRAT. As a recent student, I couldn't afford the LP12 so I compared it with others at Hampshire Audio & went with a Dual, that I still have. Maybe the LP12 would have been a good investment but by 1985 I transitioned to CD, so maybe not. Why CD, do you remember how bad vinyl was in the late 70s, early 80s? Constantly having to return LPs because of flaws. It was time consuming & exhausting! Rant over.

DJ Dave 😇

Use a 1600Mk2 to help me with hand issues 😢

With their low end turntables like this one, Technics knows that their turntables don't always spin at the correct speed and so they come with strobe lights and fine speed or pitch adjustment to allow manual checking and correcting. The bonus is with this deck you can change the pitch of the music to your taste and are not forced to listen to music the way the artists intend you to. Make Beyonce sound like Barry White, and Bieber sound like a chipmunk.

you said the deck is more important than the arm which is more important than the cartridge, I was led to believe that order was reversed? can anyone clarify this?

10 for the full package or just the deck??

They’re not talking about a Technics turntable. They’re talking about a Technics turntable with a Rega arm, after market mat, and aftermarket feet. If the table was great there would be no need to change so much. I own a technics sl1210gr, vpi classic II, and a Rega p3. Sound wise the technics is a good turntable, the Rega and vpi are great turntables. The arm on the technics is it’s weak point and does not allow for the the kind of sound quality the vpi and Rega afford.

And it’s quiet.

hifi snobs are wrong about most things. incidentally the arm on the original Technics 1200MK2 is better than a lot of audiophile arms, most judge it unfairly. The only issue with the original arm is the sleeve of the internal wire, which corrodes the internal copper strands turning them black. Swapped with a decent thin gauge wire (none of this audiophile rubbish) and wired externally too with some decent low-capacitance cable, it is a great arm. The wiring issues were fixed in the later M5G model. The arm on the new SL-1200s is better than most, certainly nothing that needs replacing. Comparing anything with even moderately competent engineering to a Linn is laughable, let alone a Technics. Even Technics cheap consumer models (and Pioneer, Hitachi, Sony etc) will trample a Linn to dust

The 1200 mk2 was not designed as a Dj turntable! it was sold as a hi fi turntable and was sold in 2 forms with a tone arm or with out. Hi Fi Snobs poo poo it but i hate belt drive turntables if the belt stretches you lose speed. People who knew about them were the ones laughing.check out the TECHNICS SP10

Is the 19 000 GBP technics nearly as musical as a Rega P3 sarcasm aside??

Best selling does not mean the best turntable, It's just that some people don't really research & just go for one that a common popular model. Ie. What turntable should I buy? , friend says Well the technics us a big seller. Some people don't know what's really out there or about newer models, Admit most people if you asked what car would you like if you were better off would say a ferrari. They didn't really think of Bugatti or Mercedes. Technics is actually a common name for a better turntable they just don't know about Rega & such likes that are as good if not better. Technics fits in well in a expensive but not too expensive price bracket so you feel you got something decent but it is now getting dated too, the styling is very 70s. I emphasise common because I felt it is a standard choice for those that don't review others.

In fact no, its not the best sounding turntable. Its the second "least sounding" turntable. For 5 times the price you can get an SL1000R which is even "least sounding". The whole point of the turntable is to have no sound at all. The SL1200R is as good as consumer grade gets, the SL1000R is laboratory grade. It's so good in fact, that its rumble and wow and flutter are below measument levels😅

I get the impression the former Editor of Hi Fi World was a little too democratic for for the former Owner NK... The letters that appeared on the said page expressed contrarion views the DP celebrated??

It's just stupid to dismiss anyone who prefers a different approach than that adopted by Technics as a "hater" or a "snob". In a reversed way, this kind of childish posturing is pretty much why these decks were overlooked in previous decades..

Sturdy design but soundQ with good mm or mc cart still is a bit hmmmmm, not very spacious, not very dynamic, a bit sterile and lacking texture. And both second hand and new prices are very high in the Netherlands. You can go much better with a nice Rega.