Technics 1

What about it?

The SL1200MKII is a Quartz Synthesizer Direct Drive turntable chosen by DJs around the world because of it's top performance and durability. Ever since it was re-introduced in 1980 as the MKII (the SL1200 was the original model) with special adaptations for DJ and broadcasting use, it has taken over the world and has become the industry standard. Why is it so good then? Here's a short list of features that are appreciated by so many:

Total quartz locked continuous pitch adjustment up + or -8%
No turntable feedback, because of unwanted vibrations
Very quick start-up and brake
Highly sensitive low-mass tonearm with gimbal suspension
It's extremely sturdy and lasts forever

Direct Drive and Torque

The Technics SL1200MKII is a Direct Drive turntable, which means that the motor is directly to the platter and turns at the same rate as the record. It uses a brushless DC motor and since it turns at a low speed and there are no additional parts to transfer torque from motor to platter it has several advantages, e.g. low wow & flutter, low rumble, rotational stability and precision and a long service life.
This feature gives the turntable a start-up time of .7 seconds and it also 'fights' to maintain the correct speed when a record is put on or taken off. Because the record has a certain weight it tends to slow the platter down, but the Direct Drive takes perfect care of that without a trace of overshoot.

Pitch control

The pitch control on the SL1200MKII is one of its strongest features, because it does its job near perfect. One of the changes the SL1200 underwent, was the transition from pitch control with pot-meters (knob) to slide faders, which makes it a lot easier (and therefore faster) to match two records. The quartz-lock guarantees excellent accuracy throughout its entire range, thus enabling the DJ to perform very precise mixes. But there is one problem with this pith control: the "center detent problem". There is a center click or center detent in the pitch control which sometimes makes it a challenge to perform delicate adjustments with the pitch control. Many DJs refer to this as the "dead zone" and some people claim that it jumps from zero to plus (or minus) approximately two percent, but my personal opinion is that this is a bit of an overstatement. Nonetheless, this can cause problems when a record is only slightly faster or slower than the record you are currently playing.

Sound dampening construction

The precision molded aluminum die-cast cabinet and heavy rubber base material as well as additional rubber designed into the underside of the 1200's platter absorbs unwanted vibrations and therefore it is immune from typical turntable feedback. All this rubber gives the turntable its weight and a very solid feel to it.

The 1200 or the 1210?

The discussion about whether or not the SL1200MKII and the SL1210MKII are different never ceases to end, but in general it is accepted that the only difference is the color. The 1200 is silver and the 1210 is black.
Some people think that the 1200 is a little bit faster in the start (1/5 rounds (or 0.1 sec faster) compared to 1/4 of a round) than the 1210 and some claim that the 1210 has gold plated contacts. Others say the 1210 is lighter and thus more prone to rumble and I've also heard someone claim that the electronics in the 1210 are better and that it is therefore more expensive. I believe that they are the same, because the service manuals of both the 1200 and the 1210 are the same and why should we not believe it when the catalog says they're the same? If there are any differences, then you wouldn't even notice them.

The new 1200M3D

The new M3D

Yes, Technics have released an update to the SL1200MKII. Not much has been heard about it and that's probably because we're not talking about major advances.
Quoting the people at Technics: "The M3D uses the same inner workings as the MK2, but it's been further re-engineered for smoother, nonstop performance." So we can say that internally things have been made more effective and therefore a little faster.

On the ouside there are a few improvements:

The dust cover has been re-designed without the hinges which should make it easier to integrate the turntable in a flightcase. Putting the dust cover on and off the turntable will now be a piece of cake.
To the left of the pitch slider is now a Pitch Reset button.
A very nice improvement is the recessed power button which eliminates the possibility of accidentaly brushing the power button while working with the vinyl.
In the back we find a handy head shell stand on the cabinet to keep your replacement cartridge.

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