Why Isnt Techincs 1200 Considered Audiophile?

oldschool1948,

The only thing I should change in your post to make it my post is turn Technics SL 1600 MK II into Technics SL Q2. I know that nobody would consider it an "audiophile" turntable but is, as you say, "audiophile" enough for me and has been for 37 years or so. It was expensive to me then, we saved money for a while to buy it, but for 37 years of use it seems quite cheap now. Every now and then I browse to check if there is anything else out there I could waste my money on and I am yet to find something that I would replace my Technics with. I got it when I was 15 or 16 and 37 years of memories no new arm or fine non-jittery highly-praised machine could touch. Perfect it is not, perfect for me it is. The only one that comes close is Dual 1225 with Shure cartridge. The most musical turntable that ever was.

Speaking of old machines that outlived their life expectations, why do true audiophiles not insist on playing music on "period equipment", but instead attempt to make everything "better"? There are performers of classical music that proudly advertise they play on "period instruments". Why is some Stradivari so well-respected a few hundred years from the moment it was produced? Couldn't it be replicated these days with all the technology and science that we have? I have no answers, just a few thoughts.

The Technics 1200 is a fine TT! I have the mkII. They are worthy of a good cartridge! Nothing wrong with speed stability, either! I don't feel that the new version is worth its high price! 

Sorry I didn't realize that the new 1200 comes in 3 versions! $4K seems high for the TOTL. But the 1200GR at $1700 is certainly more affordable - and should sell better! 

@roberjerman @has2be how much better musically is the new 1200 to the mk2?

The new Technics 1200 series tables are indeed "audiophile" quality.  In their respective price brackets many will find they are quieter (less groove noise, tower ticks and pops) than the belt driven competition.  My listening tests also demonstrated excellent imaging and stability (picking out sounds from within the stereo image).  The feature set is convenient as well;  these are easy to live with turntables that can be adjusted easily, have a removable headshell for changing cartridges, and have a convenient and easy to use dust cover.  Certainly better turntables can be had, but they will cost much more and be a lot fussier to operate (and will need to be placed in a correspondingly higher end system to reveal the improvement in sound).