Upgrade from Technics 1200 MK2? $1-$1.5k budget

VPI Scout Junior.

I have been using an SL1210M5G for nearly 8 years now and have no plan of changing. I have applied some tweaks and enhancements that have made this a very reliable, consistent, and easy-to-use turntable. I have some questions about your setup:

1) What headshell are you using? One of the first things I upgraded was from the stock headshell to a Sumiko or LpGear ZuPreme headshell. The ZuPreme is now a lot less money than the Sumiko with a feature that I like. Either of these headshells has two locking pins (above and below) instead of one, and the cartridge mount is absolutely solid. They both have azimuth adjustment on the headshell, held in place by a very strong hex-head set screw.

2) I added the KAB tonearm fluid damper. Now there is nothing jittery or fidgety about the tonearm. It tracks well and even navigates hideously warped records without skipping.

3) The Technics Super Mat is a good way to quell the ringing of the platter; I lucked into an Oracle Groove Isolator sorbothane mat for $10, so that's what I use. However, I also found that the platter rang even less if I first placed the Technics felt slipmat on the platter and the rubber or sorbothane mat on top of that.

4) Get an inexpensive record grip such as the KAB or the Clearaudio Clever Clamp. Both are inexpensive and damp record resonances such that a light record such as an RCA Dynaflex has about the same tonal balance as a 180-200g deluxe pressing. My KAB record grip also seems to lower the noise that may be coming up the spindle shaft.

5) The stock feet on the Technics SL12x0 series look effective, but functionally they are not. Just about anything you can replace them with would be better. The easiest is to get four Vibrapod Cones and set the metal threaded inserts of the turntable onto the steel balls of the Vibrapod Cones. You can further drain the nosie by setting the cones on Vibrapod Model 2 Isolators.

These are all cheap fixes that cumulatively should quell the stock Technics' weaknesses while showcasing its strengths.

Change the arm out on the 1200MKII. It will sound like a new/different TT but it will still be ugly, :-}. Also, if by chance you don't like the change, you can sell it without loss.

Wow, that's one great table to set aside because of a fiddly arm. I'd re-plinth the table and get a different arm. With your budget, have you considered a Jelco 750L (12") arm?

Otherwise, you're likely to spend Over $3000 even in the used market to approach the performance of your Technics table.

And that's coming from a very satisfied owner of a VPI Aries table with a 12" JMW arm.

I have an SL-1200 with a Jelco SA-750D tonearm, Herbies mat and Michell record clamp and I am VERY satisfied with it. The tonearm has built-in fluid damping and with my Denon DL-160 tracks very well. It's hard to beat the 12X0's rock solid speed.