Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

Diaper Baby Shot First said:
Sorry....I didn't expect to get it till the next day and I was running on two hours of sleep. But, also, there was no way I wasn't setting it up before crashing.

I got mine from MD. I had one on wait with Crutchfield. I got an email notification from MD, though, and immediately called them. They received 8 of the 1210's in. Six were already spoken for. I immediately called and got the second to last one and then canceled my Crutchfield order.

My impressions of sound are limited because, again, I was exhausted. I listened to maybe 15 minutes of the XTC Mummer RE (it was a record that arrived that day) just to confirm all my set-up work and cartridge alignment. It did sound great for the little listening time I had.

First, the finish is beautiful. I originally was going to get the silver. 1) The black (unless we talk the limited GAE from the initial run) didn't come out till fall '21 so it wasn't even on my RADAR and 2) the silver screams "classic Technics" to me. Ultimately, though, the black matches better in my house and really looks so sharp.

That direct drive....I haven't had a DD TT since I was 16-17 (I'm 38). That push of a button and...BOOM...we're in business is great.

The overall construction of the TT is....IMMENSE. I mean, the most difficult thing about set up was how heavy and solid it is. The power and line/ground inputs are all recessed under the table. This gives it such a clean look and I really like it....except for set up. Manipulating the table to make connections was a PITA. But like the kind of PITA that is ultimately inconsequential and really not a PITA but let me complain about it here kind of PITA. During cart set-up and when I was making minute adjustments I remember commenting to myself how substantial the arm is - in general, that is my main initial takeaway...the table is SUBSTANTIAL.

Any way, I'll surely have more to say once I have some more time with it. So far so good.

I have a Funk Firm Achromat arriving today and besides the headshell I've installed a KAB tonearm damper. I'm not sure there are any other tweaks in the foreseeable future. I'm bad about just letting thing be, but I think I'm gonna ride with this one for a while.
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Good initial impressions, thank you.

The GR sounds so damn good that there’s no way I can’t move up to the G. The same applies to the GR in regards to getting the connections made. The easiest was power, the ground wire most fiddly.

I’ve got the Acromat made especially for the GR as well as the KAB damper. I’ll move the KAB over to the G and get a 5mm Achromat as well. I use the Jelco HS-20 headshell as opposed to your HS-25.

How does the cueing lever feel? That’s my only complaint on the GR. Also, can you close the dust cover with the MoFi weight on the spindle? You can in the GR, but I’m wondering if the platter is taller on the G.

Yours sure is a beauty! Congrats. Please keep posting impressions as you have them.
 
HiFi Guy said:
Good initial impressions, thank you.

The GR sounds so damn good that there’s no way I can’t move up to the G. The same applies to the GR in regards to getting the connections made. The easiest was power, the ground wire most fiddly.

I’ve got the Acromat made especially for the GR as well as the KAB damper. I’ll move the KAB over to the G and get a 5mm Achromat as well. I use the Jelco HS-20 headshell as opposed to your HS-25.

How does the cueing lever feel? That’s my only complaint on the GR. Also, can you close the dust cover with the MoFi weight on the spindle? You can in the GR, but I’m wondering if the platter is taller on the G.

Yours sure is a beauty! Congrats. Please keep posting impressions as you have them.
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I didn't notice anything off with the lever but, again, limited time. What are your complaints so I know what to look for?

I haven't tried to close the cover w the weight on. I'll try later today and report back.
 
Diaper Baby Shot First said:
I didn't notice anything off with the lever but, again, limited time. What are your complaints so I know what to look for?

I haven't tried to close the cover w the weight on. I'll try later today and report back.
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Let’s say the lever moves an inch and a half. The first inch is dead- nothing happens. All arm lift or drop is in the top third of the movement of the lever.

Please wait to try the weight- the Achromat has a recess for the label- the weight will sit lower. Also, put a paper towel on top of the weight- I’d hate for you to scratch the inside of the dust cover if there’s no clearance.

The weight works great with the dust cover of the GR but just barely.
 
HiFi Guy said:
Let’s say the lever moves an inch and a half. The first inch is dead- nothing happens. All arm lift or drop is in the top third of the movement of the lever.
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What I found with this and after a little adjusting is that it's playing against what I'm used to. Meaning, I've always dropped the needle knowing I had control all the way to the surface of the album, this cue doesn't work that way.

I line it up, and pull the cue lever all the way down, not slowly with purpose, but like a switch. The arm and cue have a "cushion" to it when it gets to a certain point and eases the stylus on to the album. It took some getting used to, but it's worked fine.

Just my experience of course ;)
 
AnthonyI said:
What I found with this and after a little adjusting is that it's playing against what I'm used to. Meaning, I've always dropped the needle knowing I had control all the way to the surface of the album, this cue doesn't work that way.

I line it up, and pull the cue lever all the way down, not slowly with purpose, but like a switch. The arm and cue have a "cushion" to it when it gets to a certain point and eases the stylus on to the album. It took some getting used to, but it's worked fine.

Just my experience of course ;)
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Agreed on the way down it's fine; just drop it without concern. I hate how on the way up it kind of springs the arm and bounces it around some unless you slowly raise the cue arm.
 
Has anyone tried adding dampening fluid to the new decks? I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s half the issue people are having with the cue lever. I personally don’t have a big issue with it, but it’s not as smooth as my decks with extra thick fluid.

The only complaint I have with my personal GR is really just the azimuth of the headshell collar being a bit off (see attached). If I hadn’t already dealt with the 1500C nightmare I might be willing to whine but with an adjustable azimuth headshell there’s no worry. Still I think it’s worth noting that the tolerance seem a bit more lax than many of us would like. I’d highly recommend these with minimal reservations but some “power users” like myself will always find something to improve on.F58988D1-05C6-4290-B04B-AEB162C0049E.jpeg
 
zombie.modernist said:
Has anyone tried adding dampening fluid to the new decks? I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s half the issue people are having with the cue lever. I personally don’t have a big issue with it, but it’s not as smooth as my decks with extra thick fluid.

The only complaint I have with my personal GR is really just the azimuth of the headshell collar being a bit off (see attached). If I hadn’t already dealt with the 1500C nightmare I might be willing to whine but with an adjustable azimuth headshell there’s no worry. Still I think it’s worth noting that the tolerance seem a bit more lax than many of us would like. I’d highly recommend these with minimal reservations but some “power users” like myself will always find something to improve on.View attachment 139452
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I initially thought mine was perfect. It was off a wee bit and it’s certainly closer to perfect than any other deck I’ve seen right out of the box.

As you said, an adjustable azimuth headshell allows one to get it exactly right.
 
zombie.modernist said:
Has anyone tried adding dampening fluid to the new decks? I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s half the issue people are having with the cue lever. I personally don’t have a big issue with it, but it’s not as smooth as my decks with extra thick fluid.

The only complaint I have with my personal GR is really just the azimuth of the headshell collar being a bit off (see attached). If I hadn’t already dealt with the 1500C nightmare I might be willing to whine but with an adjustable azimuth headshell there’s no worry. Still I think it’s worth noting that the tolerance seem a bit more lax than many of us would like. I’d highly recommend these with minimal reservations but some “power users” like myself will always find something to improve on.View attachment 139452
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Correct me if I am wrong but doesn't the collar tighten counter to that offset and rotate the actual pins on the headshell into the groove behind the ring thus making it perfectly vertical?
 
HiFi Guy said:
Let’s say the lever moves an inch and a half. The first inch is dead- nothing happens. All arm lift or drop is in the top third of the movement of the lever.

Please wait to try the weight- the Achromat has a recess for the label- the weight will sit lower. Also, put a paper towel on top of the weight- I’d hate for you to scratch the inside of the dust cover if there’s no clearance.

The weight works great with the dust cover of the GR but just barely.
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Lever is responsive. Nothing like your report on GR.

Got achromat. Weight has fine clearance w achro or stock mat.

PXL_20220517_235732668.MP.jpg
 
Are you supposed to peel the center label off the achromat? Doesn't matter?

Also I do wonder why the suggestion of the 5mm for the 1200G? The stock mat seems to be more like 3mm. It makes less of the spindle accessible although can still use weight just fine. Doesn't seem like I'll need to adjust arm height either but we'll see.
 
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Diaper Baby Shot First said:
Are you supposed to peel the center label off the achromat? Doesn't matter?

Also I do wonder why the suggestion of the 5mm for the 1200G? The stock mat seems to be more like 3mm. It makes less of the spindle accessible although can still use weight just fine. Doesn't seem like I'll need to adjust arm height either but we'll see.
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With the stock 3mm mat, there have been reports that the arm won’t go low enough for proper VTA with some cartridges. A taller mat fixes that. Technics used to offer a 6mm mat as an option.

I didn’t peel the label off of mine. I kind of like it.
 
debianlinux said:
Correct me if I am wrong but doesn't the collar tighten counter to that offset and rotate the actual pins on the headshell into the groove behind the ring thus making it perfectly vertical?
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I checked mine with the headshell attached and it was slightly off.
 
debianlinux said:
Correct me if I am wrong but doesn't the collar tighten counter to that offset and rotate the actual pins on the headshell into the groove behind the ring thus making it perfectly vertical?
Click to expand...

I think it’s mean to be 90° vertically, at least my other decks are more “true” in that sense. Adjusting azimuth on my ATLH11H to compensate for it worked out for a more balanced look and measure with bubble level.
 
HiFi Guy said:
With the stock 3mm mat, there have been reports that the arm won’t go low enough for proper VTA with some cartridges. A taller mat fixes that. Technics used to offer a 6mm mat as an option.

I didn’t peel the label off of mine. I kind of like it.
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Yes so I set my arm height to 0 which is what Technics says is for 17 MM carts and AT says my cart is 17.3mm. I'm wondering if I should change my arm height to 2 which the manual says is for 19mm to account for the extra 2mm of mat.
 
Still have much, much more listening to do, but thinking at the moment I’m preferring the PLX-1000 with a weight on, but with anti-skate totally off. Seems to be the right balance of air and heft to my ear, for today! Haha. Maybe that VPI approach has totally rubbed off on me.

Enjoying the slew of new Technics snags. Can’t wait to hear the GR vs G takeaways once y’all have some hours under your respective belts. Will keep my fingers crossed for stock to make its way over for you, @HiFi Guy!
 
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