In general, the SL, like a lot of entry-level to mid-range turntables from this era, is a little plastic fantastic. Pretty much everything except the tonearm assembly and the platter is made out of molded plastic, including the switches, dampened queuing lever, and even the original 45rpm adaptor is made of plastic the adaptor pictured is an original Technics machined milled aluminum adaptor. The plastic has held up remarkably well over the years, however, and there are little to no signs of heavy wear.
According to marketing materials, it was developed to help reduce overall vibration and resonance throughout the body of the turntable.
The four spring-loaded feet are a little meh, to say the least. They are non-adjustable and seem to have sunk over the years. I gently stretched the springs close their original height, giving them back some more vibration absorption qualities. Because the feet are fixed in place, the turntable is more dependent on the surface being level as opposed to being able to adjust the feet to level it out.
The dustcover on this specific turntable is a weak point. When I initially got the SL, it included the original dustcover, but the plastic tabs that slide into the rear-mounted spring-loaded hinges had snapped off, leaving it unrepairable.
The current dustcover is a custom-made plexiglass cover that uses metal washers instead of plastic tabs. One thing the Technics SL lacks is buttons, with all the controls being slider switches. Personally, I like the feel of a good button, but these switches have lasted for over 40 years, and they work great—more of a quirk than a feature.
A standout feature for me is the muted queuing system. All audio output is muted until about a second after the stylus hits the record. The result is an eerily quiet needle drop without any loud landing pops or clicks. The muted queuing system also helps protect your speakers from unnecessary damage caused by loud and fast needle drops, that at the wrong volume setting can be disastrous to a pair of drivers.
The Technics SL is a semi-automatic turntable. When the stylus reaches the end of a record, it lifts the tonearm, returns it to its rest, and shuts down the motor and stylus illuminator.
Bringing the tonearm towards the record turns on all the lights on the turntable and starts spinning the platter. There are no micro-chips or complicated circuit-boards beyond the quartz-phaze-locked motor inside the SL, and all of the automated features, including the muting system, are done through an array of micro-switches and cleverly shaped cogged wheels. First thing in the morning! From my experience, some older semi-automatic turntables from this period can have issues with their return sequence, either being engaged prematurely or too late, defeating the purpose.
This turntable is fitted with an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge, which dramatically brings it up to date on a sonic level. The 2M Red has that neutral, almost flat, classic Ortofon sound signature, but with just a touch of warmth.
However, the carts themselves are practically identical, so I could just swap-out the stylus later, effectively upgrading to a 2M Blue. When it comes to speed precision, the SL is very accurate. My RPM-app speed tests returned I use an Audio Technica ATa Disc Stabilizer, and the torquey direct drive motor has no issues with getting up to speed fast and staying there.
According to Technics, it takes 0. The muted queuing feature adds to overall silence that radiates. The 2M Red is a very flexible cartridge, and it easily adapts to a wide variety of phono preamps from integrated preamps, standalone phono stages, and tube-based preamps.
When compared to newer similar turntables, i. Just the dense weight of the platter and solid feel of the tonearm in-hand project confidence and precision. The RT85 has a higher build quality than those Hanpin decks and is very accurate and silent due to its offset servo-controlled DC motor, and overall is an excellent turntable.
The is more consistently accurate than the Fluance however. When testing speed and accuracy, RT85 returned a result of The Technics consistently returned a Gotta love that quartz-phase-locked direct-drive motor. If the. A turntable like the Technics SLC is definingly more in the high-end territory.
Still, at the end of the day, on paper, it returns very similar results to the year-old SL The C also lacks a lot of features the has, like a stylus illuminator, strobe, and pitch control.
Overall, the Technics SL is a solid performer that really strengthens the case of Vintage over New , especially when looking at direct-drive turntables. Hi, really enjoyed this post.
Like Like. Thank you, Dan! The is a great solid deck. Receive newsletters from Hifi Manuals. Forgot your password? Don't worry. Fill in your e-mail address below and we will send you a reset link.
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