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REVIEW: SL-1200MK2 w/ thedelihaus upgrades!

beatcomber

beatcomber

AK Member
Our good friend Paul, aka thedelihaus, graciously agreed to perform his legendary package of upgrades on my SL-1200MK2.

Previously I had done some of my own simple upgrades: a.) wrapped the arm in rubber shrink tubing (made a BIG improvement); b.) placed the table on 1/2-sliced racquetballs to reduce feedback; and c.) inserted a KAB tonearm end-stub. Real basic stuff, but I wanted it to go further: namely rewiring the tonearm with Cardas and bypassing the circuit board, internally damping the tonearm tube; and replacing the stock RCAs with SL-1200M5G audiophile-quality RCAs. Once I got the wires and stuff from KAB, I removed the tonearm assembly and made plans to meet Paul at a local coffeeshop.

Let me interject here that Paul is one of the nicest guys around. It's been a great pleasure getting to know him offline, and the man really knows his stuff!

Paul contacted me earlier this week to let me know that the arm was done, and we made plans to meet at a different coffeeshop. (Paul is clearly a "caffeine achiever"!) Besides rewiring the arm with the Cardas, bypassing the circuit board joint with a KAB turret board, and adding the better RCAs, Paul also stuffed the tonearm (with cotton? I'm not sure) and stuffed some expanding foam ear plugs into the end of the tonearm, where it is known to have unwanted resonances. Around the solder joints he applied some sort of spray mount liquid tape, to insulate the wiring against hum. He also sprayed the same stuff on the lower armboard plate, to dampen it against vibration. Finally, he also removed my wonky shrink tubing job and redid the entire length of the arm a lot more neatly.

So how does it sound?

Before getting to that, let me say first that while the SL-1200MK2 was out of commission I was listening exclusively to my Linn Axis w/Basik arm. I also rotated a few carts on the Linn and did some needledrops to CD-R: a Shure M91ED w/Jico SAS and a Denon DL-160 (two VERY different cartridges) were used. Prior to having the mods on the 1200 performed, I had felt that the Linn sounded head and shoulders better than the SL-1200 for the usual reasons stated: the Technics sounded constricted, dark, etc.

Tonight I cued up the needledrop CDs I had made, and listened back and forth to the CDs and to the same LPs played with the same carts on the Technics - basically I wanted to see how well the modded SL-1200 stacked up against the Linn using the same cart on the same record.

They were VERY close! With both the M91ED and DL-160, the Linn had a touch more top-end 'air' or bloom than the modded 1200, but also sounded a bit lighter overall. The 1200 had better dynamic punch and fuller bass/midrange than the Linn. Imaging and soundstage presentation on both tables was about equal.

The differences were slight at best, and I can't say that one was necessarily better than the other!

I am very impressed with the new performance ability of my newly improved SL-1200, so much so that I will be giving some consideration about whether or not to sell the Linn and then reinvest in some additional KAB mods to the SL-1200 (ie: 78 speed).

Thanks again, Paul!
 
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Glad to hear the mods are performing well and you are enjoying the table lots more now, Glenn. And glad to hear an honest and unbiased review.

How about some pictures?
 
Man - I gotta get out to Boston. Have you tried the fluid damper? I've got a bunch of the KAB mods - table sounds great - I'll likely be giving it some new shoes (isonoes) next then maybe a bearing - not sure - but definitely a great platform for tweaking.

Post some picts!
 
My wife took the camera on her trip to Japan, so unfortunately I can't do pics right now!

The fluid damper and 78 speed mod are the next two KAB upgrades I have my eyes on.
 
beatcomber said:
Our good friend Paul, aka thedelihaus, graciously agreed to perform his legendary package of upgrades on my SL-1200MK2.

Previously I had done some of my own simple upgrades: a.) wrapped the arm in rubber shrink tubing (made a BIG improvement); b.) placed the table on 1/2-sliced racquetballs to reduce feedback; and c.) inserted a KAB tonearm end-stub. Real basic stuff, but I wanted it to go further: namely rewiring the tonearm with Cardas and bypassing the circuit board, internally damping the tonearm tube; and replacing the stock RCAs with SL-1200M5G audiophile-quality RCAs. Once I got the wires and stuff from KAB, I removed the tonearm assembly and made plans to meet Paul at a local coffeeshop.

Let me interject here that Paul is one of the nicest guys around. It's been a great pleasure getting to know him offline, and the man really knows his stuff!

Paul contacted me earlier this week to let me know that the arm was done, and we made plans to meet at a different coffeeshop. (Paul is clearly a "caffeine achiever"!) Besides rewiring the arm with the Cardas, bypassing the circuit board joint with a KAB turret board, and adding the better RCAs, Paul also stuffed the tonearm (with cotton? I'm not sure) and stuffed some expanding foam ear plugs into the end of the tonearm, where it is known to have unwanted resonances. Around the solder joints he applied some sort of spray mount liquid tape, to insulate the wiring against hum. He also sprayed the same stuff on the lower armboard plate, to dampen it against vibration. Finally, he also removed my wonky shrink tubing job and redid the entire length of the arm a lot more neatly.

So how does it sound?

Before getting to that, let me say first that while the SL-1200MK2 was out of commission I was listening exclusively to my Linn Axis w/Basik arm. I also rotated a few carts on the Linn and did some needledrops to CD-R: a Shure M91ED w/Jico SAS and a Denon DL-160 (two VERY different cartridges) were used. Prior to having the mods on the 1200 performed, I had felt that the Linn sounded head and shoulders better than the SL-1200 for the usual reasons stated: the Technics sounded constricted, dark, etc.

Tonight I cued up the needledrop CDs I had made, and listened back and forth to the CDs and to the same LPs played with the same carts on the Technics - basically I wanted to see how well the modded SL-1200 stacked up against the Linn using the same cart on the same record.

They were VERY close! With both the M91ED and DL-160, the Linn had a touch more top-end 'air' or bloom than the modded 1200, but also sounded a bit lighter overall. The 1200 had better dynamic punch and fuller bass/midrange than the Linn. Imaging and soundstage presentation on both tables was about equal.

The differences were slight at best, and I can't say that one was necessarily better than the other!

I am very impressed with the new performance ability of my newly improved SL-1200, so much so that I will be giving some consideration about whether or not to sell the Linn and then reinvest in some additional KAB mods to the SL-1200 (ie: 78 speed).

Thanks again, Paul!
Click to expand...

I have to agree with everything you just stated. Paul is a great friend and he does excellent work as well. I found the same to be true when I put my modded Pioneer PL-41 with modded Sumiko FT-3 Tonearm (modded by Deli) up against my Delimodded Technics SL-1200. In fact, your description of the difference in sound between your Linn and Technics could be applied perfectly to my own comparison. I used three different carts in my test; a Shre M91ED, a Denon DL-160, and a Denon DL103R. Probably my favorite combo is the SL1200 with the Delimodded Sumiko, but it is so close that I never took the delimodded stock arm off.
 
Congrats Beatcomber, sounds like Deli did a great job on your 1200Mk2 and yes the fluid damper should definitely be on your list of future upgrades. :thmbsp:

Dave
 
Oh yes, Paul was very thorough all the way, and his package of mods is very well thought out. Next to Kevin Barrett, as far as I'm concerned he is THE MAN when it comes to tricking out 'wheels of steel.'
 
what do SL-1200 tweakers think is the biggest (ie. makes most noticeable difference) upgrade to the table? Apart from changing the stock arm, that is.
 
leepal said:
what do SL-1200 tweakers think is the biggest (ie. makes most noticeable difference) upgrade to the table? Apart from changing the stock arm, that is.
Click to expand...

For a TT the most important is frequency stability and mostly low frequency stability, it should be inert against vibrations. To fix this is a difficult task, but for the Technics IMO the plinth is where one should start to work. Damping the plinth with as much Plasticine as possible between the plinth and the rubber damping is very good.

A fluid damper is essential, in that much of the distortion is created by arm/suspension resonance. A correctly adjusted damper damps the amplitudes of the tonearm, and is probobly the most important upgrade for any arm. Don´t think the arm isn´t resonating if you can´t see it, it is in fact continuously resonating with very small amplitudes.

To me it´s much better to keep the stock arm and invest in a fluid damper, than investing in a new arm.

There are many other things that can be done, but these two have the major sound influence.
gusten
 
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gusten said:
For a TT the most important is frequency stability and mostly low frequency stability, it should be inert against vibrations. To fix this is a difficult task, but for the Technics IMO the plinth is where one should start to work. Damping the plinth with as much Plasticine as possible between the plinth and the rubber damping is very good.

A fluid damper is essential, in that much of the distortion is created by arm/suspension resonance. A correctly adjusted damper damps the amplitudes of the tonearm, and is probobly the most important upgrade for any arm. Don´t think the arm isn´t resonating if you can´t see it, it is in fact continously resonating with very small amplitudes.

To me it´s much better to keep the stock arm and invest in a fluid damper, than investing in a new arm.

There are many other things that can be done, but these two have the major sound influence.
gusten
Click to expand...



Thanks, I was thinking of getting a fluid damper some time down the line. I don't really want to change the stock arm as it's one I put in myself (the bearings had gone in the original) and seems a bit of a shame to remove it.
 
leepal said:
what do SL-1200 tweakers think is the biggest (ie. makes most noticeable difference) upgrade to the table? Apart from changing the stock arm, that is.
Click to expand...

Rewire the the stock arm with high end wire will make the biggest impact imo. And not too expensive to do. Win!
 
IMO, the most significant tweak is to dampen the tonearm. There was a huge improvement when I wrapped it with shrink tubing.

Secondly, isolate it from airborne vibration. The stock feet are poorly equipped for this.

Thirdly, rewire the tonearm and replace the stock RCAs.
 
Thanks for all the kind words. Checks are in the mail for each of you.

The SL1200MK2 in stock form is an excellent table for the price of admission. But it does have it's limitations.

Fortunately for us, they are easy to overcome, and some are downright cheap.

Let's start with the cheap:

Damp the tone arm. Do it internally, and externally if you really want to push the limits. Rewire it wit Isokinetik Litz or Cardas wire. Repalce the RCA jacks with the Technics M5G cables, Mogami cables, or those fancy looking red RCAs sold out of the UK. Replace the circuit board with KAB USA's $5 turret terminal- I don't use it as he does, but in a slightly modified way. Insulate the wiring solder joints and any exposed wire ends after soldering. Install foam in the tone arm end stub shaft- I find two of the foam squishy ear plugs fit well. I often use two types with slightly different damping properties. Add KAB USA's $5 end stub resonance cap.


Pricier mods- and each one will add increased performance- but they are not cheap. However, the level of performance moves up in steady increments- each one will yield a small, but notable improvement. The pairing of all of these mods however, will be significant- they work in conjunction, and as a whole, really elevate the table, as you'd expect:

Isnoe footers: $150
KAB USA power supply/regulator: $250, packaged with the optional strobe disabler
Jim Howard Bearing: $200 and $300 version
TTWeights Alloy or Copper Platter Mat- pick one: $250 and $330, respectively.
KAB USA Fluid Damper.


Big bucks: If you want to go whole-hog, swap the arm out for a heavy hitter arm like the following:

SME 309
SME IV
SME V

There are other alternatives, but these are well documented to work great on the SL1200MK2. Not cheap, but these are world class arms and pair well with the SL1200MK2.

Dampening the plinth? Not with the SL1200MK2. First, it's well damped as it is. Second, there's hardly any room to add something like plastisol or other modeling clays. It doesn't really apply to this table.

On some other tables, I think it's a good idea- the earlier Technics, like the original SL120/1200 or 110/1100s, first generation decks, lower model decks.
 
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Cool thread :thmbsp:

Always great to hear stories of fellow members helping out those on the rocky path of tweakdom :beerchug:

So BC - what are you gonna do now that you've got two decks vying for top spot?
Nice conundrum to have eh?

Cheers
Dave
 
DaveyW said:
So BC - what are you gonna do now that you've got two decks vying for top spot?
Nice conundrum to have eh?
Click to expand...

Good question!

On the one hand, I'm not entirely convinced that the Linn Axis is 'better' than the SL-1200MK2 now. Different perhaps, but not necessarily significantly better.

On the other hand, there is a certain 'prestige' that comes from owning a Linn, albeit an entry level model. (And I was lucky enough to get the Linn for free!) But that's purely psychological/emotional, and has nothing to do with the music.

On the other foot, I could sell the Linn and put the $$ into further tweaking the 1200. But the Axis doesn't really fetch that much dough these days (maybe $350-$400?), so perhaps I should just keep it.

What to do, what to do? A nice conundrum indeed! (You should all have my problems!)

I need to do some more listening comparison tests before deciding...
 
My advice is:

Option 1- Sell the current Linn and mod the Technics.

Option 2- Sell BOTH the current Linn and the Technics and move up to a nicer Linn.



Before the Linn fans lynch me, I admire and like the Linn tables, but this is the entry model, and Basik arm. I think that the Technics is a better table in al aspects than the basic Linn, but a nicer model Linn is a different tune altogether.
 
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