Alex: What is a 1210 as opposed to a 1200? And are we to assume that you got yours from KAB, replete with the fluid damper and outboard supply? [FYI: Mine is an early-80's 1200MKII (bought new at that time), to which I have added Kevin's mods, plus a Michell record clamp, Sorbothane mat (now in conjunction with a Technics thin rubber mat underneath it), Music Direct tonearm wrap, and placed atop a Symposium shelf resting on FoculPods Sorbothane pucks. It's presently got a B-M Glider M2 installed, and my perpetual 'next' upgrade is supposed to be installing better RCA jacks on the lead-out wires...]
Gurevise: Your question is the one that I wish I could answer but can't. Mr. Yakovlev has much more experience than I with other TT designs - I've had the same 1200 since I left college and nothing else (I've heard others, but not in my system or with the same carts I've had). My guess is that with the KAB and other mods mentioned above added, the basic design goodness of the 1200 should make it many ways competitive or superior to most belt-drive options in its moderate price range (my one major reservation about the design is that the aluminum platter's inherent resonance is not completely damped compared to most audiophile designs, although doubling-up on the mats as outlined above helps). It sounds good enough to me that I haven't felt the need to replace it (only tweaked it) during the period of time in which every other component in my system has been upgraded an average of twice, but this is not the same endorsement as if I were to verify my impressions by in-home auditioning some of the competition. Unfortunately, for me that seems too much of a hassle and expense when I'm already happy, so I can only wonder...
Gurevise: Your question is the one that I wish I could answer but can't. Mr. Yakovlev has much more experience than I with other TT designs - I've had the same 1200 since I left college and nothing else (I've heard others, but not in my system or with the same carts I've had). My guess is that with the KAB and other mods mentioned above added, the basic design goodness of the 1200 should make it many ways competitive or superior to most belt-drive options in its moderate price range (my one major reservation about the design is that the aluminum platter's inherent resonance is not completely damped compared to most audiophile designs, although doubling-up on the mats as outlined above helps). It sounds good enough to me that I haven't felt the need to replace it (only tweaked it) during the period of time in which every other component in my system has been upgraded an average of twice, but this is not the same endorsement as if I were to verify my impressions by in-home auditioning some of the competition. Unfortunately, for me that seems too much of a hassle and expense when I'm already happy, so I can only wonder...