I'm wondering what Audiogoners think would be the next best thing [other than buying a used 1200 MkII] as far as the closest equivalency in quality and performance in currently production turntables? Examples are the Pioneer PL1000X, the Stanton :150, and the Audiotechnica 1240, among others?
The next best thing to a new SL-1200 GAE would be a good used 1200 MKII. None of the other Chinese built SL-1200 knock offs will come close to a Japanese built SL-1200, new or used, when it comes to quality. And the new one is built in Japan - I spun one around at AXPONA this past weekend just to be sure. Its an impressive TT.
And while this table would not be my first choice for 4 grand, I also don't feel its that overpriced for what Technics had to do to bring a quality direct drive back to the market. Remember, whether this TT trips your trigger or not, no other TT has exceeded the worldwide sales of the SL-1200 for both home or DJ use. There's even one on display at the Smithsonian. After the initial run of 1200 have been sold, I don't see the main production run selling for too much less than 4K. If direct drive is what someone wants, where else is someone going to go - the 30K VPI?