New Technics SL 1200 GAE

Thanks for following up. You make some fair and subjective viewpoints. 

I can see the issue with the design, but for me it is not one.  

I can't comment on what most audiophiles would do with the stock tonearm.  I can say that giving the tonearm a review without hearing, touching and using it is not terribly helpful. 

I can only comment on the performance that I'm experiencing.  My unit sounds glorious, fit and finish are superb, and has great ease of setup as well as its solid build. I was considering the new Luxman line, which adds another $2k plus.  I wanted the Japanese over-engineering, reliability, and rock solid construction--and I got it in spades. 

I found that lowering the torque setting made things airy, smoother, and more relaxed.  The boogie and drive in the auto setting was stellar but the table seemed like it couldn't loosen its top button and relax, until I moved the torque setting to manual an dialed it in.  

Jbhiller:
You should  still hear the same level of "boogie and drive" with the unit in manual mode.
Concerning the design, I love  it. In some ways the jewel like precision and construction reminds me of some of my GS Seiko watches. Absolutely some of the finest engineering you will find anywhere without the ostentatious trappings. 

I for one do love the design, I think they got it right over 30 years ago and so therefore why tamper with it. It is extremely functional and easy to use. 
The designer of this table has a SP10 mk 3 and used the mk 3 as the reference when designing the GAE and  I can hear it when I directly compare  the two tables.

The Japanese are more about tradition and functional elegance than style for the sake of style. It is interesting when I read the comments about the styling of the table, as a watch guy I've read statements by other WIS (watch idiot savants :) folks concerning the Grand Seiko line.
Like I say about my watches, if you know, you know. Ask most people to name a fine time piece and all they can do is name several watch companies that have  huge marketing budgets and generally swap the same movements over and over again between casings. 

This table is the real deal and it is for people in my opinion who want stellar playback, a high level of functionality and are not concerned if it looks like its forerunner of the same name.

Truth be told its really a SP10 mk 2.5.
I love the fact  that I can easily and repeatedly adjust the vta, vtf, antiskate, that it has a built in cue light..,etc.

Fortunately for us there are a great number of tables out there for individuals to choose from.

I find this to be one of the best I've heard and that includes some very rare air tables indeed.

I realized I left an incomplete statement when I wrote: "It is interesting when I read the comments about the styling of the table, as a watch guy I've read statements by other WIS (watch idiot savants :) folks concerning the Grand Seiko line."

I intended to write: 
It is interesting when I read the comments about the styling of the table, as a watch guy I've read statements by other WIS (watch idiot savants :) folks concerning the Grand Seiko line which mirror some of the sentiments concerning the GAE. Statements such as GS watches are great but they don't look cool enough. Interestingly the parallel between the GS watches and the GAE are close in that pictures don't seem to do justice to either. The real items are far more beautiful than print ad would lead one to believe.

Mr. Fremer just revealed which table was playing in the comparison of the GAE and the Caliburn. I correctly identified the GAE in the fist YouTube video he posted. 

Mr. Fremer wrote:

"The file labels were not reversed in this story!
In this case the Technics should have sounded better and I’m glad many people heard that, but there’s a good reason and it's why i asked you to listen and look!"

He goes on to discuss a problem with the pressing and is going to perform comparison with another pressing.

Regardless of the pressing this verifies what some of us have stated about how good this table is. It is not good for the money, it is just plain exceptional.

I hope he performs the next comparison with the GAE in manual mode and with the torque set to 20%. 


Read more at http://www.analogplanet.com/content/technics-sl-1200g-versus-continuum-caliburn-and-sat-arm-file-ide...

@audiofun , Yes, I do still here the same boogie and drive in manual setting with the torque down to about 1/4 or less of max.