Thoughts on moving from a 1200G to Sota Saphire or above

KAB is a USA-based company who've generated quite a following with their SL1200 upgrades. Their are many threads here and on other forums with 1200 owners trading tips & experiences regarding which upgrades were most impactful.

This wave of excitement kind of died down when the G was introduced, as I believe a number of the enhancements were accounted for by Technics in the new build.

Definitely, because KAB upgrades are for cheap and old SL1200 mk2, mk3, mk5 and related popular models from the past. Those models cost no more than $300 secondhand and that was a price tag for decades. KAB never specialized in upgrades for high-end SP-10 mk2 or related models.

There is nothing to upgrade the reference turntable in SL1200 series, such as SL1200G with retail price nearly $4k.

For audiophiles an upgrade is always an option. Tonearm upgrade is an expensive upgrade, to beat new Technics tonearm you could pay more than new "G" turntable. If one thinks about different tonearms then SP-10R is much better for that needs, because the SL1200G was introduced as a complete turntable.    

Greetings. I have a fully modded 1200 mk ll with an SME 309 & a Hana ML cart.
I also have the 1210 GAE with the stock arm & a AT 150 MLX cart on that. Now both arms are in their own rite no slouches. In my system the Hana is a lil warmer sound then the AT. You can’t go wrong with the new Technics with the ease of adjustments. Both headshells are easy to swop out on my TT’s. Now I’m just curious if the SME would make a difference on the GAE.
I’m not that bored enough to find out rite now! Spend you money wisely, you can’t go wrong with the new Technics.

If I were going for a $10,000 TT upgrade, I would really look into a new SP10r with whatever Tonearm (or two) that looks appealing. From what I've read, the SP10 is about the most speed accurate TT motor one can find. I have a 1200gr and the speed is dead on. I hope to upgrade to a 1200G or higher one day

BTW the most popular tonearm upgrade for old (cheap) SL1210mkII and related was Jelco. I don't think for the new SL1200G the Jelco is better than the stock "G" series magnesium tonearm.

SME is probably in the same price category as Reed, but not better in my opinion, Reed is the most beautiful (and fully adjustable). They may not have a proper distribution in the USA and hence not as popular in America as much as old British SME and TriPlanar, but Reed is an amazing tonearm than available with different arm tubes (different mass) and different length.

I have a pictures of Reed on Technics SP10 mkII in my System TWO.
Upgraded Sl1210mkII and SP-10 mkII are in my older System ONE.

@lewm,

"The audio establishment sold us the idea that headshells were inherently unstable mounted at the end of an arm wand, so now we’ve got a lot of expensive tonearms with fixed headshells. Around the same time they sold us the idea that bass and treble controls and loudness controls were mucking up the sound quality of our music, so they’ve been deleted. Rightly or wrongly these “innovations” that were near to universally adopted have certainly reduced the cost of manufacture, while prices have gone skyward."


Same thing happening with phones and chargers - its green, and it’s good for the planet etc.

Similar thing happened in the 1990s when the loudspeaker manufacturers jumped on the MDF bandwagon.

As usual it’s nothing more or less than about reducing manufacturing costs and maximising profits.


The tricky bit is selling this reduction of choice/lack of freedom to the customer.
This is where the clever marketing comes in.

Some of the best arms ever built had removeable headshells.