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What is Technics thinking?

Lots has been said, both pro and con, about the new Technics turntable.  Description here -

http://www.sl1200gae.info/about

Some are excited about the potential, given the upgrades since their last production table/arm, the venerable SL-12XX series.  Others see it simply as an excuse to raise the price significantly of the 1200s.

In my view they shot themselves in the foot.  They copied the model number of their best selling table (I can only imagine in the hope the familiarity will carry over) and also ended up with a very similar appearance.  Given the information on all the upgrades over their prior model, the similarities make it appear like something less than what it might be.

Technics had a room at THE Show Newport and that was my first chance to see a SL-1200GAE.  The fit and finish appeared to be very good but it did look like a "polished up" SL-12XX.  I ask the Technics rep why they didn't do more to distinguish this as a new model, given their efforts with engineer upgrades.  He said he could understand my question but then really didn't offer a reasonable explanation.  After describing all the components which had been redesigned/upgraded from the prior model he offered a demo.  However the room was crowded and the remainder of the system was completely unfamiliar, so no fair impression could be made.

I believe it should have had a more unique model designation and more might have been done to the physical package so it didn't look so much like the prior model.

pryso
audiofun
799 posts
 
In the original post concerning the power supplies I wrote:

Last evening (out of boredom) I took the SMPS out of my Mac Mini and wired in a regulated SMPS, held my breath and fired it up (probably the wrong term to use when discussing computers :).

That is incorrect, I intended to write:

Last evening (out of boredom) I took the SMPS out of my Mac Mini and wired in a regulated linear power supply, held my breath and fired it up (probably the wrong term to use when discussing computers :).


aragonx5
9 posts
 
Does anyone know what the tonearm mass is on the GAE?  An AT-ART9 just arrived and I'm not sure which headshell to use.  I have a magnesium HS-25 and the original that came with the GAE.  The HS-25 is about 12 grams.  Audio-Technica says the ART9 prefers a lower mass arm.  I'm still very green at turntable setup so I'm not sure how to determine the best headshell.  Thanks in advance!
audiofun
799 posts
 
The effective mass for the GAE is 12gm based on my findings in a review on the table. 
aragonx5
9 posts
 
Thank you Audiofun.  That puzzles me a little since the original SL-1200 also had a 12g tonearm mass IIRC.  But the original was aluminum and the GAE is magnesium.  They do have slightly different dimensions and I don't know the tube wall thickness for either arm so I might be comparing apples to oranges.  I expected a lower mass for the magnesium arm.


aragonx5
9 posts
 
@Audiofun, thanks as well for posting your experience adjusting the torque.  I look forward to experimenting with that as soon as I get this cartridge on.  Would you use the lower mass headshell or the HS-25?
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