Why Isnt Techincs 1200 Considered Audiophile?

Jeff at Audiomods is a professional machinist, hardly what I would call DIY. I would guess he could get his hands on some Boron Titanium if he so desired. I actually like products made one at a time by an artisan like Jeff. Roger Modjeski of Music Reference personally makes each of his amplifiers one at a time on a workbench, yet is still able to sell them for less than many assembly line products offered by larger high end companies. It’s a matter of good design and engineering (an amp exhibiting marginal stability costs just as much to manufacture as one that is unconditionally stable), and knowing where to spend the money to reap the greatest sonic benefit. Roger installs transformers of his own design in his amps, not ones he buys off the shelf like most amp makers. If you pay him extra, he'll even personally hand-wind the transformers he puts in the amp he makes you.

What makes a turntable "audiophile" and what makes it "hi-fi"? Is there any tangible, or maybe measurable, thing we should be looking/listening for? Some specification, feature, etc. I am not trying to argue, but the question came to me after reading the statement about "audiophile" and "hi-fi". Could it happen that "audiophile" of 1978 is merely "hi-fi" in 2018? Should it be judged on its merit for the time it was produced? I am sure that early SL 1200 does not fare that great when compared to current designs, but was it, at least, somewhat "audiophile" when it came out leaving SP 10 and similar ones to be "ultra high-end" or something like that?

In the end, they are all just machines trying to reproduce heavily modified and altered sound, frequently even electrically produced in the studio (think syntheseisers, electric guitars). Who knows what sound did Kraftwerk program their electronics to make in 1970s and here I am, buying yet another version of The Man Machine and different cartridge to make it sound "better".

In fact, what does the definition "audiophile" mean altogether? Maybe this is not the best website to ask that question.

I think this IS the best place to ask that question, particularly because, in this context, it is the ideal example of what that overused and abused word means. So, I'm here to defend Technics DD tables. I have owned/own, "high end" VPI, Rega and Thorens tables and now have two SL1200IIs and the new SL1200GR. Do they compete sonically with the others listed above. Yes. Do they "sound better?" Maybe, maybe not. What I do like is their build quality and very low noise without those awful, wearable belts. And "cogging problems" are a myth perpetuated by jealous belt drive enthusiasts. Yes, my Aries 2 sounds great with a Lyra Delos, but it does not provide the drive and dynamics of the 1200s with a Nagaoka MP200, Grado Sonata, Ortofon Black, Stanton 881S or Pickering XSV 3000 or 4000. I know because I own all of these carts and run them through a Manley Steelhead preamp. The arms on these are fine and well engineered. They may not be SME IVs or Vs but they have excellent bearings and I find no untoward resonances from them.

DJs adopted these tables because they are so well built. They were not originally designed for DJing. The slider speed control is on there because, with a quartz controlled DD, you can do that! It was for musicians who didn't want to have to retune their instruments in order to play to recordings. Now that's innovation and convenience. From my point of view, it's sheer genius. So let's stop dragging 1200s down and what everyone knows is the most robust, bang for the buck TT on the planet, ever. Oh yeah, those drive systems are what are used to power the cutting lathes! Nuff said.
Steve

I think when you could buy the SL1200 MKII in 2009 for $399, (straight from the factory in Osaka Japan) it may have been one of the all time best deals in audio

Outstanding post Steve!