Technics 1200 Critic Fremer Praises the newer 1200G

chakster

 ... all reference turntables perform very close to each other, some of them are just practically better, but it's personal preferences ...

I agree completely. The very best turntables sound strikingly similar, independent of whether they are belt, direct or idler drive. And - although it annoys some when I observe this - the best phono playback systems sound remarkably digital. That is, they are free from noise, speed variations, environmental disturbances ...
 

glupson, "are we the only two people out there who think a new design would have been a better idea?"

No, in fact you are not.  Shortly after the SL1200GAE was introduced I posted a critique titled "What was Technics thinking?".

For those who bothered to read about them it was obvious that Technics spent a great deal of time and effort in designing their new line up of turntables.  But not everyone bothered to read about that.  Instead they jumped to conclusions based upon similarities in model numbers or physical appearance and assumed Technics simply pulled a major rip-off with higher priced offerings.  In actuality, Technics went to the extreme of recruiting a couple of the technicians from retirement who had worked on the famed SP-10 Mk 2 and 3 and EPA-100 arm to assist in the new upgrades.  I still believe Technics' decisions lead to confusion.

However it is similar to the false suggestion the SL1200 was a DJ table.  That was released in the '70s as a consumer product.  The role of the DJs was to embrace that table in the late '80s and '90s and their demand kept it in production.  It's easy to jump to conclusions if you don't bother with the facts.

@pryso

since the ealy 80s the SL1200mkII was adopted by professional deejays and became industry standard and still is the industry standard worldwide. ONLY bacause of this FACT this particular model has been sold in 3 000 000 copies like NO OTHER turntable in the world. Some manufacturers tried to jump in to release something similar, but nodoby cares about it, except kids who asked their moms to buy them a dj turntable and if they didn’t started with a Technics they always wanted Technics (and bought them when they could afford it later on). Other companies only tried to release something cheaper, but not better, and it fact the majority of the professionals never asked for anything better, really. Technics sold 3 000 0000 copies of SL1200mkII because of the DJs, Clubs, Radiostations in the 80s,90s and early 00s ... and even today people re-sell used Technics very well for $250-500 They are still in demand for professionals, because it’s a cult status product, the legend. Only DJs made this turntable legendary for millions, not an audiophiles or hi-fi enthusiasts. All DJ mixes, radioshows, video showcases recorded with those old Technics SL1200mkII. And every kid who would like to became an artist/dj was dreaming about a pair of SL1200mkII (when vinyl was main format). Technics was a sponsor of the DMC (Disco Mix Club) championships worldwide, Technics supplied turntables, mixers to those championships. Audiophiles has nothing to do (or very little) in popularisation of these legendary model, because they are not a celebrities, not an artists or opinion makers.

You can repead each time that it was not designed for DJs (and you’re absolutely right), but this is iconic DJ turntable and you can’t argue with it.

Don’t forget that any vinyl DJ needs a 2 turntables, not just one. The price does matter. Also the majority of todays new generation of DJs are on digital, they don’t even buy vinyl.

The SL1200 GAE, G or GR are designed for Audiophiles and they are the target audience for Technics. But they couldn’t ingnore the fact that they sold 3 000 000 copies of the predecessor with very similar look, when Technics desided to return to turntable manufacturing again.  As we can see almost every audiophile would like to buy this new Technics.

So now everybody happy!

chakster, you may have overshot the mark a bit in your reply.  I was certainly not denying the extent of the utilization of the Technics SL1200 series by DJs.  My basic point was to object to those who claim they were designed and marketed (originally) for DJs.  Correct or not, that carries an implication they are not then suitable for "serious" music lovers for vinyl playback.  So I've read, as you likely have too, many critiques that discredit the SL1200 series because they think of it only as a DJ table.

In actuality I expect many of the qualities that make those tables attractive to DJs such as speed consistency and build quality should also appeal to "audiophiles".  Anyway, they certainly can be thanked for keeping them in production long after they might have otherwise been discontinued.

So I think we hold similar views.