Technics Turntables...really???

I think a lot of potential buyers are missing the fact that the new Technics turntables are re-designed from the ground up.  They also benefit from advanced production methods and better quality control.  If you don't read the fine print, it is understandable you may think the new turntables are just re-hashes of the old ones (which were actually quite good at the time - I had one that I used with my Dynaco tube equipment and horn-loaded speakers back in the day).
Panasonic made a marketing decision to keep the turntables looking the same.  This works great in Japan (maybe a larger hi-fi market than the U.S.), who are naturally quite proud of their "Made in Japan" products, just as many U.S. audiophiles enjoy "Made in the U.S.A." provenance.  I will admit some prejudice when I looked at the new SL1200 G turntables, but was quickly convinced when I compared them to other offerings in the same price range.

Note:  my prejudice was more about the "DJ" looks than where it was made – I am a globalist with speakers made in England, U.S. made amps, German wires and a Japanese turntable and cartridges.

I was given a 1981 DD Technics by a co-worker 15 years ago. It's a Made in Japan marvel of ruggedness and quality. Not the last word in resolution or other audiophile traits, still a great deck to have around and the set-it-and-forget aspect is nice sometimes.

I wound up selling my Sota that had been factory freshened and VTA installed and really wanted to use it  and the belt would keep coming off and I frankly did not like the full manual mode.   At some point I bought  a  SL-1600 mk ii  off of ebay and  sent it to a refurbisher in TN.  I think it was..   who has since passed.  A weak  link in the system is a nylon or plastic of some sort gear that is elemental to the arm operation ..   I bought a Rega 3 with upgrades and used very briefly and found on ebay of all places this restorer of Technics who had the gear that I needed.  I sent him the table and he fixed it and its back in operation --the only table in here..   Suffice to say,, Im not playing enough vinyl but then I just recently moved to a whole new area in Cali..    surrounded by fires these days although lucked out and not really in a critical area where fuel for fires is plentiful.  Makes for some very hot weather after living near the ocean all these years in the bay area.    

Hi Norbert @nkonor,

I unfortunately can add nothing to my original post on the wonderful AFI FLAT:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/relaxing-records-for-better-sound-using-the-afi-flat

A friend in Europe had arranged for one to go to a potential agent in Hong Kong and he knew I had a number of warped records so he arranged for me to have it first and I used it for 6 weeks. I flattened and heaps of records in that time and Relaxed a whole bunch of others. I wrote my review after that experience. I was so taken with the Relax function that I immediately ordered one from Europe. I also ordered some other equipment and the whole lot was meant to be bundled and sent to me. The FLAT has been paid for and sitting in Europe but there have been delays with the rest of the equipment. My model will not be the new one that you mention but one like I used before as it was bought way back. My understanding is that the efficacy of the old and new model is the same.
From my experiences with the Relax function, as described in my thread, I am absolutely sold on it and cannot wait to get my AFI FLAT, hopefully in the next few months. There is no doubt to my ears and that of my friend’s as to the increase in SQ from this function regardless of whether the record is old or new and or perfectly flat.

I hope you get yours and would be most interested in your experience.

All the best,
bluewolf

Sleepwalker65, 

As an aside: "FM radio is anything close to true HiFi?" With a really good tuner and an outside antenna mounted on the roof, FM can be very satisfying. Not the sound of a good analog rig or SACD or hi-res recordings, but still very listenable. Just my 2 cents.