Forever turntable under $2000

For whatever it is worth, this is what Technics says on its website about what they did with their new $1700 model...

"The SL-1200GR ensures high rigidity by using a body with a two-layered construction solidly unifying the BMC and the aluminium die-cast chassis. For the insulators supporting the body, as with the SL-1200G, the SL-1200GR uses special silicon rubber that ensures both high vibration damping characteristics and long-term reliability. Vibration in the horizontal direction is absorbed by reinforcement with cylindrical tubes using microcell polymers. While inheriting the technology of the SL-1200G, the insulators have had tuning performed specifically for the SL-1200GR.

Also, the installation section of the insulators is equipped with a vertical adjustment mechanism using screws. This eliminates the rattle that occurs when the turntable is installed in a rack or the like, and prevents unwanted vibration. In addition, exact horizontal adjustment of the platter and record surface reduces rotation irregularity due to slanting, thereby enabling more stable record playing."

https://www.technics.com/us/products/grand-class/direct-drive-turntable-system-sl-1200gr.html

You could buy a refurbished Garrard 401 from AudioGrail for $2000. Add a $500 solid plinth and $1000 for a 12" Jelco 850 arm.

The Technics spiel about the SL-1200GR is obviously written by someone who has little or no technical knowledge.  “the SL-1200GR uses special silicon rubber that ensures both high vibration damping characteristics” everyone knows that silicon is a crystalline element that is as far from being compliant and vibration damping as trump is from truth. But wait, there’s more:  “Sine waves stored in ROM are used for the control waveforms at constant speed, and this achieves smoother and more stable rotation” again, fiction flying in the face of fact. Sine waves can not be stored digitally and still faithfully resemble a clean waveform. The tried and true method of using a PLL regulated quartz oscillator is time proven to be both effective and accurate. Perhaps Panasonic should have had a technical writer produce their cut sheets instead. It would make them appear more credible than this tripe. 

Love my Dual 604 semiautomatic turntable I purchased new in the late 1970’s. No issues at all after owning for more than 40 years.  The semiautomatic feature has never failed to work correctly. Very inexpensive German TT when purchased on the used market. 

@sleepwalker69

Now looking at audiophile interests, the SL-1200mk2 units available on the used market are almost always severely abused and heavily damaged from rap”DJ” use. This is much the same as why you would not want to buy a car that had been used as a taxi. On the other hand, the rap”DJ” market doesn’t like spring-suspended turntables for record scratching, so used spring suspended units will seldom be found in thrashed and trashed condition, making them better candidates for restoration for HiFi applications.

Again, you have no idea what you’re talking about with your abusive statement about DJing in every post. Turntable just rotate the record, that’s it, nothing else. If someone scratching on Technics Direct Drive TT all they can damage is their own record and cartridge, but not a turntable at all ! The motor constantly rotate forward under slipmat even when someone moving record back and forth. There is a felt mat (slipmat) designed for it. There are special needles designed for scratch like Shure m44-7 and i will repead it again that turntable or tonearm can not be damaged from scratching, only stylus and record can be damaged. If you see a damaged Technics this happened not because of the scratch DJs. Also i think it’s only you living in the world of scratch DJs, normal people rarely see them in the clubs or in the bars, normally DJs playin music to make people dance (all king of music) and playin the music they can’t damage Technics turntable.

And an old Technics is not a subject of this post, since we’re recommending NEW Technics for the budget up to $2k while the old technics available for $350-500 used.

If anyone would like to replace stock feet to suspended feet then Isonoe footers available for old or for new Technics. So this is not a problem at all.

Nobody interested in your old semi-automatic Technics 1600 or 1700.

Also your opinion about Technics is irrelevant and you have proved it in many posts staring with some bad words and hate for the DJs.

If you don’t know Technics always support the art of DJing in any form!

Pay a little respect to Technics and to the DJs after all.

Without Club DJs Technics would never sell 3 000 000 units of SL1200mk2 series.

As for the audiiphiles there are always an SP-10mkII available since the 70’s. I’ve been using SP-10mkII , also a pair of upgraded SL1200mk2.

When it comes to a used High-End Technics DD i would recommend SP-10mkII, but definitely not an SL1600 or SL1700.