Technics 1200 MK2 vs Technics SL-1210GR

Had both, yes better for sure.  Still have an original 1200 mk2. Sold my GR only to get a GAE.  Yes the G or GAE is even better than the GR.  

The Technics turntables are solid mass market disc spinners. But in that price range nice belt drive tables with good/better tonearms can be had and are better audiophile tables.

This is BS!

At this price ($1700 for new GR) you will not find anything better than this for those who would like to buy and use something compatible with many cartridges, fully adjustable, powerful, precise, stable and unbreakable.

Remember than old SL 1210 mk2 was $400 turntable 25 years ago.
New Technics SP-10R or older SP-10 mk3 are not mass market products, those are some of the best high-end DD ever made (still for reasonable price compared to BD nonsense). Technics EPA-100 mk2 tonearm still unbeatable.

Regarding affordable belt drive and their problems you can read every week on this forum.

When you saying “audiophile table” it’s not always a high quality, but definitely high price, some of them made in garage by 5 employees like those belt drives from USA or Europe.

So when it comes to high quality it’s normally a professional, studio, broadcast, reference class gear from giants of the industry like Technics, Denon, Victor .... just to name a few. Those companies made revolution in hi-fi back in the days.

"... This is BS!..."

It’s a solid table like I said. I just prefer belt drives in this price range. Now if you were talking about the Technics SL-1000R: $18,999....wow!

@chakster  +1

The Technics turntables are solid mass market disc spinners. But in that price range nice belt drive tables with good/better tonearms can be had and are better audiophile tables.

Not long ago, I would have shared this sentiment, but now that I’ve experienced the GR,  I can confidently assert that there is no belt-drive table anywhere near the price that performs as well, not in any metric. And I don’t typically care for the sound of direct-drive, even the 1200MKII is pretty mediocre IME.

You really have to be at the $4K price point before a good belt-drive catches up. And even then, there are some trade-offs.