Technics SL-1800

[Pure_Brew]

I picked up an SL-1800 for $25 bucks today. It's a heavy, sprung, DD turntable. Has a "DJ" looking platter with controls in dial form. The speed seemed very stable after playing it for a minute or 2. Seems like the plinth is metal. Pic from the net, here:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/fj40/DSC02766.jpg

seems MUCH better then my SL-23. Any thoughts?

thanks

 

[Fast Forward]

Great Table,, I bought an SL1700 new in 1976 still Have it still works great

 

[NavLinear]

The Technics direct drives received good reviews in the '70's - I bought an SL-1310 in '75 and still have it. I'm running it with a Shure V-15 Series III and it sounds good.

 

[Pure_Brew]

Thanks for the feedback. I've been wanting to hook it up all day, and finally I have it hooked up now. It has an identical headshell to my other technics, so that made it really easy to get going. It seems that at first impression, it is a much more solid and stable table then the SL-23. I would have to say at this point, the sound is the same way too - solid & stable.

I haven't had a nice direct drive table before, and so far this could be the best turntable I've yet owned. I can't hear the motor at all, speed seems more stable then anything else I've had.

I may have lucked out here, time will tell. But man is it dirty! I had to lift the tonearm up and spray some WD40 all over the counter weight and let it soak. It was 100% seized! Might have been some lube or something that dried it on there, must not have been moved for years. I'm guessing a smoker owned this, and probably stored for a time. Not sure how to deep clean it but it looks like it could use a complete douche.

~Ah ok there is a light hum coming from the motor. ~

 

[laatsch55]

A hum in your equipment really isn't a surprise is it?/ Did you solve the AC problem at your place?

 

[Pure_Brew]

No resolution yet, just conversation. Power company only does basic voltage / load tests, which they did. That was nice but not what I was looking for. Landlord says he'll change out that switch. He's sloooow moving, typical.

The hum is very very light. It's the noise of the motor itself, not thru speakers. It's still thumbs up!

 

[Elite-ist]

Joe: Hopefully, that turntable will work out for you. Many of those models are still used by DJs because of their features and robust build.

My son's turntable is a Techinics SL-1200MK2. One night, he brought it over to my place to audition, so I I hooked it up to my bedroom system, which is a piece of cake to swap in a deck or a couple of turntables into my Gemini PMX-2001 Preamp/Mixer/Equalizer. The TT is outfitted with a Shure M44-7G cartridge. It's a great combination. Too bad this model of Technics turntable recently ceased production in 2010. Thought we would listen to some classic Heart.

Click on the picture to play:

Nando.

 

[Pure_Brew]

The 1200 series are extremely sought after, nice table. This 1800 seems similar and has the identical tone arm. I think the 1800 is laid out more for home use? Is the 1200 sprung? Might be a bit lighter but it has a full metal plinth. Nice parts quality. I don't know why nobody can make a DD motor as good as these classics. Seems rather silly. The copy-cat TT's still aren't as good.

 

[Elite-ist]

The 1200 series are extremely sought after, nice table. This 1800 seems similar and has the identical tone arm. I think the 1800 is laid out more for home use? Is the 1200 sprung? Might be a bit lighter but it has a full metal plinth. Nice parts quality. I don't know why nobody can make a DD motor as good as these classics. Seems rather silly. The copy-cat TT's still aren't as good.

Joe: I don't know whether it has an active suspension. My son would know that, or it could be looked up on vinylengine. With a 30+ year model run, the 1200 series is a popular tt.

Nando.

 

[Pure_Brew]

Yeah I'm sure if I poked around a bit I could figure it out. The arm and platter are both suspended together on this one. I'm using the AT440mla at the moment on this. So far so good. I think the old mats on other TTs I have/had are not as thick as this one. May have added some wobble. This thing just flows so smooth, I only know its functioning because I hear music.

Seems like it will jump out of the groove a bit easier, going across the shaky old floor. The suspension makes "creeking" sounds if I move it by hand. Needs cleaning and lubrication throughout. Seems worth servicing though. Even in its present condition it performs really nicely!

 

[Gepetto]

Nice TT Joe, you will love it. I have a couple of the SL-1200 MkII's, one with the AT440ml on it and the other with the Shure V15 on it. Both sound great and are dead on speed and dead quiet. Great, reliable machines.

 

[Pure_Brew]

I've become a fan it seems. Do you find the AT440 a tad bright?

 

[Pure_Brew]

Well now, I think this cart performs better on this table. The VTA on the other table might have been just a bit too positive, slightly exaggerating the brightness. After listening for a bit more, the sound seems to be more detailed rather then bright and a lot smoother. I don't know how yours is performing Joe, but so far this sounds like a very good matchup.

This SL-1800/AT440mla combo is running through a Bellari VP130 with a Tung-Sol 12AX7 & and a simple upgraded power supply. Hooked up to a Jolida 502BRC with Tung-Sol 6550's. Snell EII's with replacement woofers (Seas from Snell) & fresh crossover rebuild. It's all a nice mix of rich tone with detail in layers.

 

[Gepetto]

Yes Joe, I find the AT440 much brighter than the Shure V15 on an identical table. The V15 is more mellow whereas the AT is much better on detail. Both very good but different.

 

[Pure_Brew]

I do have a Shure M97xe on loan from Larry. I have not tried it on this table yet but it had a much softer presentation on the other table. It was really mellow and enjoyable on some recordings but lacked fine detail. I hear that the V15 is a cut above, but with a SAS stylus on the M97, it might be a better contender. The SAS stylus and the AT 440 stylus seem identical (microline).

The cart on the original headshell I believe might be original? It has 2 tiny stickers on the Bottom "Shure" & "Premier". Stylus is snapped off.

 

[Fast Forward]

If you pull it apart be extremely careful as there is a circuit ,,mine cracked because of a dumbass repair man didn,t know what was on the inside,,I was able to semi fix it but I have a small hum,,,,I use my Yammie as my main table

 

[Pure_Brew]

If you pull it apart be extremely careful as there is a circuit ,,mine cracked because of a dumbass repair man didn,t know what was on the inside,,I was able to semi fix it but I have a small hum,,,,I use my Yammie as my main table

Broke something on your TT? That really sucks. At the very least, i feel like I should put a drop of oil in to lube the bearing or something but I won't until I'm 100% sure about how to.

 

[mlucitt]

Joe,
Is your Shure cartridge a V15 Type IV?

 

[Gepetto]

Yes it is Mark. The last model before Shure gave up this great cartridge production.

 

[mlucitt]

I have the same cartridge, love it. Replacement styli are no fun to purchase, thankfully they last quite a while. I mated this cartridge to a minimalist Pioneer PL-112D belt-drive manual turntable. I took it in to Breyer Sound in San Diego for their "Tune-up Clinic" one day. The tech actually laughed at me, he said you have a $300 cartridge on a $100 turntable. I told him the turntable does exactly what I want and nothing else, it tracks at 1 gram and anti-skates at 1.5 gram, the motor is synchronous and dead-on stable. He hooked up his $$$ test equipment and said I should increase my tracking to 1.25 gram. Then he asked me where I got the turntable from and I told him to have a nice day. Once I thought about a Thorens TD-160 turntable but thought, Why?