Yesterday I received this email from someone who wanted to tell me about his experience trading in a Rega P5 for a Technics SL-1200GR. It really made my day, and stories like his are the reason I write the column. It is also very gratifying to get this kind of feedback when I stick my neck out making as strong of an endorsement as I did for the SL-1200GR, especially when it goes against conventional high-end audiophile wisdom, i.e. belt drive turntables are better than direct drive turntables.
His email is posted below, with identifying information removed at his request. Not only is it noteworthy for what he says, it is really beautifully written. You will feel like you have accompanied him on his audiophile journey, from his school days right up to when he finishes up his story in his listening room.
By the way, whenever any of you write to me, call me Don! He calls me Mr. Lindich but I am NOT a formal kind of guy! Now that we have exchanged emails he calls me Don. 🙂
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Mr. Lindich,
I have been following your column for several years and have enjoyed it. Occasionally I have bought a small item that you recommended like the Sbode wireless earphones (very nice.) But what I really want to thank you for is for convincing me to try the Technics 1200GR. I have been a vinyl enthusiast since I was a young man and bought my first turntable from a co-worker at the used record store where I worked almost 50 years ago. It was a belt-drive Pioneer, a pretty good table at the time. Over the years I replaced that table with a Micro-Seiki, an Ariston and then, about 9 years ago, with what I thought would be my last table, a very fine Rega P5, which sounded great and looked beautiful. But as I have aged I have developed arthritis in my hands, and the Rega is not an easy table to adjust or change cartridges on. So when I saw your glowing reviews of the new Technics tables I was intrigued, and last December I somewhat fearfully traded in my Rega and brought home a 1200GR.
Your review notwithstanding, I simply was not prepared for what I have been hearing ever since. Using exactly the same cartridge as on my Rega, the upgrade in fidelity, solidity and musicality has been stunning. I have owned a lot of audio equipment in my life, much of it very good. The Technics table is simply the finest piece of audio equipment that I have ever owned, or ever heard. Many of the records in my collection (of about 700 albums) are 40 to 70 years old. Some are albums I bought at that record store I worked at that were so beaten up already that their covers were falling apart. Doesn’t matter – whatever I put on this table sings. One of your comments about this turntable that caught my attention was that its build quality was such that it would outlive its owners. I can tell you without hesitation that the only way I would ever give up this table would be if I found a bag of money for which I had no better use – in which case I would immediately buy the 1200G.
So as I listen to a Miles Davis recording from 1956 that has never sounded better on my system, thank you. I still don’t understand how Technics has accomplished this magic; it’s truly amazing.
-F.D., Milwaukee, WI