New Technics SL 1200 GAE

Norbert,
That's quite a leap going from the standard spec 1200gae to TW Black Night or the AF3 with Phantom. If your search radius has expanded to that extent I can guarantee the 1200 in basic form will not satisfy you. (Although I admit I've not heard one with a triplanar so that could be something of a game changer ;)

Your most recent alternatives are sound choices short of going for a 6 figure table. ;)
 Suggest the inclusion of the Avid Acutus which is also superb. I don't own one BTW but would like one for Christmas if anybody's listening. :D

All the best for the future.

Hi Norb.
There are a few Black Night users on the forum who will be able to describe the intricacies of that table in detail.
 Earlier in the thread there was a lot of comment regarding MF's Continuum comparison and being honest some were getting slightly carried away with the potential of the 1200. Once Mikey had stopped fooling around with the troublesome warped disc and did a simple vocal comparison the superiority of the Caliburn was clear to hear. IMO it was an easy kill despite my desire to cheer on the underdog. It does make me wonder how the 1200g twin rotor platform could be elevated to anything close to that standard or if we're just "chasing shadows" by trying to do so.
At the end of the day tables such as the 1200 & the Prime are built down to a price and good though they are we have to be realistic. With the best will in the world there are better albeit more expensive tables out there. I genuinely like these 2 tables but that's just my feeling on the matter.
Best regards,

Audiofun, for the record, let me get this straight. You are asserting that your 1200GAE “is FAR BEYOND anything VPI have ever produced” except the one you haven’t heard? Isn’t that a tad disrespectful?

Furthermore, you claim that whilst creating a technological marvel of a turntable (NC machining from solid, engineering a new “non-cogging” twin rotor DD motor etc) Panasonic/Technics then decided to RUIN the whole thing by putting a “crappy” rubber mat on it as their standard, deeply researched, recommendation?

If things really are as bad as you describe you need to have a word with the manufacturer as a matter of urgency! ;^)

Ironically, Stereophile’s reviewer states that his favourite part of the T/T, old & new, was the “thick rubber mat”!

You can’t both be right?!?!  ;^)

(Well, in reality, you can because it's an arbitrary choice)

Enjoy the music!

Audiofun,
You have no sense of humour ;^)
Sorry about the misquote.

I re-read my post and can see why you might think that but did insert some "winks" as this is the standard way of showing that the post is light-hearted.

Ok, you felt earlier that the 1200 beats your buddy's 20k+ T/T with triplanar and expensive cart (hope I got that right as I'm using the power of recall) whereas IMO, not having heard yours, I don't think the standard 1200GAE will convincingly beat a VPI Prime (or even beat it at all) hence my humorous reaction. We all have our respective opinions and I'm not a VPI user.

I would encourage the OP to listen to as many as possible to form his own opinion even if someone turns up enthusing " I own both Prime & 1200 and feel turntable X just edges it".

Enjoy the music and have a nice day! ;)

No problem Audiofun :)