SOTA NOVA, HR-X VPI, Technics 1200G recommendations?

That they can keep the whole mess quiet is more amazement.

A fair amount of feedback is used. Its not for linearity so much as to insure channel separation. My Westerex setup uses 30dB. 

@lewm  I have to admit its an assumption on my part that people are playing LPs have have something other than a steady tone :)

They were all lifeless in comparison and all of us heard the same thing. I sold a bunch of them at Luskin’s and had I don’t know how many people complain of the way they sounded.

There can be a lot of variables and especially back then, the platter pad was a big one one that was ignored. I know the person (Warren Gehl of ARC) who designed an ambitious platter pad which did well controlling the LP resonance as well as that of the platter- and any machine that had one sounded better than one without (once the arm height issue was sorted). IME it didn’t matter if it was DD or belt; that platter pad was more important. It weighed 5 pounds so not every machine could work with it.

FWIW Sumiko acquired the rights from Warren and the mat went on the Cosmos, because Sota was owned by Sumiko at the time (IIRC this happened due to Allen Perkins’ association through my first dealer, before Allen left Sumiko). But Sota changed the formula after about 100 ’tables were made so they didn’t have to pay Warren the rights (again IIRC). This is why I had an early Cosmos (serial number 0, later destroyed by FedEx). All this went down prior to Donna and her husband acquiring Sota.


Since I’ve got one of those pre-Sota platter pads I can set it up on any machine that will handle it. It works a treat on the Technics. I did like the way the vacuum system got rid of rumble, most of which is really just warp.

@mijostyn  You'll want to be careful using the vacuum system! I had a Sota Cosmos some years back that damaged the LP surface held against the platter pad. Dusting both sides before playing didn't fix it. Later, Sota changed the surface of the platter pad to be softer, which also changed the sound of the turntable. When I got our model 208 to sound better in every way I let the Cosmos go. For the record I've no idea how they handle this now.


You are incorrect about the speed stability of properly executed DD machines- there is a very good reason the Technics SP10MkIII holds a high value on eBay- its a performer and takes any belt drive machine to task. The new SP10R and SL1200G do too.


The reason that it 'was not enough to help them years ago' is due to misinformation and nothing more- I know, I fell victim to that same misinformation.

I wasn’t so much worried about the delay but the stress of constant starting/stopping on the motor.

Doan worry aboutit.

There’s no problem at all in this regard- we’d know about it by now; Technics motors have been running fine for decades.

The real issue for me is because of my long term use of subwoofers with ESLs isolation is more important to me than absolute speed accuracy

I’ve used Technics with Sound Labs and they are really happy together! But I also use a good equipment stand, equipped with proper anti-vibration platforms, not just for the turntable but the preamp too. My speakers go to 20Hz perfectly flat (they are about 3db down at 15 Hz) and no worries with low frequency noise interacting with the Technics! For the record, years ago we used to have a page on our website called the ’Atma-Sphere Bass of the Year’ which was a list of recordings we used to show off bass response and impact. The Technics sails effortlessly through that!

I think the SP10R is down around 0.02%. That difference is totally inaudible where as lack of a suspension is totally audible.

You don’t hear speed variation of 0.05% as a pitch change as its too subtle. But you do hear it as a slight ’shimmer’ in the soundstage, since speed variation causes a radially tracking arm to oscillate side to side in the groove (due to the variation in skating forces). It really is something to hear how a Technics sorts that particular phenomena out! Reel to reel tape does not have this issue since speed variation does not affect the output of either channel. So it has a ’locked in’ soundstage that is a bit of a trick for turntables- but the Technics pulls it off with ease.


Try it you’ll like it!

My aversion to direct drive turntables comes from pretty extensive listening tests back in the late 70's early 80's. The universal opinion was that direct drive turntables sounded inferior to the best belt drive turntables. There were various theories of why this might be, none of them proven that I know of. I do know that isolating the turntable from everything else going on around it including the music is very important.

@mijostyn  I remember when direct drive was getting that bad rap. It turned out that there are good direct drive tts and bad ones, just like there are class D amps that sound terrible and others that are great. It depends on design and execution.

The thing that Technics always had going for them was a robust research and development department since they are owned by Panasonic.  Turns out that control theory, if properly applied, can work on a turntable no worries- with less speed variation than any belt drive ever made. They've not lost that expertise! While I don't doubt that you heard some inferior DD turntables, and some of them even lower priced Technics that were bad, you'd do well to disabuse yourself of your anecdotes and take a serious listen to either the 1200G or SP10R, either equipped with the tonearm of your choice.


I've done that and its the reason we stopped selling our Atma-Sphere 208, which is very speed stable for a belt-drive machine. The Technics is simply better- and for less money. I have to admit I like our plinth better but Technics did a very good job on theirs (in the SL1200G, not so much the SP10R IMO).

In my opinion, people who always blabling something about “vibration” are living in the earthquake area, probably right on top of the vulcano or very close, ***becase I really don’t understand what they are talking about***!? Using over 6 turntables at home I never ever noticed any audible problem with vibration, I’m using custom made metal racks on parquet floor.

Vibration is a problem on the dancefloor packed with 500 jumping people near 10 000 watts sound system - this is where turntable definitely must be seriously isolated. But even there you will see Technics DD in use!

@chakster  (Emphasis added above) This is what they are talking about:


If you really want to hear what your recordings actually sound like, controlling vibration in the turntable is paramount to that goal. I'm not talking about people on a dance floor, I'm talking about vibration induced in the turntable by the loudspeakers. In a nutshell, if your system sounds harsher at higher volumes particularly when playing LPs, this is something to look at! The vibration need not be very much, in fact it might be microscopic. But so is the groove of the LP.


To this end, if the platter is able to vibrate in a different way from the base of the tonearm, this will enable to the pickup to see that vibration and it will induce a coloration. To prevent this, the platter surface and base of the tonearm must be coupled in a very rigid and acoustically dead manner. In this way the platter and base of the arm will vibrate in the same plane if it vibrate, this preventing the vibration from being picked up by the cartridge.

How do I get an armboard for TP for 1200G?

There are cheap ones on ebay. The one we make is solid and is built of the same material as the plinth to avoid coloration.

The Technics would be an easy no-brainer for me. We designed an armboard that allows a Triplanar to be easily mounted on it- at that point you have a turntable that is very nearly state of the art. The Technics has a rigid and dead plinth, and employs 5 different damping systems. Its also one of the most speed-stable turntables made.


I usually change out the platter pad!