Technics SL-1300G Turntable issues


 

I recently purchased the Technics SL-1300G. I like the sound of the turntable. Unfortunately, I found the common complaint that the lift mechanism feels cheap. Additionally I found a perceived quality issue shown below. The silver bands on the top and bottom of the beveled platter edge vary in width by a mm+. In my opinion it makes the table look cheap, not the quality you would expect at the $3300 price tag. Note the gap between the platter and the plinth is uniform as the platter rotates. Would you return the TT hoping to get a platter with more uniform machining?

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1022540953303138/?group_id=336074346532043&s=group&__cft__[0]=AZV3_JCXquIIcK2LC0NvNbJ3F8yDGWJoQa2D_dR3dAeljBIM8Z5jno5bDoyZ2vWjFaWcbaCq9IhqsHNWXuf7ZBqMY5uILmKdXw0FkIUF9zuyKmBZJo3ykrf34me-uV1W1z3DcJRDAzRSj5Rs976H_0KyJcV3NmDdNmG6FuHM0wb1XfoL_ko9ko3NEuz80CPm7VSe5cazGMFjZyC0AgZ4tWE1&__tn__=H-R

dmorse6736

Showing 2 responses by qwin

Guys, please read the OP's post before going on about checking the platter being level, he states it is. His complaint is that the cosmetic silver bands at the top and bottom of the outer sloping rim, vary in width. This is a variation of the manufacturing process. The platter is a high pressure die casting, which has the centre hole bored and then the platter is centred on this to true up the casting an a lathe. The silver edges can vary due to this truing up process. (The difference between as cast and machined around the centre hole).
That's all it is.
The OP has to decide if this purely cosmetic variation is something he can live with, or if he requires a different platter that has more equal lines.

As for the modern Technics being substantially better, I would disagree. They are very slightly better, a little mass has been added to the platter and the bearing has been slightly improved, but that's about it. The marketing bull about the new motor being better is just that. I run a DIY turntable using the DD drive motor from an old SL-1200 MkII, if you check the wow and flutter figure, its the same as the SL-1300G (0.025%). You could argue extra torque, but is that needed or audible? My motor runs a heavy 38mm thick acrylic platter and stops and starts on a dime.
They are and always were, a very accurate and stable platform for your records.

@faustuss
Cogging! please don’t make me laugh, if cogging was audible, they couldn’t get anywhere near those Wow and flutter figures. Read up on how they measure Wow and Flutter and consider this for yourself, it just doesn’t add up.
I’ve never seen anything written by Technics about cogging and would welcome a link to anything. All designs evolve for a verity of reasons, DD motors are no different, but the stability of these, as measured, has changed little.
Cogging was a term first coined by belt drive manufacturers, to put down DD technology in the early days. The wow and flutter figures of which, they couldn’t match by a factor of 10, at anywhere near the price point.
Belt drive TT’s use electric motors to, that would cog in a similar way, but I stick to my main issue with it, that if it were a real factor, it would destroy wow and flutter figures, which it doesn’t.

@yoyoyaya 
I still say the changes are small, so they bolted a brass plate on top of the platter to create extra mass, wow. The Plinth was always die cast and they had to do something with the arm, the early one used a plastic yoke.
I’m not criticizing, I’m a fan of the Technics tables, but realistic about how much they have improved, over what performed pretty good anyway, despite some dodgy engineering decisions back in the day. The build quality and improvement to parts design has undoubtedly got better, but what impact has any of this had on performance, in any significant way?  smiley

My own Technics DD motor based turntable has more radical changes.
Including my own external power supply, internal regulator and inverted ceramic tipped bearing.