Upcoming Technics SP-10R (100th Anniversary Model)

It appears that VPI has declared war on Technics...?

David VS Goliath? Who knows who will win, I have already done a thought but I do not say it.  LoL

@rwwear 

I have to agree. That is a very plain, almost ugly table to me. I hope it sounds amazing and they restyle it in the future.

I am the person Downunder mentioned who bought the GT2000 and also has the Bardo. Just to clarify, the Bardo is not "broken" as someone suggested and it is a very fine turntable and the 12.1 is an excellent arm. While I am attempting to sell this combination that has nothing to do with dissatisfaction in its performance or quality of finish which is well above the Yamaha(the finish just to be clear). Rather, it is my interest to strike off in another direction in the hobby via 1980's DD turntables. I have recently purchased a Technics SL1000 MK3 without arm unfortunately(EPA100 on the way) and if I sell the Bardo I will look for another lower cost DD option. If I do not sell the Bardo I will keep put a high quality MC in it. I currently use only MM carts, the Clearaudio Virtuoso V1 and the Clearaudio Charisma V2. For the Yamaha arm and hopefully the EPA100 I am using the Yamamoto HS-4S headshell with adjustable azimuth.

Regarding the Yamaha GT2000, this has been an eye opener for me. With an arm that seems a bit crude by the standards of the acknowledged top Japanese arms of the period, let alone modern arms, and with the standard phono cable the turntable manages to sound very, very good. The music just sounds right with this table, with excellent dynamics (better than the Bardo) and sound staging (equal to the Bardo). With its very low price point it is, IMO exceptional value for money even considering the potential for additional expenditure if something happens to go wrong given its age. I will soon be getting a clone YOP-1 that many seem to feel improves the presentation and I have recently tried out a copper mat from Artisan Fidelity following positive reports from Downunder. I think this has made a significant improvement to what I already thought was an excellent presentation. How much is in the copper material and how much is the added mass I cannot say but it just sounds more natural to me with this mat. Of course it may not suit other's tastes as it adds no warmth that many crave. I will also try this mat with my Technics when it arrives later this week. 

Ian

welcome to the vintage DD club!!   don't say I didn't tell you over the years :-)

how cool is it to have superb sound and the table starts and stops within one second.

Its a slippery slope from here thou, as you know :-)

wait til you get a Lyra cartridge.

I have a suspicion you will be looking for a 2nd copper platter.  lol.

@phaser you should try an original Micro Seiki CU-500 gunmetal mat on Technics. It’s much thicker and much heavier than CU-180. Also extremely rare compared to CU-180. I don’t have Technics anymore, but still have CU-500, sadly it’s too heavy for my Luxman PD-444. The quality of gunmetal that japanese used to make CU-500 is unbeatable. The size of CU-500 is spot on for Technics SP-10mkIII and MKII. Simply amazing. I don’t think any modern mats can compete with the Micro Seiki CU-500 (2.8 kg, gunmetal).

At the moment i’m using lighter CU-180 on my Luxman and love it. Best mats in my opinion!

SAEC SS-300 is cheaper alternative, this is the 3rd mat in my rating after CU-500 and CU-180. But SAEC is more universal for any turntables, even for belt drive, because of its lightweight..