Evaluating A Used Technics SL-1700

[beffie]

I've got a guy offering me a used SL-1700 turntable for $85 US. From the EBay actions I've seen, this is reasonable. Any tips on checking this unit out before handing over the cash? I found this http://www.turntabletech.com/used.htm and it's useful but some of the more picky stuff might only apply to the SL-1200.

As always, any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Sherman]

I'm definitely not an expert but based on some experience I would add something to the article. An SME arm I looked at had a tiny amount of corrosion on the pivots.

It had been expertly cleaned at some point in the past and looked fine to the naked eye but with a magnifying glass one could see pitting and an accumulation of "gunk", mostly dust, that affected the free movement of the arm and for some reason had a much more noticeable effect when playing toward the inner groves (anti-skating interference?).

[beffie]

Thanks for your reply. I checked all the things on the list that I could. I brought some brand new vinyl over and used my trusty Sennheiser HD-580s to demo on. It sounded pretty good. No grounding loop buzz/hum. No rumble. So, I went ahead and bought it. It's in very good cosmetic condition. The dots on the strobe are quite still when you adjust the pitch. That's a good sign, afaik.

It's not an MKII which is a bummer. So it's a nice turntable but nothing worth modding, from what I've read here. It's a helluva lot nicer than my old crap JVC.

Now I've got to see what cartridge is installed on this thing and if I want to keep it or get another one. Also, better mat, leveling it, adjusting all the doohickeys on the tonearm, etc. Time to do some reading. Wheeee!

I've realized that most of my vinyl is really ripped up from abuse on other turntables. Time to make a trip to Amoeba in Berkeley!