Technics SL-1200 DC Power Supply

Completed. Perfectly silent! Better soundstage and medium timbers :cheers:

Just made a little mod on PSU in order to add a meter after the original stabilization circuit.

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New wire on umbilical that takes the stabilized V+ from J3

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Added the instrument on front, hacked with a led

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It works :)

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Cheers from Palermo :cheers:
 
Hi everyone, new to the thread.

After obsessing about 112vs 120 db sonar on dacs and ignore analog I've decided to refurbish my two 1210 MK2 that have been in storage for more than a decade. After checking the tonearms for compliance, i decide they were worth the effort and cost. They used to be part of a mobile dj set on their prior life. So far clean, order mogami RCA cables and goring , the 10 thick matt, new stylus, oil for the spindle and thinking about the thrust plates from kab.Plates are half worn.

In the power supply , i have cleaned and applied fresh paste. Not sure if it will make any difference, but it make sense to do it .

I'm planning to mod the power supply after i am done with the must done service
 

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My feet are gone, unless they are screwed all the way up they wobble to much. I have order one of the o original thick rubber mats but will consider either the cork or the acrobat. I have been curious about the power supply mod since I heard Nelson Pass describe his "testing" system: a stock 1200 with the power supply mod
 
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Regarding the cork, any in particular? 6mm like the original 1210 MK2 rubber. Some people say use the original thin mat in top of the cork. I'm confused.

Before I get new feet i need to buy a stronger table. I don't think an Ikea lack with an Ikea butcher block will cut it.

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About the smsp, if used internally, use, another advantage would be probably reduce mechanical vibration, due to a smaller trafo.
 
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6L6

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I like the cork with the series of coin-sized dots that contact the record. There used to be one available similar the Music Hall Mat (I had one of those on a different table, very highly recommended, BTW…) , but I can’t find it. As peppennio recommends, something that has the little cutout for the label is important, and also get something that is not marketed as a “slipmat.”

Remove the stock rubber mat, and repurpose for something else entirely. The rubber does not sound best, slipmats are awful for hi-fi, and felt is the worst of all. As mentioned before, Acromat or cork.
 

6L6

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Joined 2010
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Also, hindsight being 20/20, and talking and helping many people mod their -1200s, the best bang for buck is

PSU
Acromat or Cork
Feet (Isonoes)
Rewire tonearm

You will get clear, audible benefit from each of these 4 items.

Anything else is just gilding the lilly as the vast majority of improvements are in those 4 mods. The stock arm is significantly better than most people realize and merely needs an internal wire rewire. (As the stock wire in yours is almost assuredly corroded, it happened to almost all of them)
 
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My first mod will be new RCA and ground. Nine are I'm very poor shape and the are very noisy to the touch
At this time I'm going trough the basics. Since I already ordered one thick rubber, will get a cork for my second plate. I have the thrust plate disassembled and it seemed they have more than 50 percent life expectancy left.some people suggest to place 3 mm Teflon sticker (ebay) on the thrust plate. The wax mod for $5 makes sense if it can give any improvement. I need to get the gnd cables, gauge and spindle oil from kab, so I will probably get the wax

What is your opinion about the regulator? It is a first mod and a simple one to get start with the inside. Yes, i know that the ROI is lower than moving the power supply outside..
 
The tonearm intimidatates me . I'm not delicate or precise, but i have to agree with you, looking at the existing wires on the tables, corrosion is almost a given.

Regarding the external power supply, i am going hold untill all the routine maintenance a is done, folding stylus, matts, preamp and desk. It hurts the idea of not being able to take it back to stock, off felimg. Tempted to get a control board and an smsp to mod and keep all the original preserved.

Tks to l
 

6L6

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Joined 2010
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Doing anything to the internal regulator is squarely in the “just because you want to mess with something” category.

The external PSU is the mod with the single biggest increase in sound quality. It’s a “must do” in my opinion.

Tonearm takes a bit of a leap of faith, but totally worth it. Just go slow and enjoy the process.