Direct Drive

I have always wanted a Technics SL1210, but I have never wanted to pay for a new one, and the second hand ones that show up have usually had a hard life under the fingers of some grimy DJ. I also don’t like having things with features I will never use, namely a pitch control thing. Of course I lust after the new SP-10R, perhaps in an Oswalds Mill Audio plinth… but that will never happen.

When Technics released the SL1500C it popped into my mind as something that might be suitable, so last week I bought one, in black of course. It’s pretty slick looking and no pitch control, which is great. It does have a built in phono stage that I won’t use, and an auto lift function, that I might use.

There have been lots of actual reviews so I won’t go into all that and instead point you to this and this and this.

What I will say is it will complement my Leben/Falcon set up nicely.

I intend to use it with my Sentec phono stage.

I’m not planning on getting any super fancy cartridges for it, it comes with a very useable Ortofon 2M Red, although I may upgrade the stylus to a 2M Blue. I also have a Spec Corporation AP-CS1-K MM cartridge to try out which will be interesting, and a cheapie Audio Technica AT110E. I also have a nice Yamamoto HS-4 Carbon Fibre headshell which will get used in some way. I’m also curious to try out some of my EMTs on it, using the Ortofon APJ-1 adaptor.

I will make up some Belden 8402 or similar interconnects for it, and also a Supra power cable, since I have some of that lying around.

I will also get a new mat for it, everyone seems to be of the opinion that changing the stock rubber mat out reaps benefits, so it will be done. Probably a Funk Firm Achromat or A23 Hommage, and probably a cheap record weight of some description. Nothing too fancy. I am trying to keep this one to a relative budget.

More to come when I have actually set it all up, when I have time… hopefully this weekend.