Jumping headlong into analog -- just got a Technics 1210GAE 55th Anniversary edition -- a saga

essrand

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My last flirtation with analog was in 2015, when my DAC (AMR DP-777) handily beat my Rega 6 TT with Shelter cart. I sold the rig. Since then was a digital guy. But somehow my system never satisfied. Upgrade after upgrade of digital even to the rarefied levels -- Bricasti, Nagra.

About an year back, sometime in middle of 2020, I decided to punt on getting the 55th Anniversary Technics table that was just announced which came with TT, clamp, cartridge, tonearm all matched, all black, and resting on the laurels of the Technics SL1200G that Fremer made so famous with a comparison with his 80K$ TT where no one could tell which table was which.

Also, perhaps in the back of the mind, I realised I must have done something wrong with my Rega setup, maybe a cart/tonearm mismatch, and for a noob like the SL1210GAE was idiot proof. All the heavy lifting (tonearm, cart, already done. Plug and play.

But I couldn't find a dealer anywhere in Europe, USA who wasn't sold out. All the 1000 tables released in this limited edition were sold out.

A few months later, Technics decided to do me a solid, and release 210 more of these TTs, and I found a dealer in Scotland (of all the places) willing to sell me one, BUT he wasn't willing to ship to India. He was not comfortable doing so. I had a WTF moment. Then relented and asked him to ship it to godown in the USA, that would hold it for me, until my trip to USA.

Finally when I went to the USA in August 2021, after the hullaballoo of pandemic had died down a bit, I was able to bring the TT back.

But I had no phono stage and the dealers in India were quoting 3X of Japan retail price for an Accuphase phono.
To cut the story short, I imported it from Japan, it came a month later, and finally the TT was assembled and ready to go.

And how does it sound?

Shit!! I found it more involving than my digital which is 7X, 7X!! the price (Granted my digital is not optimised as it should be at that level, but still), and I have not even optimised the TT, I am sure my anti-skates levels are wrong, perhaps the cart loading is off, perhaps the cart is not perfectly aligned, but still it sound pretty damn awesome.
I had once started a thread about where to spend money on source or amps, I chose source and bought my last DAC, but perhaps I choose the wrong source and should have gone analog instead of digital.
 
Very interesting. Which accuphase phono stage did you get? Also, which cartridge came pre installed along with the 55th anniversary Technics TT? Would love to see some pictures!
 
That transition story of moving back to analog itself is very interesting. Many congratulations on finally achieving audio nirvana.

But the real struggle begins now. You will have to get good quality vinyls and the cost of getting these will be much more than the analog setup you have.
 
Congrats. Technics SL1210G is a great machine. Set it up well and enjoy for a long time. You can upgrade to better moving coil cartridges to improve the SQ.
 
My last flirtation with analog was in 2015, when my DAC (AMR DP-777) handily beat my Rega 6 TT with Shelter cart. I sold the rig. Since then was a digital guy. But somehow my system never satisfied. Upgrade after upgrade of digital even to the rarefied levels -- Bricasti, Nagra.

About an year back, sometime in middle of 2020, I decided to punt on getting the 55th Anniversary Technics table that was just announced which came with TT, clamp, cartridge, tonearm all matched, all black, and resting on the laurels of the Technics SL1200G that Fremer made so famous with a comparison with his 80K$ TT where no one could tell which table was which.

Also, perhaps in the back of the mind, I realised I must have done something wrong with my Rega setup, maybe a cart/tonearm mismatch, and for a noob like the SL1210GAE was idiot proof. All the heavy lifting (tonearm, cart, already done. Plug and play.

But I couldn't find a dealer anywhere in Europe, USA who wasn't sold out. All the 1000 tables released in this limited edition were sold out.

A few months later, Technics decided to do me a solid, and release 210 more of these TTs, and I found a dealer in Scotland (of all the places) willing to sell me one, BUT he wasn't willing to ship to India. He was not comfortable doing so. I had a WTF moment. Then relented and asked him to ship it to godown in the USA, that would hold it for me, until my trip to USA.

Finally when I went to the USA in August 2021, after the hullaballoo of pandemic had died down a bit, I was able to bring the TT back.

But I had no phono stage and the dealers in India were quoting 3X of Japan retail price for an Accuphase phono.
To cut the story short, I imported it from Japan, it came a month later, and finally the TT was assembled and ready to go.

And how does it sound?

Shit!! I found it more involving than my digital which is 7X, 7X!! the price (Granted my digital is not optimised as it should be at that level, but still), and I have not even optimised the TT, I am sure my anti-skates levels are wrong, perhaps the cart loading is off, perhaps the cart is not perfectly aligned, but still it sound pretty damn awesome.
I had once started a thread about where to spend money on source or amps, I chose source and bought my last DAC, but perhaps I choose the wrong source and should have gone analog instead of digital.
Great story, there's is also a message which stands out for those who look carefully - when it comes to turntables, one can go to any extent, but its hard to beat a Technics DD :).
My case for example, despite the indulgence and investments, my Technics SLs still rake up the most revolutions :)
 
So your TT (with cartridge n phono stage? ) costs 1/7 th the price of your digital....

The REAL cost & effort of an analog front end is the Software!

Anyways its a great alternate path in our wonderful hobby! :) CHEERS!
 
My last flirtation with analog was in 2015, when my DAC (AMR DP-777) handily beat my Rega 6 TT with Shelter cart. I sold the rig. Since then was a digital guy. But somehow my system never satisfied. Upgrade after upgrade of digital even to the rarefied levels -- Bricasti, Nagra.

About an year back, sometime in middle of 2020, I decided to punt on getting the 55th Anniversary Technics table that was just announced which came with TT, clamp, cartridge, tonearm all matched, all black, and resting on the laurels of the Technics SL1200G that Fremer made so famous with a comparison with his 80K$ TT where no one could tell which table was which.

Also, perhaps in the back of the mind, I realised I must have done something wrong with my Rega setup, maybe a cart/tonearm mismatch, and for a noob like the SL1210GAE was idiot proof. All the heavy lifting (tonearm, cart, already done. Plug and play.

But I couldn't find a dealer anywhere in Europe, USA who wasn't sold out. All the 1000 tables released in this limited edition were sold out.

A few months later, Technics decided to do me a solid, and release 210 more of these TTs, and I found a dealer in Scotland (of all the places) willing to sell me one, BUT he wasn't willing to ship to India. He was not comfortable doing so. I had a WTF moment. Then relented and asked him to ship it to godown in the USA, that would hold it for me, until my trip to USA.

Finally when I went to the USA in August 2021, after the hullaballoo of pandemic had died down a bit, I was able to bring the TT back.

But I had no phono stage and the dealers in India were quoting 3X of Japan retail price for an Accuphase phono.
To cut the story short, I imported it from Japan, it came a month later, and finally the TT was assembled and ready to go.

And how does it sound?

Shit!! I found it more involving than my digital which is 7X, 7X!! the price (Granted my digital is not optimised as it should be at that level, but still), and I have not even optimised the TT, I am sure my anti-skates levels are wrong, perhaps the cart loading is off, perhaps the cart is not perfectly aligned, but still it sound pretty damn awesome.
I had once started a thread about where to spend money on source or amps, I chose source and bought my last DAC, but perhaps I choose the wrong source and should have gone analog instead of digital.
Awesome! Welcome to our club (of 2!) --- Technics GAE 55th anniv table oweners!

I have been rotating mine for almost close to a year now! And after using a whole lot of top decks, i can pretty much say that -- this is the best of the best...
 
Great story, there's is also a message which stands out for those who look carefully - when it comes to turntables, one can go to any extent, but its hard to beat a Technics DD :).
My case for example, despite the indulgence and investments, my Technics SLs still rake up the most revolutions :)
True. Their whole SP range is formidable as well. If you have one of the models, frankly, no need to look for any other machine. Pair it with a good arm and cartridge and you are set.
 
yes, the SPs are legends, I did some interesting experiments with these using an Alfred Bokrand Ortofon AS309 12 inch tonearm mounted on a pod with a Shure V15 III cart/OEM stylus, and the results were really interesting. More to follow in the Legend Killer threads on this subject :)
 
yes, the SPs are legends, I did some interesting experiments with these using an Alfred Bokrand Ortofon AS309 12 inch tonearm mounted on a pod with a Shure V15 III cart/OEM stylus, and the results were really interesting. More to follow in the Legend Killer threads on this subject :)
My favourite is the three-speed SP 15.
 
My last flirtation with analog was in 2015, when my DAC (AMR DP-777) handily beat my Rega 6 TT with Shelter cart. I sold the rig. Since then was a digital guy. But somehow my system never satisfied. Upgrade after upgrade of digital even to the rarefied levels -- Bricasti, Nagra.

About an year back, sometime in middle of 2020, I decided to punt on getting the 55th Anniversary Technics table that was just announced which came with TT, clamp, cartridge, tonearm all matched, all black, and resting on the laurels of the Technics SL1200G that Fremer made so famous with a comparison with his 80K$ TT where no one could tell which table was which.

Also, perhaps in the back of the mind, I realised I must have done something wrong with my Rega setup, maybe a cart/tonearm mismatch, and for a noob like the SL1210GAE was idiot proof. All the heavy lifting (tonearm, cart, already done. Plug and play.

But I couldn't find a dealer anywhere in Europe, USA who wasn't sold out. All the 1000 tables released in this limited edition were sold out.

A few months later, Technics decided to do me a solid, and release 210 more of these TTs, and I found a dealer in Scotland (of all the places) willing to sell me one, BUT he wasn't willing to ship to India. He was not comfortable doing so. I had a WTF moment. Then relented and asked him to ship it to godown in the USA, that would hold it for me, until my trip to USA.

Finally when I went to the USA in August 2021, after the hullaballoo of pandemic had died down a bit, I was able to bring the TT back.

But I had no phono stage and the dealers in India were quoting 3X of Japan retail price for an Accuphase phono.
To cut the story short, I imported it from Japan, it came a month later, and finally the TT was assembled and ready to go.

And how does it sound?

Shit!! I found it more involving than my digital which is 7X, 7X!! the price (Granted my digital is not optimised as it should be at that level, but still), and I have not even optimised the TT, I am sure my anti-skates levels are wrong, perhaps the cart loading is off, perhaps the cart is not perfectly aligned, but still it sound pretty damn awesome.
I had once started a thread about where to spend money on source or amps, I chose source and bought my last DAC, but perhaps I choose the wrong source and should have gone analog instead of digital.
Congratulations
 
Very interesting. Which accuphase phono stage did you get? Also, which cartridge came pre installed along with the 55th anniversary Technics TT? Would love to see some pictures!
I got the phono card Accuphase AD-50 which can be slotted straight in the integrated.
The cart as shown in the picture is a Nagaoka JT-1210 purpotedly specifically made for this TT. I, obviously, don't know much about carts, but my experience from the sound makes me think this cart is not some ordinary stuff. Think I totally lucked out with getting this TT.
Very interesting. Which accuphase phono stage did you get? Also, which cartridge came pre installed along with the 55th anniversary Technics TT? Would love to see some pictures!

That transition story of moving back to analog itself is very interesting. Many congratulations on finally achieving audio nirvana.

But the real struggle begins now. You will have to get good quality vinyls and the cost of getting these will be much more than the analog setup you have.
Haha, yes. That was one of the reasons I was avoiding going back to analog for so long. Until this TT was announced and I couldn't stay out of it anymore. Also that digital wasn't doing it despite going in the direction of SOTA.

Awesome! Welcome to our club (of 2!) --- Technics GAE 55th anniv table oweners!

I have been rotating mine for almost close to a year now! And after using a whole lot of top decks, i can pretty much say that -- this is the best of the best...
Nice!!! How/where did you manage to snag yours? I had scour dealers in UK, USA till I found one in Scotland!!

I heard from an Indian dealer whom I was working with for a bit, that the director of NCPA had given him an advance to procure one for himself, so maybe there are more people in our club than we know about :)

Congratulations ! Digital and analogue , both have their place and nothing beats having a SOTA setup for both ;)
Thanks! I got really lucky with a punt on this TT.

Great story, there's is also a message which stands out for those who look carefully - when it comes to turntables, one can go to any extent, but its hard to beat a Technics DD :).
My case for example, despite the indulgence and investments, my Technics SLs still rake up the most revolutions :)
You like your Technics more than your Garrards?

Nice to hear that from a fellow SL user :)
 

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