technics sl d20 turn table

[redd]

Hello TT Tech gurus,
I am venturing into vinyls and want to experiment and see if the SQ is good enough for the hard work and time that i have to spend to maintain them.I am being offered a used technics sl d20 turntable at a store in moore market in chennai for rs 3500.The seller says the stylus is half worn out but still works and the lid hinges are broken at the back but still can manage to close it.He says it is in working condition playing songs well.Now my query is-is it worth buying it , can i change the stylus,can i replace the cart with a new good quality one[the cart fitted to it is not known],if yes which cart will you advice.please give your valuable suggestions.Thanks in advance.

 

[navinmra]

Depends on the condition of the platter and bearings... if there's judder in the platter then it will make its way into the sound. Also if the tone arm movement is sticky (up/down and sideways) then the stylus might skate.

But the good thing is that these Direct Drives are built like a tank. @ 3500/- you can afford to experiment. And if its a bad deal, find another TT for your new cartridge. I think the Ortofon is a good cartridge.
I recently auditioned a Pro-ject TT with Ortofon cartridge and it sounded great (Dont ask me if the Martin Logan's were the reason) There's a model at aroun 14K and its reasonable.

 

[murali_n]

Hello TT Tech gurus,
I am venturing into vinyls and want to experiment and see if the SQ is good enough for the hard work and time that i have to spend to maintain them.I am being offered a used technics sl d20 turntable at a store in moore market in chennai for rs 3500.The seller says the stylus is half worn out but still works and the lid hinges are broken at the back but still can manage to close it.He says it is in working condition playing songs well.Now my query is-is it worth buying it , can i change the stylus,can i replace the cart with a new good quality one[the cart fitted to it is not known],if yes which cart will you advice.please give your valuable suggestions.Thanks in advance.

Hai redd,

Changing cartridge may not be an issue. But check the condition of platter , motor speed etc. Is the tonearm intact and good. You can replace cart with AT-91 from Audio Technica which is VFM @ Rs.1500/- for a new piece.

N.Murali

 

[malvai]

First check the platter dude.
It being a DD turntable, if anything is wrong then, its almost impossible to fix here...

To check it: make the platter spin and see for how long it continues to spin... if it is in good shape it should spin on its own for atleast a minute.

Next, power it up. Put an LP on it and place the tonearm on the LP and see if it runs smooth. (The needle should not bob on it... Don't worry about the amplification just yet.)

Next, take it home and try the same things with amplification. If it works at this stage... it will continue to do so for another 30 years!

The Technics DD tables were built to last forvever with just minimal looking after!



Now about the model....

The SL D20 is a TT from the 80s. It was a semi-automatic TT. It'll have a linear tracking tonearm (instead of the p-type tonearm). This TT was a mid-level TT. It is not one of the classics from the Technics stable, but it should do the job right!

My suggestion: if the platter and motor is fine and the tonearm is working, go for it! Change to a better cart+stylus later. (Go for a Shure M97xE, it great for the money and works well on all Technics TT's).

Cheers!

 

[hemantwaghe]

If it fits experts recommandation ,i feel price is good. As the ebay guy recommanded obscene prices for philips and hmv ,this appears to be a good buy!

 

[Muthusami S]

Hai redd,

Changing cartridge may not be an issue. But check the condition of platter , motor speed etc. Is the tonearm intact and good. You can replace cart with AT-91 from Audio Technica which is VFM @ Rs.1500/- for a new piece.

N.Murali

Hi Mr. Murali,

Is the above mentioned cartridge available in Chennai. If any contact details, please provide. My friend wanted to revive his Cosmic 2000 and Garrard turntables. Thanks in advance.

 

[analogadikt]

This turntable has a conventional pivoted tonearm of 230mm effective length. It is not a linear tracker as suggested in one post here. The tonearm has P mount system, so the AT91 and M97xe carts are NOT SUITABLE for this tonearm as these are H mount types. The original cart for this tt is the Technics EPC-P24. This is a good cartridge, much better than entry level carts available today, and replacement stylus for the same are available from various suppliers. The OP should check if it is this cartridge that is still on duty at the front end of the tonearm or has been replaced by some other cartridge.

The free spinning test does not work on some turntables due to specific designs of the motor, bearings and platter brakes.

The tt has pitch control with 10% adjustment, that is a good point. The P mount system shall limit choice of a new cartridge in future, but the advantage is that there shall be much less fiddling to do while installing and setting up the cart. This is important as the OP is a newbie.

Hope this helps,

analogadikt

 

[redd]

Hi
Many thanks to muralidharan,malvai,hemanth and analogaddict for your prompt and valuable feed back.I have searched in the net and as anologadict pointed out this has a p-mounted tone arm with limited cart upgradeablity and it is suggested to go for a AT -92ECD for cart replacement.I am going to inspect the TT this saturday and revert back to you for your suggestions.Thank you once again.
Malvai I PMed you.

 

[murali_n]

Hi Mr. Murali,

Is the above mentioned cartridge available in Chennai. If any contact details, please provide. My friend wanted to revive his Cosmic 2000 and Garrard turntables. Thanks in advance.

Hai Muthuswami,

Contact Mr.Sasikumar of Mohan Musicals, Ritchie street,Chennai. It is given elsewhere in another thread, search for the same using keywords.

N.Murali

 

[Muthusami S]

Hai Muthuswami,

Contact Mr.Sasikumar of Mohan Musicals, Ritchie street,Chennai. It is given elsewhere in another thread, search for the same using keywords.

N.Murali

Thank you so much Murali. I have the contact number and will be visiting there soon.