Used Technics SL1200 Turntable Price Hike

LCaptain Snooze on 19/02/2022 - 23:00
Last edited 19/02/2022 - 23:37 by 1 other user

Howdy all. Long time trawler/creeper first time poster.

I've recently gotten back into audio and in particular vinyl. I was starting research into a new turntable and was originally just going to buy a 2nd hand technics so 1200 MK2 or 3. I was expecting to have to fork out $600-$700, bit was shocked to see most second hand tables going for 1000 bucks!

I don't really know where I'm getting to with this apart from creating a place for others to vent their shared frustration with the sky rocket in price.

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  boomramada on 20/02/2022 - 01:12

  -1

  Have you heard of Covid yet ?

  • 

    Captain Snooze on 20/02/2022 - 04:43

    -1

    Wot dis?

    • 

      EightImmortals on 20/02/2022 - 09:57

      -1

      It's an imaginary pandemic that raises the price of turntables (and everything else).

    • 

      boomramada on 20/02/2022 - 12:13

      It's a record breaking pandemic, still stuck on same track.

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  jug123 on 20/02/2022 - 03:05

  bought one of these & connected to a Yamaha amp and loving my vinyl collection https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/audio-technica-atlp60xbt-…

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  trickma on 20/02/2022 - 09:22

  +1

  In the same boat, I remember selling my pair for $1100 10 years ago wish I hadn't!

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  Picto3000 on 20/02/2022 - 10:50

  +1

  I sold my pair in a flight case with mixer for 1.2k about 12 years ago. Oh what a bad move that was.

  Audio Technica sell a knockoff of the MK2/3s that’s direct drive and as a bonus over the Technics, comes with built in preamp so use with modern amps is easier and simpler. I grabbed one a few years ago, put in a Concord head and haven’t looked back.

  Edit: this looks to be a slightly updated model to what I have https://www.melbournehifi.com.au/products/audio-technica-at-…

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  caitsith01 on 20/02/2022 - 14:45

  +2

  I buy and fix up vintage hi-fi gear as a hobby.

  Unfortunately there are two things going on here:

  1. Covid means lots of people are sitting at home looking for hobbies and browsing Gumtree, so suddenly demand has skyrocketed for old hi-fi gear.

  2. In the last 5-10 years a new species of human has emerged: fat, smug, balding blokes in their 50s who "professionally" buy up every piece of half decent vintage gear they can get their hands on and then look to tidy it up and flip it to suckers for a fat profit. These *****s completely distort the used market by paying over the odds in the first place and then expecting people to pay their inflated resale prices because they obviously deserve to make a profit as useless middlemen. In my experience they typically live with their 90 year old mum in rabbit warren hovels filled with their ill gotten hi-fi gear, which they put in piles and sleep on top of like Smaug the dragon. As you can tell, I really hate these guys, because they have taken a fun hobby and make it boring and ruthlessly competitive.

  If you are really persistent, there are bargains to be found, but they are rare. Technics stuff always goes bonkers due to the label and people being very aware of the SL-1200 in particular as "the best".

  If you are looking to DJ there are some very solid Pioneer decks you can get new for decent prices - e.g.

  https://djcity.com.au/product/pioneer-plx-500-dj-turntable/

  If you are just looking to listen, then the SL-1200 is not a great choice anyway as it's way overengineered for that purpose. You should look at an entry level Project, Rega or Music Hall or a mid-range Audio Technica which will all (IMHO) be as good or better than a Technics for that use.

  Finally, IMHO you have to focus on cartridge as much as the deck itself. In the end a table just has to spin a record accurately without introducing weird noise - whereas a good cartridge makes a world of difference. If I was starting out I'd look for a modestly priced table as above and then add a really good cartridge.

  • 

    edrooney on 20/02/2022 - 17:57

    +1 for the importance of a good cartridge.

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  tonyjzx on 23/02/2022 - 00:29

  this has been happening long before covid

  even when the 1200 was in production the prices were quite dumb

  once it went out the really went up