Vintage Technics Turntables: What to Look For!

I kept my SL D2 from 1980. That table with a Shure V-15 type 4 was an absolute sonic bang for buck combo.

I have my dad’s Technics sl-5300 from 1979, the year I was born, and it runs perfect!

So, I found a SL-230 at a garage sale last year for basically free, took it home and thus began my journey into vintage audio. I went ahead and disassembled the deck and got all of the automatic functions working, including the repeat function. Based on this success, I felt emboldened to start looking at vintage receivers. Since then, it has become an obsession and I've refurbished a few other turntables as well as a number of receivers. I am now in the process of building out a home hi-fi listening room for some of my favorite pieces. This journey led to me finding Skylabs Audio. Kevin, you do a great job on these videos and I really appreciate your commitment. To everyone, get out and support Skylabs Audio. I've personally purchased a number of t-shirts, not that I needed any more, but just to show my support to Kevin and the entire team! Keep up the good work!

$15.00 pandemic era Technics SL-1500 yard sale pick up here. I had it serviced and replaced the RCA cables and ground wire with new because the originals were damaged in a fire, some caps were also replaced. It works 100% today.

For those of you possibly looking at a new Technics, I bought an SL-1210 GR for about $450 off due to the GR2 coming out! If you see one in stock at a reputable online dealer, it doesn’t hurt to ask. I bought the second to last one at Sweetwater.

First good turntable I had was a Marantz, it had the issue with the up and down buttons. Replaced with a Technics SL-D5, solid linear turntable. I now have a Technics SL-Q1, linear turntable. I had to replace the tonearm drive belt, works great! Also own a Pioneer PL-518 and a Sansui SR-232. They have all had to have some maintenance when I bought them, but all working and sounding great now! If I knew how to work on turntables when I was younger I’d have kept the Marantz, it was a nice turntable too. I regret selling it for $5. in a garage sale. But back then, I was believing the CD hype that records were dead. I love my CD’s too, but I have always loved vinyl!

I still have my SL-1800. Love it. Direct Drive, fully manual Turn Table...

I’ve had a few 1980s Technics, regretted selling them. I now own 2 Technics 1200s MK2 purchased brand new in 1999 & they are like brand new today, still have the original boxes with the manuals still in the envelopes, the rubber platter mats are still in the paper unused, complete with the extra weights for the back of the tonearm & the stylus hangover tools. Bulletproof turntables.

I know how you feel about Technics turntables, and I feel the same way about Dual. I have several vintage Duals which have never been serviced and still function beautifully! Love my CS-5000s and my Golden One. And, my CS-506 has worked perfectly since new.

I have three technics changers. When playing lps , you have to be aware of the weight of the record, if it is to heavy it won’t drop it. I have a SL-d5, SL-3350 and SL-1950 ,

What about the MCS “technics” turntables

Picked up a SL-1600 for $50 at an estate sale last year primarily because it had a grado f3 cart, I was going to put it on my sl-1200 but I plugged it in and hooked it up to my marantz 2275 and it’s been there ever since the automatic start and stop still works flawlessly

I own 5 vintage turntables, from Thorens to Duel. My daily player is my Technics SL -1900. Love it!

Technics has always been a great value. I started with a SL-23 back in the 70’s and the reliability got me hooked on them. I love the linear trackers. My living room set-up includes a recapped SL-10 with the original moving coil EPS-310. The linear trackers aren’t for everyone, you should be prepared to do the tech work to make them functional. Overall, I have been lucky to own both ends of the Technics line and many in between.

I'm the original owner of an SL-D202 that I bought in the mid to late 70s. Still works great, though I rarely use it. I have an in-line pre-amp so that I can feed it into my computer and "digitize" my LPs. The dust cover's hinges are fine, but, it has a crack in the middle-top; back in the early 80's, my wife had placed a vase on my stereo furniture. One time, when I had the volume cranked up high, the vibrations caused the vase to fall on it. That broke my heart, but I go over it.

Original owner of a SL 1100a/Shure V15 lll combo purchased in 1975 new for $350. Played extensively from date of purchase until mid 80’s when cassette/CD pushed it into the closet. Resurrected February this year as nostalgia kicked in and I rebuilt my two channel system…fired it up after close to four decades; ( after a couple of drops of long overdue oil that was stored under the platter from the factory) Runs as well and sounds as good as the day I pulled it from the box in 1975. When upgrade time comes, 1200 g for me. It’ll be worth every penny I blow on it. Technics TTs for life.

I recently grabbed my SL1950 from my parents house. I bought it brand new back in '78, and has not been used since the early 80's when I upgraded to a linn lp12. The cue lever was locked tight, the hinges busted, and the cartridge smashed. I removed the tone arm and cleaned the cue and applied the proper silicone grease. Recapped the control board with a kit from ebay. Lubed the main bearing with special oil. Replaced the cartridge and set it up using a printed chart off the net. Replaced the hinges, and polished the dust cover. It works just like new! Thing is, it's a real pain to play records compared to streaming. I have played maybe 15 records out of my collection of 300. Now it's sits here collecting dust. oh well

I had a record changer back in the early 70's. It was a cheapo "Electrophonic" but it had a hook shaped arm that sat on top of the record stack that kept the records from wobbling around while they hovered above the platter. I think all of the changers had that feature and, unlike the rest of the unit, it always functioned perfectly due to its simplicity.

I own a few Technics tables The SL-2000, SL-Q3 & the SL-1200 mkII. The automatic start for 7” records tends to act up when startup occurs. Other than that they all work well.

I now have three early 80s Technics tables, all linear trackers. The iconic SL7, the SL- Q15 and the SL-L1. They all needed work to get fully operational but I absolutely love them. They are just so convenient and sound great. I have a Clearaudio Performance SE and a MoFi Studio deck, but increasingly find myself going to the Technics for my vinyl fix. My son has the SL-L1 in his flat and uses it all the time.