Technics SL-1200MK2 - turntable

The new SL-1200MK2 has become a near-mythical piece of machinery. The Hip-Hop Community calls it the "Wheel of Steel" and uses it to create the signature sound of hip-hop - "the scratch." Only the SL-1200MK2 has a motor capable of continually withstanding the abuses of record gripping stops and high torque starts that comprise Hip Hop's infamous "Scratch." This is but one reason why today the SL-1200MK2 has become the official turntable of the 5, 000-member Disco Mix Club, the largest DJ club in the world.

Specs that distinguish the SL-1200MK2 in the eyes and ears of the world's DJs include the phenomenal ability to reach speed in .7 seconds with unwavering quartz accuracy: Wow and Flutter 0.01% WRMS, rumble -78dB (DIN B). Quartz phase-locked control means almost perfect accuracy of turntable rotation. But with most quartz turntables, this accuracy control circuit must be cut out when the pitch control is employed. With the SL-1200MK2, however, pitch is variable continuously (analogically) by up to approximately +/-8% under total quartz locked control. The effects of external vibrations are dramatically reduced in the turntable by new turntable construction. The turntable is precision-made aluminum diecast. And the underside of the main base is made of a heavy rubber material that has excellent vibration resistance and absorbing characteristics. The turntable platter is also vibration-damped with specially fabricated rubber matting in the underside along the with the thick turntable sheet (rubber mat). Four large-size insulating feet also help to absorb unwanted vibrations. These features make the SL-1200MK2 ideal for use with extra-high sound pressure levels. The highly sensitive tonearm features a genuine gimbal suspension, the rotational center of which is precisely defined at one point. Bearings are finished to a tolerance of +/-0.5 microns. This, and the extra-closeness of pivot center to the bearings, results in the minimal friction of 7 mg (0.007g) for both horizontal and vertical movement. Add to this the low 12-gram effective tonearm mass (including headshell without cartridge) and you have a tonearm compatible with the wide range of compliances found in today's cartridges. If you choose a popular high compliance MM cartridge, the low range resonance frequency will appear in the correct are to avoid warp frequencies of records, but without entering the low end of the audio spectrum. This tonearm is provided with a computer designed, lightweight, high-rigidity headshell made of single-piece diecast aluminum to resist partial vibration. The universal design allows headshell interchangeability. Contacts are gold-plated. Arm height is adjustable within a range of 6 mm to accommodate varying cartridge dimensions. Quick stops are achieved with a fully electronic braking system. A strobe illuminator is provided. The stroboscope is controlled by the extremely stable quartz oscillator, rather than potentially unstable AC line frequency.