In any case since this thread is for the Technics SL1200GR2 which is in effect a $400 more expensive SL1200GR with -as far as I am concerned- inaudible improvements I will share here my experience after a year of owning an SL1210GR for the sole purpose of warning others of probable pitfalls of owning one. Now, I understand beforehand that I will make some Technics fanatics turn sour on me, especially those who are dealers, resellers, accesory sellers and the like and who have a vested financial interest (or psychological attachment) in the brand but this is my experience which I want to share with others so that they are informed by a real case of ownership.
The story starts in December of 2022 when I bought a brand new SL1210GR from an authorized Technics seller. The price at around $1750 without tax or cartridge seemed a bit steep for a DJ turntable but was justified by the rave reviews in every audio equipment publication where the SL1200GR was not presented merely as a DJ table but hailed as a direct-drive audiophile apocalypsis. Of course, to people who have been watching the Technics turntable revival all this I am going to describe is not news. The brand had altogether abandoned the sector betting mistakenly that vinyl is dead. But with the vinyl resurgence experienced after the 2010's it is probable that someone at the Marketing Dept. thought it a good idea to return to making turntables. So when Technics came back in the game, the manufacturing of the new line of SL1200s was in Japan. On almost every publication online prior to 2019 the SL1200s are referenced as being made in Japan. But then the company pulled a bait and switch and transferred manufacturing to Malaysia and left new owners wondering how that happened. Last time I checked there was not publlic relations notice from Technics of this change.
This incident alone should have acted as a warning but despite all that, I had been convinced that the table had merits and wanted to add a direct-drive to my system for the first time. Upon setting up the table for the first time, I immediately noticed that the dots on the circumference of the platter that are used together with the strobe light to ascertain rotational speed were not properly aligned. So in every turn of the platter (33 1/3 of them in a minute) you had the line of dots wobbling up and down instead of appearing as straight line (which also should appear as completely stopped at the proper rotational speed). I found that very displeasing and annoying. That (again probably because of marketing) Technics opted for a blue strobe light just made things worse since there is very specific reason red is used in submarines during long dives. At this point I was so annoyed by the phenomenon that it interferred with my ability to enjoy listening to my records. Every time I started the platter I was overwhelmed with the thought that this cannot be right. That a company like Technics that has videos on YouTube of its workers in white gloves building the turntables could not have possibly allowed this to pass Quality Control. And since the production has just shifted to Malaysia it is not such a big mental leap to assume that it had been a contributing factor. Now, if the strobe and rotational speed were not such an integral part of the design and function of the table I may have not paid so much attention. But when it is central to the design and the effect so pronounced, one cannot just overlook it. I decided to return the table to the Authorized Seller and request a replacement unit. Indeed, the seller, to their credit immediately replaced it with a new unit.
But the new unit, same factory, same batch, similar production date had exactly the same dot wobble. So again, I had to assume that it was the particular batch that had the issue. I decided to speak to Technics about it and see if that is the case or if the tables actually are accepted at QC like that. That proved a much harder proposition to achieve as it turned out. First and foremost the US Technics website (at the time this was taking place) was built in a way that made it next to impossible to reach Tech Support. Because, in a single phone call to a proper Tech Support this issue would have been resolved right there and then. Technics would have verified that indeed this is acceptable behavior at which point I would have returned the table for a refund.
Without any possible way to contact Technics USA Tech Support the only other option the website permitted was to locate an Authorized Repair Shop. Left with no other option I decided to bring a brand new table in for inspection. But to my surprise the website failed even at that task as it returned zero authorized repair centers. With no other option I filled out the general "Contact Us" form on the webite, in the hopes that someone might forward my issue and attempt at communication with Tech Support.
But I never heard back. Two months passed by, I was getting used to the table but that dot wobble was just SO annoying. It made the whole thing look cheap. And I could not care less if the "advanced direct drive prevented cogging" or the "specially shaped tonearm prevented vibrations". The visual aspect ruined the whole experience. Mind you, I have not yet realized that the issues goes deeper and has also to do with platter tolerances. So far it was just the visual aspect for me. During this time I also researched my issue online and found several other people in online forums and with videos on YouTube pointing to the same exact issue. I sent a second "Contact Us" form to Technics USA and another two months elapsed without hearing back.
Annoyed by the fact that basically Technics offers zero Tech Support to its clients, outside of the return period to the seller and with warranty time ellapsing I decided to send a third "Contact Us" form, explaining exactly like the previous two times the issue and requesting tech support but this time around, I also threated to "reach out to corporate" (Japan) if I do not hear back. Lo and behold I get an email response. They gave me the address of a local Authorized Repair Center. So I call that repair shop, mind you it was a repair shop not any dedicated Technics facility, only to have the extremely kind owner inform me that they were not part of the Technics repair network anymore and that and they do not repair turntables at all even if I wanted to pay for an inspection.
As ridiculous as it may sound, Technics "tech support" was not even aware of what repair shops are still in their network. But the owner of the repair shop was kind enough to give me a 1-800 number to the actual "Panasonic Repair Center" (which turned out to be an outsourcing repair entity called "Professional Electronics" of Florida). I called the number and I was put in touch with the "Turntable Repair Department". I explained my issue and shared a video of the platter and the wobbling dots. All this has made it so that now we are in November of 2023, reaching almost a year after purchase. In the meantime all this was taking place I also came across videos of people who measured their platter for deviations from flatness. And although some will claim that you are not actually measuring platter flatness but also bearing alignment, the end result for me is the same; my platter either has axial runout or it doesn't. I have shared these videos here previously and I will share them
here again for everyone's reference.
But as much as I wanted to avoid having to ship my turntable for fear of damage in transportation, "Professional Electronics" refused to provide any feedback on the issues. As it turned out my fears regarding the platter but also of shipping damage where spot-on. Regarding shipment, I have abysmal faith in the shipping companies respecting "FragiIe" marked equipment. I could literally picture my turtnable being kicked around and tumbling down stairs and getting all sorts of socks while in shipment. And to backtrack a bit, I only initially wanted someone from Tech Support to tell me if the dot wobble is acceptable as far as Technics is concerned. And going down that rabbit hole, little by little, I found myself debating with the company that Panasonic outsources their repairs to, if I want to send my table in for inspection. Of course the vested interest of the repair shop is to receive the commision for the repair from Technics. Thus all my efforts to explain that I do not wish to ship my turntable, that it may very well be damaged in transit and that insuring it does not really protect one from sock and acceleration damages that manifest at a later time and that there may not be an issue in the first place fell on deaf ears. I only needed and asked for one thing "Is my table OK or not, is this
dot-wobble and
platter runout acceptabe or not?".
After numerous back-and-forth emails and much pleading I decided I needed to know the truth, was there something wrong with my table in the first place or all this had been in vein. I shipped the table and made sure I insured it. It was received and after two weeks had passed I reached out again to find out what had happened. The head of the tt repair dept. informed me that my platter and motor needed to be replaced and that they were waiting for the spares from Technics. So there was something wrong in the first place! At that point I protested and said that I do not wish a "gutted" table and since these issues where present at time of purchase I am entitled to a new table, without these issues. The reply I got was that "they do not have new tables in stock as they are just the Technics repair facility and that they cannot do anything about it". At that point I had no other option but to allow the repair to proceed so I get the turntable back in my possesion and then reason with Technics about a replacement.
When I got the turntable back from "Professional Electronics Florida" the box was in terrible shape. It had holes all around, like it was pressed against corners and when I opened it, the manual was mangled and dirty as if someone had stepped on it. The sides were also missing the ductape and the top was loosely taped together. The styrofoam inside was broken in pieces and it was clear the box had opened during transit, emptying the internals on the ground and then whoever tried to put them back together had stepped on them and had done a terrible job of trying to hide the fact.
This was EXACTLY the reason I did not want to ship the turntable in the first place. I reached out to "Professional Electronics" who did a very poor job securing the box and although they accepted this incident had happened, they offered no recourse. Having verified FOR A FACT by Techincs that the turntable was indeed out of spec since the day of purchase AND having incurred the additional damage when shipped back to me I reached out to Technics USA (yes, that email contact that repsonded the 3rd time around) and requested either a REPLACEMENT or a REFUND. They responded in a general and vague fashion rehashing the findings and avoiding responding directly to my request for repalcement or refund.
At that point, I replied that this is unacceptable and that I would like to file a report to the mother organization in Japan since the US branch was clearly incompetent to facilitate even the most rudimentary of functions. For that matter I asked for the contact info for the entity to report my complaint to. I never got a response. And I challenge anyone here to try and find a "Contact Info" for Technics Japan. It simply does not exist and any effort redirects you back to the US Technics site where all this begun in the first place.
In closing I want you to contrast this with a previous experience I had with REGA. Back in 2014 I bought from an authorized REGA dealer in New York City a brand new RP6. I am mentioning "brand new" because many places sell their showroom models for a lower price. When I brought it home and set it up, immediately it was clear that there was something wrong with the platter/sub-platter combo and there was significant wobble. I sent video to the dealer and within a day I had a new table without any of the issues. So this was an example of impecabble services rendered both by the NYC Rega dealer and Rega itself which accepted the error and immediately provided a replacement. They did not try to hide the fact, they did not obfuscate their website so as to hide the fact that their new tables have QC issues and their tech-support is virtually non-existent. And they definitely made good on the damages I had incurred.
On the other hand Technics is a let down of a company. I have been dissatisfied with the quality of their product that I happened to purchase. When I needed tech support it was non existent and incompetent to the point of not knowing their own network of repair shops.
Technics and their processes left me with a turntable which I paid for full price only to have it "gutted" and then damaged on shipment and which was out-of-spec since the day I bought it. On top of that no one is responsible, no one has come out publicly to tell me and others like me that the DOT WOBBLE is acceptable or the platter deviations are acceptable.
One final remark to those who have commented here and on other forums and YouTube and to my and other people's postings and videos of the same issue. You claim that the platter/bearing deviations do not matter and that the dot wobble is cosmetic. It's like saying "don't worry that your new car's fender is bent, it is cosmetic, the car drives just fine". But I am ready to accept your excuses on behalf of Technics. IF Technics comes out and admits to the fact in public. Until then I know I fell for the marketing gimicks of a company that does not even have decent tech support or customer care and perceives its customers as cash cows to be milked. And to close this, as far as I am concerned, and
all this is just my personal opinion, I cannot justify the $1750 price tag and especially the $2200 for the GR2. If I could return the table and Technics made is so that I can't, I would have gone for one of the $600 tables out there, if I was looking for a DJ table because
that is exactly what I got, a DJ turntable not an audiophile one.