A Tour of the Technics SL-DL1 Linear Tracking Turntable; the DeLorean of record players.
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- Опубликовано: 30 июл 2024
- In this video I take you on a tour of the marvelous Technics SL-DL1 linear tracking turntable from 1981.
We learn about the origins of Technics as a company as well as how this turntable traces its lineage to the earliest days of rap and hip hop through artists like DJ Kool Herc and DJ Grandmaster Flash.
I try to go over all the details of this linear tracking turntable and do a review at the end.
(Special Note)
I am very liberal with the delete comment function. ANY and ALL political comments, regardless of perspective, will be immediately removed.
Thank you to my cousin Shannon McLaughlin for the EDM DJ video.
Delorean photo: Joseph Ross- CC 2.0 
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Good review, interesting to see the lid covers removed.
I bought an SL-DL1 new when at school & still have it with the original packing & paperwork. Spotting the masking tape securing the stylus reminded me why mine as an Ortofon OMP10 cartridge. When the P23's stylus became loose the sound quality suffered. New T4P Audio Technica carts are also available for handy money. For what was not a crazy expensive turntable new it has an excellent build quality and a very decent sound ... it is my oldest piece of audio equipment.
Awesome review- thanks! A buddy of mine had this table back when new. Brings back memories!
Thank you! I was excited when I found it! What I didn't say in the video was how dirty it was. Looked like it had been in a dirty garage since the Kennedy administration. lol
I brought a Sl-ql-1, i loved it and ordered a technics moving coil for it. Ordered from WDS , I sold it and went to Japan and brought a Denon Dp-47. 1981, the denon just started acting up last year.
Love linear trackers. My favouritist types of turntables. Great video!
I've got quite a few. SL-7, SL-10, PL-L1000, PS-X800, PX-3, ST-7, PS-FL9, 4004, LT-20, LT-30, etc.
Back in the day, B&O made iconic, beautiful linear drive TTs ( that was 50 years ago,) and that what comes to mind. I never saw one in operation
Belts make most cassette decks, turntables, and CD players go. Rubber bands sort of . What a dilemma. Most of the extreme hgh end turntable are belt driven behemoths.
Nice turntable. I have a Technics SL-10 that my dad bought for me in 1980. Still works great! Have been a Technics fan and collector since. By the way your presentations are awesome and very informative. Please keep at it. I would also recommend to turn up the lights behind you. Looks like you have an interesting set up back there.
Thank you. That furniture is all vintage from various consignment stores around the valley.
I bought one for $20.00 in fantastic condition. I put an Audio Technica cartridge in it and it sounds great! I never knew about the tone arm lock or the weight adjustment in the back. I didn't have a manual, but I really did need one, so I never bothered to look for one. So I'm glad you mentioned these features so I can look at it on my unit.
That's awesome! I'm glad it helped. And thanks for watching!
Bought mine in Tottenham Court Road, London in November 1981 - still works
perfectly 42 years later (for those who are arithmetically chalenged ! )
That's great to hear! :)
Found one for $60. It looks fucking awesome. Ya Just convinced me to pick it up
Great! Good luck!
I have an early attempt at parallel tracking, and it still works . A Garrard Zero 100 from 1973 with Shure cartridge from about 1965
Just looked that up. Looks really cool!
Panasonic was a Japanese off-brand electronic manufacturer until the mid seventies. By the late seventies they had changed their name to Technics. By the mid eighties, they were the undisputed king of Hi FI. Speakers, Amps, AND turntables. I have a Technics linear tracking turntable that I bought in the mid eighties. It still looks and works like it did when it was brand new. I guess it was a good investment, although, at the time, I really had a hard time justifying spending the equivalent of what would be around $1200.00 in today's dollars....on a record player.
I admit I have a certain nostalgia for Technics because my dad had that brand in the living room the whole time I was growing up.
I found the original cost of that SL-QL15 that I have. I don't know if mine is the original 1983 or the revised 1989 version, however from what I can tell by the serial number and some research, I think mine was made in 1984. Anyway, the 1983 version initially went for 59,800 yen and the revised 1989 version initially went for 55,500 yen. So figure around $500 US at the time when the yen was much stronger, just for argument sake (did a quick conversion, as of July 2024, 59,800 yen is about $370). That would be about $1300 in today's money if taking the 1989 value!
Seeing this a year later, as it is always nice to find more videos on linear tracking turntables. The reason is that I have a Technic SL-QL15 linear tracker and trying to find information on that thing is not easy. At least there is a recent video about it that was posted about 8 months ago by some guy to demonstrate it for selling it. However, I do have the original user's manual with it, and also found the service manual online, which I downloaded. My unit does work perfectly, though. How I acquired it? Some 15 or so years ago, I had a friend that had it and he did not want it anymore, so he just straight up gave it to me! I asked how much he wanted for it and just told me to go ahead and take it. This was before the whole "vinyl revival" thing took off, plus he also got one of those really expensive "audiophile" turntables, so he just did not need this unit. It has some cosmetic scratches on the dust cover, and it did need a new stylus, but other than that, it did indeed work perfectly. For a long time, it did just sat in my basement, going unused and collecting dust until I figured out what I wanted to do with it. Just recently, during the whole "COVID" lockdown, I decided to bust it out and play with it again, as I also at least had some records to play as well, including a copy of Marillion "Misplaced Childhood" on vinyl. So, for the past couple of years, re-igniting my old love for playing records again, and finding out that SL-QL15 is actually a very good unit and a very respectable unit in terms of what is considered "audiophile". It does sound quite good on my rig. I wish I could find more information on the Audio-Technica LT121 cartridge that it has, and if it is any good and/or if there are "better" P-mount cartridges that is worth upgrading to. Indeed - Keep it Metal! 🤘 (I am a festival sponsor for ProgPower USA in Atlanta) EDIT - I just pulled the trigger on the LP Gear Reference Series VS cartridge with Shibata stylus. Can't wait for it arrive! Also, this channel just got another subscriber!
Thanks so much! This is the kind of thing I love reading. You'll have to let me know how that cartridge ends up sounding. :)
@@AudioThrift Once it arrives and I have a chance to listen to it, I'll definitely report back and let you know how it sounds. Right now, listening to Orden Ogen's brand new album off of Apple Music streaming lossless through my Eversolo DMP-A6 Master Edition. That album is friggan INCREDIBLE! I'll have to get it on CD as I like having my physical copies.
I haven't heard it yet. I saw it on Spotify though. I love Gunman and Final Days though... I imagine this new one will rule too!
@@AudioThrift Just received the new cartridge in the mail today and got it on the Technics SL-QL15. Yeah, at $200, the LPGear Reference VS cartridge with a Shibata stylus was definitely not "Thrift Audio", but still. Sometimes it is worth to spend a few dollars to get good sound. Anyway, I immediately can tell a difference from the AT LT121 with the elliptical stylus. First, putting on this copy of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite that I have. Wow, the dynamics and clarity is just incredible! The bass was so much fuller and the audio detail was amazing. Moving on to power/progressive metal, I put on Immortal Guardian's new one "Unite and Conquer". Talk about blowing my hair back!! The second track on side A "Echoes" is just friggan incredible, with the way the guitars play off of each other! I will have to listen to other records, such as this copy of Methodica "The Silence of Wisdom", which is an excellent progressive metal record.
Excellent vid. And what a cool piece of hardware. Unfortunately in Australia we don't have good thrift stores - a lot of items are overpriced and it's a risk to buy hardware you can't adequately test. Even clothing from thrift stores here can be priced similar to new items.
That sucks. It's probably partially because everyone is trying to do resale. I have definitely seen an increase in prices over the past few years. I'm skipping over a lot of stuff that I used to buy because it's too expensive. But I still find good stuff for really cheap once in a while, which makes the hunt worthwhile for me. But this area is very compartmentalized between thrift and consignment.
Only just bought a turntable, a JVC JL A21, waiting for it to arrive. This turntable really appealed to me also. I lived through the 80s and it was cassettes all the way for me till the late 80s when my dad started listening to CDs. I remember in 1980-81 my dad had a Hitachi turntable and still listened to records then.
I like your retro furnishings by the way.
Thank you. It took a long time to find all that furniture second hand. But worth the wait. :)
@@AudioThrift I really like those lamps.
Oh my God… that tension pole lamp… that thing was a hell of a find. Funny story; it was trashed when we found it. We had to recover the old shade frames and ended up getting some old velum from another old ruined lampshade and covering it with burlap dyed with yellow onion skins (that I grabbed from the bottom of the onion bin at Walmart) to make them look aged. They look great in person and it’s very hard to tell they’re not original.
@@AudioThrift looks great, both the lamps. Very 70s.
I had one of these, but sold it. I missed the thing, and bought a SL-QL15. Both were great.
I also have a SL-QL15 and it is nice.
I love mine
I've watched three videos about the Technics SL-DL1 turntable, but not one of them mentions how to check or adjust the tracking weight of the tone arm. The AudioThrift video identifies an adjusting screw, but exactly how to make adjustments (or how to know if an adjustment is necessary) is never mentioned.
I would but I'm not confident I know enough details to do it correctly and not give you bad info. Still learning myself.
If you figure it out, post a video of the process. It would be good info to have out there.
they had the T4P technics system of linear tracking weight and anti-skating value, also used by diferent brands like grundig or pioneer etc.the tangential turntables when new they seem incredible but with the years they start failing and no one knew how to fix them at least where i live, a sharp even got the arm under the record and without turning it it would read the record from bellow
You DON'T adjust the tracking weight of a linear tonearm. All the cartridges manufactured for these had a standardized weight. Only the electronic specs of the cartridge varied based on how audiophile you could afford to go. My own vintage Technics linear tracker has a tracking weight of .5 Grams. I've got records that are 30 years old that are just like new.
@@efandmk3382 There are other designs of linear tracking tonearms that accept standard 1/2" mount cartridges and tracking weight must be adjusted for those .
Best to use a digital scale for greatest accuracy . You are correct about the standardization of cartridge weight and tracking force on these P mount units .
The Technics SL-M3 was a TOTL beast of a turntable . Expensive , rare , difficult to find anyone to service them , also a P-Mount .
Hello my friend the good question will be how the record player handle the inner groove distortion in comparison with a normla TT.
Hmmm.... it has been a long time since I've fired it up. Now I'm curious myself... guess I need to hook it up and test it again. lol
I have a Stanton cartridge on mine (maybe L747 (had to check)) and an lpgear stylus and think it smooths out the brightness a bit (to my ears). I find the audio technical cartridge and stylus to be a bit bright also
Very cheap to find a Stanton PMount and try it out. There are also some very good Shure Pmounts that can still be found and paired with a JICO stylus
How does that sound compared to the 680/681.I was considering that route but my concern is that I will miss some of the magic that the 680/681 has due to the moving iron design. Pretty sure the 700 series went back to moving magnet. So far I always come back from moving magnets to the moving iron 681/680. It's the sound stage the moving iron gives up a little in precise location but deivers a much more three dimensional sound stage just alot more depth.
@@stevengagnon4777 sorry about the late reply -- The Stanton cartridge numbers can get a bit messy, especially with the Pickering crossovers, but in this case the L747, L737, L727 cartridges are the P-Mount versions of the 680/681 cartridges, so they are still moving Iron and use the same styluses as well. This turntable can do a bit of adjustment on the tracking weight, but I try not to run anything with a brush on the linear tracking/P-mount tables like this one.
I like them a lot!
@@alanhoughton6166 I very much like my L737 with a Pickering V-15 style nude elliptical. I also have an L747 with an NOS Stereohedron on it.
@@alanhoughton6166 ended up getting a 680EL p-mount and removed the extra weight from the body because I knew that it would certainly be moving iron. I worked out well. I am hoping to get a response from lp tunes on the tracking force range for the hypereliptical replacement stylus for the 680 series. So far they aren't to good at replying after 4 or 5 attempts. I kinda wonder if they even still have it or care. Those nude Schwartz from lp gear were interesting until they went from 65$ to 119$ I suspect those are black diamond from Switzerland and likely to have a magnet like the Analogis ones available in Europe. Not really having a problem with the brush either. That add a gram thing is a wash as soon as the brush unloads. Since anti skating is an issue that doesn't need any compensation either. Ironically I using a Phanstiel Swiss 3×7 with a magnet for now... it does work with a higher output.. keeping my newish genuine Stanton 680ee stylus for a reference in good shape. Yeah it does sound better.
Nice find. could any cartridge fit on these ? or any limitations?
According to what I'm finding online, it's a P-Type cartridge. A lot of the forums seem to agree that it's really bright... lots of treble... but apparently there are a bunch of P-Type cartridges available. Someone suggested Ortofon as a nice affordable upgrade.
@@AudioThrift I just pulled the trigger on the LP Gear Reference VS cartridge with Shibata stylus. Will be interesting to see how that sounds on my SL-QL15.
Great overview of this piece. But I'm surprised you didn't cover the reason why such a design was executed in the first place. Record masters are cut using a linear tracking lathe. Unless you can hear a record played back with the same 90 degree stylus angle as it was cut, you will get out of phase playback for nearly 100% of the disc. Most all turntables with a pivoting tone arm introduce a phase angle that is not 90 degrees. In fact, only one groove on the record will play back in perfect phase and that groove will be somewhere in the middle of the playable area. Before that and after that will be slight to moderate out-of-phaseness, hence, a departure from the stereo master recording. So linear or tangential tracking is the only solution to the problem. Garrard also had a clever design with their Zero 100 turntable. It used a parallel pivot system that was genius. It kept the stylus at a 90 degree angle. But the bearings used for the mechanism lost their friction-free mojo over time and so introduced excessive anti-skate on the stylus. Still, if that design were done with today's technology (and with the best materials), it wold be worth it. Presently, the finest linear turntable you can buy today is the ClearAudio Statement. Check it out...
That's actually really cool. I didn't know about that. Now I want one of those Zero 100 units!
I got 1 in 1987. Sold it to a freind after a few months. It didn't like a record that wasn't perfectly flat.
I read somewhere you can put records in a very low heat oven to flatten them but seem really sketchy to me so I've never tried it.
Yea. I would have replaced the warped record instead. I’ve been rocking the SL-QL1 for the past 40 years. It’s the same thing minus the pitch control since it’s quarts locked.
@@AudioThrift Check out a device named Record Pi
Are there other brands of equal or maybe better quality?
Oh, no doubt. This isn't the be-all... but it was the best one at THAT estate sale. lol
@@AudioThrift Thanks. Would you care to give brand/model names?
Um... I could but because my experience is limited to what I've been able to scrounge up second hand, I would be guessing or Googling it and I doubt that give you any info you don't already have.
However, I could always pose a question like this to the audience as a whole in future videos. That might help.
The Technics SL-7 and SL-10 and SL-15 (programmable version of SL-10) are excellent turntables by any standard, but there are a number of others: The Sony PS-X800 and PS-X555ES; the Yamaha PX-2, PX-3 and big dog PX-1; the Pioneer PL-L1000 (and it's rare and expensive big brother the PL-L1); The Mitsubishi LT-20/22 and LT-30 and LT-5V (a vertical turntable); The Revox B790 and later B791 and B795; The Harmon-Kardon ST-5, ST-6, ST-7, ST-8; Bang & Olufsen made several including the Beogram 4002/4004, the TX and TX-2 the 8000 and 8002, the downside of these is proprietary cartridges that are expensive...I own or have owned a number of these. Technics made a fabulous linear in the SL-M3, But I doubt I'll ever own one. No room for more for one thing. The SL-10 and 15 have a pretty neat parlor trick: They can play upside down.
I had a turntable come in for repair, im not familiar with them
So asked around at repair centers. Everyone declined to repair it as it was a linier tracking device, why are these so difficult to repair?
Can't rightly say. I know nothing about repairing stuff like this but I've managed to get several of them working. My guess would be because they have microcontrollers in them... but usually that's not the problem; it usually something basic like a bad belt or sticky grease or something.
@@AudioThrift thank you, i will attempt to repair this and see how it goes.
I know this job is probably done for better or worse by now two weeks later, but for anyone else I actually got a hand-me-down SL-DL1 about 2 years ago. It would start playing a record but then start skipping back after about 45 seconds of play. Turns out the only issue was the grease on the linear tracking mech gears had turned to tar over the last couple of decades. Removing the underlid from the lid and working the gear back and forth unstuck it. I haven't even cleaned/replaced the grease that was there, just "mixed it up a bit" and it works fine now. Bought a replacement tonearm drive belt, but the one on there wasn't even remotely floppy. So I keep it as a spare when needed. Been using it ever since.
Because they are mostly electronic devices rather than mechanical. They actually have more in common with a CD player, than a standard record player. If you opened one up, you'd find circuit boards with CPUs and electric motors and belts and pulleys, rather than gears, triggers, and arms.
@@AudioThrift Exactly. Considering their age they are remarkably reliable.