Technics SL1200 Series Armboards

What are the benefits of the new arm-boards?

• They look nice, designed to mimic the outer ring of the original Technics arm mount, even replicating its tiny and delightful outer edge ‘step’
• All fixings are from underneath, so no ugly bolts etc
• Being CNC machined, the assembly is dimensionally correct and stable – no odd angles here
• The assembly of outer ring and centre plate is strong and stiff, which does matter when you consider the tiny stylus movements required to play a record.  That means you will get the very best performance from your chosen tonearm and therefore the best sound reproduction
• SME and Jelco/Blank centre plates are set at optimum depth to ensure that the tonearm can be set low enough against the platter to achieve correct VTA with any cartridge, which is otherwise often a challenge because the Technics platter is set so low
• Straightforward to fit, for anyone capable of wielding a screwdriver and following basic instructions

What’s Included?

Each pack includes the following:

• One Outer Ring
• Outer Ring Fixing bolts for either Mk2/Mk5, G/GAE or GR models
• One Centre Plate (SME, Jelco or Blank), with 4 x fixing bolts
• For GR only, 3 x machined alloy spacer inserts
• One quality Pozidrive screwdriver
• Instruction sheet

Fitting

The most difficult part of fitting is the disassembly of the turntable, which involves removing the base to get access to the original arm mountings.  This is much simpler with the newer SL-1200 G/GAE and GR models compared to the Mk2/Mk5, but even for those it’s straightforward.  For anyone unwilling to take the bottom off their deck, we offer a fitting service.  Note that to fit any replacement arm to the older Mk2/Mk5 it is usually necessary to cut away part of the bottom rubber layer to make room for the new arm.  That is not necessary for the G, GAE and GR models.

The SL-1200GR requires three spacer inserts to be fitted between the armboard outer ring and the chassis top plate.  These inserts are included with the GR kit, and that’s why the price is a little higher than for the other models.