bigev Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Hi everyone, I am eyeing off a Technics SL-1700mkII at the moment that a friend got me onto. Going to look at the unit this weekend hopefully. I have been told it works but history unknown so already, short of testing motors etc. I will need to invest in a new stylus. My only knowledge of Technics TT's is they go for $$ but, I am aware that these are usually the units targeted for the DJ market, not the SL-1700's. What would a functioning SL-1700 MKII be worth these days? Some guidance appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigev Posted November 5, 2021 Author Share Posted November 5, 2021 Also, what are the sort of things I should look out for? I have read that the auto-return can sometimes be faulty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassmobian Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Check the motor is holding speed as it should be by using the strobe dots - should be similar to the 1200. If not it's likely up for an immediate service, 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigev Posted November 5, 2021 Author Share Posted November 5, 2021 3 hours ago, cassmobian said: Check the motor is holding speed as it should be by using the strobe dots - should be similar to the 1200. If not it's likely up for an immediate service, Thank you for this, very helpful. Any idea what a fully functioning unit (excluding stylus replacement) that didn’t present and speed issues would be worth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassmobian Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 8 hours ago, bigev said: Thank you for this, very helpful. Any idea what a fully functioning unit (excluding stylus replacement) that didn’t present and speed issues would be worth? No worries. Unfortunately I’m not sure on the sale price. The only current listing I could find is one on eBay for $700. No recent sales. Anecdotally I’d expect to pay less than the going rate for 1200 mk2-5 as there is more demand for these models. You should be able to gauge the market rate for those without too much hassle. I expect there’s plenty available on the usual market places in a mix of conditions. Maybe trim 30% off? Hope it works out for you, they’re great decks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigev Posted November 5, 2021 Author Share Posted November 5, 2021 Fingers crossed on inspection it is all good. I had only just seen that one on eBay. Hadn’t even thought to look there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Old Man Rubber Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 These models of technics tables have a very complicated circuit board that drives the motor and quartz speed locking mechanism. It's mostly discrete components so they can be repaired by somebody competent but there are some ICs involved that might be harder to source. Since the 1700 isn't full-auto, there is less to go wrong but the auto-lift / return mechanisms on all of the SL-xx00mk2 tables is fairly fragile. Careful dismantling and the judicious application of glue/wire can put them back together again but spares are getting harder to find. It won't have the resale of a 1200 due to the DJ effect but I like them better than the 1200 for home music listening anyway, no speed controller to go wrong. Check that any speed display is doing the right thing, that the 'table turns on and off reliably, that the auto-return either works or the vendor tells you it's broken, that the weights are still on the tone arm, that all the tone arm controls work (should have anti-skate and a few other things like a working tone-arm lifter / cueing lever) and that nothing is obviously broken and no buttons are missing. Make sure the arm moves freely in the bearings. If it still has the sticker on the back, check it's an original 240v table. If it has a cartridge mounted, see if you can hear stereo output to check the tone arm wires aren't broken. Dismantling this era of technics tables requires some patience. An original technics headshell is a bonus if it has one and there should be a 45rpm circle punch adapter somewhere mounted on it. What is it worth? $250-$700 maybe. If it's obviously broken or something is missing, less than $250. $700 table would want to be pretty mint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigev Posted November 5, 2021 Author Share Posted November 5, 2021 Thank you very much @Old Man Rubber & @cassmobian for your advice. I'll let you know how I go with it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigev Posted November 7, 2021 Author Share Posted November 7, 2021 (edited) I purchased the unit after inspection and got it for a reduce price due to a faulty L channel in the plugs and whilst the pitch is perfect at 0, the indicator visually locks to 6 degrees advanced but the pitch does move in the range. Can only get stability at +6, 3, 0, & -3 ... This doesn't bother me so much as I am not a DJ The unit is clean all over and every other function works like a charm. Auto-return, the lot. The cover is near brand new! I has the original stylus on it from when it was purchased so my next steps with this TT will be; 1) Repair the RCA plug. I am sure it is just the plug end so I'll do a cut and solder before I pull apart the TT to replace the full length and see how that goes 2) Decide on stylus, I have a 2M Blue on my Project I am considering swapping over. I am interested in thoughts on other styluses that go well on the Technics It is a very cool looking deck and now I can fall asleep without worrying anymore! Edited November 7, 2021 by bigev 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Old Man Rubber Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 12 hours ago, bigev said: I purchased the unit after inspection and got it for a reduce price due to a faulty L channel in the plugs and whilst the pitch is perfect at 0, the indicator visually locks to 6 degrees advanced but the pitch does move in the range. .. 1) Repair the RCA plug. I am sure it is just the plug end so I'll do a cut and solder before I pull apart the TT to replace the full length and see how that goes 2) Decide on stylus, I have a 2M Blue on my Project I am considering swapping over. I am interested in thoughts on other styluses that go well on the Technics It is a very cool looking deck and now I can fall asleep without worrying anymore! Good result bigev. The simplest way to check the wiring of the tonearm is with a good old multimeter. That will help you isolate the issue in the left channel or at least tell you whether it's a wiring fault or the cartridge is damaged. I'm running an 2M Red on my SL1400Mk2, because I'm cheap. It sounds damn good though. You may have to fiddle a bit with the tonearm height and anti-skate as the 2M cartridges are quite tall compared to what was originally on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigev Posted November 8, 2021 Author Share Posted November 8, 2021 It is not the cart as a wiggle of the lead and the RCA terminal brings the channel back to life. I'll do the cut and shut of the plugs before I invest the time in replacing the entire lead as that is a table teardown job. It is very tempting to put the 2M Blue on there but, I also wonder is this a good time to try out something like the AT VMN95ML. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigev Posted November 8, 2021 Author Share Posted November 8, 2021 RCA plugs replaced and sound through L & R is I did have something trip me up when testing mid-assembly, something was shorted. I was scratching my head for a while and started to worry that there was damage to the cable all the way back at the board. "This can't be right, it plays fine when I wiggle the plugs" and, as I looked up the lead toward the turntable and rested my eyes at the tone arm base I suddenly remembered that this table has a MUTE function. The CUE arm was UP, which turns on MUTE and it does this by shorting + & - on each channel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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