Semi-Automatic Home Audio Turntable with Belt Drive

Rating:
Summary: do not buy it!
Review: ..mine arrived with no belt for the turntable! ..can not use it!ordered a panasonic~received a panasonic in a technics box
..instructions are marginal, at best!..a set of technics and a set of panasonic!


Rating:
Summary: Excellent No-Fuss Turntable
Review: Attempting to transcribe some rare soundtrack albums unavailable on CD, I discovered to my dismay that my venerable Dual automatic turntable - buried for more than ten years under several stacks of CDs - had given up the ghost.
No strobe light. No motion. No nothing. Dead.
I saw the Technics SL-BD20D at a refurbished sale recently and decided to take a chance. I'm very glad I did; this is a solid no-frills turntable that does all the basics right and will satisfy the needs of all but the most demanding audiophiles.
I did replace the cartridge that came with the machine. Surface noise seemed excessive and the sound seemed a little distant or hollow; in fairness, there was other evidence that the refurbishers might not have done their job properly, and perhaps I bought a unit with a worn needle.
At any rate, equipped with a Shure MP94E P-Mount Cartridge, the SL-BD20D sounds great. As I say, it handles basics superbly. This is a serious turntable that will treat your vinyl with respect, not one of those retro novelty machines you see advertised.
The SL-BD20D has a straight low-mass tone arm, and the playing geometry is correct. I don't hear the sibilance at the end of record sides that I have heard when a cartridge is improperly aligned or a tone arm improperly mounted. Surface noise is surprisingly low. The servo motor and belt drive provide good steady speed, with no audible hum, wow, or flutter.
I read a user griping that you can't set the tracking force or anti-skating on this machine. The whole idea of the P-Mount design is you don't need to; P-Mount cartridges are designed to track properly at this machine's pre-set 1.25 gram force. After several hours of playing records, the SL-BD20D with the Shure cartridge has tracked perfectly, never skipping once in either direction.
With the low-mass tone arm and anti-resonant base, bass is full but well damped. I am listening to Fleetwood Mac doing Rhiannon now, and it sounds as good as I remember ever hearing it - even with my beloved old Shure V-15 Type IV.
The SL-BD20D is a semi-automatic design; you lower the stylus onto the record with the well-damped cueing mechanism, and the machine returns the tone arm to rest and shuts off automatically at the end of the side.
As someone who grew up with generations of what we used to call record players, from Webcors to Garrards to Miracords to Duals, I have seen my share of eccentric and unreliable mechanisms. I am happy to report that the mechanism on the SL-BD20D works very quietly, with smooth and precise movements. Traditional Japanese attention to detail.
Otherwise, the SL-BD20D is handsome and comes with a hinged smoked dust cover, 45 adapter, and full-sized turntable to support your vinyl properly. It should be noted, however, that the unit does not include a preamp.
You can spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on an audiophile turntable. But if you simply want first-class sound with a minimum of fuss and bother, you can have the SL-BD20D with a good cartridge that's a snap to install for well under $200. That's impressive indeed.

Rating:
Summary: Technics Stands the Test (For the Casual LP Listener)
Review: I personally own this turntable. It is not a heavy duty dj constructed turntable such as their MK 2 series or the new M3D. It was designed by Technics for practical and casual in home use.It provides excellent and almost perfect accuracy with regard to very low wow and flutter (speed differences that would audibly affect playback).This is for the couch potato who likes to put an lp on and not have to worry about turning it off.The semi-automatic operation takes care of that.In addition, anti-skating and tone arm weight adjustments have already been pre set at the factory so there is no guess work for the owner.The plug in cartridge is easy to replace without having to gauge stylus contact and performance as with a pro dj turntable. However,heed my warning, here are the drawbacks: If you are a heavy vinyl user and enjoy adjusting anti skating or counter weight balance for optimal high end quality sound, this is not the table for that. Their MK2 or M3D are the tables that are suitable for those tasks.Also, I have been able to compare this table's tracking abilities using a slightly warped record (warped around the edge only) and the SLBD20D could not keep up. However, when I tried it on a Technics M3D I was able to adjust the counterweight balance and tracking force, anti-skating, etc. and low and behold the M3D stood its ground.Don't get me wrong, the SLBD20D is a well constructed table run by a very quiet belt-driven dc motor. It's a fine simple machine that sets out to do the simple operation of just playing a record. Also, not everyone can nor is willing (on a tight budget)to fork over several hundreds of dollars for a dj turntable if their lp collection is very limited. This is a great budget turntable with the feel of remarkable Technics engineering behind it !!!

Rating:
Summary: Technics Semi-Automatic Turntable (SL-BD20D)
Review: If you want to spin and you don't use Technics, don't even bother. Technics make the longest lasting tables that produce the best sound. And Technics Semi-Automatic Turntable (SL-BD20D)
is the best for your money. I wouldn't Dj any other way.

Rating:
Summary: Last of the view budget tables
Review: This and its pitch controllable sibling BD22 are the very last semi listenable semi automatic entry level turntables below 300 dollars on the market. If you are looking for a machine that will lift the arm at the end of the record, this is pretty much the only one left that will do it and not sound like a plastic cup string telephone. Not the worst I've heard, but PLEASE don't pay attention to die-hard "Technics is the best" fans. Most of them only read manufacturer's hype sheets and have never tried a Thorens, Dual, Music Hall, Project, etc, not even mentioning a real high end machine!
If you are on a strict budget, then for sure this is the best choice under 200 dollars, but don't expect exceptional sound. A good homebaked player to revive your vinyl collection, and take it as such.
If can you get yourself to get out of the chair at the end of the record to list the arm and return it, then look for a HiFi dealer that carries the contemporary audiophile turntables made by Music Hall or Project. You will have to spring around 300 dollars for their lowest offerings, but you get a real turntable - one that can accept standard 1/2 inch mount cartridges.
Even the factory cartridges on the Music Hall MMF 2.1 and the Project 1.2 (both use Goldring cartridges) will sound much better than the T4P style cartridge on the Technics BD20 (there is NO good T4P cartridge on the market) and if you need a new needle or want to upgrade to a better one, your selection will be much bigger down the line.

Almost forgot - Gemini, GLI-Pro, and Stanton have completely manual "DJ" tables for around 120 to 180 dollars on the ,arket, that are much sturdier, heavier, with a better platter and base, and thwey take 1/2 inch mount cartridges as well and allow full adjustment and balancing of the tone arm - for good listening DO NOT get the "straight" DJ tone arms though, you'll ruin your records! Get either the S shaped arms, or make sure the head is angled in.

Keep in mind that a stylus (the "needle") should be checked at least every 300 hours, and is likely due for replacement after 1000 hours, earlier if your records are worn and scratchy.
If you cannot tell the difference between a cheap portable Walmart pocket CD player plugged into your stereo and a good full sized CD player, then the Technics BD20 may be for you, but if you can tell any difference at all, then do yourself a favor: Save the 120 bucks for a better turntable - you won't end up throwing it to Goodwill like so many have done (i've been through a lot of turntables - it's a hobby, and I keep peeking around what's out there)
The problem with the new cheap machines is that they are too light. Flimsy platters, and light flexible bases mean a plasticky sound.
If you can't afford a new 300 dollar machine you are much better of buying an old used table. SOME of tyhe Technics player were good, the later and current 1200 series is overrated and over priced. Technics models 1300, 1400, 1500, 1600, 1700, 1301 are suitable hifi players, never mind the DJ machines. Old Pioneer, Dual, Sansui, etc are all potentially good choices.

The bargain hunter's real secret for a cheap frills table are the OLD Sanyo, Hitachi, Pioneer, and a Dual semi auto model 510 is tue audiophile grade and can be on ebay for as little as 25 bucks and will not have the problems of the more complex full auto models!

Beware fully automatic stacking tables in any case. I love them and have a Dual belt drive collection, but they may take a lot of tinkering to get them to work right!
Look for a solid belt or direct drive machine with a platter weighing at least 2 pounds, preferrably with a floating chassis (the platter and arm are spring suspended). You can find them for under 50 dollars. Add a new cartridge (Audio Technica AT110, AT70, AT440, Shure M91, M97, or a Stanton - Ortofon is rated high, but always sounds dull to me) for around 50 to 100 dollars, and you have a much better setup. If that's too much see below for the Grado.
I have an Audio Technica OC-9 moving coil cartridge (expensive), but that is strictly used for burning CD copies. For daily listening the Audio Technica AT440 is hands down one of the best values, along with the Shure M97.
Grado has ONE offering worth the money, the "Grado Black", which retails for around 35 dollars - sensitive for feedback, but except for a slightly soft (but pleasant) base reproduction you can just about the grass grow with it! I say ONE offering, because the higher priced models are the same thing in a different wrapper. Wanna talk marketing???
Also keep in mind that you need a "phono" input on your stereo. If you have a modern stereo amp or receiver, chances are you don't have one. A so called phono-preamp will boost the player's signal for use in the "aux" input of your receiver. A good phono preamp is around 50 dollars.
So never mind the comments about built in phono preamps, the players that have them are mostly shoddy sounding.
Summary: the Technics BD20 is ok if you're on a budget, but you can do better with a little snooping and effort.

Rating:
Summary: solid turntable , but no built-in pre-amp
Review: This is a great basic turntable if you're just looking to play the old LPs, however, be warned that if you plan on hooking this up to a mini-stereo system without phono jacks, then you'll need to purchase a seperate pre-amp which runs around [dollar amount]. This brings the total cost of the unit to about [dollar amount] which is not worth it if you're just a casual user of LPs (plus this is only a semi-automatic). You'd be better off purchasing a cheaper system (e.g. the sony) with a built-in pre-amp so that it can connect to mini-systems.