Jason Thorpe and Thom Moon have been writing about vinyl systems for the SoundStage! Network for many years, albeit from opposite ends of the price spectrum. You may have also seen our Why Vinyl series on the Soundstage! YouTube channel and read articles by Doug Schneider, Dennis Burger, and Gordon Brockhouse about their experiences with vinyl playback in their own systems. And while I’ve watched all those videos and read all those articles, it wasn’t until I read Thom’s glowing review of the Technics SL‑100C turntable on SoundStage! Access that I decided to upgrade my system’s analog front end to better listen to my growing vinyl collection.
First things first, though. Having recently upgraded the electronics in my system with the Lyngdorf Audio MP‑40 2.1 multichannel processor and MXA‑8400 multichannel power amplifier, I needed to contemplate my next step, as the MP‑40 does not have a built-in phono stage—it doesn’t even have line-level analog inputs. That’s when I read Thom’s review and remembered having coveted Technics SL‑1200 turntables in the past. I decided to not only purchase a phono stage with analog-to-digital conversion, but also to upgrade my turntable to a Technics at the same time.
Alas, it seemed that the SL‑100C was in short supply, as are many of Technics’ entry-level models, due to high demand. After some searching, I located the very similar SL‑1500C (US$1299.99, CA$1599.99, £849, €999) at a local dealer, Ayreborn Audio/Video, and placed an order. A couple of days later it was couriered to my doorstep, as the price included free shipping. Other than the internal phono preamp, which I didn’t intend to use, and the pre-installed Ortofon 2M Red cartridge (versus the Audio‑Technica AT‑VM95C on the 100C), these two ’tables seem to be identical. One cosmetic difference is that the 1500C is available in multiple colors, including the classic Technics silver, while the 100C only comes in black. I got the silver.
It only took a few minutes to unbox the well-packed parts and assemble the turntable, as I had watched a YouTube video on how to set it up prior to its arrival. There is a reassuring sturdiness to the construction of the 1500C that is uncommon at this price point. The ubiquitous Technics design first seen in the SL‑1200MK2 seems to have changed little over the years. Like that classic turntable, the 1500C employs a heavy-duty, coreless, direct-drive motor and an S‑shaped tonearm with precision gimbal suspension.
The rigid chassis features die-cast aluminum integrated with a material composed of ABS mixed with glass fibers to achieve a strong two-layer construction, resulting in a very solid component weighing 21.8 pounds (9.9kg). The 4.4-pound (2kg) platter is also die-cast aluminum, and its entire back surface is covered in rubber to reduce resonance.
Once I had the 1500C assembled, I replaced the stock power cord and interconnects with an ESP MusicCord‑Pro ES cord and a set of Analysis Plus Chocolate Oval-In RCA cables. And while it has decent feet, I placed it on a set of four IsoAcoustics Iso-Pucks anyway.
I also tested speed accuracy with the RPM Speed and Wow app, which reported that the SL‑1500C was just a tad fast at both 33⅓ and 45 rpm. It ran about 0.3% fast with a wow of roughly ±0.03% for both speeds.
The sound of the SL‑1500C with the Ortofon 2M Red was lively and detailed, yet still featured the touch of smoothness you’d expect from a good vinyl rig. The Pick it S2 MM cartridge on my Pro‑Ject X1 (a ’table reviewed by Thom on Access) is similar in specs to the 2M Red and is actually manufactured by Ortofon, but that combo didn’t have quite the same level of detail or pace as the Technics. There was just more separation in the instruments and better low-level detail when listening to Prism’s All the Best from Prism (Capitol ST 6477). Not only were individual instruments more discernible within the mix, but Ron Tabak’s vocals really jumped out at me on “Spaceship Superstar,” as did the screaming guitar on “Take Me to the Kaptin,” which is the epitome of over-the-top ’70s rock. It was glorious.
As noted, the MP‑40 processor lacks analog inputs, meaning that it requires not only a phono preamp, but also analog-to-digital conversion. While this is a niche use case, miniDSP manufactures a product that fits the bill: the ADept phono preamplifier-ADC. The ADept accepts MM and MC phono inputs as well as line-level RCA and XLR inputs, and can output via RCA coax, optical TosLink, or even USB-C for connection to a computer for recording.
The ADept is priced at only US$299, and I was a little leery of placing such an inexpensive component in my reference system; however, as Doug Schneider pointed out in one of his System One articles on SoundStage! Hi-Fi, inexpensive phono preamps can sound very good. And the ADept was surprisingly good. Compared to the built-in phono section of my Anthem STR preamplifier, the ADept was a little clearer and more transparent. And when it was inserted between the MP‑40 and the SL-1500C, I felt as though I was hearing everything that my analog rig was capable of.
In order to minimize the potential for clipping, the ADept applies the gain partially in the analog domain and partially in the digital domain prior to phono equalization. It offers selectable equalization, gain, impedance, and capacitance as well as variable output level, an optional subsonic filter, and 24- or 32-bit depth, with sampling rates up to 192kHz. An XMOS multicore processor is used for DSP, and an ESS Technology ES9842 Pro chip handles the analog-to-digital conversion duties. I find it a bit odd that the industry-standard 47k ohm impedance for MM cartridges is not offered—instead, 50k ohm is the closest setting—but I doubt that there would be much of an audible difference. The medium- and high-capacitance settings for MM cartridges are 100pF and 500pF, and some might find those settings a bit low and high respectively; otherwise, the ADept is an amazing little phono preamp-ADC for the money. It even comes with a remote.
Overall, I am extremely happy with the SL-1500C and ADept in my system. In particular, the SL-1500C sounds excellent and is built like a tank, while its classic Technics styling looks great with my other components. The ADept gets out of the way of the ’table and provides neutral and detailed phono preamplification.
While I enjoy dabbling in vinyl every once in a while, I am still a digital person at heart. The miniDSP ADept allows me to enjoy the charms of the Technics SL‑1500C in my otherwise all-digital system. With this combo I can use my Lyngdorf MP‑40 to not only utilize bass management and room correction with records, but I can even add equalization—which Lyngdorf calls “voicing”—and apply post-processing such as Dolby upmixing and DTS Neural:X to add surround and height channels to the stereo signal. I can sense Jason Thorpe’s disapproval from halfway across the continent.
Roger Kanno
Senior Contributor, SoundStage!
