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Technics SP15 Turntable

The SP-15 has digital pitch control. And also has 78 RPM capability as well. SP-25 has a knob for pitch control and is two speed only. And the IC chips and motor are SL-1200 Mk II based so parts easier to find. P.S. Looking for a SP-25 service manual and Audio-Technica ATP series headshell and tonearm rest assembly, I need one.
 
The SP-15 is a nice turntable but time has been the downfall of most of them due to a couple of the ICs now
being obsolete, with no replacements/substitutes.

I repaired one a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately I had a junker that had no platter, from which I was able to get the required parts.

All of the functions handled by these two ICs could probably be done in a single PIC chip, so if anyone wants a challenge, PM me!
 
A note, the SP-25 is a much better option unless you must have 78 capability. IC chips have fewer issues with the SP-25 and you can still get that IC today. And if need be, lots of SL-1200 Mk II beaters for parts donors. If 78 is needed, a SP-10 Mk II is a better option.
 
I have two SP-15 turntables at home and one at the radio station where I produce a weekly antique audio show, so I need the 78 capability with speed adjust as "78's" made before 1925 were rarely recorded at 78 rpm (76 is usually close, if not on, the actual speed although you can find records as slow as 72 and as fast as 82 rpm). It upsets me when parts can no longer be found for good quality units. I will hope and pray that my turntables don't go down in unrepairable ways. Please tell me about the SP-10 Mk II. Does it play all 3 speeds? Is it easy to change the needle from standard to microgroove? Is it easy to change the heads, if you have standard groove needle for 78's on one cartridge and and a microgroove needle for 33 and 45's on the other? What kind of prices are we talking? Are they cueable? The SP-15 is one nice unit.
 
The SP-10 was the top of the line. Direct drive with enormous torque. It was so fast at getting up to speed that you could cue songs right up to the first audio and they would play when you started them without dragging. Slip cueing was not necessary and almost zero back cueing was needed. They were remarkable, expensive and are somewhat rare. I don't know if repair parts are available or not. I also don't recall if they had a 78rpm mode.
 
Had a station with a couple SP10's that developed instability in the speed controls. Unfortunately I think the IC's to fix them could not be found, so we wound up replacing them with something else that could still be wired to a remote start.
 
Kmagrill said:
The SP-10 was the top of the line. Direct drive with enormous torque. It was so fast at getting up to speed that you could cue songs right up to the first audio and they would play when you started them without dragging. Slip cueing was not necessary and almost zero back cueing was needed. They were remarkable, expensive and are somewhat rare. I don't know if repair parts are available or not. I also don't recall if they had a 78rpm mode.
Click to expand...

I can tell you a bit about SP-10MKII turntables: They required a 1/8-turn back-cue. They did have 78. And tons of torque.

And they had speed stability I was totally unaccustomed to, particularly with respect to the Gates CB-77s they replaced where I worked at the time (WGVL, Gainesville FL). Thanks to the SP-10's dead-on speed accuracy, I discovered that I have near-perfect relative pitch, and I could remember intuitively the key of hundreds of songs (I have no formal musical training and cannot tell you what key a song is in. But if you play me a tune, I can tell you the title of a song that will, at least as often as not, match it).

This was a very useful ability to have at a free-form radio station that played from a collection of tens of thousands of songs. I could thereafter make segues that made musical sense. At least to me, LOL!

Our CE Greg Strickland added an ingenious remote control that used a relay in parallel with the brake solenoid to guide the single start/stop control through individual remote start and stop pushbuttons, which worked perfectly.

After a few years, the SP-10's failure mode was usually just a filter cap in their external power supply.

Kind Regards,
David
 
The SP-10 Mk II was top of the line and the hard to find later Mk III variant. Motor alone was $2800 new. SP-10 Mk II does not have pitch control. SP-15 then best suited to you. So, find a good one. Tips: Solder joints on many a SP-15's IC chips often get tin whiskers. Get those attended to every servicing and the electrolytic capacitors to keep them playing.
 
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