It's time to upgrade my current daily driven turntable, a Mofi Studiodeck. The 1210G is what I've decided to go with. Previous to the Mofi I've had a handful of direct drive tables and I prefer them. The Mofi is an ok table and if it were easier to swap carts I could live with it a bit longer. It's such a PIA to swap carts and get aligned that I just don't swap carts at all. The other thing is, it just lacks soul - it's just a slab of MDF with a platter on top. Personally I don't care for the Music Hall, Rega, etc 'design', the 1200 always had a 'engineering sexiness' to me. 100% personal preference, not knocking those tables I just find them to be vanilla and I like chocolate!

Anyhow, not too concerned with the sound of the 1210, but I am curious if anyone has experience with one and their thoughts on the quality of the deck. Before 2022, the GR's were assembled in Malaysia and the G's in Japan. Now, ALL 1200 models come from Malaysia. It ain't cheap, but this could the endpoint for a turntable for me. Well at least for a good while! My Mofi now has a bum cue lever that lets the arm drop too fast. Not adjustable or refillable. When I first got the table, I was adjusting the VTA and the arm "crashed" which "broke a part" under the deck. It spent 6 months at Mofi (early covid was fun, remember?). All in all, the quality has been maybe a 2.5 or 3 out 5 for me, I'm hoping the 1210 is built better.

I have the table in my cart, but have one tiny hurdle to get over before I pull the trigger. Lawyers, guns and money...seriously. Have a deal in place for my dad's guns, wasn't updated by the lawyer until last minute and so there's no money to cover it, yet. Should get cleared up soon.

I plan to get started with my current cart, AT OC9III. I have a second OC9 that I'll likely send back to AT on the trade in program for a ART9XI. I enjoy the AT MC's much more than their MM's that get shrill IMO. I've also got a Shure 95 w/Jico stylus, a V15 w/ Jico stylus. A few others, but nothing note worthy. Again, being able to swap out a cart quickly based on mood is a going to be a nice luxury.

I have a Technics 1300MKII on the storage rack with extra headshells, something gone wonky with the pitch control. It'll be fine for a day, then it goes to happy hour, gets drunk and starts slurring the music.

Yeah, $5k is likely more than I sitting on my entire rack at the moment. I paid $650 for the Mofi a few years back and thought I was living high on the hog. I think back over the years where I have scrounged this and that together and had fun doing it. There was a $50 Hitachi DD that performed great, then a $100 Dual 721 that I rebuilt from the ground up, that was fun. The 1300MKII was awesome for 2-3 yrs before it got wonky. I enjoy the vintage tables, but at the end of the day when I sit down I want to listen and not putz with all the little endearing defects that come along with vintage stuff. I look at it like this, the winter beater cars are fun...until you need to drive across country. I'd rather have something new and trust worthy. We've had a few life altering events over the past couple months that I shouldn't share on the 'net. Let's definitely get together sometime soon, I'd love to check out the Chariot and chew the fat for a bit.

The 1210G landed Friday. $4140 to the door from Music Direct. Every now and then they send out 15% off coupons, unfortunately it’s on in stock items and the G went on backorder and the coupon expired. Gave them a call and they gave me 10% off which cut the taxes out and a couple more bucks off. By far the priciest piece of gear I’ve ever bought. Being Easter weekend and also having two birthday parties to attend I have had much time to listen. Did a quick setup Friday, then a more thorough job Saturday. So far, it’s been excellent. I’d been using my old 1400mkII which sounds better than the Mofi, I believe my cart is more compliant with the Technics arms. At first I thought the 1210 sounded thin and bright. By the 3rd side that was mostly gone and it keeps getting better. Fuller sound, insanely better detail and space between instruments. It just sounds more musical to me than the other tables I have.

One negative though. The strobe light cannot be turned off. No problem during the day, but in a dark room that light is intense. Easy, dirty solution is putting a cap over it, I found a Brakleen cap fits nicely. Crappy to resort to such a cheap solution for a high price piece, but it works.