There's at least one forum where the SL-1200 is overrated. I had one for about 6 weeks. I bought it mostly because I wanted to see how great it was, since it seems to be considered to be the ultimate turntable in that forum. I figured I'd keep it along with my Music Hall MMF-5. If the 1200 was superior, I'd just sell the MMF-5 and be one of the smart crowd who knows the greatness of the 1200.

I tried three Goldring, an Ortofon and the overrated AT440. The 1200 was not better than the much-maligned Music Hall...in fact, not as good. The 1200 sounded coarse and unrefined to my ears. Now at least I know.