Panasonic Technics SLBD20D Semi Automatic Turntable

I've owned this turntable for about 9 years now, and have never been sorry I bought it. It has bounced around the country as I've moved from place to place, and like the proverbial watch, keeps on ticking. No, it's not a 50-pound "reference" unit. And its price reflects that. Its specs don't, however, and in the end you have to ask yourself if what you're after is an emperor whose clothes are invisible to most non-tailors (or sonics measurable only in an anechoic chamber or lab) or the best performance for your scarce entertainment dollar. This turntable delivers on the latter, if not the former.

Admittedly, the cartridge mine shipped with was middling - an entry level design with little oomph or enough output to avoid cranking up the volume a bit on a mid-level integrated amp. Your mileage may vary, as I understand different cartridges have shipped at different times with it. But if you decide the sound's not quite there for your needs, plug in a new p-mount Grado or Audio Technica or Stanton, etc., etc. and instantly upgrade it to whatever level you're willing to pay (I recently upgraded to the Grado Prestige Green). As long as the basics are there (wow/flutter, rumble, reasonable tonearm etc. - and they are with this Technics) you're golden.

My point here is that for the vast majority of users on a reality budget, the SL-BD20 is a fine choice, and if my experience is an indication, a reliable choice as well.

The product came on time. They shipped it really promptly. The parts were intact. Assembly was not difficult. The turntable looks good. Only problem is the sound quality! Does not have enough bass. So the music seems a little bland. I know that it depends on the amplifier I am connecting the turntable to. I have connected it to the Sony Mu-te-ki I have recently bought. My CDs and cassettes sound very good on that Mu-te-ki. So, it seems that the problem is with the turntable. Anyways, I did not expect it to sound gorgeous as it is not that pricey.

I had a technics product years ago that I loved.
However, this model is very flat sounding.
I am not sure that I want to keep it...
The workmanship is not the greatest.
Had to purchase a pre-amp that also doesn't cope well with "low freq".

Probably OK for someone who only wants to "play" old records it is fine.

This turntable works very well for me. It came shipped with the belt unattached to the drive motor pully which is an advantage to me. I was assured that the belt would not arrive weakened and stretched from unknown months/years in a warehouse. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is that there was no strobe on the side to confirm RPM.

I am not a sneering audiophile, just a dignified music lover who invested in hundreds of records in the 1980s and since. So I decided to upgrade my 20-year-old turntable with something reputable that wouldn't hurt the records but wouldn't cost multiple hundreds of dollars. I bought this turntable, and, at the advice of some other reviewers, the Grado black P-mount cartridge. Warning: it may be possible to break the tonearm by installing the cartridge carelessly, so unplug everything, lock down the arm, and proceed with great delicacy. My ears/speakers may not be good enough to appreciate the improvement the new ($60) cartridge has made--in any event I did not do controlled listening experiments--but it's nice that I have the original cartridge as a spare. My only problem with the turntable is the cuing arm drops the needle too quickly, making it slide off the runoff groove into the first track, possibly risking scratching the record. It is possible to set it down gently by manipulating the lever so, but that should happen automatically. Or be adjustable. Despite this flaw, I am very happy to have new and old turntables and cartridges to enjoy all this fine music, and in case this technology ever really does go obsolete. Because one of the other reviewers complained that the Grado cartridge buzzes, I thought I should add this review to say that it sounds great to me.