Brand New Belt for Technics SL-B210 SL-B210K from Atlanta Pro Sound Welcome to Atlanta Pro Sound ••••• Under Construction – Fix Colors! ••••• Brand New Replacement Belt for Technics models SL-B210, SLB210, SL-B210U and SLB210U. Available as Buy it Now one (1) brand new replacement belt for Technics turntable, models SL-B210 SL-B210E SL-B210EB SL-B210EC SL-B210EF SL-B210EG SL-B210EH SL-B210Ei SL-B210EK SL-B210K SL-B210XA SL-B210XL Please be sure to compare shipping prices!!! Do not get tricked into spending almost $6.00 for US First Class delivery! There is a myth that one belt fits 95% of all turntables. In reality, nothing is further from the truth. A belt that is an inch too large or small will probably run on your turntable, but if it is too small, it will wear out your motor years before it would under normal conditions. If it is too large, it might also be bad for the motor, but as belts get older, they expand, so in the best case, you need a replacement years before you should. There are people online who have been selling belts for 5-10 years. Many have lots of feedback or websites that “look” like they know what they are doing. Do they really know what belt is the match for your turntable? Technics quit giving technical support on the models S-LB210 and S-LB210K (including part numbers) about a decade and a half ago. When the models SLB210 and SLB210K rolled off the assembly line, I was Assistant Store Manager for the largest independent Technics dealer in the Southeastern US. Read the ABOUT ATLANTA PROSOUND below for more information. (In case you are wondering…I enter the model with the dash in different positions so those who search for the model can find it regardless of if they have the dash in the right place!) 5 Belt Measurements All flat rubber belts have 5 measurements that affect the belt’s performance. Length is the one most people think of right away. Length affects how tight the belt is. If it is too tight, the motor will not run (or if it is just a little too tight, the motor will wear out quickly). Width is one you might not think is important, however, the manufacturers specify this one down to the 64th of an inch! If the belt is too wide, the risk is the belt will hit the outsides of the capstan, which will create momentary bumps in the speed. If the belt is too narrow, it does not have enough contact with the capstan, causing it to slip. Either of these problems may be inaudible at first, but later? Who knows? Thickness of the belt is the smallest of the measurements. Most Turntable belts are close to the same thickness, but your parts provider who has only a decade of experience might buy their belts based on length and their cost alone. You could get a belt that they bought wholesale at 99 cents but is way too thick! A belt that is too thick will not fully fold around the capstan, causing more pitch problems. If you call to complain, you are told that your turntable has natural Wow and Flutter. Friends: These models’ Wow and Flutter is eight (8) times below the audible limit (Sources: Julian Hirsch – Hirsch-Houck Labs and the Technics models SL-B1, SL-B1A SL-B2, SL-B2A, SL-B2K SL-B3, SL-B3A, SL-B5 and SL-B5A Service Manuals). Don’t let them pull the wool over your eyes! If you hear wow and flutter (a.k.a. bad speed fluctuation), you might just have the wrong size belt! External Diameter. This one is a no-brainer, it is closely related to the thickness and internal diameter. Internal Diameter. Like #4, this one is also a no-brainer, it is closely related to the thickness and external diameter. Many old-style belts were cut to size. Modern (get it out the door as fast as you can) cutting techniques can lead to inconsistencies and inferior product. This belt is not cut, it is precision molded to meet original factory specifications for the Technics SL-B210 and SL-B210U. The belt you are about to receive was recently manufactured by the same company that made the first belts for the Technics models SL-B210 and SL-B210U. My distributor, Artistic Audio of Atlanta, buys thousands of belts made by this company and has been sending them all over the United States for many years. Every few of weeks Artistic Audio of Atlanta reorders belts buy the hundred, replacing the stock they have sold. No belt is on their shelf more than a few weeks. Because they come into the distributor regularly, I can personally guarantee that the belt you get is fresh! About ATLANTA PRO SOUND: From 1979 until 1992, I was assistant store manager of the largest independent Technics dealer in the Southeastern US. I used to place Technics Orders Technics PARTS Orders Other finished goods and parts for our whole company. One day, I was giving a parts order to our Technics Parts Rep. And wanted to order 30 belts for the model SL-B200. She told me “I am sorry, those are backordered.” I replied “How can that be?! We just got SL-B200s in yesterday afternoon??” She told me that parts was independent of sales, they might have 100s of turntables, but no belts in stock at parts.” Then she added You could try [manufacturer’s name omitted] (a major parts manufacturer), that is who we buy all of out belts from.” It just so happened that my company was a [manufacturer’s name omitted] dealer, so, I called and ordered my 30 belts. I have been ordering Technics turntable belts from them ever since, because they made the belts for Technics (until Technics Parts quit selling belts!). You can not get any better than a belt made by the company that made them from the start! In 1992 my employer closed my location as part of a business deal that later went wrong. They put “all of their eggs” in the home theater basket. They kept me as an electronics sales person-independent contractor for 6 years. After that, I did Technics belt sales for my half-brother (who was also my manager at the Technics dealer) for several years, earning him over 2,000 feedback points at 100% positive. Ny non-compete clause has expired, and now I am offering my knowledge and expertise directly to you! My feedback score is a little low, but just wait! This belt is precision cut to match the original factory specifications for the following TECHNICS Turntables: SL-B210 SL-B210E SL-B210EB SL-B210EC SL-B210EF SL-B210EG SL-B210EH SL-B210Ei SL-B210EK SL-B210K SL-B210XA SL-B210XL About these models: The PROPER belt for this turntable has been somewhat of a mystery to many of my competitors. It came out right around the time that Technics/Panasonic/MCS redesigned their belt-drive system, during that redesign they went from one size belt to another. There is a lot of misinformation about this model on an official-looking turntable-parts specialty company (that opened in the mid 1990s, long after this turntable was discontinued), specifically, the belt that they say this turntable needs is a little too narrow and 6% too small!!! Since then, many BIG parts dealers have copied the bad information, they are selling the wrong part. Also, many people with an electronics parts accounts want-to-be belt specialists on eBay (some with 10,000+ feedback) and have copied the wrong information from their website and have been selling the wrong belt. I was assistant manager for the 2nd largest independent Technics dealer in the Southeast. I ordered parts directly from Technics. I have notes on the SL-B210 or 210K in my master notebook, a set of notes I started before these models came out. (I did not realize that in 20-some years that my notebook would be one of the best sources for Technics belt sizes or that I would be sharing that information with so many people!) I have a Technics Belt Cross-Reference sheet that includes these models, and I have confirmed my facts with the service manual (including the part sheet with original part numbers). The SL-B210 is a semi-automatic belt drive turntable that was designed to operate at 33 and 45 RPMs. It is semi-automatic, which means that you have to move the tone arm over to the record. After the record is complete, the turntable picks the arm up and returns to the off position. The speed switch (far left) on the SLB210 was two position, 33 and 45. The SLB210 has no pitch control has control. The turntable has a sleek, streamlined “black” (for Technics products, this means dark brown) body and the controls are in front of the dust cover, so it can be operated without raising the cover. The SL-B210K was a slight redesign, there is no difference in the belt-drive system or what size the replacement belt is. The major difference is the SL-B210K is “Technics Black”, a deep, dark, chocolate brown. I have the Service Manual (which costed me more than the belt!) so if you have any questions, please contact me with the “Ask a Question” link below, OK? On the rear left corner of the turntable, there is a raised circle about 1/8” in diameter. This is where you keep your 45 RPM adapter to play your 7-inch vinyl. If you need a 45 RPM Adapter, click on “Ask Seller a Question” below where it says “atlantaprosound” on the top right side of this offer. Are you about to purchase one of these models? The motor and drive system are built like a tank. Seeing it run may be your least concern. Here is what I check before buying: It should have a P-Mount (T4P) cartridge that plugs directly into the tonearm. If you need a P-Mount (T4P) cartridge, I should get them online soon, click on “Ask Seller a Question”. The cartridge should have a stylus. Styluses are “needles” that have the piece that touches the grove and plays the record. Look at the stylus. Does it have a piece of metal that lowers to the record, and is there a tip on the end of it? There are too many kinds of styluses to list them all on eBay. I have about 2,000 in stock, I probably have the one you need. If you need a stylus, click on “Ask Seller a Question” to send me a message. This one is really simple, but important. Check to see that there is a counter balance on the back end of the tone arm. Unlike counter balances on turntables that use headshells and standard mount cartridges, this turntable takes a P-Mount cartridge, (T4P), and the counter balances not adjustable. These are not generic and “one size does not fit all”, if fact, if the turntable you are looking at does not have one, you will probably need to replace the whole tonearm. You can find someone selling one of these models for parts, or find someone who has bought one and is selling parts. Finding one will be the trick! The last one is really easy to check as well. There is a black plastic bar in front of the place where the tonearm pivots. That is the arm lifter. It should move up and down when you change the position of the “cue” switch (front right) You may have heard someone say that the sound of vinyl sounds better than CDs. “How can this be?” you may wonder…the CDs do not have that scratchy sound. It is a matter of detail, really. You can prove it yourself with a $20.00 thrift-store turntable and a generic stylus. Get a copy of something easy to get, something acoustic, something like James Taylor’s, Carly Simon’s or Carol King’s greatest hits. (The demonstration works best with acoustic guitar, harp or lute, but once you have noticed the difference, you will be able to hear the difference on everything! The introduction to Ventura Highway by America will work well also.) Play it on your turntable, and listen especially to the very beginnings of each note in the guitar. Focus your attention to the very beginnings of each plucked string. The strings will sound almost like you can hear each of them roll off of the player’s fingers. That is the way it should sound all of the time. Now, play the same selection on a CD. You will probably notice that the beginnings of the notes sound muffled or slow. The beginnings of the notes on the CD have much less detail than their counterparts on vinyl. The reason is built into the way CD players work. CDs have a sampling rate of 44,100 samples per second. What this means is the volume level of a given sound is recorded at that frequency. ••••• Under Construction – Insert New Table Here! ••••• While the volume of the actual string is getting progressively louder, the volume on the CD recording is an average. As a note quickly gets louder, the CD sounds like stair steps, because we have a recording of averages for the length of time of the sample. This is why the vinyl sounds more like the original sound than the CD. Once you hear this, you will always look at listening for detail in the sound differently. Buying a new belt so you can transfer all your vinyl to CD? If you have read and understand the previous section, then you might want to re-think. The CD recording you make can not possibly sound the same as the vinyl, because in making the recording, you are creating the same stair-stepping sound that does not sound as good as the original vinyl! OK, OK, if you want to make CDs for the car, go ahead, but if you want to make CDs for detailed listening, maybe you should keep your vinyl. Georgia Residents will pay 7% Sales Tax. Shipping and handling is only $1.99 to any point in the USA. Belts are shipped by USPS Ground Advantage (2-5 Day expected delivery). Please, ask in advance about international shipping. Priority Mail shipping to the US is available for $9.65. Most items are shipped within 1 business day. Thanks in advance for your purchase!