Be careful before you buy a belt for this model!!! This is NOT the most common Technics belt! There is a lot of bad information on the Internet ( including eBay) about exactly which belt this turntable takes, I was assistant manager of a store that was the LARGEST Technics dealer in the Southeast US for TWO (2) decades. I used to order this belt directly from Technics Parts when the SL-L20 and SL-L25 were in production. I know what belt you take, and I even have the service manual to back me up. Don't trust your Linear Tracking Technics to someone who saw bad info on your turntable who also has an account at an electronics parts place!

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 SL-L25, SL-L25S and SL-L25K (including part numbers) about a decade and a half ago. When the models SL-L20, SL-L20S, SL-L20K, SL-L25, SL-L25M, SL-L25S and SL-L25K rolled off the assembly line, I was an 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.

1. 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).

2. Width is one you might not think is important, however, the manufacturers specify this one down to the 64^th 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?

3. 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!

4. External Diameter. This one is a no-brainer, it is closely related to the thickness and internal diameter.

5. Internal Diameter. Like #4, this one is also a no-brainer, it is closely related to the thickness and external diameter.

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.

• If you play this turntable and the stylus seems to get stuck partially through the side of an album, do not stop your quest to repair it, and definitely do not discard the turntable. These tables are "linear tracking" and they have a "tonearm belt" which guides the tonearm as it travels from start to finish. The tonearm belt is tricky to replace, but is replaceable! Click "Contact Seller" below atlantaprosound on the upper right of this page.

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.

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.

It might be a good idea to stop reading those sights that say you can’t hear the difference with digital stair-stepping and start listening for yourself. Do you need them to tell you what you can hear?? Listen intently for the very first sounds made with the plucks of strings, the hammers striking the strings on a piano, the “attack” of each note. Once you hear you will notice more detail forever.

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.