Panasonic revealed the new Technics SL-1200G turntable
Last year at the IFA electronics show in Berlin, Technics already presented a prototype of their new turntable, but yesterday at CES in Las Vegas, Panasonic officially unveiled the finished product. For the 50th anniversary of the classic SL-1200, in 2016 Technics is going to release two new "Grand Class" models aimed at both audiophiles and DJs. The anniversary edition SL-1200GAE, limited to 1,200 individually numbered units, which will be released this summer. And the SL-1200G, will be available for the mass market before the end of 2016. Except the magnesium tonearm and small tweaks to the feet on the limited edition SL-1200GAE, the two models are the same and will cost around $4000 USD.
The plinth uses a four layer design, with an aluminum top panel added to the aluminum diecast, bulk molding composite (BMC) and rubber layers. The new heavyweight aluminum platter is brass-topped and is said to have more than twice inertial mass than the SL-1200Mk5. A newly developed "coreless" direct-drive motor is said to remove "cogging", a sound degradation caused by speed fluctuations in the platter. Also, the twin-rotor construction aims to minimize bearing load while maintaining high torque. Further vibrations are suppressed and corrected using rotary positioning sensors and a new microprocessor control system.
A new feature on the SL-1200G turntable is a small button above the pitch control slider, which allows you to switch the pitch range between +/-16 and +/-8. Also new on the SL-1200G is the 78RPM speed and the detachable, gold-plated audio cables and ground terminal.
