Technics 1200 Coming This Summer

chefkungfu

My apologies, I think you may have already read the thread.

pitdogg2

mhardy6647 wrote: »

Nightfall wrote: »

No way the regular version will be $4k

Why do you think not? The "What HiFi?" article strongly implies (not that it's all that clearly written) that the base model will be $4k.

It's here. Technics has officially unveiled its brand new turntable, the direct-drive Grand Classic SL-1200G, due on sale summer 2016...

It's due out this summer - but it won't be cheap, with Technics telling What Hi-Fi? it will cost around $4000. The previous Technics decks would retail for around £1200, but Technics says this new deck is completely redesigned and, naturally, a real jump in performance...

There's also a 50th anniversary special edition in the offing, the SL-1200GAE, which features a slightly different finish, limited serial number platter and a magnesium tonearm (as opposed to aluminium on the standard model). This model will be limited to 1200 pieces.

EDIT: So -- magnesium is flammable. Just sayin'...

No kidding some dumb arse came to my house many yrs age. He said let me see that glass ashtray. Then proceeded to fire up a ribbon of it, it burned right through to the table burned right through to the floor which once again it burned right through to the basement....no kidding.. After that we promptly gave him some head and neck adjustment's and made sure he knew to never come back. Try explaining that to the land lord....

honestaquarian

http://www.soundandvision.com/content/technics-resurrects-turntable-classic

honestaquarian

http://www.stereophile.com/content/technics-force-awakens-las-vegas

cmy330go

I'm not saying the 1200 is a bad table, but I would never in a million years drop $4k for one. I just have a really hard time believing that just about anything else at that price point won't handily whoop it in audio performance.

I guess maybe they'll sell a bunch to now-successful DJs?

honestaquarian

http://www.technics.com/us/introduction/hifi-direct-drive-turntable-system-sl-1200gae/

soundfreak1

The latest #'s I've heard is 4k for one. That's a lot of Jing In my book. Think about the cart cost as when I sold audio back in the day we recommend a ratio of about 3 to 1 on the cart cost. 100 dollar TT 300.00 cart. (For optimum proformance) mid 1970's.Depending on how many "points " we were holding, On a 300. Cart we would give the table away for free.ie entry level Technics or Dual.

mhardy6647

soundfreak1 wrote: »

...Think about the cart cost as when I sold audio back in the day we recommend a ratio of about 3 to 1 on the cart cost. 100 dollar TT 300.00 cart. (For optimum proformance) mid 1970's...

I must be misunderstanding this... are you saying that in the mid-1970s one would spend 300 smackers for a cartridge for a $100 turntable?

One would have been hard pressed to find a 300 dollar cartridge in the mid-1970s.
E.g., a Shure V15III (pretty serious hardware for the time) was $77.50 in 1975 (see below). Even a Denon DL-103 was probably around $120 in that long-ago era -- and a DL-103 was pretty high-end in those times.



sorce: http://www.alliedcatalogs.com/html/catalogs_additional/1975-schaak/hr059.html

A $100 tt (e.g., a Pioneer PL-12 or Technics SL-23) would have most likely sported a $10 to $25 audio-technica (or possibly a Pickering or Shure in the same price range). Personally, I'd have put the $13 Grado FTE+1 on one (and, in fact, I did!). The FTE+1 was the entry level elliptical Grado (broadly comparable to today's Grado Black) and was a danged fine sounding cartridge for 13 Samoleums.

The new SL-1200 at $4k is roughly equivalent to $1k in 1978 per the CPI calculator http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm Now, in 1978 tts that expensive weren't common -- and the ones at that price point were pretty serious pieces of hardware. I think the Linn Sondek LP12, sans arm was around 1k in those days, and even the gorgeous glass and metal Transcriptors Skeleton tt was only $400 with its 'vestigial' arm. But still, the cost of the cartridges they'd sport were a fraction of the price of the tt.

Here are a few more pieces of 1970s (ca. 1977 or 78) high-ish end data:

Scan0015 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr


All this being said, the new SL-1200G looks like a very serious piece of hardware and may well be worth $4k. From a marketing standpoint, it may be neither fish nor fowl, though -- the "audiophile" market may be loath to spend real money for a "massmarket" product (i.e., Panasonic/Technics being irrevocably identified by the snobs as "consumer grade/massmarket")... and too expensive for the market segment that's OK with the brand name (not to mention the pro market, DJs, who may also be loath to spend 8k for a pair of tts, even for bragging rights).

I do wish Technics the best, though, the SL-1200G does appear to be a very serious piece of hardware and fills a gap (a decent quality, affordable direct drive turntable) that has existed since... well... the SL-1200 was discontinued :-P The question is whether there are more than a few folks who would race to fill that gap (for $4k). I'd imagine that the cartridges these hypothetical folks would use on an SL-1200G would be in the $1k price range... that would 'feel' about right to me, all else being equal.

Just a slew of my own opinions, of course.

soundfreak1

Oh he'll no 300 wasn't hard at all, retail and commission sales! There was always exotic priced item to sell. True the standard cart were 35/50 dollar range, but you (even then) could spend as much as you wanted.we even had free ic's that came with the system or upgrades for 50.00 a set. Big money n
Back then. And we were "midfi" we had "black box speakers" for 50.00 a pair or JBL for 600.00 pair and even the well marketed (LOL) Bose 901's for a grand. In 1976 a grand could buy a lux man system or marantz or a mac amp.Today you can spend 20,000.00 (and more) on just a cart. "Every thing old is new again" as the saying goes. And BTW I didn't say 300.00 cart was better than all others! IE the Shure V15 ect. Actually AT had a large piece of the upgrad market at that time in our shop. If I remember correctly we had them from 35.00 to 300.00.

mhardy6647

Please share a couple of specific $1k-plus cartridge models & prices from 1975 or 6 or so, when you get the chance.

Toolfan66

Anyone spending $3500-$4000 for a Technics TT is one Crazy Mo-Fo!!!

mhardy6647

I dunno -- did you look at the thing? It's pretty solid looking (if predictably bling-y).
It's probably "worth" $4k by audiophile standards, but 1) audiophiles are likely to wrinkle up their noses at the name "Technics" and 2) the self-same audiophiles are likely to figure (assume) that the size & clout of Panasonic ought to render $400 a fair price for the hardware in question... even though they likely wouldn't balk at even an $8k price tag for an equivalent turntable (and arm!) from an audiophile boutique brand.

honestaquarian

The limited edition model that they are only makong 1200 of is going for almost 4k. They have not released the price of the regular model that is coming out after the limited edition.

mrbiron

Yeah, i have one of these already.....
They all look the same!!!!

Toolfan66

mhardy6647 wrote: »

I dunno -- did you look at the thing? It's pretty solid looking (if predictably bling-y).
It's probably "worth" $4k by audiophile standards, but 1) audiophiles are likely to wrinkle up their noses at the name "Technics" and 2) the self-same audiophiles are likely to figure (assume) that the size & clout of Panasonic ought to render $400 a fair price for the hardware in question... even though they likely wouldn't balk at even an $8k price tag for an equivalent turntable (and arm!) from an audiophile boutique brand.

I'm not turning my nose up at it, I owned a 1210 M5G and I loved it, but My VPI slays it, I wouldn't go back to it..

I bought my Technics for $300 brand new at Guitar Center, sold it for $800, bought my VPI from a member here for $1600, the trade off was worth every penny..

I'm only turning my nose up to the $4k I don't care if it's an AE or not, one could do much better for $4k, IMO of course...

I feel the AE should be between the $1000-$1500 range $3500-$4000 is crazy!!!

soundfreak1

mhardy6647 wrote: »

Please share a couple of specific $1k-plus cartridge models & prices from 1975 or 6 or so, when you get the chance.

You will have to reread, no 1k cart. that I know of that was the Bose 901's and an entire system. As far as the 300.00 for cart. it was not uncommon
Off the top of my head I believe AT had one for over 100.00, 200.00 and 300.00 (didn't sell them everyday) but when we did we made a nice spiff. To ask me model # now from 1976, I don't think so. None the less highend pricing didn't start last week.I remember selling the DBX 3BX for list prices of 650.00 just for the R2R tape noise supression and expansion Beat the he'll out of dolby A,B,and C.The adv. R2R was about 3/500.00. Some a lot more some less.

Dennis Gardner

First run sold out in 30 minutes at $4k.thevinylfactory.com/vinyl-factory-news/technics-sl-1200gae-first-sale/

gudnoyez

Yeah my hopes of another 1200 at that price are gone. I should of never sold my old one, thing is I like my Clearaudio bluemotion so much I'm no longer even considering a new 1200.

msg

yeah, that's kinda depressing.
would like to spend some time with one to check out the refinements, but not that curious. bit of a shame, really.

motorhead43026

Anybody paying 4k for this must be sporting a man bun, and have a safe place to go and play it.

honestaquarian

The specs and UK price for the regular version.

http://www.thevinylfactory.com/vinyl-factory-news/technics-sl-1200g-standard-edition-turntable-specs/

StantonZ

mhardy6647 wrote: »

soundfreak1 wrote: »

...Think about the cart cost as when I sold audio back in the day we recommend a ratio of about 3 to 1 on the cart cost. 100 dollar TT 300.00 cart. (For optimum proformance) mid 1970's...

I must be misunderstanding this... are you saying that in the mid-1970s one would spend 300 smackers for a cartridge for a $100 turntable?
One would have been hard pressed to find a 300 dollar cartridge in the mid-1970s.

Agreed. I put a Grado G1+ (pretty high-end) on my old Technics SL-1200 (no: didn't keep either) for about $100...which my Dad thought was astronomical at the time. That was my first foray into "high fidelity"...and I have to say it was sweeeeet!

PolkMaster1

Toolfan66 wrote: »

mhardy6647 wrote: »

I dunno -- did you look at the thing? It's pretty solid looking (if predictably bling-y).
It's probably "worth" $4k by audiophile standards, but 1) audiophiles are likely to wrinkle up their noses at the name "Technics" and 2) the self-same audiophiles are likely to figure (assume) that the size & clout of Panasonic ought to render $400 a fair price for the hardware in question... even though they likely wouldn't balk at even an $8k price tag for an equivalent turntable (and arm!) from an audiophile boutique brand.

I'm not turning my nose up at it, I owned a 1210 M5G and I loved it, but My VPI slays it, I wouldn't go back to it..

I bought my Technics for $300 brand new at Guitar Center, sold it for $800, bought my VPI from a member here for $1600, the trade off was worth every penny..

I'm only turning my nose up to the $4k I don't care if it's an AE or not, one could do much better for $4k, IMO of course...

I feel the AE should be between the $1000-$1500 range $3500-$4000 is crazy!!!

The Technics SL1200MK2 - released in 1979 to 2010 - sold over 3 million turntables.
The most mass-produced turntable ever produced in history.

The 1200 was destined to be an audiophile grade turntable, however it found its way into the Discos for the DJs - since it was found to be of a sturdy piece of equipment which made it great transport gear.

There were upgrades for the 1200MK2 which would transform the turntable into a true high-end audiophile grade turntable.

I would love to hear a tricked out 1200MK2 go up against the top SMEs, VPIs, Regas, and Project TTs.

Come on Toolfan - what do you say???

The new and improved 1200MK2 will be released at a retail price of $4000 this summer. It will have a balanced platter, like those of the SP model design and will weigh 13 lbs. more than the original SL-1200MK2 - bringing the total weight of this TT to 40 lbs.

How many of you are going to run out and get one for yourselves???

msg

not me. I'll admit to frivolous purchases, but a $4k 1200 kind of leaves me feeling perturbed - borderline disgusted - at the move to make relatively inaccessible to most what was once well revered and accessible table for the masses. this whole move feels like a big tease with no happy ending.

I would be curious to see and hear one, but it's not on my list of experiments and probably never will be. I'd put $4k toward a turntable that's a work of art as well as a top performer.

For now, I may continue to explore some of the upgrades Kevin offers over at KAB.

honestaquarian

I can recall once right before the turn of the century hearing the difference between the rubber platter mat and a felt slip mat on a 1200. I can't recall if it was in a DJ rig or at the hi fi shop I used to work at back then. Anyway I bought my first 1200 from a customer and put in a Shure V15 type VxMR cartridge to great effect. I still have that table and cartridge. Although that cartridge is in another 1200 that I got much later in the living room system and the older V15 type VMR is in the first 1200 in the bedroom system.

PolkMaster1

honestaquarian wrote: »

I can recall once right before the turn of the century hearing the difference between the rubber platter mat and a felt slip mat on a 1200. I can't recall if it was in a DJ rig or at the hi fi shop I used to work at back then. Anyway I bought my first 1200 from a customer and put in a Shure V15 type VxMR cartridge to great effect. I still have that table and cartridge. Although that cartridge is in another 1200 that I got much later in the living room system and the older V15 type VMR is in the first 1200 in the bedroom system.

Changing the mat can have a profound difference in the sound. I have heard it going through a couple of iterations of turntable mats.

Herbies Mat was one that I liked.

Then there is the Funk Mat (cant remember the exact name of this mat), which sounded even better.

honestaquarian

Remember platter matter turntable mats?

PolkMaster1

honestaquarian wrote: »

Remember platter matter turntable mats?

Not me. It must have been before my time. Did you have one? If so, what was your experience?

honestaquarian

PolkMaster1 wrote: »

honestaquarian wrote: »

Remember platter matter turntable mats?

Not me. It must have been before my time. Did you have one? If so, what was your experience?

No I didn't
They got rave reviews from the audio rags and I laid eyes on a turntable that had it once. Never got a chance to actually listen to it though.