The limited edition Technics SL-1200GAE, with more to come

This just in — hell has frozen over and Technics is bringing back the turntable with a limited edition SL-1200GAE this summer. No really… it's on their site and everything.

Technics SL-1200GAE

The limited edition Technics SL-1200GAE, with more to come

After previously teasing nothing more than a minimalist platter, Technics has taken to the CES 2016 stage to announce what many had been waiting for. It would appear that the legendary Technics SL-1200 direct drive turntable is back.

Gizmodo is there breaking the story, but some details are already up on the Technics website. Here’s the lovingly crafted PR that explains the intention:

Due to the widespread use of CDs, turntable systems disappeared briefly from the market, but their warm sound quality is bringing them back. The direct-drive turntable invented by Technics is still highly acclaimed by audiophiles and DJs in the form of the SL-1200 Series, and there have been many requests to revive the turntable system. As such, we decided to develop a new system for Hi-Fi use. Here we provide an outline of our intent in this development.

Direct-drive is generally considered to be for DJ use, and belt drive is for Hi-Fi use. In the 1970s, when Technics invented direct-drive turntables, their performance and reliability were first recognised by broadcast stations. High acclaim was then received by audiophiles. The high-precision rotation and absence of S/N ratio degradation were particularly attractive to these users. The high torque and reliability of direct-drive were recognised by DJs, and direct-drive turntables became the standard in the club scene.

When developing a direct-drive motor, considerable capital investment is required for large-scale production equipment. In contrast, belt drives can be made with a little cost. Also, compared with direct-drive, belt drive was designed with the latest technology. The view remains that direct-drive is for DJ use and belt drive is for Hi-Fi use. Originally, direct-drive offered superior sound quality. If we redesign the direct-drive motor and control circuitry, we will be able to create a turntable that is superior to other systems.

Technics was also a leader in incorporating innovations, such as vibration-damping materials, cabinet construction, and insulators. Having inherited the DNA of Technics, we do not wish to merely make a replica of the SL-1200.

In other words, our intent in this development is to redefine the direct-drive turntable reference.

Specification

All New Design for Redefining the Direct Drive Turntable
Twin-Rotor Surface-Facing Direct Drive Motor
Direct Drive Motor Controller
High Sensitive Tonearm
Brass-Top Turntable Platter
Insulator
Technics Definitive Design
Inherited SL-1200 Series
Heavy Aluminium Top Plate
Turntable Speeds
33 1/3 rpm, 45 rpm, 78 rpm
Variable Range Pitch
±8%, ±16%
Dimensions & Weight
W: 453 mm (17-27/32 inch) H: 170 mm (6-11/16 inch) D: 372 mm (14-21/32 inch)
Approx. 18 kg (39.7 lbs ) *Tentative *Height including dust cover
Terminal
Phono Output x 1 / SIGNAL GND x 1

The limited edition Technics SL-1200GAE, with more to come

Kicking things of is a brand new model. The limited edition Grand Class SL-1200GAE is a limited edition coming out this summer. While retaining the obvious iconic DNA, it is a cleaner and sharper unit. I’m guessing that this is a full retooled unit, with everything being designed and made from scratch.

Gizmodo reports that the SL-1200GAE will be a limited run of 1200 (of course) units, with the SL-1200G being the full production. Yes full production. It would appear that (using the phrase that you’ll read over and over ad infinitum) the 1200 is back.

It’s hard to make any more comments about it right now without more photos. We have no idea if the audio and power is still hardwired . We don’t know the torque, although this is likely to be higher than before. What we do know is that this new 1200 is a full 6kg heavier than the mk2. And no word on price yet either.

Obviously we’ll revisit this as it develops. But it would appear that our scene is about to fall in love with Technics all over again.

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Mark Settle
Mark Settle

The old Editor of DJWORX - you can now find Mark at WORXLAB

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165 Comments

  5. HOLY SH*T! But before all the drooling, this looks like a completely new unit, not the return of the legendary mk2. So hold your thoughts here, cause I fear we will all be highly disappointed in the end…This looks like a unit for audiophiles with 6kg added weight. Plus, we don’t know yet if this new motor is scratch grade.

    • The model number is still SL-1200.

      It looks almost identical to the original.

      It has +/- 8% pitch control.

      It also has variable pitch range which allows up to +/- 16% pitch adjustment.

        • the original 1200 was a hifi deck too but used by many DJs, now they added more pitchrange, a preset button wich means no center click as DJs complainted about that

          This will be an ideal turntable for both DJs and audiophiles, and there are also DJs who demand hifi quality besides the usual features

    • This is DJ kit through and through, no messing, just a little bit more pricey……….they won’t cock up a new model when there’s so much expectation surrounding it. Will be well worth the price I reckon..

    • Agreed, considering the “High end” stuff that Technics has been pushing out. These are totally akin to the GLD LTD’s. I’m assuming these are a one off for the 50th anniversary. Doesn’t look like Technics wants to get into the working market. As much as this is a happy moment for us 1200 lovers, I’m pretty sure it’ll be short lived after the hype dies down.

  12. Hmmm. Looks like Panasonic have had a look at the success of the ‘new turntable kids on the block’ and fancy a bit of their action back… God they are gonna be expensive.

    • I don’t see it. They’re very much about servicing the needs of audiophiles now, who really have zero need for a rotating platter to play CDs or digital files. And given their track record outside of the 1200 series, the DJ market would view anything outside of a turntable with suspicion.

        • The two channel mixers were OK and only succeeded because of DMC’s insistence on it being the their official mixer because of Technics sponsorship deal. The faders were the real issue though, and without DMC they’d have faded into obscurity quickly.

          The 4 channel MZ1200 mixer was nice enough but overshadowed by the DZ1200 media player’s awful reputation. And without the DZ, the MZ was a very ordinary but expensive 4 channel mixer in a crowded market.

          When you combine this with the original 1200 not being designed for DJs, you’ll forgive my reluctance to gush and fawn over new Technics designs. They did the right thing in making it look like a product that the DJ world trusts, even if everything is technically new. I have no doubt that everything will be just fine, but I’ll reserved judgement until its in the hands of people who will use it objectively and report about what it does rather than what it is.

    • I would like it a lot although, like Mark said, there are probably little chances for that to happen.

      I guess Denon is still the only company going in that direction. Go Denon!

  20. Looks great I imagine only the 1200G will be in most people’s price range. From what I could get from the Technics website it looks like the ground and phono cables aren’t hardwired anymore which is a sensible move.

    The 1200GAE will be a resellers dream i’m sure as Mark has said.

    My question would be about the longevity of this product will it be as well made as the mk2? If so could that be their downfall again… there are quite a few ‘professional’ tts out there now but obviously the fan base is huge, very bias and potentially still very loyal…

    Still I can’t wait to see one in the flesh 2016 is starting very well indeed

  21. Curious to see what’s on the inside, what parts (if any) can be retrofitted on prior 1200s and… whether there’s any visible traces of super oem in them :)
    And of course, full wow/flutter measurements and some proper testing…

    They make a point of mentioning the heavy, top aluminium plate but isn’t most of the weight in the original mostly in the rubber base and the bigass bakelite plate underneath? Weren’t many super oem’s way too hollow? (“but we have a big heavy top!”)

      • Wrong dude, there was an article here that had the title “Djaying is dead, and vinyl is what killed it”. What else is a turntable used for other than to play vinyl? The article was an “Opinion” piece but somehow the editors here found that subject to be worthy of discussion. So how far was I really off? I don’t think I was off at all.

    • It is going to elitism ghetto on and on. Djs wanting this new hifi one at its, possible, privative price is a clue but… It is not going to dead, only lose relevance. Expensive turntables vs cheap controllers as a #realtool fight against turntablism as the first tool for newbie. I’m not happy with it and I will love an hybrid sl-700 with midi cappabilities… :(

      • I can live without a set of 1200’s. As long as there’s something with moving patters I can get by. I can even get by with static platters. But when you start having controllers like NI’s S5 and S8 that are nothing but screens, knobs and buttons? Units like that have nothing to offer to me. When the entire industry stops creating Jog wheel controllers like NI has then you can say that Djaying is dead. And I think the art of turntablism will never lose relevance. A good percentage of songs today have some sort of turntable sound/techniques in the song.

        • Lose relevance yes, until death not. A good percentage of some kind of music? Even in the USA is growing EDM (but without going so mainstream we coukd see a shift towards lightshow over scratching stars). There is still competition and room to push the limits but the part of your sentence about S8 illustrates why I said turntablism is going towards a musical ghetto (like jazz or flamenco which should reinvent themselves into fusion to became alive today). It is not a rant, only the same scheme over time. Scratch inside fusion groups (not only indie or genX) and scratch in small cercles like tablaos or jazz clubs.

  27. I’m reading all manner of comments all over the place right now. Some are claiming that it might be Hanpin because it looks like a PLX or an Audio Technica. Oh the irony of thinking it’s a super OEM because it looks like a copy of itself. Stranger things have happened, but I’ll be amazed if this has been anywhere near Hanpin.

    • It is not going to happen due these are hifi products focused toward vinyl collectors. Vinyl djs could use them for scratching but nothing else. The reasoning behind your idea is far from the target of panasonic and it will increase the cost without make the enough revenue to justify these increment.

    • The original 1200 was a turntable designed to play records to the very best of its ability. The pitch was an added concession because DJs adopted it. This new 1200 carries on that tradition, and still isn’t a pure DJ turntable. It is still designed to play records, and it is hoped that it can do that better than before. The market for a USB enabled MIDI sending turntable is not of interest to Technics. It’s a microscopic blip on the balance sheet, and in reality the number of DJs who want MIDI on a turntable is small too.

  31. One minor criticism is that there doesn’t appear to be an area to insert your penis, which is clearly needed given what happened to many DJs around the world today. #pantstightening

  34. And it will sell just because… but I am more than happy with my old HD 4.5s I picked up for $100 each.

    No one has got a viable replacement for my VCI-380 (just with added DVS) quite yet. I keep looking at the 6000Mk2, but it’s not there for me. The AMX is great, but I’d love an all-in-one 2Ch DVS enabled + super portable + good fader + platters for mobile gigs. Maybe 2016.

      • Almost. I got a look at one in The flesh the other day, not as big as I thought, but not as small as I’d like.

        Crossing fingers vestax comes back to life next, or a denon / Akai pro unit fills the gap.

    • I’m with you on the VCI-380. I purchased a Reloop TM8 a year and a half ago when I should have got the VCI-380 as originally planned. TM8 is OK but I’m not really feeling it. I thought I can get by without a marker or light showing jog wheel position, But I cannot. My TM8 doesn’t have any markers on the jog wheels. I may get the Reloop Beatpad 2 (which has jog wheels that illuminate showing jog wheel position, not as good as the VCI-380’s but better than nothing). The beatpad 2 appears to be a good VCI-380 alternative.

  36. lol this is insanely good news and yet I read the comments and somehow people have still found a way to complain… Hanpin rumours too? Some people just want to watch the world burn…

  37. looks f**king amazing, from technics website this looks like rolls royce quality engineering, new motor (better than Technics SP10 Mk2 (reference broadcast turntable), milled magnesium with aluminium shell, magnesium tonearm and much improved damping..beyond sick!, I can see the pioneer plx’s being discontinued real soon

    • Audio Technica is a super OEM that has been styled to look like old Technics. So it’s no surprise if new Technics looks like a copy of an old Technics. The inevitable strip down video will reveal the insides, but there’s plenty of info on http://www.technics.com/global/introduction/hifi-direct-drive-turntable-system-sl-1200gae/ to show the all-new construction. I’m certain that this isn’t anything to do with being a super OEM.

      To clarify, this is on the same page:

      High-Quality Terminals
      The use of brass-milled and gold-plated phono terminals and ground terminals prevents degradation in sound quality while enabling the easy attaching and detaching of cables. Also theuse of metal shielding construction inside the case reduces the effects of external noise.

      So it has RCA and ground connections, but I don’t know about the power yet. Has anyone got any info on that?

  39. Simple Phono-Outs at last! I always hated the fixed cables.
    The gold colour on the platter and the limited Edition sign is too much for me.
    I expect the regular G to be plain silver or black, that would be nice.

        • Then again, having seen the prices of some new Technics product, it’s anyones guess. The issue is that original Technics had an established and long term price point. It’s understandable to pitch them a bit higher than other decks because of brand cachet, but thousands more?

          PLX price tumble ahoy?

          • Just from reading the company promo blurb, I’m thinking they’re aiming the new decks at the highend audiophile enthusiast, thus staying away from the mass production business model (aimed at DJs in the past). As a matter of fact, anything coming from Techincs presently will be highend as that is the new moniker of the company. So in other words the “GAE” model will be extremely expensive and the “G” model will be moderately expensive. Either too rich for my blood.

            • Why are you keep saying the original 1200s were aimed at DJs. The most successful model, the MK2 was a hifi turntable as is the G-models now.

              We don’t know anything yet but I truly believe the new models will be great to DJ with.

        • The GLDs retailed for double the price of the M5Gs – €1,299 – in 2005. If the GAE will have a similar price tag it might be a success. $4,000 sounds very audiophile though :D

  43. The more I think about it, the more I see that Technics is not pitching this to DJs. Just the weight increase alone proves that. If you read the PR more closely they want to move the 1200 back to it’s original roots and core consumer target being highend audiophile. So it’s nice that we as DJs are getting our panty’s all wadded up, but the reality is that the Tech 1200 we all remember is still long gone. The price point for these babies and the logistics of hauling 2 of these heavy azz decks around (literally 36kg / 80lbs not inc. cases) goes against my better DJ judgement.

    • They ain’t “pitching” this to DJs? *lol*

      I think they want the DJs back, at least the wealthier ones.
      Panasonic was wrong in their predictions that there is no more a market for turntables – and corrected that decision.

      I think their audiophile claim is the usual marketing bs to position the SL above Pioneer and the other super OEMs.
      High end audiophile decks do not really feature a pitch fader and most of them seem to be belt driven and straight-tonearm-ed as well.

      Furthermore, for an audiophile deck this one clearly lacks either a plexiglas platter or expensive wood panels :D

      • “They ain’t “pitching” this to DJs? *lol*”

        The turntable weighs 40 lbs dude. 40 LBS. Yeah right, they were thinking about DJs. It’s not the same Technics you and I remember. We DJs need to except that.

        • You rather made me lough about the pun (pitching) than at whom this new deck is adressed to ;)

          Anyway, the only ones who will need to worry about carrying this are the poor equipment rentals guys who will also pull much heavier spaekers and lighting equipment around. They won’t even notice that the Technics has increased weight :)

          Anyone else will buy them and place them in a bedroom or club to stay there forever.

    • You do realize that the extra weight means that you no longer have to carry around patio tiles for loud parties. I’d rather carry the extra weight in a flight case, than carry a flight case and vibration dampening.

  44. Not to mention that if I pay top shelf money for these decks, they’ll never leave my house, which then makes them very expensive bedroom DJ t/t’s. Uhhhh no thank you, I’ll stick with some cheap TTXUSBs.

    • DJs pay a lot of money for 2 Pioneer CDJ 2000 Nexus and a DJM900 and they will pay a lot of money for 2 Technics SL1200G.

      This turntable will sell more to DJs than to audiophiles because the DJs have been the ones making petitions to bring the 12 back.

      Audiophiles are happy with belt driven overpriced decks

      • DJs have not been petitioning for an uber expensive 1200. That’s insane. This is the kinda thinking Technics is banking on. The smart move would be to buy some decent used 1200s and have them refurbed and customized (if you only use Technics). Well If anything your comment has got me thinking how interesting it will be to see how many DJs jump on the hype wagon in the beginning.

      • That really will depend on price, and despite rumours that hasn’t been released yet.

        The rest of the new Technics range is marketed specifically at audiophiles, or at least people with very deep pockets. To price and market this new 1200 at DJ levels will send entirely the wrong signal about the Technics brand. Audiophiles won’t touch a DJ turntable, even if the spec is high.

        Panasonic will be banking on DJs lapping this new version up, but won’t have to do any DJ specific marketing around it at all, or price it at competitive levels either. Essentially they’ll be selling potentially very expensive audiophile turntables that really bring nothing new and are comparatively under specced in the DJ market without having to call them DJ turntables at all.

  45. Almost 150 comments within 2 days, on a topic that was supposed to be the reason DJing is now dead, according to this very site just a couple months ago. Oh the irony…

    #pun_intended

  47. £3000 per deck is where the hype needs to be. The GAE is ment to be unobtainium for the normal person – that’s how you sell aspiration.

    Expect these to sell out on pre-order and on release day big name ‘stars’ will be instagamming thier new decks. £6k is nothing in the grand scheme of things for those who want show more than go, Honda just sold out a £200,000 motorcycle with no difficulty.

      • That was for the Ltd Edition, can’t offer any excuses for charging the same price for the standard production run – $4000 for the standard deck is * mental / crazy / insane / stupid / misguided / taking the piss / head on the sand / folley

        * Delete as appropriate

  48. Would like to add my 2 cents/pence about practical use of DJ turntables and feedback from high SPL’s such as those found in club environments. In my experience, Hanpin DJ5500 based DJ turntables, such the rebadges from the cheapest of the bunch being the Omnitronic DD’s to the most expensive of the bunch being the Pioneer PLX’s, is that they are unusable in a club environment because they easily and readily rumble and howl from feedback and people stop dancing and stare at me as if I have three heads before they start looking for the exit. This means they are a no-go for such an intended use. I’ve read mixed comments regarding feedback issues from the heavier Stanton’s and also about the Reloop 7k & 8k but never used them to know for myself. I also had some Vestax PDX 2k that were slightly better but still prone to feedback. Now i can still get my own and club owned technics SL to feedback in club environments, but they have a much MUCH higher threshold and i’ve never had issues with them in the past two decades. From what I understand, this is due to a denser rubber base and improved platter insulation. I am no technical expert, but from a mere practical perspective and in IMHO, Technics SL mk2 and above have always been the way to go for loud club environments, with the rest of these newer and fancier Hanpin based tables reserved for quieter home use or perhaps lower volume small party SPLs (and even then feedback can persist). If these new technics are as feedback resistant or better than the older SL’s, then for me that IS the distinguishing and most important factor to consider for their usability by professional DJ’s in loud club environments.

  49. Rumor has it that a cheaper model ($1500 USD) meant for DJ’s is in the works if the new SL-1200G/GAE sells well, and expect other turntables from them as well.

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