Technics SL-1200GR2 Grand Class Direct Drive Turntable II (Silver)

Technics SL-1200GR2 Grand Class Direct Drive Turntable II (Silver)

Technics is a name synonymous with turntables, especially their direct drive DJ-style turntables. The renowned Japanese audio manufacturer pioneered the direct drive design we see today, and the new Technics SL-1200GR2 is the latest, fourth-generation model of one of Technics’ most iconic turntable ranges from the 1970s and furnished with the brand’s latest innovations in direct drive motor technology (including using digital technology to improve this most analogue of mediums), along with refinements to a design that promises to deliver a better performance than before. 

• Coreless direct drive motor achieving stable rotation
• Low-noise, low-voltage power circuit and a switching power supply
• ΔΣ-Drive suppresses vibrations from the motor for smoother, more accurate rotation
• Tonearm achieving high initial-motion sensitivity
• Two-layer platter with high rigidity and vibration damping
• High-rigidity body and high-damping silicon insulators for smooth sound and isolation from various vibrations

Coreless direct drive motor and newly developed motor drive circuit to achieve high precision, stable rotation, and high reliability

• The adoption of coreless direct drive motor and highly precise motor control technology reduces minute vibration and achieves high reliability during rotation while maintaining high torque.
• The newly developed ΔΣ (delta sigma) -Drive motor drive circuit technology suppresses minute vibration caused by the motor and further reduces the transmission of vibration to the stylus tip on the record.

Newly designed low-noise power supply to suppress external noise

• We have adopted the newly designed low-noise switching power supply which utilises the know-how for Technics Grand Class amplifiers/digital players and the noise removal circuit of the top-tier SL-1000R model.

Tonearm with high-precision bearings achieves high initial-motion sensitivity

• The tonearm pipe made of light, highly rigid aluminium as well as the traditional Technics gimbal suspension construction and high-precision bearings attain high initial-motion sensitivity.

High rigidity and improved vibration damping capacity

• The reinforcing ribs on the back side of the aluminium die-cast platter and the rubber installed to suppress unnecessary resonance deliver high rigidity and improved vibration damping capacity.

Vibration-proof cabinet and insulators

• The two-layered cabinet made of a combination of BMC and aluminium die-cast ensures high rigidity, and the special silicon rubber insulators providing excellent vibration damping capacity and long-term reliability reduce external vibration and suppress howling noise.
  

High-quality terminals

• Gold-plated PHONO output terminals prevent degradation in sound quality.
  
• The case has a metal shielded interior to protect from external noise.

New Motor-Drive System, ΔΣ-Drive (Delta Sigma Drive)

Highly accurate turntable speed with pitch control

• The digital control method is adopted to achieve constant pitch control.
• A pitch variable range select button (×2) is provided, allowing for pitch control with a range up to ±16 %.

In 1970, Technics developed the world’s first direct drive turntable. Direct drive turntable systems helped to significantly improve issues with previous turntables, such as S/N ratios, and wow and flutter. Used by broadcasting stations for their outstanding performance and reliability, these turntables came to dominate the industry.

In 2016, Technics developed the coreless direct drive motor, which helped to eliminate a mechanical issue known as cogging. Combining this motor with the latest digital rotational control technologies helped to realise a dramatic improvement in sound quality.

Technics has continued to engage in R&D to further improve the audio quality of analogue vinyl and better draw out the charms of the music, and as a result has successfully developed the ΔΣ-Drive, which boasts significant advancements over previous direct drives. This development marks the next generation of Technics’ direct drive turntable systems.

To improve sound quality when playing analogue vinyl, the cartridge’s ability to accurately trace the music information pressed into the record and convert it into electronic signals is paramount. This also requires excellent rotational accuracy with little or no vibrations from the motor. The new ΔΣ-Drive from Technics boasts unparalleled rotational performance that is fitting for a new generation of direct drive turntables, which in turn has greatly improved the electromagnetic conversion accuracy of the cartridge. We are excited for you to enjoy the outstanding vinyl sound from this new turntable system

Improved Sound Image Localisation for Richer Spatial Expression

The latest motor control systems utilise the PWM method. In the same way, Technics’ full digital amps utilise the PWM method to achieve high precision, low distortion output. Focusing on this common feature, to reduce minor rotational inaccuracies and minute vibrations from motor rotation, Technics developed the new ΔΣ-Drive using the high sound quality technologies it acquired from full digital amp development. In the world of turntables, where weight matters, this is a new approach to improving sound quality that focuses on signal processing.

The ΔΣ-Drive uses delta-sigma conversion technology to reduce errors in the drive signals, obtaining low distortion drive signals through highly precise PWM generation technology. It also helps to reduce the minor rotational inaccuracies and minute vibrations that cannot be picked up with wow and flutter or S/N ratios. Minute vibrations appear as reverse phase components in audio signals and obscure the sound image, but the ΔΣ-Drive reduces these vibrations to improve sound image localisation, enabling clear and high-quality spatial expression.

 

Rigidity and Vibration Damping

The first descriptor one could use is 'over-engineered'. The top portion of its chassis is built from cast aluminium, and the bottom section is from a bulk moulding compound material designed to offer optimal vibration damping. On top of this sits an aluminium platter with significant rubber damping on its underside, and the whole thing stands on four adjustable feet that offer both a degree of adjustment to ensure the deck is level and a lot of resistance to external vibrations.

Comparison of Platter Vibrations in the ΔΣ-Drive and a Conventional System

The ΔΣ-Drive reduces the minute vibrations that are triggered by slight fluctuations in motor rotation. As a result, it helps to reduce vibrations on the surface of the platter, improving sound image localisation and enabling richer spatial expression.

Comparison of Audio Signal Spectral Waveforms in the ΔΣ-Drive and a Conventional System

Reviews

"We were struck by how stable the SL-1200GR2 sounds. Any improvements in rotational stability make themselves known in how composed, clear and steady each song on the album sounds.

It’s a smooth sound, too. From Floyd to Beethoven to Tom Waits, the Technics turntable spins through each record with admirable competence and a presentation that’s wonderfully easy to listen to. It’s a very clean and solid sound, but there’s punch too. There’s ample depth and thump to basslines, with clear and soaring highs that never bite or sound harsh." What HiFi

"Thanks to its iconic status, handsome looks and superb build quality at the price, this deck could find many new owners even if it was a less proficient turntable than it actually is. But happily, it also justifies its position in the market thanks to its fine sound quality. Highly recommended" Stereonet

"At this price the SL-1200GR2 is, without a doubt, one of the very best vinyl spinners on the scene"  read the review in HiFi News

"Technics's success in lowering the noisefloor, in its turntables as in its recent integrated amplifiers, is a verifiable, physical thing. Heard through this 'table, '60s Blue Note hard bop was a chunky stew of aural nourishment. But I need more than speed and vigor from a turntable. Equally important are elasticity and romance, color and a sense of mystery revealed.

So, on to the gentler rhythms of The Artistry of Helen Merrill (Mainstream S/6014), a 1965 recording with guitarists Charlie Byrd and Jimmy Raney, drummer Osie Johnson, and bassist Keter Betts. Here was lushness and desire laid bare and beautiful. The Technics naturally reproduced the bubbles, plucks, and nonchalant rhythmic debris of David Toop's Pink Spirit, Noir World (Foam on a Wave FOAW003), that 1997 meeting of technology and folklore."

"Hearing what I heard, it was easy to understand why Technics turntables are considered the world's greatest deejay machines. They've got timing, pulse, and action in spades"

read the review in Stereophile

Specifications

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