The SL-1200 was launched as a popular direct drive turntable in 1972, becoming a best-selling model with cumulative sales of 3,500,000 units for the series. It was supported by powerful torque, easy operation, and high durability. It became greatly admired by both audio enthusiasts and DJs who helped to unleash the DJ culture in areas such as electronic dance music. The series is still highly acclaimed by DJs worldwide today.
The popularity of the famous Technics SL-1200 series of turntables continues unabated, as the company also continues to perfect and evolve all the technological features of the original product. Fundamentally, the latest SL-1200MK7 respects everything that makes this turntable a true classic and now offers a refined coreless direct drive motor achieving stable rotation free of cogging and powerful torque, a highly sensitive, yet robust tonearm, two-layer platter with improved vibration damping performance, and high rigidity cabinet with high damping insulator footings.
For the commemorative 50th anniversary edition, the tone arm is anodized in a golden hue, and the top panel features a special badge with an engraved serial number that represents the limited-edition model. Special accessories include a slip mat with a gold-colored Technics logo and a 50th anniversary sticker. The limited-edition design will be available in seven colors: black, red, blue, white, green, yellow, beige. Only 12,000 units will be released globally.
Other features of the special edition SL-1200M7L turntable include the starting torque/brake speed adjustment function, stable pitch adjustment control function, reverse play, and a stylus illuminator featuring a high-brightness and long-life LED source. In addition to 33-1/3 rpm and 45 rpm, a rotation speed of 78 rpm is supported.
The direct drive system uses a slow-turning motor to directly drive the platter. This system has various advantages. It offers high performance, such as rotation accuracy and powerful torque, does not require replacement of parts and maintains high reliability over a long period of time. On the other hand, the direct drive system was said to produce a rotation irregularity called cogging. The SL-1200M7L uses a new coreless direct drive motor that employs a coreless stator. The removal of the core (iron core) from the stator eliminated the root cause of cogging. Furthermore, the magnetic force of the rotor magnets was improved to the highest possible level, and the gap between the coreless stator and rotor magnets was optimized, thus achieving high-torque-performance.
The newest digital motor control technology, accumulated through the development of Blu-ray disc products, is also applied to improve adjustment by allowing the torque and brake speed to be adjusted individually in four steps.
The pitch control function allows fine adjustment of the rotation speed within ±8% / ±16%. It does this through digital control, from positional detection of the slider to rotational control of the motor, eliminating the unnecessary DA conversion. This greatly improves tracking performance to achieve accurate and stable pitch adjustment.
The tonearm, which has continued to support the leading edge of the DJ scene for many years, inherits the highly reliable static-balance universal S-shape tonearm. Using high-precision bearings, it achieves a higher initial-motion sensitivity. This accurately tracks the groove on the record to ensure excellent tracking performance with minimum stylus jumping even in harsh playing conditions such as scratching.
The SL-1200M7L will be available for pre order on April 7, 2022, and for immediate shipment beginning in July for $1,099.99 USD MSP.
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