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Each year, dozens of European journalists gather to select the best electronic products of the year. Awarded by a diverse and impartial jury, the EISA (Expert Imaging and Sound Association) awards recognize exceptional products for their performance, design, or ergonomics.
Launched in 2016, the SL-1200G turntable combines Technics’ traditional analog and advanced digital technologies, with a complete redesign of the parts. Its exceptional performance has literally shaken up the Hi-Fi market and set a new standard in the field of direct-drive turntables. The parts inherited from the SL-1200G have been revised for the SL-1210GR, starting with the coreless direct-drive motor and high-precision motor control technology that eliminates the magnetic friction effect associated with irregular rotation. This model also features a highly rigid, low-vibration platter and a high-sensitivity tonearm. Thanks to these characteristics, the performance level of the unit significantly exceeds the usual standards in its category. The SL-1210GR turntable encourages a large number of music lovers to enjoy music through the rich, deep sound of analog records.
In 1970, Technics launched the first direct-drive turntable, which was a resounding success. Unlike belt drives or other systems, direct-drive systems rotate the motor at low speed, directly driving the platter, which offers many advantages such as the complete absence of S/N ratio degradation resulting from motor vibrations and deceleration mechanisms, as well as high reliability over time due to the absence of parts to replace. In 2016, Technics also developed the surface-facing, double-rotor coreless direct-drive motor with two lateral rotor magnets. This eliminated the motor rotation irregularity known as magnetic friction, a typical problem with direct-drive systems. The SL-1200G turntable, which adopted this motor, was a great success in the Hi-Fi systems market. The SL-1210GR turntable inherits the same design philosophy, with the development of a surface-facing, single-rotor coreless direct-drive motor that eliminates all forms of magnetic friction.
The rotation control, which checks and corrects the motor’s precision, is based on the latest motor control technology derived from the development of Blu-ray disc players, identical to that of the SL-1200G model. Sinusoidal signals recorded in ROM memory are used for constant-speed control waves. They stabilize and smooth the rotation compared to generating simple sinusoidal waves using an external coil, as in the SL-1200MK5 model. Furthermore, the electrical circuit has been adjusted to optimize the performance of the brand-new motor in the SL-1210GR model. The starting torque reaches 2.2 kg x cm with a single rotor. We achieved the same start-up time of 0.7 s (at 33 1/3 rpm) as the SL-1200G model.
Serge
Magnificent turntable of very high quality with a fantastic sound, a real pleasure.
Comment from March 29, 2026 — Experience from February 24, 2023
Stephane
Technics produces high-quality turntables. The SL-1210GREK is particularly well-crafted in this area. More audiophile-oriented, it remains a benchmark in its price range.
Extremely satisfied with the sound quality.
Comment from February 15, 2024 — Experience from January 29, 2024
Alain
Impeccable manufacturing quality, very dynamic sound without any wow or flutter thanks to the direct drive, very easy to adjust - in short, a perfect turntable except for the tonearm which is not very high quality at this level of finish.
Comment from October 31, 2023 — Experience from October 20, 2023
