Fans and industry professionals rejoiced when Panasonic and Technics announced the return of the SL-1200 class of turntable at CES on Monday. The newly upgraded SL-1200G Grand Class edition comes on the 50-year anniversary of the leading turntable company and hopes to iron out some of the structural issues that have plagued some of their older models. Pricing was not revealed in the initial rollout and now we know why with the price reportedly at $4,000.
According to What Hi-Fi? the price will cost $4,000, up from the prior expense of £1,200 for the SL-1200.
The new SL-1200G pricing puts it right in the luxury turntable market and potentially out of reach for causal fans who aren't vinyl fanatics or use turntables professionally. The new price range may be out of the reach for some new or middle of the road DJs who use turntables for their performances. The move into Hi-Fi audio is a major selling point and could indicate that other similar turntables like the new Sony turntable unveiled at CES could be in a similar price range.
With all of the new upgrades and the hype surrounding the product, Technics feels they can charge this much for the product. It will have a coreless motor that eliminates the vibrations that plagued the older version and rotational positioning sensors will even out any remaining vibrations.
With all of the added features and this upped price range, users should expect a significant jump in performance to justify this increase. The models won't be released until summer, so the verdict won't be rendered until then, but start to save money if you plan on picking up one yourself.
