Customer Ratings & Reviews

I am not even sure what to say about Technics SL-1210G other than ridiculous. Ridiculously high quality, ridiculous price, ridiculous engineering, ridiculous performance, ridiculous precision. Everyone of those except the price is ridiculous in a good way. The SL-1210G does not have any flaws other than it may be too much of a machine for most people. However, if you are reading this, you are Technics audiophile target customer. My test set up was two Klipsch powered reference speakers (you do not need an amp) and Audio Technica VM95 cartridge. I had a better cartridge, but it was over 10 years old (more on that later.) I know this is not a high end set up, but it served the purpose of this review. In review: Build quality – The first thing you will notice it is a tank. Large and heavy, exactly what you want in a turntable. Heft adds stability to device that can needs precision for performance. I have another turntable that ways about 15 lbs. – the SL-1210G weighs in about 40lbs. When you start looking closer at the unit, you will fine finished metal ( I believe aluminum ) throughout. Everything is machined to perfection with not a flaw in site. The platter itself is layers of metal with a high-quality sound absorbing rubber. Every attention to detail is there down to the heavy weight rubberized feet that minimize vibration transfer. It is simply the best built audio device I have ever seen. Setup – First rule of buying a turntable that costs as much as a small used car is to read the manual. I ignored that rule, unboxed the unit and started to set it up. After about two minutes of looking things over, I realized I was way over my head and could screw something up. There are adjustments you have to do for stylus pressure, arm height adjustment, anti-skating – all things that I would not have put a lot of though in. What I thought was going to take me 20 minutes turned into a little over an hour. As noted, you will have to provide a cartridge. Performance – I first started with an old cartridge from my existing turntable. After setting the SL-1210G up, the sound was okay but not performing as expected. Knowing that it either had to be the cheap cables I used or the cartridge itself. As a result, I ordered a new cartridge and set it up again. Perfection. Not a hiss or pop, everything sounded great. The difference was striking and I only used a relatively inexpensive cartridge. I know audiophiles will look to put in cartridges that are half the price of the SL-1210G but the sound was stunning in the set up I had. A testament to the quality of this unit. In conclusion, I cannot imagine anything better on the market. The Technics SL-1210G is simply flawless and I really cannot see any area for improvement. As you use it, you start to notice the little things like the start/stop function, the controls while playing etc Every possible attention to detail is there. I think the main reason for that is that this is not a new design, it is a refinement of a designs from over the decades. If you can afford it, this is the best you can get.

In case you haven't noticed, there has been an increased demand in vinyl sales over the last few years. I won't speculate what's been the driving factor, but there's something nostalgic about sitting down and listening to an entire album, track by track and going on a journey as the artist wants their music to be experienced. The SL-1210G is the answer to one of Technics most prolific turntables, the SL-1200, that was made from the 1970s until 2010. The SL-1200G is a direct drive turntable. Many turn tables are belt driven to keep the motor as far away from the platter as possible to reduce any noise that might be picked up by the needle. The problem with belt-driven turn tables is the belts will eventually stretch and have to be replaced. Direct drive turntables often have better speed control which will help keep the pitch of the music from fluctuating. The SL-1210 has what's called a "Frequency Generator Servo Control Quartz Lock System" that claims to produce a consistent speed. The SL-1210G is a work of art. It really is a stunning piece to look at. The entire package weighs a whopping 40 pounds - which was quite the shock when I went to retrieve it from my front porch. One of the common upgrades to the previous generation was to swap out the tone arm for a better one. Technics included a magnesium tone arm on the new SL-1210G. The listening experience is nothing short of amazing. The SL-1210G will help you hear details you wouldn't normally hear in your music. It will highlight the differences between different cartridges and preamps. The owners manual goes through the setup steps for stylus pressure and alignment to achieve the best sound quality. If you don't have one, it's worth the investment to get a stylus pressure gauge. I look forward to having the SL-1210G as my go-to turntable for many years to come. It's certainly an investment and only you can answer if the investment is worth it. It's for the discerning ear and there is only a small percentage of the population who would be disappointed in the performance. I look forward to trying different cartridges and making other tweaks to find the ultimate comb, but I don't think it gets any better than this.

This turntable is legit audiophile. It is heavy duty, with all the bells and whistles for a fine tuned high fidelity experience. It is a rock solid turn table that is very sleek looking. You will not confuse this with a cheap suite case or novelty record player. First off, this turn table is extremely heavy. I felt like I was lifting a box of bricks when I first got it. It is solid with a very heavy platter. There is minimal assembly required. You have to install three screws to mount the platter. You then have to install the weights on the tone arm. The biggest item of note is that this turn table does not include a cartridge or stylus. I happened to have an Audio Techinca cartridge and stylus from my AT turntable. You also need a phono input on your amplifier/receiver with a ground. You have to run the RCA cables from the turn table with the included ground wire. When you install the cartridge and stylus you then have to make your adjustments. You must read the instructions very carefully if you are not used to performing this calibration. You must make sure that the arm is balanced and then adjust the weights so that the correct pressure is applied on the record. You may want to lookup some videos if the instructions are too difficult to understand. I hooked this up to my Yamaha receiver and some nice Definitive Technology speakers I have and was ready to go. Once I had everything all setup and ready to go I placed a new record I just got, the Soul soundtrack. It features a modern jazz mix that sounds so beautiful and amazing. I just sat back and melted away in the sound. I loved my very first experience using this turn table. I then placed the clear lid on it and just sat back and relished in the look of this beautiful turn table. This will be the crown piece of my hi fidelity audio collection, and have enjoyed it almost every day since receiving it.

Let me begin by saying your carriage your amplifier and speaker will ultimately make a huge difference in how your music sounds with this record player. This player is amazing and will do your records justice but that’s just part of the entire setup. But let’s focus on this turntable. It’s the first direct drive one I have eve used. I was always told belt driven is better you get less vibrations and the quality is better. Well let me tell you this Technics player is proven all of those people wrong. I have had less issues with vibrations using these player and the quality is just Incredible. I never had any issues with the speed or and skipping it was the smoothest time I have ever had with a player. While I do appreciate the fact they let you choose your cartridge I wish it did come with one on it already and if I wanted I could change it later. I can’t get over how much I love the look of the player and just how smooth everything is to use. This is truly a special record player and worth every penny. If you really are I to playing records you cannot go wrong with this one. I highly recommend.

I have owned 4 turntables in my lifetime and will have to say this one is 100% the best one I've owned to date. You can tell from the materials used, weight of, and attention to detail that this was designed to be a leader in quality. It made my vinyls a highlight of my collection. I can't emphasize the weight enough. The weight of everything allows for better stability, more rigid-weighted arms for better sound, the phono terminals appear to be gold plated and appear to conduct really well. I have literally zero complaints about this turntable in terms of quality or making your vinyls sound good. Additionally, I have a lot of other people in my life that would also identify as audiophiles and nothing quite sets the stage for a conversation like this turntable. The design itself is relatively conservative and refined. The vibration reduction appears to work wonders as well. The vibration seems to be reduced from the heft, use of dampeners, and super clean motor. For any audio enthusiast or person using one of these for income, I would recommend nothing more than this.

A $4000 turntable... who knew such a thing existed. Being a child of the 60s and 70s I have a pretty extensive vinyl collection. I strayed for years with cassettes and CDs and of late I have over 13000 songs in digital format but with streaming becoming more and more of a thing I'm not buying CDs or digital but if I need to own the music I've been getting vinyl. I've had a few turntables over the years. I think I spent about $500 for my previous Audio Technica unit and it was good enough for my taste but I've slowly been picking up audio components to improve the quality of my system. My recent aquisition if the Technics SL-1210 Grand Class turntable by Panasonic. In the box you get the cables, turntable, platter, no slip mat and clear hinged dust cover. If your receiver has phono in then you are set but if you have a receiver without phono in the turntable won't push enough power to hear the audio very well. Easy enough to fix with a separate phono pre-amp. As long as you know what your receiver is capable of and you are prepared when you are setting it up you should be good and enjoying the music in no time. I will warn you that this thing is HEAVY!!!! Roughly 40 lbs in weight, heck the platter weighs about 8 lbs just by itself. It is billed as a DJ turntable but honestly it's perfect for my daily music listening. The tone arm has several counter weights so you can fine tune the weight on the needle depending on what the stylus manufacturer recommends. There is a tone arm height adjustment so you can get the arm perfectly parallel with the album. You have anti-skate adjustment as well that you tweak to match the weight of the stylus on the vinyl. I actually broke down and purchased a stylus scale to dial in the proper weight. That saved me a bit of time during setup. Since the turntable did not come with a stylus you have to purchase that separately. I does however come with a shell that you can install the stylus cartridge in. I skimped a iittle bit on the stylus purchasing a $300 cartridge (stylus with shell). After I got everything together I tossed on Tool's Fear Innoculum vinyl. There is a switch to power on the whole unit, there is a brake push button, it has a pitch slider (more for DJ I suppose) and a separate 45 RPM record spindle adapter. There is also a speed pushbutton for 33 or 45 RPM. I left everything at factory settings, powered on, released the brake and lowered the arm. I don't think I was prepared for what I was hearing. Yes the vinyl was fresh but what came out of the speakers was crystal clear and all I can say is WOW. I'm truly impressed with the sharpness and clarity. Now, would I normally purchase a $4000 turntable. I can honestly say that I probably wouldn't have, but... and this is a big but... the quality of the build and the quality of sound from my system went from good enough to amazing! If you have the budget for this turntable by all means grab one, you won't be disappointed!

If you’re unfamiliar with the Technics brand this turntable probably shouldn’t be something to look at. However, if you know the Technics brand (under the Panasonic brand), then you know why you’re here. One look at the 1210G and you’ll see what I mean. It’s a work of art, and the turntable feels extremely sturdy and solid; clocking in at over 40lbs, this makes sense. The craftsmanship here cannot be understated: overall, the SL-1210G features numerous items to deliver the purest sound on vinyl around. This turntable is easy to see as being engineered from the ground-up to deliver on that front. Unboxing the 1210G was straightforward, and since the tone arm is factory-installed and already factory-balanced (a clever “balanced” sticker is there for you to see upon opening), it was easy enough to get things dialed in. The Grand Class version is just about the pinnacle of turntable design, which should be expected from Technics. Speaking of the pinnacle, delivering a precise sound with as little interference from the turntable as possible seems to have been Technics' mission. Its brass and aluminum platter features a reinforced three-layer structure with anti-resonance rubber backing, which is also paired with Technics’ three-layer plinth that is found in the marquee 1200MK turntable, making sure you don’t have to worry about vibrations. The 1210G features an added top layer for looks and extra rigidity, however. The tonearm uses a gimbal technology paired with unique precision bearings create an incredibly stable tonearm. The 1210G’s signature coreless direct drive motor is renowned across the industry and is featured here as well. Now that we’ve gone through the components, how does it deliver on the promise of uncompromised sound quality? Exactly how you would expect. For the cartridge I used an Ortofon 2M Bronze; speakers are KEF LS50’s; amplifier is a Yamaha A-S801. Overall, I found everything simply sounded tighter, and there was far less noise hum and interference. Exactly what I wanted, and expected, from this offering. To be honest, the only issue I have with the SL-1210G is that it doesn’t include a cartridge within the package. Sure, you could argue that spending this much on a turntable would mean that that person has already found their preferred cartridge of choice, but even still, it is a bit of a letdown. This all said I expect my 1210 to last me 50+ years of extremely profound listening, delivering smiles the entire time I have it going.

Just as the title says, this beast is absolutely mind blowing! I never proclaim myself to be an audiophile, just a lover of music that knows what sounds good to my ears. But this turntable system just may turn me into one! I couldn't explain all of the technical jargon to you about this turntable even if I wanted to. But for those that are hardcore audiophiles all of the bells and whistles included in this to make it over the top outstanding will likely be the stuff of dreams and make it well worth the price point. With that said, I have no problem admitting that this is absolutely worth ever single penny! The way it transforms and enriches the sound of my vinyl records is breath taking. Vinyl that usually has some characteristic noise when played on my old turntable are transformed when I play them on this. This is in part due to the quality construction of the platter, which is also a thing of beauty to see if aesthetic matter to you at all. I definitely implore you to research all of the amazing materials and procedures used to create this system as it shows the thought and sheer brilliance employed in designing and creating this to elevate your vinyl listening experience.

Music enthusiast only. This is for people who still appreciate the wax of vinyl and the purity of sound. Now I have two sets of speakers I tried this with. Some old Klipsch speakers that were okay but somewhere between age and they weren't that good to begin with. The sound was okay. But still amazing and that was the part I wanted to focus on. Could it sound good even on my not so great speakers and it did. However when I move them to my Macintosh preamp set up to my Martin Logan speakers. Now we're talking about something totally different. I pulled out some of my dad's old jazz records because you can definitely hear the pitch and tone of everything the artist wants you to hear. Now not knowing too much about jazz. I moved on to some Phil Collins and the eagles and I got to tell you In The Air Tonight and Hotel California have never sounded better. Even my 10-year-old and my 8-year-old came in the room and was like Dad. What is this song. So for true music enthusiast and apparently small children with great ears for music. You have got to have this, please do not pair this with $100 speakers. Speakers. Start at about $500 and a preamp is definitely the way to go.

The Technics SL-1210G Grand Class Direct Drive Turntable has been great! This is coming from a novice music lover. I had been looking for a good turntable to pruchase, and a few of my friends had recommended me to look at the Technics line. At first I was very skeptical. There are so many other turntables for a lot less money. I did more research, and came to the conclusion that you typically get what you pay for when it comes to record palyers. I went ahead and got this one. I did nee some assistance setting it up. I just Youtubed a ton of videos about turntables, and also constulted some peopel I know that already had a turntable. I found out i needed a phono cartridge as well. So i went and purchased a decent one. Once that was installed correctly, I went and grabbed a few vinyls I had in a box. Once I set one on the platter, and started it up, my ears were amazed! It had been so long since I heard a vinyl. The sound was so crisp and clear, with no distortion. I had it playing in my garage, paired with some decent bookshelf speakers and an amplifier. The SL-1210G definitely deserved the Grand Class claim.

I've been using a very well-regarded vintage Denon DP-51f for years, equipped with a Grado Prestige Black cartridge and upgraded to the Technics a few days ago. I've never been one to tout how much better vinyl can sound than high definition digital files until now. All I can say is wow! Even though I'm using the same cartridge it sounds like a veil has been lifted from the sound. Listening to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours album is an experience. Cymbals are crisp and defined without a hint of sibilance and drums have a subtle definition to them, not just a "thud." I can actually hear the tension on the drum heads and the detailed "ring" that come out of them. Vocals are amazing, and acoustic guitar sounds like it's in the room. Separation is nothing less than amazing. Backing up a little, I'm running the turntable into a Cambridge Audio AXA35 with built-in phono stage into a set of Vienna Bach speakers, which are similar in many way to Totem Forest speakers and were once sold through Magnolia in the USA. This combination is working well with the turntable. It should be noted that the Grado Black is known to have a bit of a hum, but I am not hearing it at all with this turntable. As soon as I received the box I knew this was going to be something special. The delivery driver wanted to be sure we were home before she took it off the truck because it is so heavy. Indeed, it weighs in at almost 40 pounds. A good potion of that weight is actually the platter. It's made in layers with an attractive brass upper layer that I hated to hide under the slip mat. On the bottom of the platter is a sticker indicating that it was specifically balanced at the factory to eliminate any extra vibrations. The chassis is also extremely heavy and obviously engineered to keep the whole thing as stable as possible. I can't state enough how solidly this whole thing is built. In photos it looks very similar to one of Technics' DJ tables, but this is anything but! Once everything is unpacked there's some assembly to be done. The platter is packed separately, as is the lid. The platter is secured with three screws and locking washers and the lid just slides into place. There is no cartridge included, so you will need to supply one and mount it yourself. I did appreciate that they included the hardware to mount the cartridge as I immediately lost one of the nuts from my old setup. Also included is an overhang gauge so you can set that up properly. I guess they assume this is an upgrade rather than a first turntable so you are likely to have a good cartridge. That's understandable, but at this price point it may have been nice to include other setup tools like a protractor and azimuth gauge. It also comes with an audio cable, but it's nothing special. The power cable is very hefty and is one of the grounded 3-prong type. There's also a ground cable included. I like that the cable is not built in like my Denon's which has developed connection issues. Speaking of setup, be sure to get yourself the proper tools to ensure perfect alignment. When I first set up the turntable I eyeballed the position of the cartridge and was disappointed by some inner-grove distortion which I chalked up to the Grado since it's a known issue. I ordered a protractor overnight and checked. Sure enough it was off just enough. Once corrected the IGD is no longer an issue at all. Again, I can't get over how amazing LPs I've listened to dozens of times before sound now. I know it's cliche, but I'm hearing them all for the first time again and noticing details I hadn't in the past. I've been chasing good sound for years with high-res digital files and DACs, but this is really the end game for me. One example is the first cut on Porcupine Tree's In Absentia album, Blackest Eyes. I always use this as a test track because it starts with a loud distorted guitar and heavy crash symbols. On lesser gear it has a grating, splashy sound, and on good gear it's less so. On this turntable the tone of the guitar is detailed and granular and the crash symbols have a shimmery dimension I've never heard. This is truly how it was supposed to sound. Last night I rediscovered Miles Davis' Kind of Blue album. His trumpet sounded almost live, and the breathiness of the saxophones came to life. I'm still getting used to the fact that this is a fully manual turntable, but I get the impression Technics wanted to eliminate absolutely anything that could get in the way of perfect mechanical performance, so I can respect that! I'm really glad to have hung on to all of my old vinyl LPs and have taken care of them since the 80s. This is very much a piece of "endgame" hifi gear and is highly, highly recommended if you're looking for something to perfectly compliment a carefully curated LP collection. Do not give this turntable a second though, just set it up and listen to your collection for the first time all over again!