Technics SL-1200G Offers Exquisite Craftsmanship and Stability: Superb Direct-Drive Turntable Plays LPs with Expressiveness, Richness, Dynamics, and Focus

Winner of multiple international audiophile awards and the enhanced successor to one of the most commercially successful and long-running analog products in history, the Technics SL-1200G direct-drive turntable is all about exquisite craftsmanship, diligent engineering, terrifically balanced performance, and reference-class speed stability.

Equipped with a newly developed coreless direct-drive motor with no iron core and perfectionist-oriented electronic speed control, SL-1200G permanently ends any possibility of cogging – or rotation irregularity. Moreover, its twin-rotor construction reduces the bearing load all the while maintaining high torque. In sum, SL-1200G plays vinyl LPs with equal parts fun, capability, neutrality, refinement, richness, dynamics, and focus . No wonder TONEAudio proclaims "you'll never notice you aren't listening to a $30,000 turntable."

Just how seriously does Technics take each SL-1200G? The balance of every model is adjusted in the factory via specialized, high-precision adjustment equipment (also used to evaluate bullet-train wheels) for each and every item after the turntable gets assembled. Similar obsessiveness goes into building the nearly eight-pound, three-layer, ultra-rigid platter – comprised of brass, die-cast aluminum, and a noise-deadening rubber on its underside. The result: Incredible inertial mass and smooth operation.

The 39.7-pound SL-1200G boasts an equally impressive plinth, featuring four layers of different material (hairline-processed 10mm-thick aluminum top panel combined with die-cast aluminum, BMC, and heavyweight-class rubber) to ensure rock-solid firmness and steadfastness. High-grade support feet add to the package. As does a shielded case for the brass-milled, gold-plated phono terminals for maintaining signal purity. Speaking of the latter, Technics' nine-inch universal static-balance tonearm – with 149 different parts – looks and sounds like luxury. Utilizing lightweight magnesium for high damping properties, and cold drawing to improve the material characteristics, it employs Technics' traditional gimbal suspension construction wherein the horizontal rotation axis and vertical rotation axis intersect at a single central point – as well as high-precision bearings using a cut-processed housing. Supplied auxiliary weights support a massive range of cartridges.

Operating SL-1200G is a joy. Push-button 33, 45, and 78RPM control abet a stop/start button. A pitch slider and strobe light reside here, too. Backed by our Satisfaction Guarantee, SL-1200G also comes with a dust cover, 45RPM adapter, balance weight, headshell, phono cable, and set screws. 

"People ought to be ready for the idea that a really great example of turntable design need not cost as much as a luxury car if enough engineering expertise is directed at the problems. As always, it is a good idea to keep an open mind and open ears. And if you do, I think the Technics SL-1200G will be on your short list no matter how much money you can afford to spend. It honors music in a truly profound way."
—Robert E. Greene, The Absolute Sound, Product of the Year Award

"[I] can think of few turntables that offer as much value as the SL-1200G. The quality of its engineering and execution makes typical audiophile products look slightly homemade, and I'm willing to bet that it will remain as bulletproof as the legendary DJ deck on which it's based... What [the SL-1200G] will do is reproduce the music on your records with faultless sonics and probably last into the next century."
—Alex Halberstadt, Stereophile, Class A Recommended Component

"As with a great sports car, much is to be said for balance. Those rare cars with an equal amount of stop, go, handling and feel are often much more fun on a curvy road than a high horsepower car that is a monster beyond your capabilities. The Technics SL-1200G is like the new generation Miata. It offers up such a balanced amount of analog performance, that you'll never notice you aren't listening to a $30,000 turntable."
—Jeff Dorgay, TONEAudio, Exceptional Value Award

"Fantastically fun to listen to, extremely capable in most audiophile senses and built as well as some turntables at ten times its price, it's nigh on impossible to criticize."
—David Price, StereoNet, Applause Award

“The ability to use multiple cartridges removes a barrier to really exploring a diverse LP library as well — and that’s one of the things we loved about it.”
—Tom Martin, The Absolute Sound, 2024 Recommended Product 

"From an audiophile perspective, there was a great deal to really like, particularly the 'table's neutral tonal balance, especially compared to those that are 'tuned' to produce a particular noticeable but pleasing coloration. I also really liked the SL-1200G's ballsy dynamic expression. It's not at all polite, but it is well-controlled."
—Michael Fremer, Analog Planet

"As a basis for a finished project, the SL-1200G is superb, a terrific turntable and one that gives you, in pure sonic terms, something different, something out of the ordinary and a new approach that moves away from many belt-drive high-end turntables I've heard of late. I'm all for variety. To me, Technics' entire direction to the SL-1200G is valid and even necessary in this increasingly crowded market."
—Paul Rigby, The Audiophile Man

"When you see the G up close, you start noticing little details—especially in the fit and finish. Once you tear it apart, you’ll discover it’s been completely redesigned. For those of us who never liked the sound of the 1200 or thought of it as only a DJ ‘table, the new generation of Technics 1200 turntables is a shock to the system—while still a direct-drive design, it now sounds fantastic courtesy of the new non-cogging motor and upgraded plinth."
—Part-Time Audiophile, Best Turntables, Buyers Guide Summer 2024