Direct Drive Turntable System SL-1200M7L

To mark the 50 years anniversary of the SL-1200 series, this limited edition model is available in sevencolours, inspired by the street culture created by DJs. Each colour features a gold tonearm along with aspecial badge inscribed with serial number.

SL-1200M7L comes with a limited edition Technics sticker, a control vinyl sticker the same colour as the turntable itself, and a slipmat featuring a gold Technics logo.

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. For the SL-1200M7L, a new coreless direct drive motor was developed. This motor 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 optimised, thus achieving high-torque-performance equaling that of the SL-1200M7L. Boasting smooth rotation and powerful torque, this motor reproduces sound accurately and faithfully from the groove on an analogue record.

Torque / Brake Speed Adjustment
The newest digital motor control technology, accumulated through the development of Blu-ray disc products, is applied to improve adjustment by allowing the torque and brake speed to be adjusted individually in four steps.

The Pitch Control Function
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.

Reverse Play Function
The reverse play function, which brings forth new possibilities of creative performance, makes its first appearance in the SL-1210 Series. In addition to 33-1/3 rpm and 45 rpm, a rotation speed of 78 rpm is supported.

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 than the SL-1200M7L. This accurately tracks the groove on the phonorecord to assure excellent tracking performance with minimum stylus jumping even in harsh playing conditions such as scratching.

The stylus illuminator features a new push-type structure for intuitive operation, and employs a highbrightness and long-life white LED. The illumination area and intensity were reviewed to provide improved visibility of the stylus tip even in a dark environment.

The chassis, an essential part for reducing external vibrations, inherits the audio quality enhancement technology fostered through the development of high-end turntables. The aluminium die-cast chassis is rigidly integrated with a special material consisting of ABS mixed with glass fibre to achieve a two-layer construction. The combination of this special high-rigidity material and a metal chassis raised the rigidity and vibration-damping performance to higher levels, realising a robust cabinet for beautiful sound reproduction. The insulator is comprised of a spring and rubber to provide optimal frequency characteristics. This not only assures high sound quality and superb howling resistance, but also effectively shuts out external vibrations under high sound level conditions.

As we celebrate 50 years of the legendary SL-1200 series, we have put the Technics SL-1200M7L limited edition turntables in the hands of seven unique DJs. Select the artist and colour of your choice from below to watch their full set, as well as individual product demos and interviews on their affinity with Technics DJ turntables.

FIND OUT MORE >