Few things get us hot under the collar like a new Technics turntable. Last month Technics gave us the lowdown on a new limited edition, flagship record player, the SL-1210GAE, and now the company has given a first look at the deck in the flesh.
The video below sees Bill Voss, the Technics Business Development Manager in the US, walk us through the product, giving us a better look at the new all-black design on this new 1210GAE model.
The turntable is a 55th anniversary, limited edition special, with only 1000 units set to be made available worldwide. Based on the SL-1200G, and following in the footsteps of the limited edition SL-1200GAE from 2016, the new SL-1210GAE has a 10mm-thick aluminium top panel complete with an anodized black brushed finish. The buttons and tonearm also have the same all-black finish.
As well as the all-black design, the GAE has a special badge with inscribed serial number, upgraded insulation and, for the first time, the European models will ship with a specially-tuned Nagaoka MM cartridge.
You can turn off the strobe light on the 1210GAE, a first for Technics, which Voss demonstrates in the video by holding the x2 pitch button for 5 seconds.
He's also keen to show-off the high torque, holding his finger against the rotating platter while the motor corrects the speed to keep a constant rotation.
Tipped to "sell out very quickly", the SL-1210GAE is due on sale this month, priced at £3999 ($4000, €4719, AU$6999). You better speak to your friendly dealer sooner rather than later if you want to splash the cash.
A little dear for your tastes? There's always the 7th-generation SL-1200/SL-1210, while if you don't need the pitch control, we can recommend the five-star SL-1500C.