Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

Eight years on from the launch of the superb SL-1200GAE and the trickledown - with technological tweaks - has ensured the more affordable SL-1200GR2 represents a genuine uplift in performance on all '1200s that have gone before. The SL-1200GR2's coreless DC motor still brings its 2.5kg platter up to speed within ~1sec (power consumption peaks at 12W then settles back to 6W) and achieves a remarkable pitch accuracy of ±0.004%. Cyclical speed variations - wow and flutter - are tightened still further over the SL-1200GR to a remarkable 0.03% (0.01% peak wow) - a feat clearly illustrated by the sharp peak of the 3150Hz test tone [Graph 1, below]. However, while Technics has introduced a new switchmode PSU and digital PWM drive, the direct through-bearing (through spindle/motor) rumble has increased here to -69dB while the through-groove noise, courtesy of the two-piece diecast platter and heavy rubber mat, is far better suppressed to a state-of-theart -73.8dB (DIN-B wtd). In practice, it's this through-groove figure that most obviously informs the listening experience.

The partnering alloy-tubed S-shaped tonearm looks to be unchanged over the model fitted to the SL-1200GR. This is a statically-balanced design with lightweight gimbal bearings that achieve a combination of minimal play with very low stiction/friction of just 5-10mg. Moreover, while the detachable headshell weights 7.5g, the low 8-9g effective mass of the arm as a whole ensures that it's well suited to moderate-to-high compliance MMs. Arm resonances are complex (a feature of most S-shaped tubes) but benign, with mild bending modes at 85Hz and 150Hz joined by higher-Q resonances at 215Hz, 270Hz and 310Hz. This is a very fine deck/arm combination. PM

Above: Wow and flutter re. 3150Hz tone at 5cm/sec (plotted ±150Hz, 5Hz per minor division)

Above: Cumulative resonant decay spectrum for the Technics S-shaped tonearm (100Hz-10kHz for 40msec) showing short-lived modes at mid/high frequencies