Let's say Technics comes out with a new turntable

So what do you think it will be...discuss.

 

If it would be interesting it had to be much, much better than the 1200. That means some things on the 1200 must be magnitudes better, some things could be as they are.

 

Twice as good as the 1200 but they will call it a 2400 and sell it for half the price as the 1200

 

It will be that new Pioneer, but it will say TECHNICS in big letters on it.

 

Sadly, this seems like the most likely possibility.

 

They just came out with an entire hi-end system that retails for around $50,000, so its not beyond the realm of possibility that they'd create a nice (not Hanpin) turntable to go with it.

 

The SL-1200 IS a super consumer table

Now the "SP" class is another animal all together

 

Panasonic is a manufacturing company and still control most of the design and manufacturing. When was the last time you something they made and it was the quality of Walmart store brand electronics of anything they sell globally? If they bother to make it, it will be at least be well made, relatively speaking. Performance may vary based on specs or price point.

 

And if that's the case if the table was priced at $5K how many here would rush out to buy it?
What made the table a hit was that it was made well and cheap. If they came out with a table at that price today it would be based on a hanpin otherwise it will be price substantially higher.

 

Economys of scale are a funny thing. A $2k VPI or ClearAudio table could probably be brought down to $500 if they sold 100k units a year.

 

Funny that Panasonic used to be the workhorse, nothing flashy line, not its top notch in the categories it competes in.

 

Judging from what they've already re-entered the market with (expensive to mega-buck), it would seem unlikely that they would go with anything cheap or a fake Hanpin (and thank goodness for that). They would destroy almost all their momentum and alienate those looking for the quality previously found in the MK2 line if they came out with another plebeian knock-off like the Pioneer PLX-1000. All reports from the company report no rebirth of the 1200; so, if they want to copy anything/anyone, I'd recommend they find the manufacturer of VPI's Classic Direct motor (maybe Kodo's The Beat) and build a TT off that platform or else return to something like the SP-10MK3 superdeck. As much as I like the SL-1200MK2 and as much as it can be upgraded, the SP-10MK3 kicked it's @$s, the @$s of their own SP-10MK2 and the @$s of many so called high end tables. Honestly, there are still millions of 1200's lying around. If anyone wants one, they are not hard to come by. I'd rather see Technics put the hammer down... again, and, give us something worthy of their recent power amp:

EDIT: Geeez, I just looked at the spec sheet!
Frequency Response
1 Hz - 90 kHz (-3 dB, 8 Ω)

 

I'd beat they'd just start knocking out 1200s again but in a cleaner form factor. Something that looked like a true audiophile table. That said if they ever make something like the Sp10 I'd grab it

 

Agreed. I would expect to see a high-end and very expensive belt-drive turntable.

 

Gimme a fully auto with the exact looks and Q of an old 1200 and a clear, hinged dust cover.

 

Like a Modernized SL 1800?

 

Would be nice but I'd like the exact looks, feet, size, weight and all. Could well live without the pitch slider though.

 

This is where my thinking goes as well. Technics has just recently started a trend back into the upper-end market and given the ever-increasing interest in the turntable sector is headed a next-generation SP-10 would be the logical step. Further to that, I suspect that given the huge demand and prices for used examples the market would respond in a very positive way. Over the years even folks who might have pooh-poohed some of Technics electronics (unfairly in many cases) have had plenty of respect for the tables.

 

I was thinking this as well. I have the KAB wooden base for my 1200MK2, and it really does make it look like an entirely different, much classier product. I think if they packaged it with something like this, and included perhaps a souped-up arm but basically the standard Technics arm but made it removable with the universal mount and they'd have a definite winner.

I'd still prefer as others some kind of SP10 anniversary edition though, maybe co-branded with an SME 3009 anniversary repro or something. I'd buy it.

 

If they produced a direct drive turntable that fit the aesthetic established by their amp I might be interested. I don't care for the look of the SL-1200MK2 or the Hanpin copies. It would help if they sourced the tonearm from Clearaudio.

 

I think that a new version of the SP-10 MK3 would be in order to match their new gear. Will they do it? I don't know.

 

I predict we will see one from Panasonic within a year. Karnak has spoken.

 

In a way, SME already answered the call when they put out the SME M2-9R (essentially an updated 3009, from what I can tell).

 

FWIW, reviews of the new Technics electronics, the integrated in particular, weren't especially flattering. Of course, the review I read was in What Hi-Fi, which as best as I can tell subtracts a star right off the bat for not being British made.

 

Good call, looking at that on Google images it looks like a 3009 right down to the headshell. Love seeing stuff like that.