Panasonic has unveiled a spectacular new vinyl turntable at CES 2016 in Las Vegas.
The new version of the iconic Technics direct-drive record player, first announced at IFA in Berlin in 2015, is a reflection of the recent explosion in vinyl record sales, the company said.
At its CES press conference, Panasonic showed the new player in detail for the first time, and confirmed that it will take the classic 'SL-1200' name of the original players still lauded by DJs. Released under the Technics brand -- itself relaunched in 2014 alongside a pair of extremely expensive audio systems, after being officially killed just years before -- the focus will be on high-end quality, and a high-end price.
Two versions of the player will be released: a limited Technics 50th Anniversary 'Grand Class SL-1200GAE' will come first, in summer 2016 (limited, naturally, to 1200 units). A non-limited Grand Class 1200G will follow before the end of 2016. Both will be expensive, audiophile-grade devices, even though they are still largely aimed at DJs. Prices were not announced but are expected to reach several thousand pounds.
At a technology show where entertainment news is otherwise dominated by 4K TV, streaming audio and digital music systems, Panasonic said that the players were a direct response to the recent revival of vinyl record sales, which increased by 56 percent last year in the UK alone, according to the British Phonographic Association.
The new SL-1200 will overcome problems with older analogue direct-drive turntables, Panasonic said, including removing degradation in sound quality caused by small vibrations of the motor and rotational speed, known by audiophiles as 'cogging'.
Panasonic's new direct-drive system negates the need for an iron core, Panasonic claims. Working alongside a unique set of high-precision rotary positioning sensors and a microprocessor control system, the new record player will actively suppress vibrations, passing information about the rotation speed directly to an internal control system.
Other technical, and somewhat jargon-heavy elements of the new turntable include:
The new SL-1200 is constructed with a three-layer architecture, incorporating heavyweight brass and aluminium, and a "deadening" rubber on the rear surface. Panasonic said that would reduce resonance in the player, and dampen vibrations.
The tonearm on the new Panasonic player will be made of aluminium on the SL-1200G, and magnesium on the limited edition GAE. Technical observers and fans of jargon will note Panasonic's advice that the player will employ a "traditional gimbal suspension construction with the horizontal rotation axis and the vertical rotation axis intersecting at a single central point, as well as high-precision bearings using a cut-processed housing".
The cabinet of the player will feature a "hairline finished" 10mm-thick aluminium panel, to improve the look and feel of the player.
Panasonic's new player comes at a time when vinyl sales and manufacturing are enjoying a period of gradual but sustained expansion. As revealed in WIRED 01.16, Record Industry, a 6,500-metres-squared factory in the northern Dutch town of Haarlem, will produce 7.5 million vinyl records this year alone, up from 3.8 million in 2013.
Also at its press conference, Panasonic announced a new range of cameras, including the compact 18-megapixel Lumix DMC-TZ80, the 4K premium compact DMC-TZ100, and two new 4K camcorders (HC-VXF990 and HC-VX980).
Panasonic also said it would release a 4K Ultra-High Definition Blu-Ray player in 2016 and the DX900 TV -- the first 4K set to meet the recently announced specifications laid down by the UHD Alliance, with further UK-specific announcements on television and Blu-Ray anticipated later this week.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
