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Technics · Grand Class
$2,500
Not currently in our rooms. For a serious buyer we will often bring a piece in from the manufacturer for a private session — tell us about your system and what you are weighing it against, and we will advise.
Technics · Grand Class
The second-generation Grand Class SL-1200: a single-rotor coreless direct-drive motor under Technics' new ΔΣ-Drive, a switching power supply with active noise cancelling, and the SL-1200 tonearm and cabinet, in black.
Black finish (SL-1210GR2-K). The SL-1200GR2 is the same turntable in silver.
Authorized Technics dealer · Delivery and installation by Pearl Audio · Trade-ins welcome
The story
The GR2 replaced the SL-1200GR in 2023 and keeps the single-rotor coreless motor that made the GR a different turntable from the old SL-1200MK series: no iron core in the stator, so no cogging, and torque of 2.2 kg·cm that brings the 2.5 kg platter to speed in 0.7 seconds. What is new is the drive electronics. ΔΣ-Drive applies delta-sigma processing to the PWM signal that drives the motor coils, which reduces the high-frequency harmonics in the drive waveform and with them the small vibrations the motor transmits to the platter. The technique came from Technics' SU-R1000 amplifier, and the company says it gives smoother rotation than the GR achieved.
The power supply changed too. The GR used a conventional transformer; the GR2 uses a low-noise switching supply running above 100 kHz with active noise cancelling, the multi-stage silent power supply from the SL-1000R, which removes the transformer's magnetic field from the chassis and lowers the noise floor. The platter is two-layer, die-cast aluminum with a damping rubber sheet bonded underneath, and the cabinet is a BMC (bulk molding compound) layer over a die-cast aluminum chassis, with high-damping silicone insulator feet.
The arm is the SL-1200 arm: S-shaped, static-balance, gimbal-suspended, 230 mm effective length, with 0 to 6 mm height adjustment, direct-reading stylus pressure from 0 to 4 g and a two-stage auxiliary weight system covering cartridges from 5.6 to 16.4 g. Pitch control runs ±8% or ±16%, there is an electronic brake and a strobe, and the controls are where SL-1200 owners expect them. Ken Micallef reviewed the GR2 for Stereophile in April 2024; What Hi-Fi? called its sound "very clean and solid" with "punch too".
The SL-1210GR2 is the black version; the SL-1200GR2 is identical in silver. Below it, the SL-1500C adds a built-in phono stage and a fitted cartridge at a lower price; above it, the SL-1200G and SL-1210G move to the twin-rotor motor, a three-layer brass-and-aluminum platter and a magnesium arm.
| Type | Direct-drive turntable; single-rotor coreless motor with ΔΣ-Drive |
| Speeds | 33⅓, 45 and 78 rpm; pitch ±8% or ±16%; electronic brake |
| Starting torque / build-up | 2.2 kg·cm; 0.7 s from standstill to 33⅓ rpm |
| Wow and flutter | 0.025% W.R.M.S. |
| Platter | Aluminum die-cast, two-layer, 332 mm diameter, approx. 2.5 kg including mat |
| Tonearm | Universal static-balance S-shape; 230 mm effective length; 15 mm overhang; 22° offset |
| Tracking error | Within 2° 32' (outer groove) to 0° 32' (inner groove) |
| Arm height / stylus pressure | 0 – 6 mm; 0 – 4 g direct reading |
| Cartridge weight range | 5.6 – 12.0 g (14.3 – 20.7 g with headshell); 10.0 – 16.4 g with auxiliary weight |
| Output | PHONO (RCA) and earth terminal |
| Power consumption | 11 W; approx. 0.3 W standby |
| Dimensions (W × H × D) | 453 × 173 × 372 mm (17.8 × 6.8 × 14.6 in) |
| Weight | Approx. 11.5 kg (25.4 lb) |
| Finish | Black |
| Supplied | Mat, dust cover, EP adaptor, balance and auxiliary weights, headshell, overhang gauge, cartridge screws, phono cable and earth lead, power cord; no cartridge |
The current Grand Class SL-1200, in two finishes.
Plan your Technics system with Pearl Audio
Pearl Audio is an authorized Technics dealer. We set up every turntable we sell, including cartridge alignment, and can arrange an audition in our Portland showroom. Call (503) 222-2599 or email sales@pearlaudio.com.
The Pearl Audio experience
A system at this level should be heard, thoughtfully matched, and properly set up. From the first audition to long-term ownership, you work with the same people, in person.
The SL-1210GR2 Single-rotor is not in our rooms at present. When it is the right piece for a client we arrange a demonstration unit from the manufacturer and set it up for a private session.
We deliver and install throughout the Portland area, taking care of placement, connections, ventilation and system configuration ourselves.
We support everything we sell for as long as you own it, whether the answer comes by phone, in your home, or through factory service.
Trade-in assistance and qualifying 100% Trade-Up options give you flexibility when your listening priorities or your system change.
