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Technics · Premium Class
From $1,500
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 · Premium Class
A coreless direct-drive turntable with a built-in phono stage, an auto-lift tonearm and an Ortofon 2M Red fitted at the factory: everything needed to play records, from a company that has built direct-drive decks since 1970.
Supplied with an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge, headshell, dust cover and phono cable. Black and White $1,499.99; Silver $1,599.99.
Authorized Technics dealer · Delivery and installation by Pearl Audio · Trade-ins welcome
The story
The SL-1500C takes the coreless direct-drive motor Technics developed for the SL-1200G series and puts it in a simpler deck without the DJ features. Direct drive means the platter sits on the motor's rotor with no belt to stretch or slip; coreless means the stator has no iron, so there is no cogging, the small speed ripple a conventional direct-drive motor produces as its poles pass. The single-rotor motor is tuned to the inertia of a two-layer platter, die-cast aluminum with a rubber damping layer bonded underneath, and brings it to 33⅓ rpm in 0.7 seconds. Technics specifies wow and flutter at 0.025%.
What sets the SL-1500C apart from its siblings is convenience. A phono equalizer is built in, switchable, so the deck can plug into any line input or into a phono stage if the owner prefers; an auto-lifter raises the arm at the end of the side without motor power or any load on the arm; and an Ortofon 2M Red moving-magnet cartridge is fitted at the factory, which removes the hardest part of setting up a first turntable. The tonearm is the S-shaped, gimbal-suspended static-balance arm from the SL-1200 series with its high-precision bearing, 230 mm effective length and an auxiliary weight for heavier cartridges.
The chassis is die-cast aluminum with a glass-fiber-reinforced ABS layer, and the feet are spring-and-rubber insulators. The power cable is detachable, and both the phono and line outputs are gold-plated. The deck comes in black, silver and white, with the dust cover included. What Hi-Fi? gave it five stars across the board and called it "one of the best sounding we've heard at this price".
In the Technics range the SL-1500C is the deck for a listener who wants a Technics motor and arm without pitch control, strobe or DJ styling. The SL-1200GR2 adds the ΔΣ-Drive, a heavier platter and a more rigid cabinet; the SL-1200G moves to the twin-rotor motor and magnesium arm. For a one-box partner, the SA-C600 has its own MM phono input and streaming built in.
Select the finish above. The silver version is priced $100 higher by Technics.
| Type | Direct-drive manual turntable; single-rotor coreless motor |
| Speeds | 33⅓, 45 and 78 rpm |
| Starting torque / build-up | 0.18 N·m (1.8 kg·cm); 0.7 s from standstill to 33⅓ rpm |
| Wow and flutter | 0.025% W.R.M.S. |
| Platter | Aluminum die-cast, 332 mm diameter, approx. 2.0 kg including mat |
| Tonearm | Universal static-balance S-shape; 230 mm effective length; 15 mm overhang |
| Tracking error | Within 2° 32' (outer groove) to 0° 32' (inner groove) |
| Cartridge weight range | 5.6 – 12.0 g (14.3 – 20.7 g with headshell); 10.0 – 16.4 g with auxiliary weight |
| Phono equalizer | Built in, switchable; PHONO and LINE outputs (RCA), earth terminal |
| Cartridge | Ortofon 2M Red (MM), included |
| Power consumption | 8 W; approx. 0.2 W standby |
| Dimensions (W × H × D) | 453 × 169 × 372 mm (17.8 × 6.7 × 14.6 in) |
| Weight | Approx. 9.9 kg (21.2 lb) |
| Supplied | Mat, dust cover, EP adaptor, balance and auxiliary weights, headshell with Ortofon 2M Red, phono cable and earth lead, power cord |
The entry point to Technics' direct-drive turntables.
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-1500C-K 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.
