Technics SL-1300G turntable: two-minute review
Technics has a new direct-drive turntable, and because it’s part of the company’s upmarket ‘Grand Class’, it’s engineered to within an inch of its life and has a price-tag that will make you swallow hard.
Mind you, it’s not as if the company doesn’t feel like it’s offering value for money with the Technics SL-1300G. Between the twin-rotor ‘cogless’ motor, transformerless power supply, elaborate tonearm arrangement and overall sensation of bank-vault build quality (the platter alone weighs almost 4kg), the SL-1300G is a substantial proposition in every respect. Apart from the small matter of a cartridge, that is – Technics doesn’t provide one and you should probably budget another $500 or so on one of the many reputable brands who will sell you something appropriate.
Once you’ve swallowed this particular pill, there’s a great deal to enjoy about the SL-1300G. It sounds an absolute treat in the right system – its ability to analyze, contextualize and generally peer deep into the grooves of your records in a hunt for information is remarkable. And it balances this attitude with a sort of thrillingly musical, thoroughly absorbing and effortless naturalistic stance that makes every listen as entertaining and engrossing as can be.
In fact, as long as you take a moment to ensure your system isn’t going to goad the Technics into overdoing the high frequencies – it’s right on the edge where treble sounds are concerned, and won’t take much of a push to tip it over – there’s really nothing of any significance to complain about.
One of the best turntables on the market? It's definitely in the conversation.
Technics SL-1300G turntable review: price and release date
- $3,299 / £2,799 / AU$4,999
- Launched in September 2024
The Technics SL-1300G direct-drive turntable is on sale now, and in the United States it's priced at $3,299. In the United Kingdom it’s more like £2,799, while in Australia it costs AU$4,999.
Not cheap, is it? And it’s not the end of your spending, either – Technics doesn’t supply a cartridge. So what is it offering for what is quite a lot of money (with the need to spend a fair bit more)?
After all, it’s not as if you’re short of high-quality alternatives…
Technics SL-1300G turntable review: features
- 230mm S-shaped aluminum tonearm
- Twin-rotor ‘coreless’ direct drive motor
- Low-noise, high-speed switching power supply
For the feature-set of the SL-1300G, Technics has allowed itself to be influenced by a couple of the more widely acclaimed turntables of the last couple of years: its own SL-1200G and SL-1200GR2. After all, if it ain’t broke etc and so on…
The motor that turns the SL-1300G’s platter is a variation on the one fitted to the SL-1200G, a model that launched in 2018 with a $4,000-plus price-tag attached. It’s based on the ‘coreless’ direct drive principles Technics first introduced in 2016: by removing the motor’s iron core, rotational instability (‘cogging’, as it’s colloquially known) can be reduced to vanishing point. In this implementation, a twin-rotor design reduces rotational vibration and minimizes the load on the bearings too.
The SL-1300G uses the Delta Sigma (ΔΣ) motor control software and drive system from last year’s SL-1200GR2, finessed and optimized for this application. The company’s prowess where PWM (pulse width modulation) is brought to bear in an effort to minimize even minor rotational inaccuracies along with errors in the drive signal. Because if you can deliver smooth, consistent rotation, argues Technics, you deliver smooth, consistent sound.
Further measures have been taken to ensure mechanical and, by extension, sonic accuracy. The SL-1300G uses a low-noise switching circuit that makes the more common transformer power supply redundant, which in turns makes the requirement for vibration-suppressing technologies that transformers tend to require redundant, too. Any residual noise in this transformerless power supply is identified by ‘current injection’ technology that applies inverse phase current to eliminate it. This, suggests Technics, is more effective than the common or garden ‘regulator’ alternative.
On the outside, the SL-1300G uses a rigid and lightweight aluminum pipe tonearm – it’s your classic static-balance S-shape and is 230mm long before the headshell is fitted. Technics supplies a headshell, of course, but what is conspicuous by its absence is a cartridge. The company is prepared to go on, at length, about how this omission allows you to select your preferred cartridge free from its interference, but it seems to me that a sum of money like this spent on a turntable ought to buy you the cartridge the manufacturer thinks is most appropriate. And, what’s more, to find it pre-fitted to the headshell.
The tonearm is connected to the surface of the turntable via gimbal suspension with a high-precision bearing. There’s anti-skate adjustment, a multi-part counterweight, tonearm lock and tonearm lift all incorporated. Getting the signal from the tonearm and out to an amplifier occurs via a pair of gold-plated stereo RCA outputs recessed deep beneath the main body of the SL-1300G. Technics supplies a pair of absolutely bog-standard RCA cables more commonly associated with turntables costing about 10 per cent of the price of this one.
- Features score: 5/5
Technics SL-1300G turntable review: Sound quality
- Notable clarity, detail and low-frequency presence
- Energetic and dynamic attitude
- As confident at the top end as it dares to be
Some record players have a very specific character or attitude, or a comfort zone out of which they are unwilling to tread. The Technics SL-1300G, it’s safe to say, is not one of those record players. There isn’t a style of music it sounds uncomfortable with – as far as attitude is concerned, “it’s all good” seems to cover it.
During the course of this review I listen to everything from a heavyweight reissue of Ladies and Gentlemen We are Floating in Space by Spiritualized to a ‘pre-loved’ (for which read ‘second-hand’) copy of The Strip Goes On by Orchester Werner Müller and many points in between, and at every turn the Technics covers every base. It’s a vibrant, energetic and engrossing performer, but it’s capable of forensic levels of analysis and insight at the same time.
Its frequency response, from the top of the range to the bottom, is smooth and even. Its overall tonality (with the mild exception of the top of the frequency range, which I’ll come to shortly) is neutral and natural. And its ability to allow music to just flow in the most confident and convincing manner is, even by the vaunted standards of the vinyl format, impressive in the extreme.
It digs deep and hits hard at the bottom of the frequency range, but both where control and insight are concerned it’s a spectacular performer. Bass sounds are solid and varied, with ample detail regarding tone and texture made available, while the SL-1300G controls the attack or decay of individual notes or hits with such purpose that rhythms are expressed in compelling fashion. It’s similarly accomplished in the midrange; there’s no fleeting detail that evades it, no secret of a singer’s technique or emotional state to which it’s not party. It communicates in absolute torrents, and in the most unforced and vivid manner – the balance it strikes between ‘analysis’ and ‘entertainment’ is outstanding.
Despite the significant levels of drive and attack it can summon, it never sounds stressed or uncontrolled. Though it can create a large and spacious soundstage, it presents music as a tightly unified whole, a singular event – the impression of performers operating in symphony, as opposed to a collection of individuals, is palpable.
Really, it’s only at the top of the frequency range that there are any noteworthy issues, and they can be mitigated without too much difficulty. The SL-1300G is a forthright and assertive performer where treble response is concerned, demonstrating as much confidence as is practical. Unlike the rest of the frequency range, though, the top end here is provokable – inserted into a system that’s similarly uninhibited where treble sounds are concerned, it’s possible that high frequencies could become a little edgy or strident.
So, a degree of system-matching is in order. The Technics won’t thank you for pairing it with speakers and/or amplification that share its high-end enthusiasm. Once you get over that particular hurdle, though, there’s nothing much else you need to do except sit back and revel in the sound this turntable produces.
- Sound quality score: 4.5/5
Technics SL-1300G turntable review: Design
- Black or silver finish
- 173 x 453 x 372mm (HxWxD)
- 13kg
Broadly speaking, the SL-1300G looks like a record player. More specifically, it looks like a Technics turntable. Whether or not you think that’s a good thing is a matter of taste, but there’s no denying that the company’s turntables have a reasonably strong visual identity.
From top to bottom, there’s no mistaking the SL-1300G as the product of any other company. Its 173 x 453 x 372mm (HxWxD) includes a sturdy Perspex dust cover, and its two-part chassis stands on four equally sturdy, extremely pliant and frankly over-engineered silicone rubber insulators – because Technics deals in nothing as straightforward as ‘feet’, of course.
The chassis itself is a rigid and profoundly vibration-resistant construction. The base is made of bulk molding compound and is topped by a die-cast aluminum plate, and further vibration damping is achieved by reinforcing ribs deployed between the tonearm assembly and the motor.
As is usual with Technics turntables, the SL-1300G features a ‘power on/off’ button above a ‘start/stop’ button on the bottom left of the top plate. There are also a pair of speed-selection buttons for ‘33.3’ or ‘45’ – press them at the same time and your turntable will be able to turn at 78rpm.
All in, the SL-1300G weighs a chunky 13kg - and a full 3.6kg of this is accounted for by the platter. It’s a three-layer item, with an aluminum main body, a 2mm layer of brass across the top and a hefty quantity of deadening rubber covering the whole of the rear surface. It offers considerable vibration damping, impressive resonance rejection, smooth rotational stability and significant inertial mass. In essence, it’s the same as the platter fitted to the (appreciably more expensive) SL-1200G.
Every SL-1300G is balanced after it’s assembled – because if the weight distribution of the turntable is uneven, the rotation of the platter can cause noise and vibration. How do you know your SL-1300G has been balanced in the Technics factory before it’s packaged up? By the little ‘BALANCED’ sticker on the underside of the platter.
- Design score: 5/5
Technics SL-1300G turntable review: usability and set-up
- Source and fit a cartridge
- Bin the supplied RCA cables in favor of something more appropriate
- Do the usual stuff regarding counterweight, anti-skate and so on
Unusually for the ‘usability and setup’ section, I’m going to have to talk about the need for you to spend yet more money. Because if you don’t, the SL-1300G is nothing more than an elaborate (and good-looking) doorstop.
If you want to get a sound out of your SL-1300G, you’ll need to research, source, purchase and fit an appropriate cartridge. I’d suggest something in the region of $500 will buy you something that will do this record player some justice. Cartridge fitting and setup are among the most fiddly things you can do (in life, let alone in the context of your audio system), so try to be patient. And then when you’ve done that, you really should consider binning the freebie RCA interconnects Technics so graciously supplies in favor of something that’s actually up to the job.
Once that’s done, though, usability is a doddle. The direct drive motor gets the platter up to speed in well under a second, and the tonearm lift operates with precision. ‘Putting a record on’ has never been any less painful than it is here.
- Usability and setup score: 4/5
Technics SL-1300G review: Value
- Superb build quality and materials
- Real longevity
- But you have to spend even more money to get it working
It depends how you look at it, I suppose. In terms of engineering prowess, the quality of materials and the way they’re put together, in terms of longevity and simple pride of ownership, the Technics SL-1300G represents very good value indeed. And that’s before you factor in the many admirable aspects of the way it sounds.
But given that this record player doesn’t actually function until you’ve spent quite a lot more money on a cartridge, plus a fair few bucks upgrading the cables connecting it to your amplifier, it’s perhaps not the cast-iron value for money it at first appears…
- Value score: 4/5
Should I buy the Technics SL-1300G?
Attributes | Notes | Rating |
|---|---|---|
Features | Twin-rotor ‘coreless’ direct drive motor reduces rotational vibration and minimizes load; high-precision aluminum tonearm. | 5/5 |
Sound quality | Notably clear and detailed; energetic and dynamic; confident at the top end. | 4/5 |
Design | Gorgeous styling and perfectly balanced out of the factory. What's not to like? | 5/5 |
Usability and setup | No cartridge supplied is a problem; RCA cables could also do with changing. | 4/5 |
Value | High-quality materials and finish, but having to pay even more on top of a hefty price tag grates. | 4/5 |
Buy it if...
You admire uncompromizing engineering
The engineering rigor that’s been brought to bear here is almost enough to make you want an SL-1300G before you hear what it can do.
You’re in any way careless
It’s not difficult to damage a stylus, of course, but you’ll have to go some if you want to damage any other part of this Technics.
You like sound quality that’s big on both insight and entertainment
The SL-1300G’s ability to pore over your records in the hunt for information at the same time as sounding uncomplicatedly musical never gets old.
Don't buy it if...
You’d like Technics to select (and fit) the most appropriate cartridge
I really don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect your $3,299 turntable to come with an optimized cartridge pre-fitted to the headshell.
Your system is treble-happy to start with
As part of an unsympathetically toppy system, the SL-1300G will only exacerbate things where treble response is concerned.
Technics SL-1300G review: also consider
Cambridge Audio Alva TT v2
For approximately half the price of the Technics SL-1300G you can buy a direct drive turntable with a switchable pre-amp and pre-fitted cartridge, and that can wireless transmit an aptX HD Bluetooth signal to any wireless receiver – yep, it’s the Cambridge Audio Alva TT v2, and these days it represents corking value for money.
Read the full Cambridge Audio Alva TT v2 review.
Rega Planar 10
Or you could go to the other extreme and drop $5,999 on a Rega Planar 10 with Alpheta 3 cartridge. It’s a fully manual belt-driven design that makes almost as big a deal of what it leaves out as it does the stuff it includes but, when it comes to sonic fidelity and veracity, nothing else at anything like the price can touch it.
How I tested the Technics SL-1300G
- Tested over the course of one week
- Listening to various types of music
I connected the Technics SL-1300G up to my home system using the supplied RGA cables. Then, I spent well over a working week listening to as many different types of music as I could, of many different genres, and varying qualities of pressing to give the SL-1300G as much of a workout as I could. And, to be honest, I enjoyed doing it.
- First reviewed: November 2025
- Read more about how we test
