Technics SL-1300G

In my recent review of the SL-1200GR2, I went on at length about how the design that has achieved that rarest of things in audio: actual cut-through to the outside world. Here we are a few months later, and Technics has already tinkered with that iconic shape. Not a lot - but enough to mean that the SL-1300G is not quite the same device.

The SL-1300G is best seen as what might happen if you took the 1200GR2 and made it more like the SL-1500C - but did so while also borrowing a few parts from the 1200G (the ‘Grand Series’ version of the 1200 which benefits from higher-quality parts than the GR2 uses). First up, this means that the 1300G has no pitch control for speed adjustment. The platter (more on which in a moment) has no strobe markings, and there is no cueing light - because Technics assumes (possibly erroneously) that your listening room has plenty of light. You still get electronically selectable 33, 45 and 78rpm speeds, though. Like the 1200GR2 but unlike the 1500C, you do not get a cartridge or phono stage included in the price. 

Transplanted directly from the GR2 is the Delta Sigma drive system that uses pulse width modulation to control the supply of power to the direct drive motor that the SL-1300G is built around. This motor has dual rotors rather than the 1200GR2’s one, and it has the same reinforcing system as is used in the SP10 flagship model. Press the large ‘start/stop’ button on the top panel and the 1300G leaps into life, and also stops, with an immediacy that makes even the 1200GR2 feel a bit languid. 

This is all the more impressive when you consider that the platter that the 1300G uses is heftier than that of the 1200GR2 and includes features taken from the 1200G. The first is that the top plate of the platter is brass (and looks absolutely gorgeous, so it’s a pity it’s usually covered by a rubber mat). It’s part of a three-layer design that is significantly heavier than the platter used on the GR2 and it physically screws into place on the rotor. It’s a serious piece of engineering. 

Not all the premium parts from the 1200G models make an appearance, though. The 1300G uses the same aluminium S-shaped arm with detachable headshell as the 1200GR2, rather than the magnesium unit that the 1200G has. The all-in weight of the 1300G is several kilos lighter as well, which suggests some of the heavy engineering that goes into a 1200G has been shed. Lighter or not, the 1300G still feels extremely robust and well-engineered - there is very little else at the price that comes across as more substantial than this.    

Sound quality

Drop the 1300G’s needle into the groove of a record and it takes no more than 20 seconds to establish that it still very much sounds like a Technics. This sonic ‘fingerprint’ is a combination of two different elements of the performance working together. 

The first is the absolute pitch stability that means even the most tortuous sustained notes are delivered without a trace of wobble. This is combined with the type of bass delivery that is baked into how Technics turntables sound. There isn’t ‘more’ bass than other turntables - that would sound positively unnatural at times - but there is a cohesion and control to how this bass is delivered that makes many other decks sound a bit insubstantial. For this test, I made the point of starting my listening using exactly the same cartridge and phono stage as I did for the 1200GR2 review, and this suggests the new platter manages to enhance this perception of bass delivery even further. 

At the same time, the benefits of the Delta Sigma drive and the reduced noise on the playing surface are clearly heard. There is a delicacy to how the 1300G handles less boisterous music that I first experienced in the 1200GR2 - it has made the journey to the 1300G’s presentation. There are times when listening to the 1300G that I am genuinely taken aback by how light on its feet it can be. There is also a spaciousness to the top end that means this is a turntable that can handle even the most congested recordings and bring some sense of order to the chaos. 

There is an elephant in the room, though, and it doesn’t ever truly go away no matter how long I listen to the 1300G. It is better than the 1200GR2, yes… but I’m not completely sure that the benefits justify the extra £1000, even accepting the ever-present law of diminishing returns. The SL-1200GR2 is sufficiently good that the extra hardware of this SL-1300G only yields a fairly subtle boost in performance. 

Some of this is down to the same arm being used. It is a good tonearm and, like the GR2 sample I tested, it feels reassuring in use - but I suspect (though cannot prove) it is a bit of a bottleneck for the absolute performance of the SL-300G.  

Living with

Technics ships the SL-1300G in completely recyclable packaging, which means there is no trace of polystyrene in the box. This is noble, and extracting the Technics from the packaging works just fine, but putting it back in there is quite a fiddly business. Naturally, if you’ve bought the Technics rather than simply agreed to review it, this won’t be something you have to do for a while - but it’s worth remembering. 

Once out of the box, the 1300G makes a good impression. The removal of some of the controls and the strobe marks on the platter mean that this is a cleaner and more elegant-looking device than the 1200GR2 and, when you combine this with the superb fit and finish, the result starts to go some way to offering reasons to spend that extra £1000. The review sample is supplied in a silver finish, but black is also available (but unlike the SL-1200, it does not then become an SL-1310G). The black version is every bit as well made, but it is rather oppressive - I think the silver looks better. 

There are some other detail tweaks that do make the 1300G nicer to use, though. The mains lead points directly backwards, which makes wiring it up considerably more pleasurable than the 1200GR2 (although the vertically mounted grounding post is still a pain) and the feet that the 1300G uses are very good indeed, giving the playing surface an impressive level of isolation. Nothing that Technics has altered in the 1300G changes the perception that this is a brilliantly thought-out piece of kit. It’s not overly large, has a lid, and exudes a feeling of quality that suggests it will work for many years to come. 

Conclusion

The SL-1300G isn’t perfect. It’s hard to shake the feeling that some more components from the 1200G might have unlocked even more performance - but there is no arguing that this is a seriously capable turntable that is a pleasure to use and live with. 

Listening notes 

Dead Can Dance Spiritchaser

One of the main reasons you buy an SL-1300G is illustrated by the deep opening note of Song of the Stars. It sounds good on many turntables, but on this one the depth, definition and power is outstanding. 

Seasick Steve Hubcap Music 

Any direct-drive Technics would excel at the thumping rhythms this album delivers, but the 1300G is able to do an excellent job where delicacy and emotion are concerned too. 

Public Service Broadcasting The Race for Space 

A superb example of the much-maligned concept album, and one that allows the 1300G to show its effortless grasp of space and three-dimensionality 

If other turntables at the price feel a bit insubstantial, and the idea of any pitch wobble at all brings on a wobble of your own, the Technics is a completely bulletproof solution to those issues. Its only issue is that the more affordable SL-1200GR2 is a rather good solution to them too…