It's been almost a year since Panasonic announced the Grand Class Technics SL-1200G and now it's finally available to buy. However, it's only being stocked in Germany at the moment.

Costing $4,000, Panasonic claims the turntable is at the "highest level" and promises "no compromises" have been made with the direct drive system.

Earlier this year, Technics CTO Tetsuya Itani defended the turntable's high cost, explaining that the manufacturing tools had to be invested in and the cost is much higher than it was in the 1970s.



The SL-1200G comes with a triple-layer platter, an iron-free direct drive motor that reduces vibration during rotation and a lightweight magnesium tonearm.

A UK announcement is still being awaited, but there's plenty of German stockists to order it from here.

See the full product description here.

Dave Turner is Mixmag's Digital News Editor, follow him on Twitter