5 ms·

Technics SL-1200G costs $4,000 because original manufacturing tools “were gone”

16 points by evo_9 11y ago

dang 11y ago
Url changed from http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/03/technics-sl-1200g-costs-3000-because-original-manufacturing-tools-were-gone/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/03/technics-sl-1200g-cos..., which points to this.
pistle 11y ago
They won't fly off the shelves with all that added, unnecessary weight or cost. Oi vey.
- duffdevice 11y ago
  For a product like this, the extra weight is a good thing.
  - TheOtherHobbes 11y ago
    For a product like this, so is the extra cost.
kqr2 11y ago
Another famous example of losing the manufacturing process and tools is FOGBANK -- a classified component used in nuclear weapons: From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOGBANK https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOGBANK : It was soon realized that the FOGBANK material was a potential source of problems for the program, as few records of its manufacturing process had been retained when it was originally manufactured in the 1980s, and nearly all staff members who had expertise in its production had either retired or left the agency.
xlayn 11y ago
Audiophile world it's an expensive and I would risk to say hard-to-justify/define one. I do like to hear music and after buying several more and more expensive earphones/headphones you come to see it's just about certain signature on the music... or in layman terms... EQ. I used to research more and more in forums like head-fi but suddenly you realize there is no way to translate, measure or get an agreement on what things mean, e.g. >good texture and detail, not particular sweet in tone but good in vocal. Treble is decently crisp and clean, but rolls just a tiny bit off on the very top of the spectrum, over the 16kHz region. Bass extends decently low, but slowly rolls off in the sub-bass region With that said, I find hard to believe digital "always the same" encoded music is inferior to this analog-vinil-trend...
- seanp2k2 11y ago
  +1, once you start getting into the >$500 realm especially, it's more taste than one thing being definitively better than another. There are also some great bargains to be had for headphones / speakers / IEMs that perform way above their price point. Brainwavs Deltas are one I've found recently, and I still love my O2 amp + ODAC combo. I've heard more expensive gear and it's not really worth it for me.
- danielhooper 11y ago
  This doesn't really have anything to do with audiophiles. Technics 1200s are notorious for DJing, not high quality audio playback. Nobody should purchase a direct drive turn table if they only care about audio quality.
pcurve 11y ago
with limited run of 1200, all they will make is $4.8 million on sale. At best they're breaking even.
- soneil 11y ago
  There’s two models - the 1200GAE ‘anniversary edition’, and the 1200G. The GAE is a limited run of 1200, but the G isn’t. Given that the main difference between them is the material (magnesium alloy vs aluminium) for the topshell, most the tooling should be re-usable across both lines. So if they break even on the GAE, the G should provide quite a “long tail”.
dpweb 11y ago
Bought my pair of 1200s about 20 years ago (wow! - it goes fast kids) - barely used I think I paid $800 for both. Kept one cause I just like the equipment so much and I don't even spin anymore. Just a solid piece of equipment, real pro DJ gear. It's sad though - in the same way that it costs $500 or whatever it is - to go to an NFL game nowadays (which I wouldn't know anyway). Anything of real high quality has to be priced out of reach of the average person. There's always Walmart for most of us I guess. Not knocking Technics, what they say may very well be true, but I do miss the days when the best wasn't impossible to obtain for most of us. Anyway, there's ebay and the original 12s. If you're into vinyl don't even play around.
mariuolo 11y ago
How large is today's market for this sort of things?

16 points by evo_9 11y ago

dang 11y ago

Url changed from http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/03/technics-sl-1200g-costs-3000-because-original-manufacturing-tools-were-gone/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/03/technics-sl-1200g-cos..., which points to this.

pistle 11y ago

They won't fly off the shelves with all that added, unnecessary weight or cost. Oi vey.

duffdevice 11y ago
For a product like this, the extra weight is a good thing.
- TheOtherHobbes 11y ago
  For a product like this, so is the extra cost.

kqr2 11y ago

Another famous example of losing the manufacturing process and tools is FOGBANK -- a classified component used in nuclear weapons: From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOGBANK https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FOGBANK : It was soon realized that the FOGBANK material was a potential source of problems for the program, as few records of its manufacturing process had been retained when it was originally manufactured in the 1980s, and nearly all staff members who had expertise in its production had either retired or left the agency.

xlayn 11y ago

Audiophile world it's an expensive and I would risk to say hard-to-justify/define one. I do like to hear music and after buying several more and more expensive earphones/headphones you come to see it's just about certain signature on the music... or in layman terms... EQ. I used to research more and more in forums like head-fi but suddenly you realize there is no way to translate, measure or get an agreement on what things mean, e.g. >good texture and detail, not particular sweet in tone but good in vocal. Treble is decently crisp and clean, but rolls just a tiny bit off on the very top of the spectrum, over the 16kHz region. Bass extends decently low, but slowly rolls off in the sub-bass region With that said, I find hard to believe digital "always the same" encoded music is inferior to this analog-vinil-trend...

seanp2k2 11y ago
+1, once you start getting into the >$500 realm especially, it's more taste than one thing being definitively better than another. There are also some great bargains to be had for headphones / speakers / IEMs that perform way above their price point. Brainwavs Deltas are one I've found recently, and I still love my O2 amp + ODAC combo. I've heard more expensive gear and it's not really worth it for me.
danielhooper 11y ago
This doesn't really have anything to do with audiophiles. Technics 1200s are notorious for DJing, not high quality audio playback. Nobody should purchase a direct drive turn table if they only care about audio quality.

pcurve 11y ago

with limited run of 1200, all they will make is $4.8 million on sale. At best they're breaking even.

soneil 11y ago
There’s two models - the 1200GAE ‘anniversary edition’, and the 1200G. The GAE is a limited run of 1200, but the G isn’t. Given that the main difference between them is the material (magnesium alloy vs aluminium) for the topshell, most the tooling should be re-usable across both lines. So if they break even on the GAE, the G should provide quite a “long tail”.

dpweb 11y ago

Bought my pair of 1200s about 20 years ago (wow! - it goes fast kids) - barely used I think I paid $800 for both. Kept one cause I just like the equipment so much and I don't even spin anymore. Just a solid piece of equipment, real pro DJ gear. It's sad though - in the same way that it costs $500 or whatever it is - to go to an NFL game nowadays (which I wouldn't know anyway). Anything of real high quality has to be priced out of reach of the average person. There's always Walmart for most of us I guess. Not knocking Technics, what they say may very well be true, but I do miss the days when the best wasn't impossible to obtain for most of us. Anyway, there's ebay and the original 12s. If you're into vinyl don't even play around.

mariuolo 11y ago

How large is today's market for this sort of things?