Technics SL-100C Review

Technics SL-100C review is logical to start with the fact that the company has been producing turntables since 1960. This amazing experience affects the quality of vinyl turntables, the design and equipment of which are copied by many other brands. This particular model is a bright representative of the middle category. SL-100C has excellent initial data, and with some modification and investment, you can get more than you bought. This also applies to the preamplifier, which is not built-in, so selecting an external preamplifier will determine the result.

Design

At first glance at the SL-100C turntable, you can assume that it belongs to the category of expensive turntables. The chassis has a beautiful matte finish and a nice texture. The weight of the turntable is very important because it has to keep the balance so that the record spins as smoothly as possible. So, the greater the weight, the better resistance to vibrations. The model in question weighs 21.82 pounds; add a heavy aluminum diecast platter (4.4 pounds), and you get very good stability. Additional damping is provided by the anti-resonance feet.

The shape of the tonearm is very important to the turntable’s sound. The SL-100C has an S-shaped tonearm. This type is considered optimal for the needle to extract sounds from the record’s grooves. The integrated direct-drive housing-less brushless motor (single-rotor motor) provides the necessary stability for the record rotation, and the unevenness of rotation is reduced by the rubber used all over the rear surface of the platter. With this, I want to explain what I meant by “has excellent initial data”.

Features

The SL-100C record player has 3 speeds, and the owner will not have to think when buying, “Will this record fit my Technics?”. In addition, the speeds are switched by buttons on the chassis.

This is a semi-automatic model, and control will not be difficult even for novice music lovers (unless you are ready for an expensive purchase right from the doorstep). There’s an electronic brake and autolifting. The latter is quite slow; it can take about 60 seconds before it starts working. But it works well, so it’s up to you to decide if it’s an important drawback or an interesting feature. Nevertheless, I recommend it to those who have no experience with vinyl. It will keep you from damaging records, which is important if you want to embrace the tradition of analog sound. Experienced users with frayed nerves probably won’t use it (it’s not fun to stand around waiting for the tonearm to rise).

The Audio-Technica AT-VM95C pre-installed cartridge is not the highest quality, although it is quite common in the mid-range segment. And that’s exactly the point I attribute to the modification. If you have the opportunity, immediately or over time, buy a better cartridge. It will unlock the full potential of the SL-100C.

Sound

I almost always mention that a turntable of this brand can be found in the movie Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. That’s because the professionalism of the manufacturing is amazing, as well as the sound of the brand’s models, even in the mid-range segment.

Right out of the box, the turntable was well set up, and I could start testing immediately after a simple installation. But you must realize that half of the success depends on the phono stage. With the Audio-Technica AT-VM95C cartridge, the sound is good, but with the Ortofon, the turntable sounded much more detailed, extracting nuances that were not heard in the first version. Nevertheless, I can say that the vinyl turntable has a wide, rich sound picture with balanced frequencies and stability that many similar models can envy. Vibrant, bright, very close to what I hear with more expensive turntables. Just what I need for my 70’s collection and Jefferson Airplane Surrealistic Pillow in particular. But don’t forget to pick up an acoustic worthy of this sturdy fellow.