Skip to main content

Technics SP-10R Turntable will Fit Perfectly in Your Minimalist Pad

Popular audio brand Technics has announced a special reissue of its classic SP-10 turntable in the form of the Technics SP-10R, a new product that the company is calling its “most premium analog, direct-drive turntable to date.”

The beautiful silver turntable will feature a heavy 7-kilogram platter made of brass and features an external power supply to minimize internal hum and vibration. Perhaps the biggest feature of the new table is a reworked core-less direct-drive motor that gets rid of slight rotational irregularities found in earlier Technics models. When done correctly, direct-drive turntables can have advantages over belt-driven models — namely an improved signal-to-noise ratio, meaning you’ll hear more music and less hum.

Recommended Videos

This is especially true on the new SP-10R: The new motor means that it offers listeners an exceptionally low wow & flutter (unevenness of rotation) rate of .015 percent, which is even lower than many audiophiles expect to find in a good turntable, and it also offers a dramatically low signal-to-noise ratio of 92db — a number the company claims is the best in the world.

It makes sense that the company would debut its latest developments in direct-drive technology on a new version of the SP-10; The original iteration of the SP-10, released in 1970, was the first turntable ever to feature a direct-drive motor. That table and its successor, the SP-10MK2, are still considered to be among the best turntables you can buy.

Though a prototype of the new SP-10R turntable has already hit the show floor at the IFA conference in Berlin, consumers will have a relatively long time to mull whether or not they want to pick up the new deck. The commercial launch of the Technics SP-10R has been set for summer of 2018, with components beyond the direct-drive motor and platter having not yet been announced. Pricing has yet to be announced as well, but will likely reflect the fact that the company considers this to be among the best turntables ever made.

Even with a very high price point, the new SP-10R models will likely sell very well in the audiophile world, where many listeners are heavily driven to find the quietest and most beautiful audio equipment ever made, even when that involves a prohibitive price tag.

A version of this post first appeared on our brother site, Digital Trends.

Parker Hall
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Please reach out to The Manual editorial staff with any questions or comments about Parker’s work.
The first trailer for the final season of Squid Game is here
The show will return for its third and final season on June 27
The cast of season 3 of Squid Game.

After a long delay between the show's third and second seasons, the third season of Squid Game is coming less than a year after the second. Now, we've got our first trailer for the new season, and it follows up on the major cliffhanger that ended the show's second season. The second and third seasons were filmed at the same time and written as a single long arc.

The first teaser for season 3 suggests that Player 456 and the Front Man will meet one last time. It also reminds us that the show has more twists and turns to come, and promises to bring the story it started all those years ago to a satisfying conclusion.

Read more
Nina Dobrev talks love for F1 & the ‘electric’ feeling of race day
From Netflix to the paddock: Nina Dobrev on her passion for Formula One
Nina Dobrev holds a Peroni and smiles.

When Nina Dobrev first attended an F1 event over a decade ago, she went as a casual observer. Similar to many recent Formula One fans, she streamed Netflix's Drive to Survive and immediately fell in love with the sport. Fast-forward to now, and Dobrev is all-in with F1 thanks to her greater appreciation for the world-class drivers and their sensational teams.

This past weekend, Dobrev attended the 2025 Miami Grand Prix on behalf of Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% to support their iconic partner, Scuderia Ferrari HP. The Vampire Diaries star is also friends with Lewis Hamilton, one of the greatest drivers in F1 history, who competes for Ferrari.

Read more
8 intense and gripping movies like Sinners to watch next
These movies are just like Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler's hit
Michael B Jordan in Sinners

Sinners is the biggest original movie of 2025 so far. With an overabundance of franchises and retreads, fans have fervently crowded theaters to see Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan's next collaboration. The movie follows twin brothers who must fight back against evil spirits in a Mississippi town after returning to civilian life following World War I. The mix of racial commentary, social analysis, and beautiful set pieces has transfixed viewers to the big screen so far.

Going to a movie two or three times is always a good antidote for your movie craving, but if you've already exhausted your Sinners allotment for the time being, it might be best to look for similar films. Vampires, period pieces, racial implications, and so much more feature in this wide array of movies like Sinners. We've got you covered right here.

Read more