TECHNICS 100th Anniversary 2018 Premium Turntables. Their best ever.

Mmakshak, I agree completely. ;)

The essence of a good performance IMO is to get the sense of a living, breathing person behind the microphone not just a collection of notes & sounds. Not to mention a soundscape that features the necessary dynamics.
I think I’ve said as much elsewhere but not in this many words ;)

With the Law of Diminishing Returns being so starkly emphasized few will be willing or able to embrace the difference.

Ortofon 2M Black. Since I'm moving ahead putting together my final system, including the SL-1200 GR, I have my heart set on the 2M black and was curious if any Technics owners using the newer G or GR are using the cartridges from the 2M series. I watched and listened to a couple of nights ago on Youtube through my Altec Lansing processor and my KOSS headphones of Michael Fremers' (as mmakshak mentions above in his post) test between the Caliburn, $146K, Phew! and the SL-1200G. Even though the spectral frequency plots looked slightly better on the charts from the Caliburn which has slightly more opened detail, the Sl-1200G sounded fuller in the midrange and more relaxed. No wonder post on this thread mentioned the new Technics models have belt drive companies very nervous, probably to the point where their wearing adult diapers to catch sudden discharges from panic attacks. I just may change at the last minute and go for the G. There are complaints online that the Technics units are priced to high. Baloney! For what the G does after hearing the table, at $4K its a steal. Goodbye belt drive.

@audiozen 2M Black is my favorite current cartridge at any price. I really love it that much. I used it on the 1200G and it sounded fantastic. I now use it on a Gyro SE and it's pretty incredible. My next turntable will be either SME Model 10 or Model 15 and I will continue to use the 2M Black. 

There are a lot of amazing vintage MMs, such as ML180, but on the current market, nothing can touch the 2M Black. 

Even though the spectral frequency plots looked slightly better on the charts from the Caliburn which has slightly more opened detail, the Sl-1200G sounded fuller in the midrange and more relaxed.

The platter pad is part of the sound and the Technics does not have a very good pad. That can really affect the plots!

invvictus005-Going for the SME? Interesting. The new Technics SP-10R weighs a ton. The motor weighs around 50 lbs. It uses stator coils on both sides of the rotor which are not used in the new GR or G models. There are videos on Youtube how stator coils work with magnets to vastly improve AC current resulting in a more powerful motor drive. The SP-10R
has a S/N level of -92 db's. That figure is just crazy for a direct drive motor. Heck, if I were to spend that amount of funds, I would go for the Technics SP-10R with an SME tonearm. I use to drool over SME in the 80's. As many are aware, they invented the world's first lift tone arm in 1958 which truly was the year that high end started, since it was the same year that 2-channel 33 1/3 stereo vinyl records hit the market. Thanks for the tip on the 2M Black. Curious how it would compare to the classic 
Shure V-15 VxMr. Ten years ago people were paying up to $2K for the Shure on Ebay and they sold fast. Always wanted that cartridge but haven't had a turntable since '94.