I had the wonderful experience of hearing the new SL-1000R in a demo by a Technics rep at a local dealer last weekend. That was part of a very hi-end system with Wilson speakers, D'Agostino electronics, and a top AT cartridge. There was no A/B with a different arm/table but I was fortune to be very familiar with the first LP played. That was a mint original pressing (not a goosed-up reissue) of a Gerry Mulligan LP on Columbia.
So no vocal, no symphonic dynamics, no electronic bass extension, but an excellent and believable tonal rendition of four acoustic instruments. No CD I've heard had a blacker background, the music simply came forth into the listening room.
For this amount of money (announced price at $18K, not the $20K reported earlier) a careful and more extended evaluation would be needed. I can only say that magic happened with that well-familiar recording. I was not familiar with the other selections so while they sounded good, I didn't have so much of a reference.
So no vocal, no symphonic dynamics, no electronic bass extension, but an excellent and believable tonal rendition of four acoustic instruments. No CD I've heard had a blacker background, the music simply came forth into the listening room.
For this amount of money (announced price at $18K, not the $20K reported earlier) a careful and more extended evaluation would be needed. I can only say that magic happened with that well-familiar recording. I was not familiar with the other selections so while they sounded good, I didn't have so much of a reference.
