same MDF chassis, available in Terracotta, Light Grey), and Charcoal Black, as the SC-CX700 Bluetooth speakers.
The cast aluminum platter with mounted magnet rotates thanks to a direct drive motor with no ferrite in the core, while new feet help reduce vibration. The new tonearm has an S-shaped design and allows for the integration of a cartridge holder.
SL-40CBT In line with the trend for wireless turntables, the SL-40CBT is Bluetooth-enabled and can therefore communicate directly with the aforementioned speakers, or with any other Bluetooth amplifier or source, including headphones. It therefore has a built-in phono circuit, exclusively for playing moving magnet (MM) cartridges. Based on a rotation speed of 33 or 45 rpm for playing vinyl records, this turntable comes with a new Audio-Technica AT-VM95C cartridge from the series presented at the High-End show in Munich last May.
SL-50C With RCA cables and connectors for connecting to an external phono preamp, the second model features the same chassis, platter, motor, and tonearm, but adds 78 rpm speed and takes advantage of the extra budget saved by not including a phono card to upgrade to a higher-end cartridge, in this case an Ortofon 2M Red.
For the moment, these two turntables have been announced in the United States at $899 and they will be arriving in Europe very soon at a similar price in euros.
A few days ago, Verve Label Group and UMe announced the creation of “Verve Vault”, a new series of affordable (just under €30) fully analogue vinyl reissues featuring iconic jazz albums and little-known gems from Verve’s legendary catalogue.
The series will feature 180-gram vinyl records remastered from the original analogue tapes by the prolific Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound and pressed at Optimal. Starting on 10 October, “Verve Vault” will release two titles per month from various labels in the Verve family, such as Verve, Impulse!, Mercury, and many others. The series kicks off with two of the most sought-after albums in the catalogue: Dizzy Gillespie’s 1959 classic Sonny Side Up (featuring Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins) and Antonio Carlos Jobim’s 1963 debut album, The Composer of Desafinado Plays, which marked a turning point in the history of instrumental bossa nova. Both titles are available for pre-order now.
In November, Stan Getz’s “Focus” and Jimmy Smith & Wes Montgomery’s “The Dynamic Duo” will be released, followed in December by Max Roach’s “Percussion Bitter Sweet” and Archie Shepp’s “Four For Trane”. The year 2026 will open with the releases of two great singers: Dinah Washington and Blossom Dearie. Other titles will be announced shortly, but this new series from Verve already looks set for a bright future.
Unveiled in Japan at the beginning of the year, the Luxman D-03R arrived in Europe in early September, equipped with a power supply adapted to 220 V.
While the D-03x still used Texas Instrument DAC chips, the D-03R uses ROHM chips developed for Luxman, giving it a sound closer to that of the larger D-07X and D-10X models. In fact, it even incorporates a newer version of the BD34352EKV chip, used in mono for each channel, which guarantees support for PCM files up to 384 kHz/32-bit, DoP, and DSD512 (when using the USB input). The ultra-low phase noise clock has been redesigned, with jitter also controlled by a dedicated asynchronous transmission for the USB port and a high-precision integrated clock for the coaxial and optical ports.
The analog circuit features a symmetrical buffer circuit with four amplification units, as well as a more powerful power supply, with the DAC filtered by capacitors with double the power, from 3 300 µF to 6 600 µF. Gold-plated RCA terminals with an 18 mm pitch and Neutrik XLR terminals allow the CD player (you need to upgrade to the D-07X to play SACDs) to be connected to a preamplifier. Designed on a new chassis, with a revised mechanism on a 3.2 mm steel plate to better block vibrations, the D-03R comes with a new RD-28 remote control, which retains the numeric keypad for easier selection of CD tracks.
Weighing 13.2 kg, this new player is priced at 5 690 € in Europe.
Behind its understated lines of a conventional CD player, the Technics SL G700 M2 hides its true capabilities. In addition to playing compact discs, of course, it is a true universal access system for high-resolution audio sources, whether from physical media or digital files.
When it comes to physical media, Technics has equipped its latest model with a particularly open turntable. In addition to conventional CDs, it is compatible with MQA-encoded CDs. Similarly, when it comes to optical media, the SL G700 M2’s turntable is compatible with SACDs, whether they are single-channel or hybrid, meaning they contain both an SACD layer and a CD layer on the same disc.
Halfway between physical and digital storage are, of course, the indispensable USB sticks and other portable hard drives. The SL G700 M2 has USB ports for accessing their content. A conventional USB-A port is therefore dedicated to these storage devices. However, Technics wanted to further extend the scope of its latest addition by also equipping it with a USB-B port. This is dedicated to connecting a computer, among other things, so that the SL G700 M2 can use the music files stored on its hard drive, for example.
The SL G700 M2 is also very well equipped when it comes to digital sources. In order to access the home network and, through it, the Internet, this player has a high-speed Wi-Fi connection. It should be noted that an Ethernet port on an RJ-45 socket provides a backup for a wired connection. For our part, we always favour a wired connection whenever possible.
In addition to eliminating the inevitable selection of access points and exchange of passwords required to initialise a Wi-Fi connection, it often guarantees a more consistent bit rate.
Once connected, the SL G700 M2 offers all the traditional functions of a network player. In addition to traditional internet radio stations, it provides direct access to streaming music services such as Spotify Connect, Amazon Music, Deezer, Tidal, Qobuz, etc. Finally, the SL G700 M2 integrates Chromecast and works with Google Assistant.
To offer such versatility, the heart of the SL G700 M2 is based on ESS ES9026PRO converters in a dual monaural configuration. Each channel has its own converter, which significantly limits the risk of interaction between the two channels.
It should be noted that PCM streams, up to 192 kHz, undergo pre-processing to match the phase alignment and ideal impulse response upstream of their digital-to-analogue conversion. This processing enhances the purity of the sound and produces a clearer sound image. DSD streams, on the other hand, are applied directly to the DAC. This player, which supports MQA and most hi-res audio formats such as WAV/AIFF up to 32-bit/384 kHz, FLAC/ALAC up to 24-bit/384 kHz and DSD streams up to 11.2 MHz, can even play MQA-encoded CDs.
However, once the digital-to-analogue conversion has been completed, the purity of the analogue signal must still be preserved until its final playback in order to fully benefit from the quality of the converters. To achieve this, Technics has paid particular attention to the quality of the SL G700 M2’s amplification stages. Instead of using conventional operational amplifiers, they are based on an architecture designed around discrete components, selected and wired with the utmost care. This choice guarantees high responsiveness in these analogue stages as well as an excellent signal-to-noise ratio.
However, the quality of the player’s power supply also has a major impact on this parameter. A power supply that plunges the electronic circuits into an ‘electromagnetic fog’ causes a significant deterioration in listening purity. To preserve the finesse of the sound reproduction, the SL G700 M2 is equipped with a silent multi-level power supply that uses innovative technologies. The SL G700 M2’s power supply unit ensures complete suppression of power supply noise in three stages.
Firstly, this power supply operates at a high frequency of 300 kHz, which places any residual noise well beyond the audible frequencies. To ensure perfect stability, very low-noise regulators specifically designed for the SL G700 M2 are used. Finally, Technics employs active noise suppression through ‘current injection’. This new technology eliminates unwanted noise components by applying a current in the opposite direction to the detected noise.
USING THE TECHNICS SL G700 M2
This beautiful object is not very tall, but it has a wide and deep footprint. And it is quite heavy. The SL G700 M2 will therefore benefit from a good, stable and rigid support. It will also perform much better if you take care of the power cord. Finally, don’t hesitate to plug the USB-A ports at the front and rear using two Audioquest Jitterbugs or iFi iSilencers+. For a modest budget, this makes a big difference.
THE SOUND OF THE TECHNICS SL G700 M2
We were big fans of the first generation of the SL G700. Finally, a complete digital player that handles the network and all optical audio discs. The new version has the same impeccable pedigree. CD and SACD playback is particularly successful. We tend to forget it, but our precious collections of physical digital audio media contain musical treasures.
On some of our old SACD titles in particular, we were amazed by the quality of the reproduction, which was both refined and subtle, with beautiful dynamics and a wide bandwidth. What a pleasure it is to feel such a strong bass foundation. It really pushes forward. It’s very enjoyable. We then moved on to network playback, with the same pleasure.
Overall, the SL G700 M2 is a successful digital source, but one that places more emphasis on the chiselled and precise side of sound reproduction compared to the first generation, which favoured a more embodied and mellow tonal balance. We would therefore be tempted to say that the transition from one generation to the next is more evident in the evolution of the device’s sound personality than in its intrinsic performance.
Of course, the balance of the SL G700 M2 favours the perception of detail, transparency is superior, and the speed on small signals is a step up. This is a machine that provides a feeling of accuracy and finesse in all areas of play. Not only is the resolution excellent, but the precision of the soundstage is remarkable.
OUR CONCLUSION
We reiterate our confidence in and interest in this device, which, in its second iteration, still offers an unbeatable package of features, build quality, and sound and musical satisfaction. This device is remarkably designed and built. It is worthy of more expensive devices, and the attention to detail has been taken to the extreme. For the eclectic music lover who does not want to limit their scope and who wants to enjoy all digital files, whether on physical media or dematerialised, this is the ideal machine, offered at a price that remains extremely reasonable given its qualities.
Author: Estève Fabry
TECHNICAL SHEET: TECHNICS SL G700 M2
Origin: Japan
Price: €2,999
Dimensions: 430 x 88 x 407 mm
Weight: 12.3 kg
Optical media played: 2-channel single/hybrid SACD, CD, MQA CD
Frequency response: 2 Hz to 50 kHz (SACD), 2 Hz to 20 kHz (CD)
Harmonic distortion: 0.0006% (SACD), 0.0015% (CD)
Headphone output: 110 mV/32 ohms
Analogue outputs: 1 x unbalanced RCA, 1 x balanced XLR
Based on a new 50 mm diameter BioDyna diaphragm, powered by a neodymium magnet, the new Fostex closed-back TH910 and open-back TH919 models improve sound amplitude and reduce feedback. The frequency response is advertised as covering a wide range from 12.5 Hz to 40 000 Hz.
Thanks to their new structures, these new flagship models are also 20% lighter, with some aluminium parts replaced by magnesium. Carefully painted with traditional Japanese Urushi lacquer by Sa-kamoto Otozo Shoten Co., Ltd, these headphones set new standards in terms of components (7N OFC copper internal cables) and comfort (new high-resilience urethane foam to adapt to the shape of the head, new synthetic leather made from silk protein).
Weighing approximately 385 g (excluding cable) and with an impedance of 25 ohms and a sensitivity of 100 dB/mW, these new headphones come with a leather pouch and a detachable 2 m asymmetrical cable, with two 3.5 mm jacks to connect to the headphones on one side, and a gold-plated 6.35 mm plug to connect to the amplifier on the other. A 4.4 mm symmetrical cable is currently in development.
The TH910 and TH919 are the brand’s new flagship headphones and are priced at 3 290 € and 3 490 € including VAT in Europe.
