The drive system designed by Matsushita is of the direct drive variety rather than the more commonly found belt fed type. This design was developed in order to virtually eliminate the problems of wow and flutter and produces a very quiet turntable which, for a direct drive turntable, has minimal motor and bearing noise. This was partially achieved through the fact that the SL1210/1200 was the first (and only) turntable to actually make the platter a part of the motor mechanism as opposed to just being attached to it via screws or magnets as is the case with most direct drive turntables.
At the underside of the platter there is a large magnet which, once placed over the spindle, surrounds the coils and forms the motor drive thus eliminating loss through power transfer. The SL-1200 utilizes a Frequency Generator Servo Control Quartz Lock system that is claimed to produce the most accurate and consistent speed possible.
Due to these strengths the SL-1200 lends itself to both Hi-Fi reproduction and demanding DJ usage.
History of the SL1200
SL-1200 (released in 1972) has a silver finish, this original model was marketed as a hi-fi turntable for the home market.