Technics SP-10MK3
(1982 - 1987+)

Last call.
Last call for high-end LP turntables from a general manufacturer - by the time it was withdrawn, Yamaha, Sony, Kenwood or Pioneer all had abandoned that segment of the still financially valid high-fidelity market.

Mostly different from the mkII bestseller is... everything ! The drive itself sees its weight doubled from 9,5kg to 18kg. More precisely: the platter of the mk3 weighs as much as the entire mk2 drive ! The mk3 is mechanically based on Technics' SP-02 cutting lathe so this explains that.
Starting torque of this new ultra-low speed brushless DC motor is allows a 16kg/cm spec - twice as much as that of the SP-10 mk2 ; this means full speed ahead in 30° of a full rotation or 0,25s. The inertia moment of the 10kg platter is of 1,1 ton/cm2... The platter has a 15mm copper alloy surface btw and 1,1 ton/cm2 is the equivalent of 1000 tonearms all tracking at 2g each, btw too. The boosted signal-to-noise ratio reachs 92db - not as much as an Exclusive P3 but respectable just the same.
The power supply houses the speed and start/stop controls and allows ±9,9% pitch change in 0,1% steps.
The recommended tonearm and base were the EPA-100MK2 and SH-10B5 (but the original EPA-100 can work just as well !)

The SP-10mkIII sold somewhat well but previsibly not nearly as much as the previous SP-10mkII version : CD was there and most high-enders were by then irremediably drawn to Oracle, Linn LP-12 or ultra Thorens vinyl spinners - in other words, not Made in Japan. Even Micro Seiki couldn't make much of either its S-Z1 or its ultimate APM-1 masterpieces - the vinyl LP era had definitely ended. As often, standards get buried just when they finally come to full maturity.