Technics SL-P10

The long (long) time spent on pre-production units gave way to the SQ-CD10 which was planned to be released until... changes... the SL-P10 finally made its appearance.

Slightly smaller than the CD10, the P10 nevertheless is a magnificent beast which however looks much more inviting in its "S" version (S for Silver), the latter being unfortunately even more rare than the original brownish version.
The SL-P10S remains one of the better designed CD players... then and now.

The SL-P10 saw two versions, identical on the outside but fairly different inside : the original one had a separate servo board stacked atop the main board ; the later one got integration pushed further : all-in-one board.

Far from the Hitachi clones, the P10 mechanism is 100% Matsushita and even the laser block itself is, unlike others who made their own mechanisms but bought OEM lasers from Sharp. That laser was used only in the SL-P10 so restoration may be difficult there... and elsewhere : reliability is not the best word for the P10.

The display is like that of the Shrp DX-3 : 80 vertical bars show total time and play progression while others below outline where present tracks are (one more set of bars) and which are programmed (one more set of bars). Very impressive but good eyes necessary !


As all 1st gen' CD players, the P10 is built amazingly well, mechanically, but in a pronounced "messy" way, electronically : the format wasn't that new in '83 but the players surely were the very first :)

For Technics, this may come from the two years spent in R&D contradictions : supporting JVC's VHD / AHD on one hand (JVC was a fully-owned subsidiary since 1963), then backing Philips / Sony CD format while maintaining VHD / AHD, then not, and trying to push its own broadcast PCM machines.

All this means being technologically ready, having prototypes and players and license agreements. Despite Matsushita's industry weight, it didn't work : broadcast PCM already was Sony's, Sony and Philips got the EIAJ recommendation for CD, and VHD / AHD didn't make it, sales-wise.



More about the SL-P10 at the indispensable vintage-audio-laser and a real (silver !) one here.