It’s hard to imagine Final Fantasy without great music. Fans of the series can spend hours talking about the compositions of Nobuo Uematsu, or the fantasticFFXIV vinyl recordthey bought back in 2021. And now, Square-Enix is catering to the music nerds with an exclusiveFinal Fantasy XIVturntable.
Before we get into the details, let’s talk about the price. The FFXIV turntable costs $1,700—it’s a high-quality product, but it’s very expensive. Square-Enix clearly teamed up with Technics to develop this product, as it’s just a repainted version of theTechnics SL-1500C, a $1,300 turntable. (Square-Enix is effectively charging a $400 markup for its branding. Presumably, the company has been emboldened by some high-paying FFXIV customers.)
Here’s the good news; this turntable is fantastic. It uses a high-quality direct drive system, an S-shaped static-balance tone arm and Ortofon cartridge, and an aluminum die-cast chassis with vibration-dampening characteristics.
There’s also an auto-stop function that lifts away the tone arm when a record is finished, plus a built-in phono preamp that eliminates the need for an external preamp stage. (That said, the internal pre-amp can be bypassed if you’d prefer an external solution. But if you aren’t satisfied with the sound quality, I’d start by replacing the cartridge.)
The Final Fantasy XIV paint job is also pretty solid. An iconic meteor logo is placed underneath the tone arm, while the Eorzean alphabet flashes across the buttons and chassis of the turntable. Also, the platter features a pattern of Final Fantasy icons (which kind of resembles a designer handbag).
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But if you don’t care about the FFXIV design cues, you should probably just buy the Technica SL-1500C. It’s hundreds of dollars cheaper than Square-Enix’s offering, and it’ll arrive at your door a lot sooner, too.
You can pre-order theFinal Fantasy XIV turntablefrom the Square-Enix web store. Orders begin shipping in April of 2024, so if you plan to move within the next year, you may want to wait before placing your order (or set the delivery address to a family member’s home). Again, it costs a whopping $1,700—that’s $400 more than the Technica SL-1500C.
Official Final Fantasy XIV Turntable
Square-Enix’s official Final Fantasy XIV turntable features a direct drive motor, an auto-stop function, a high-quality cartridge, and a built-in phono preamp. Pre-order now to get it in April of 2024.
Technics - SL-1500C Turntable
Don’t need the Final Fantasy branding? Get the same turntable for less.
