It’s no secret that Final Fantasy XIV is wildly popular – and profitable for Square Enix. The game’s popularity has led to lots of merch, the latest being a swanky record player.
The official Final Fantasy XIV Direct Drive Turnable System is now available over on the Square Enix Store, and it costs $1,700. You read that price right – this is a very premium and pricey record player.
Adorned with a black finish and emblazoned with iconic symbols and shapes from the MMORPG like the meteor logo and symbols representing the Twelve, it definitely makes a statement.
Here’s a product blurb for the turntable:
The SQ-1500 is built with high-end sound quality concept and technologies, such as a coreless direct drive motor and high-sensitivity tonearm. To simplify the playing of analog records, the built-in Phono EQ connects to a wide variety of devices. The SQ-1500 also comes equipped with a high-quality phono cartridge. The SQ-1500 is a complete turntable system designed for a wide range of users, even outside of strictly dedicated audio enthusiasts.
The Latest Coreless Direct Drive Motor Achieves High-precision Stable Rotation
The technologies acquired through the development of its predecessor models were lavishly inserted into the motor drive unit, a key part of the turntable. The motor exclusively tunes the single-rotor, coreless direct drive motor to read the high rotation accuracy and high-precision signals of the record. Optimal motor control is conducted for the inertial mass of the two-layer structure platter on which the vinyl record is placed with deadening rubber on the entire back surface to eliminate unwanted resonance in the aluminum die-cast platter to eliminate the rotation irregularity called cogging. The aluminum die-cast chassis is rigidly integrated with a special material consisting of ABS mixed with glass fiber to achieve a two-layer construction. The insulator is comprised of a spring and rubber to provide optimal vibration-damping characteristics. The tonearm is a static-balance universal S-shape tonearm. By adopting a high-precision bearing using the gimbal suspension construction and machined housing, high initial sensitivity is achieved. In addition, reliability has been improved by incorporating a removable power cable and gold-plated terminals, which have less sound quality degradation, for the PHONO and LINE terminals.
Complete Turntable with a Built-in Phono Equalizer and Cartridge
Complete Turntable with a Built-in Phono Equalizer and Cartridge In order to enjoy playing analogue records more comfortably, the SQ-1500 features a built-in phono equalizer and bundled cartridge. There is no need to separately prepare either one, making it easy to link with a wide range of audio equipment. The shield structure of the built-in phono equalizer suppresses the effects of external noise and noise from the power supply. It is also equipped with a switch to turn the LINE output off when it is not being used. The turntable has been designed to thoroughly shut-out adverse effects to the PHONO output. The dedicated power supply for the PHONO output terminal is isolated from the power supply for the LINE output terminal, and has been designed to prioritize sound quality by minimizing the wiring of the PHONO signal. The isolated terminals also prevent wiring mistakes. The SQ-1500 will maximize the sound quality of vinyl records.
Equipped with an Auto Lifter Function That Allows You to Enjoy Playing Records More Comfortably
When the tonearm reaches the end of the record, the Auto Lifter function automatically raises the cartridge. This prevents unnecessary wear on your valuable vinyl records and stylus. By embedding the Auto Lifter function in the base portion of the tonearm, it eliminates impacts to the tonearm. Due to a simple design that doesn’t use motor power, there is no electrical or vibrational impact and it will not prevent the movement of the tonearm. In response to requests from many users regarding the Auto Lifter function, a design that prioritizes sound quality was adopted. The functions required to playback records were kept to a bare minimum, achieving simple and easy-to-use operability.
Final Fantasy XIV is available for Microsoft Windows (via Steam), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5.
This is Niche Merch. In this column, we regularly cover merch and toys from games, anime, geek culture, and more.
