Technics SC-CX700 Wireless Speaker System Review

After all, their legacy of turntables and, more recently, highly rated amplifiers would be more apropos to consider, yet here is a beautiful pair of stand-mounted speakers. In case you missed the title of the review, I should say, “speaker system.”

The irony of my statement is that Technics, in fact, did have a speaker called the Technics 1 back in the 1960s. In the 1970s, Technics made their mark with turntables, and in the new century, Technics developed some amazing amplifiers.

The SC-CX700 speaker system comes in a box with the slogan, “Rediscover Music”. With a nod of approval, I unpack and discover that what should be a lot of fuss is refreshingly “fuss-less.”

The system refers to a powered speaker, which can serve as a hub for an audio system. Wireless technology that allows multiple analog inputs, digital, and an ARC function to connect to your video source. But that is not all. Technics includes a phono stage (for MM loading) and a subwoofer output terminal. But that is not all. A full-functioning remote control and a proprietary app to help navigate the plethora of streaming services, including TIDAL and Qobuz, along with many others available. Did I mention it is Roon-ready?

Naturally, the first thing I noticed was the cladding of the speaker, normally the description would be some sort of wood veneer or glossy coating, or bite my lip, a simulated wood vinyl skin. Nope, the SC-CX700 is covered in felt. The kind you rub your hand up and down, and change the color based on the grain direction. Although three colors are available, including silky grey and charcoal black, I have the terra cotta, which I much prefer.

While I caress the felt walls of the speaker, I notice the top has controls on the primary speaker. In addition to the inputs available, several tactile buttons for power on/off, mute, and volume control. Of note is also an amplifier vent towards the top rear.

The front is adorned with a removable circular grill covering a solo driver and a cabinet port below. On the rear, however, there is a power cable attachment, along with connections for HDMI, USB-C, a digital optical input, and the surprising inclusion of a phono stage, with grounding wire. I had already mentioned an option to connect a subwoofer. A LAN connection and PS link are used to tether the second speaker.

Have I mentioned how heavy the speaker is at 21 pounds for the primary and 18 pounds for the other speaker? The images may not do justice to the size of these monitor speakers, but to accommodate a large 6” driver and amplifiers, the designers needed some volume.

The SC-CX700 is a two-way bass-reflex coaxial design with the tweeter in line with the woofer. Technics refers to the design as a Phase Precision Driver 4.

Each speaker has two digital amplifiers built in, a 60-watt amplifier for the woofer and a 40-watt amplifier for the tweeter, for a total of 100 watts of total power per speaker. Technics made the effort to isolate the driver chamber from the digital amplifier section with solid construction between the two. Further, the amplifier in itself is another structure minimizing vibration.

Internally, Technics utilizes its JENO engine technology ahead of each individual amplifier. JENO is said to “reduce disturbance in audio signal transmission between the speakers, achieving high-quality stereo sound.” Technics also touts a Model-Based Diaphragm Control (MBDC) circuit, which they state, “reduces harmonic distortion based on the diaphragm’s movement simulation, achieving superb sound separation with low distortion.” This feature sounds similar in concept to the servo control used on some subwoofer drivers.

The first order of business is to download the app, available for both iOS and Android. This may also trigger a firmware update. A discrete LED light mounted at the front and bottom of the primary speaker will help you connect your local Wi-Fi to the speaker. I connected the primary and secondary speakers together with the supplied link cable and plugged each speaker into a wall socket for powering the amplifiers. With the link cable in use, the SC-CX700 will transmit up to full 24-bit 192 kHz signals between the speakers. Without the cable, the speakers will top out at a 24-bit 96 kHz stream transmitted wirelessly between them. As a turnkey solution, you can simply be done at this point if you just want to enjoy streaming music. Through the app, you can sign in to your subscription and listen away. However, if you do have the options to connect to other sources, a TV, turntable, or other digital source, including using a USB 2.0 cable if you have stored music on your system.

The simplest mode of connection would be Bluetooth.

Want more? Technics built into the SC-CX700 a microphone on the speaker to make room placement adjustments, compensating for shelf, speaker stand, wall locations, etc., all accessible through the app. Test tones are sent, and the app will keep the settings. If you are into tone controls (like our reviewer Taps Das is fond of mentioning), they’ve got that for you, too.

The supplied remote will do most of everything the app does (pairing, volume control, pause, rewind, fast forward, input selection), other than selecting and playing your streaming services.

I began listening to the SC-CX700 pair at my office, placed on a glass shelf. Although this was meant as my break-in period, my immediate impression was the fullness and detail while playing Tidal from my phone. For more critical listening and to further evaluate the other features afforded on the speakers, I took them home and placed them on sturdy stands as recommended by Technics.

Although wireless is the name of the game, I did connect the system with a wired LAN line. Why not? I spent a weekend running the line for that reason. During my brief experience using Wi-Fi, I found no flaws, connecting, keeping the connection, and the sound was crisp and clear to boot. It did take a bit more setup time to make the wireless network connection through the app, however.

At this time, I will say I prefer connecting through the Tidal app versus the Technics app, I just prefer the navigation. That may also be true for any of the other services. For comparison, I would also say I prefer the Tidal app to the BluOS app from Bluesound. The app, however, is remarkable for control and information. Using the Space Tune function allowed me to make subtle sonic adjustments based on my space. The app is more about the hardware to me than the software, but that statement is subjective. The app also allows you to save tracks regardless of the service used and save them as a playlist.

Now the music, let me say I was eclectic and just winged it, playing what I fancied.

The pièce de résistance came as I finally plugged a turntable into the back of the primary speaker. I placed the needle down on the album and held my breath. I sighed as I realized it sounded great. Why was I expecting anything else, considering the Technics pedigree for vinyl?

For a smart, stylish, and great-sounding turnkey sound system, the Technics SC-CX700 is a brilliant solution that deserves the most serious consideration.

I really can go on and on about the Technics SC-CX700 speaker system, but you get the gist of my enjoyment overall. At first, I thought this to be more of a lifestyle piece of gear, it is designed to integrate into your main audio listening environment, whether from a television or from streaming. Hell, there are soundbars that can do some of that, too. I was wrong in my assumption; this is a serious piece of audio gear that should maintain its technical integrity and ability into the future. I would have no problem living with this system as my main audio source, period.