Technics

Technics is a brand name of the Panasonic Corporation, a company that produces a variety of electronic products. Under the brand name Technics, the company produced a variety of hi-fi products, such as turntables, amplifiers, receivers, tape decks, CD players and speakers for sale in various countries. It was conceived for a line of high-end audio equipment to go against such companies as Nakamichi, but most of its home products have been rebranded as Panasonic starting in 2002, except in Japan and certain other areas like the former Soviet Union, places where the brand holds considerable appeal. DJ equipment, electronic pianos and Micro Hi-Fi Systems are some of the Technics products currently being sold in the USA and Europe. On 3 September 2014, Panasonic announces that Technics brand is coming back, many people however are wondering if the legendary SL1200 will also be reborn.

The name Technics was introduced as a brand name for premium loudspeakers marketed domestically by Matsushita in 1965. The name came to widespread fame with the international sales of direct-drive turntables. In 1969, they introduced the SP-10, the first direct-drive model for the professional market, and in 1971 the SL-1100 for the consumer market. The SL-1100 was used by the influential DJ Kool Herc for the first sound system he set up after emigrating from Jamaica to New York. This latter model was the predecessor to the SL-1200 which, as the upgraded SL-1200 MK2, became a widely used turntable by DJs. The SL-1200 MK2 was a robust machine and incorporated a pitch control (or vari-speed), and kept the speed constant and the speed variability low, thus making it a popular tool with DJs.

The SL-1200 continues to evolve with the M3D series, followed by the MK5 series in 2003. Originally created by Panasonic to show off their high-end offerings, by the early 1980s Technics ended up offering an entire range of equipment from entry-level to high-end. Matsushita retired the Technics name almost completely in the early 2000s (decade). Currently, it is used on the 1200 series turntables (discontinued in 2010), and digital pianos, thus limiting their dealerships to music/pro audio stores.

The SL-1200 model is often considered as the 'Industry Standard' turntable equipment of the DJ industry. Its supreme torque and robust build make it a frequent choice for club venues as standard, eliminating the need for DJs to transport their own equipment. In 1972 Technics was the first[citation needed] to use an autoreverse system in a cassette deck (Technics RS-277US). In 1973 Technics was the first [citation needed] to use a three-head recording technique in a cassette deck (Technics RS-279US).

In 1976, Technics introduced two belt-driven turntables for the mass market, the SL-20 and SL-23. The principal difference between the two models was the addition, in the SL-23, of semi-automatic operation and an adjustable speed control with built-in strobe light. They offered what were, for the time, technical specifications and features that rivaled much more expensive turntables, including well-engineered s-shaped tonearms that featured both tracking weight and anti-skate adjustments. At the time they were introduced the SL-20 and SL-23, which sold for $100.00 and $140.00, respectively, set a new performance standard for inexpensive turntables.

www.technics.com