Thursday, September 4, 2014

Panasonic Revives Technics Brand: Could the 1200 Return?

Technics SL-1200
 
Panasonic announced on Wednesday that it’s reviving its brand of Technics audio products.
 
Reuters reports that the Japanese company “showed off new speaker systems and amplifiers, controllers and even CD players at the IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin, marking the first products to be released under the Technics brand besides headphones since 2010.”
 
Before 1200 fans get too excited, it must be noted that Panasonic’s plans do not include their highly-coveted SL-1200 turntable, which was discontinued four years ago.
 
We can’t help but wonder if there’s still a chance of it happening, though. Resurrecting the brand is a step in the right direction and Panasonic hasn’t ruled out the possibility (their European chief executive Laurent Abadie declined to comment when asked).
 
According Abadie, the company’s decision to bring back its Technics brand is a response to a new generation of digital audio files coming soon which he says “are almost the same as analog in terms of quality.”
 
Demand for the discontinued 1200 turntable, which was an industry standard for decades, has soared in recent years. Earlier this year, both Reloop and Pioneer unveiled their own turntables that are designed to compete with the 1200.
 
Related: Pioneer DJ Reportedly in Final Stage of Sale

| Music Tech
Panasonic, Technics,

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