The web is abuzz with the news that Panasonic has announced the end of the Technics turntable but there’s not a single post out there with a copy of the actual press release. Until I see it, I’m hoping that this is one of those viral rumours gone mad.
The posts out there say that Panasonic has cited a decline in demand and difficulty in procuring the parts to keep the legendary 1200 and 1210 series in production (and that’s not hype, these things really are that prominent in their space, hell they created the space).
If they are destined to be canned, then it won’t directly affect audiophiles and music lovers because only a few strange folk use a Technics in a hi-fi capacity. I’m one of these weird types, although I was just about to list my modified SL1210 on TradeMe, I may have to reconsider though.
The Technics direct drives are all over the place in a DJ capacity and without trying too hard, I can come up with three people in the audio business who own two each for scratching or whatever it is they do with them.
If this news is in fact the real deal, then it’s a damn shame. There aren’t many other pieces of analogue audio gear quite as tough or as long lived as a Technics. What an amazingly over-engineered design, it’s been my pleasure to own one.
Go to a club these days and it’s pretty unlikely for a DJ to be spinning vinyl on a SL1200. More likely Serato via a couple of Pioneer CDJ 1000’s.
Means more vinyl for moi now that DJ’s are selling off their vinyl and moving to downloads.
The thing is, they are such a good product that they’ve effectively put themselves out of business.
There are enough of them in circulation that have been going strong for decades, they arn’t going anywhere.