Riding the vinyl wave, Panasonic will relaunch its Technics turntable series between April 2016 and March 2017. The iconic brand showed a prototype (above) of the redesigned aluminum turntable today at IFA, sending journalists jogging to check out the new disc-spinner. The turntable, which has been remade from the inside out, features “direct drive motor control technology” that Panasonic says will help to improve sound quality.
“Turntables are a very iconic product for the Technics brand,” said Technics director Michiko Ogawa to Wired UK. “It is important to show our sincere dedication [to that]. The turntable market is very small but it is a very important brand product.”
Technics turntables, which debuted in 1972 and were discontinued in 2010, have long been a mainstay for DJs. The SL-1200 series was its workhorse model and the one that many DJs lived by. “The way it’s built and constructed, it’s perfect as it is,” said Toronto-based DJ and DJ shop owner Jason Palma to The Toronto Star when the brand discontinued its turntable line in 2010. “It’s sturdy, it’s a tank, and it works perfectly for DJs.”
We’re not sure what the new turntable series will bring, or even if it will even offer an updated version of the SL-1200. We do know that sales of vinyl records have exploded as of late, surpassing 9 million in sales for the first time in 20 years this past year, and we’re sure Panasonic/Technics wants to capitalize on some of that growth.
Technics also announced several other audio components, including an amp, a hi-fi system, and premium stereo headphones at IFA today. Panasonic first relaunched the music brand last year with a couple of extremely expensive audio systems, to the tune of just around $60,000. Hopefully, the new line of record players will include at least a few more economical price points.
