Technics History

Technics is a brand name of the Japanese company Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., a company that produces a variety of electronic products.

Technics is a term for the useful arts in general, distinct from that of the performing and fine arts. The name is often mispronounced as "tek-nicks". However, according to the manufacturer, the correct pronunciation is like the word techniques.

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 originally 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, where the brand is still popular). DJ equipment, electronic pianos and Micro Hi-Fi Systems are some of the Technics products currently being sold in the USA and Europe. [1]

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 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. Currently, it's used on the 1200 series turntables, and digital pianos, thus limiting their dealerships to music/pro audio stores.

The 1210 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 DJ's to transport their own equipment.

Mid 1970s:

SA-8500X The biggest quadraphonic receiver technics ever built with integrated CD4 demodulation

RS-858US quadraphonic 8-track player/recorder

SH-3433 4-channel quadraphonic audioscope

Late 1970s:

RS-1500/1700 series of open-reel tape decks;

SA-100/400/600/800/1000 receivers

new class A Amplifier series launched featuring SE-A1 / SE-A3 High Output Power Amplifiers

early 1980s:

SU-V3,V4 V5, V6, V7, V8, V9 Stereo Integrated Amplifiers

SE-A3MK2 SE-A5 SE-A5MK2 SE-A7 Power Amplifiers and SU-A4MK2 SU-A6 SU-A6MK2 and SU-A8 preamplifiers

SV-P100 digital audio recorder (using VHS tapes). Also available as the SV-100, a stand-alone PCM adaptor requiring a separate VCR;