Technics, which aided hip-hop culture’s rise, shows turntable prototype

One of the iconic brands of turntable culture, Technics, will start making turntables again, the company’s corporate parent, Panasonic, announced Wednesday. During an official unveiling of products at the Berlin consumer electronics show IFA, the company presented a prototype of a sleek, minimalist new model.

Technics’ workhorse DJ machine, the SL-1200, guided the rise of hip-hop culture while becoming required hardware for techno and house DJs eager to work their beat-matching magic. The company last introduced a new SL-1200 model in 2007, but in the interim the market for turntables has increased as sales of vinyl have exploded.

Relatively speaking, turntables still occupy a sliver of the electronics market, but Technics’ seemingly indestructible vintage models reinforce the brand’s reputation for being a purveyor of quality audio. Hence the return.

“Turntables are a very iconic product for the Technics brand,” Technics’ Michiko Ogawa told Wired. “It is important to show our sincere dedication [to that]. The turntable market is very small but it is a very important brand product.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, the new turntable will arrive between April 2016 and March 2017.

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