2010 to signal the end of the Technics 1210?

There’s a crushing sense of inevitability to the rumours circulating with increasing speed that Technics will cease production of the 1200 and 1210 line of turntables within the year.

Less than twelve months after similar rumours were quashed by parent company Panasonic, music technology site Audiobeef is reporting that the industry standard vinyl turntable will soon be joining the likes of the Walkman and the VHS player in the realms of outdated and discontinued technology.

Audiobeef today circulated a translated statement from Panasonic which reads as follows:

Regarding our analogue turntable products, we have to inform you of our decision to terminate the business within this year, regrettably. Here are the reasons which made us reach this conclusion.

1. Since beginning of last decade, our sales of turntables have been decreasing drastically. They’re almost one-fifteenth of the sales 10 years

2. Many key parts are no longer available as some of our suppliers stopped production or discontinued their businesses. Also, there is the risk that some key parts’ availabilities might stop suddenly, and these parts are only being produced for our turntables. In that case we cannot produce the products that we have taken orders for already.

We cannot help discontinuing production in advance in order to avoid the worst case scenario.

No official comment from Panasonic has surfaced on this matter but more news when and as it does….