14 DAY TRIAL // It really seems that we're seeing the latest remnants of the analog age being killed one at a time by the companies that still manufactured them, thus marking the final and inexorable transition to the digital age, to a world where everything is stored in files saved onto various types of memory modules, rather than actual, physical media, such as cassettes or vinyl discs. So, after learning about the official demise of the cassette Sony Walkman earlier on this week, it would seem that yet another icon of the analog age is heading towards oblivion, namely the Panasonic Technics turntable. So, as the TokyoReporter informs us, Panasonic announced earlier this month that it would be discontinuing the audio products within its Technics brand, famous especially for its line of high-end turntables, used by DJs and musicians from all over the world. The Technics brand of turntables had achieved a huge level of popularity over time, especially due to the use of the Direct Drive (via magnets) turning mechanism and its heavy 12.5-kilogram base (composed of what is known as the Technics Non Resonance Compound), which isolated the platter so as to reduce feedback and the chance that the cartridge would jump. However, the advent of the digital age has led to a significant collapse in this market segment, very few people (typically, audiophiles and professional DJs) still going for vinyl discs, that are harder and harder to come by (especially as far as new albums are concerned). Similar to some other iconic products out there, it's very likely that analog turntables will still be around for quite a while, although probably being produced by very small outfits in limited-edition series, targeting an ever-diminishing segment of hard-core audiophiles, who can't simply let go of the past and the analog products that marked forever their lives.
The death of yet another icon
hot right now