The 60-year History of Technics’ Love of Music

In 1965, Technics launched the bookshelf-type speaker system, Technics 1.This marked the origin and starting point of the Technics brand. Technics 1 was designed based on the optimization of cabinet volume and speaker diameter for superior bass reproduction. At its launch, it received acclaim from numerous critics for its rich sound despite its size, and it became a huge hit. With the philosophy of “unless we improve acoustic characteristics, we can’t reproduce great sound,” we began releasing a series of products backed by extensive research and technology, rather than relying solely on the auditory senses of engineers.

The development of direct-drive turntables began with a desire from fans for a belt-drive player that would remain consistent even in freezing temperatures. While improving the belt material, we challenged ourselves to create an entirely new drive system that would solve the issue altogether. This led to the development of a direct-drive system, where the turntable spins directly on the shaft of a low-speed motor. The result was the SP-10, the world’s first direct-drive turntable with unparalleled rotational performance. The SP-10 series earned the trust of broadcasters worldwide, including the BBC. The popularity of Technics’ direct-drive turntables soared, spreading globally. The robustness of the direct-drive turntable also became the catalyst for the creation of DJ play.

– See also: History of the SL-1200, an Icon of Music Culture

The Technics 7 (SB-7000), the world’s first linear phase speaker, solved problematic phase characteristics and directional anomalies found in other multi-way speaker systems. Before that time, it was believed that human ears could not detect phase misalignment, misaligned sound waves, coming from speakers. The Technics 7 proved this common belief wrong, and it sold over 100,000 units. Technics’ unique linear phase idea led to the “point-sound-source” concept and a flat coaxial speaker design. The SB-RX50 was born in 1986. In the SB-RX50’s flat coaxial two-way drive unit, the sound source of the woofer and tweeter in each speaker is aligned to a single point — side-to-side, top-to-bottom, and front-to-back — delivering excellent sound imaging and soundstage focus. This point-sound-source concept continues to this day in Technics speakers.

In the 1970s, the open reel tape deck market was undergoing significant changes. Technics adopted an innovative approach by developing and commercializing a unique single-capstan closed-loop system that fully utilized direct-drive motors.
This system allowed us to lower product costs while delivering high performance, including tape running stabilization and noise reduction. The outcome was the RS-1500U, which was well-received in the market and became a major success.
In 1977, marking the 100th anniversary of Edison’s invention of the phonograph, a German audio magazine featured the gramophone and the RS-1500U in a special issue titled “Audio Equipment for the Next 200 Years.” The RS-1500U was selected as a symbol of progress among all audio equipment worldwide.

To demonstrate its technological prowess, Technics tackled the challenge of developing the highest quality amplifiers to faithfully reproduce musical waveforms. This has been a long-standing theme in Hi-Fi audio. The results were groundbreaking innovations, the SE-A1, a top-of-the-line “Class-A+ power amplifier,” and the SU-A2 preamplifier with Class-A operation in all stages. These special amplifiers were built to order, with only one unit made per day. The concept of “Class-A+ operation” aimed to achieve the efficient output of Class-B amplifiers while maintaining the low distortion and high sound quality of Class-A amplifiers. This technology has been carried forward into the headphone amplifiers in current Technics products.

The SL-10 jacket-sized turntable system was designed with an emphasis on functional beauty. It introduced several innovative technologies, including a newly developed linear tracking tonearm and the original T4P cartridge, to achieve its compact size. The Technics SL-10 quickly gained recognition as a masterpiece. It won numerous awards, including the Good Design Award in Japan. It was also honored by being included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.

1982 saw the introduction of compact discs, prompting audio manufacturers to quickly release their first CD players. In our quest to deliver the ultimate digital sound experience, Technics set out to develop a CD player utilizing all available technological advancements. Our debut CD player, the SL-P10, featuring nearly all newly developed specialized circuits, emerged from this endeavor. Aiming for exceptional sound quality and user-friendliness, the SL-P10 set a new standard for future consumer optical disc players, including DVD and Blu-ray disc players.

The Audio Flat Panel (AFP) speaker was designed to capture the shimmering air and immersive experience of live music in a concert hall. After evaluating 80 different test models and conducting thorough computer simulations, we successfully developed the AFP1000. The first unit of the AFP1000 was delivered to the Vienna State Opera, one of the world’s leading opera houses, where it has been used for rehearsals by opera singers.

The SST-1 twin-load horn speaker system utilized a unique acoustic design. Known for delivering authentic hi-fi sound from a form resembling a wind instrument, it achieved both functional and aesthetic excellence. In March 1990, the revolutionary design of the SST-1 was recognized by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York and became part of its permanent collection.

DVD audio emerged as a new global audio standard 16 years after the CD’s introduction, providing more information than CDs and serving as the origin of today’s high-resolution audio. The world’s first DVD audio player, the DVD-A10 was designed with a focus on high-sound quality in every aspect, including signal processing, materials, and vibration countermeasures. Since then, Technics has been committed to high-quality high-resolution playback technology.

With the rise of compressed audio formats like MP3 and the decline of analog audio sources, the Technics brand was put on hiatus. However, the evolution of digital media and the introduction of Hi-Res audio formats prompted a revitalized approach to delivering a modern musical experience. Since then, brand new Technics has been dedicated to exploring new technologies in both the analog and digital realms.