Technics (テクニクス, Tekunikusu) is a Japanese audio brand established by Matsushita Electric (now Panasonic) in 1965.

Since 1965, Matsushita has produced a variety of HiFi and other audio products under the brand name, such as turntables, amplifiers, radio receivers, tape recorders, CD players, loudspeakers, and digital pianos.

[citation needed] From 2002 onwards products were rebranded as Panasonic except in Japan and CIS countries (such as Russia), where the brand remained in high regard.

[5] It eliminated belts, and instead employed a motor to directly drive a platter on which a vinyl record rests.

Due to its strong motor, durability, and fidelity, it was adopted by early hip hop artists.

[5] It was adopted by New York City hip hop DJs such as Grand Wizard Theodore and Afrika Bambaataa in the 1970s.

As they experimented with the SL-1200 decks, they developed scratching techniques when they found that the motor would continue to spin at the correct RPM even if the DJ wiggled the record back and forth on the platter.

A robust machine, the SL-1200 MK2 incorporated a pitch control mechanism (or vari-speed), and maintained a relatively constant speed with low variability, which proved popular with DJs.

The principal difference between the two models was the additional feature of semi-automatic operation in the SL-23, along with an adjustable speed control with built-in strobe light.

They offered technical specifications and features rivaling much more expensive turntables, including well-engineered s-shaped tonearms with tracking weight and anti-skate adjustments.

From 2004 on, except turntables, a series of headphones, and some DJ equipment, all audio products were by now bearing the Panasonic name, rather than Technics.

The EAH-F70 and EAH-A800 models can also operate as wired headphones, in which case the microphone and active noise canceling features are lost.