ITM set the cat amongst the pigeons late last week when it covered reports circulating online that turntable manufacturer Technics would be halting production on their iconic Technics 1200s and Technics 1210s units in early 2010. The response was instant, and it ran the gamut of different emotions – grief at the idea that it could be coming to an end, disbelief that such a decision could really be made, and even fury when questions began to be asked about the legitimacy of the reports.

Confusion still reigns as to the status of the Technics line of analogue turntables, and this week inthemix has been attempting to get an official response on the matter from Panasonic Australia to try and clear up the confusion. Their response? No comment. “In regard to the discontinuation of Technics analogue turntables, Panasonic Corp. has made no official global announcement with regard to this matter. Panasonic Australia is unable to provide any further comment,” read a company statement sent to inthemix today. Clearly Panasonic aren’t ready to confirm one way or the other on the future of Technics products in Australia.

However, confusion has been heightened further with a number of ‘unofficial emails’ and statements that have been doing the rounds on the web since the story broke last week. ITM has been in touch with several retail outlets who had indicated they’d been informed by their local distributors that Technics would be ceasing production, but on Monday night local music retailer Store DJ posted an email on its Facebook page suggesting that Panasonic Australia had retracted this claim. The email had been sent to their managing director Jeremy Leitch by a sales executive for Panasonic Australia, David Blair.

“Regarding an email I sent last week regarding the end of manufacture of Technics turntables,” it read. “We have had a misunderstanding in communication with the factory and my original email is incorrect. Panasonic will continue to manufacture and supply Technics turntables for the forseeable [sic] future. We regret any problems this may have caused in the meantime.” However, it remains unclear why Panasonic Australia weren’t prepared to provide a similarly unambiguous official statement that would have cleared up the confusion.

Ian North from Panasonic, quoted in the original ITM story last week, has expressed his regret over the apparent demise of Technics, claiming the company would receive its last shipment in March, however he also told cnet.com.au this week that the reports were “premature” and that they were still waiting on clarification from Japan. In the same breathe, he commented on the “decline in the analog market” due to the popularity of digital solutions. “I wouldn’t say that analog is dead but there’s a lot of digital products on the market that can do the same thing.”

So what’s the story? Stay tuned to ITM as we’ll be bringing you the official word from Panasonic Australia as soon as it comes to hand.