Interview: Olaf Adam • Photo: Technics
This article originally appeared in 0dB - The Magazine of Passion N ° 2
At first Technics was a synonym for solid hi-fi from Japan, then the name developed into a cult DJ brand and then disappeared from the market. A few years ago, the parent company Panasonic revitalized the traditional brand and relied on the experience of chief developer Tetsuya Itani, who worked for Technics in the 80s and has actively supported the brand for more than three decades. The successful revival of the Technics brand is certainly the crowning glory of the career of the avid engineer and music fan. But now it is time to pass the responsibility on to a generation of younger developers. Not an easy task either.
“When I started at Technics as a young engineer in 1980, I learned a lot from my more experienced colleagues. The ultimate goal has always been to offer real innovations at the highest technical level. I adopted this setting from my predecessors and kept it. And since Technics was back on the market, as a lead developer I have been trying to pass this basic principle of the brand on to my team. "
But times change, and it seems unlikely that the intrinsic values of a company will remain unchanged for such a long time. Or is it? “Our approach has remained the same, at most the interpretation of this principle has changed a little. We used to think as engineers and develop metrologically perfect products. Today the musicality of our products is more in the foreground. The result is often the same, because for really good music reproduction you need a technically highly developed product. "
Itani knows the danger of being too technologically obsessed with his work as an engineer. And that's what he'd like to convey to his younger colleagues. “Of course, striving for real innovation at the highest technical level must always be at the forefront. But it is just as important to know the market and listen to the users. After all, we develop high-quality products for discerning customers, so we have to understand their wishes and ideas. "
You can't tell by looking at him, but Tetsuya Itani is fast approaching retirement age. Fortunately, neither he nor his employer think about retirement. “I still have so many things to do and want to do them. So I'm very happy that Panasonic asked me to work a little longer. ”So Itani is handing over the baton at Technics to a new generation of engineers, but he is staying with the industry and turning to new tasks to. It is to be hoped that the workaholic will still have enough time to listen to music, because thanks to his broad taste in music, this is not that easy. “Music has been with me all my life, and it won't stop. On the same evening I can hear a recording by the Berliner Philharmoniker with their new conductor Petrenko, then something new from the current jazz scene and then maybe an old Beatles record. And I enjoy everything equally. "
If passion is the driving force, it just keeps going. And one thing is certain: this applies to both Tetsuya Itani and the Technics brand, which he has shaped over so many years.
