Built for the Real World. Refined by Real DJs: New upper-line professional direct-drive turntable delivers enhanced vibration resistance, greater pitch precision and expanded creative control for demanding performance environments.

AMSTERDAM, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Technics today announces the SL-1210MKX, a new professional direct-drive DJ turntable that opens the next chapter in the long and influential history of the SL-1200 Series. Developed with direct input from working DJs and Sound Engineers to deliver greater stability, enhanced pitch precision and expanded creative freedom in demanding club, festival and live performances environments.

Positioned above the SL-1210MK7, the new model represents the next evolution of the iconic SL-1200 Series.  Built upon real world testing and professional feedback, the SL-1210 MKX is designed to address the challenges DJs face in high pressure performance settings where powerful sound systems, deep bass, structural vibration and extended operating periods place exceptional demands on equipment.

As vinyl performance continues to evolve across clubs, festivals and specialist performance disciplines, professionals DJs increasingly demand greater resistance to feedback, precise pitch control, dependable operation and the freedom to develop new performance techniques. The SL-1210MKX has been created in response to those needs.

“The SL-1200 Series has earned its reputation through decades of real-world performance in clubs, on stage and in studios around the world,” said Stefanie Baron, Manager Technics DJ Channel Europe, Panasonic Consumer Europe (PCEU). “With the SL-1210MKX, we wanted to build on that legacy by working closely with professional DJs and sound technicians to better understand the challenges they face. The result is a turntable that delivers even greater stability, precision and creative freedom while staying true to the qualities that have made the SL-1200 an industry standard for more than five decades.”

Engineered for demanding professional environments
A significantly heavier, balanced chassis provides greater resistance to external vibration, while newly designed isolation feet have been engineered to combine effective feedback isolation with the stability required for confident scratching and performance use.

The result is a turntable designed to remain stable in bass-heavy environments without compromising the direct, controlled feel that scratch and performance DJs require. The reduced risk of acoustic feedback allows us to maintain higher sound pressure levels and more offensive EQ settings.

Extended pitch control for precision and expression
For the first time in the history of the SL-1200 Series, the SL-1210MKX introduces a dedicated ±4% pitch range. The narrower range provides DJs finer resolution and more precise adjustment, supporting accurate beatmatching and subtle tempo correction when tracks have closely matched BPM values. Alongside the standard pitch settings, a new ±50% range greatly extends the available tempo variation, opening new possibilities for creative mixing, turntablism and advanced performance techniques.

Further refinements include a quieter reset switch inspired by earlier SL-1200 models, the proven Technics coreless direct-drive motor with adjustable start-up torque and brake speed, 78 rpm playback and reverse functionality. A polished silver tonearm and elegant black finish underline the model’s premium character while paying tribute to the iconic SL-1200MK2.

Beyond these headline upgrades, the SL-1210MKX incorporates numerous subtle improvements developed with the precision, care and uncompromising attention to detail associated with Japanese engineering.

Made for the professional DJ ecosystem
The SL-1210MKX is created for headline and touring vinyl DJs, club and festival DJs, and performance and scratch specialists who demand the highest levels of performance from their equipment. It is equally suited to nightclubs and music venues with permanent DJ installations, rental and backline companies, and professional DJ service providers. By meeting the technical-rider expectations of influential artists, the SL-1210MKX is designed to support demand across the wider DJ ecosystem.

Above all, it is intended for users who place stability, durability, precision and expressive freedom, and who expect their turntable to perform consistently wherever their work takes them.

55 years of the SL-1200 Series
Technics celebrates 55 years of the SL-1200 Series and a legacy built together with generations of DJs and vinyl lovers. First introduced in 1972 as a high-performance direct-drive turntable, the SL-1200 quickly became far more than audio equipment. Its torque, rotational stability, durability and hands-on control gave DJs the freedom to shape disco, hip-hop, house, techno, turntablism and the wider evolution of club culture.

The 1979 SL-1200MK2 strengthened this position through quartz-controlled direct drive and the iconic professional layout that became a worldwide booth standard. The SL-1210MKX carries that story forward: an upper-line evolution designed to honor more than five decades of analogue performance while setting a new professional standard for the future.

The “X” stands for Extreme and Expert—reflecting both its demanding operating environment and the people for whom it has been created.

Public unveiling at Amsterdam Dance Event
The Technics SL-1210MKX will be unveiled publicly at 12:10 CET on Wednesday, 21 October 2026 at Pacific in Amsterdam, during the 30th anniversary edition of Amsterdam Dance Event. Further launch activities will follow including participation at the Paris Audio Video Show and the Poland Audio Video Show.

Availability and pricing
The SL-1210MKX will be available from January 2027 at selected Technics retailers at an RRP of € 1.499,- | GBP £ 1.299,-.

About Technics 

The Technics brand was established in the same era in 1965. Beginning with the Technics 1 speaker, the brand has gone on to develop revolutionary audio products and technologies, including amps, players, and tuners. In particular, the direct-drive turntable was an industry gamechanger, laying the foundation for today’s DJ and club music scenes. Today, in a diverse music scene that favors both analogue and digital audio, Technics continues to lead the market as a comprehensive audio brand.

For more information please see: technics.com or follow technics.global on Facebook or @technics_global on Instagram.

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SOURCE Panasonic Corporation of North America

HEFEI, China, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Sungrow, a globally leading PV inverter and energy storage system provider, announced that its latest PowerTitan 3.0 battery energy storage system (BESS) has successfully completed a large-scale fire test conducted in accordance with the latest applicable requirements of UL 9540A: 2026 and CSA/ANSI C800-2025, making it the industry’s first stacked-cell BESS with an AC-block design to successfully complete such a test. From PowerTitan 1.0 to 3.0, all three generations passed the large-scale fire test on the first attempt.

Conducted by UL Solutions, witnessed by Fire Risk Alliance (FRA), and observed by Jensen Hughes (JH), the test evaluated the system’s ability to contain a severe thermal runaway event and prevent it from propagating to adjacent BESS containers and the Medium-Voltage Substation.

Tested Under Demanding Real-World Installation Conditions

The test setup replicated the block-level layout of a real-world utility-scale BESS installation, including 28.56 MWh of fully liquid-cooled PowerTitan 3.0 BESS and a 7.4 MW Medium-Voltage Substation (MVS). PowerTitan 3.0 features high-energy-density stacked cells and an integrated AC block architecture, combining the battery system and DC/AC Power Converter Unit within a single 20-foot container.

To further challenge the system’s safety design, the BESS was at 100% state of charge. The initiating container and the adjacent container were installed back-to-back closely. The MVS was also included in the test configuration. All active fire suppression systems and thermal management system were disabled, and rooftop pressure-relief panels of the initiating container were also fully opened to maximize ventilation and oxygen availability. The test focused on the system’s inherent ability to contain thermal runaway.

All smoke and fire effluent generated during the event were collected and routed through a dedicated purification system. The collected gases were fully treated, with no untreated smoke released directly into the environment.

Thermal Runaway Did Not Propagate

The test successfully demonstrated that thermal runaway did not propagate from the initiating BESS container to any adjacent containers or the MVS.

The test continued for 7.5 hours under uninterrupted monitoring. The peak internal temperature in the initiating container, identified as Container A, reached 1259.8°C, while the highest cell temperature in the adjacent containers well remained below the threshold for thermal runaway under UL 9540A: 2026.

Despite the intensity and duration of the fire, Container A remained structurally intact. Adjacent Containers B, C, D and E also remained structurally intact, with no deformation. Even after the fire test, the container remained structurally intact and could be lifted as a complete unit.

Under full-charge, close-spacing and maximum-ventilation conditions, the PowerTitan 3.0 contained the thermal event within the initiating container and prevented it from escalating into a multi-container event. The results demonstrate stable, reliable and controllable system performance under extreme conditions and mark a key step in validating the safety of higher-energy BESS platforms.

Three Generations. All Successfully Tested. Simulation Meets Reality.

From PowerTitan 1.0 and 2.0 to PowerTitan 3.0, all three generations have completed their large-scale fire tests on the first attempt, enabling Sungrow to build a comprehensive database of thermal runaway and fire behavior. Before the physical test, PowerTitan 3.0 underwent simulation-based assessments across hundreds of application scenarios and operating conditions using Sungrow’s simulation platform, the world’s largest of its kind. The simulated fire intensity and development trends closely matched those observed during the physical test, validating the model’s ability to predict fire behavior under extreme conditions.

“This test was about verifying our safety design under real-world extreme conditions,” said Roger Li, General Manager of the Utility-Scale Product Line, Sungrow Energy Storage Business Unit. “Safety must be engineered into the product from the beginning. Simulation helps predict how the system will respond, while large-scale fire testing puts those predictions to the test. Energy storage safety is about far more than cell safety alone. It is the result of multiple factors working together, including cell performance, system integration, thermal management, structural protection, engineering design, and more.”

Benjamin Liu, Engineering Manager at UL Solutions, commented: “Sungrow started with safety by design, used pre-test assessments to predict fire behavior, and then validated those predictions through a large-scale fire test. The test result showed that the design was able to contain the fire and prevent propagation, helping significantly reduce the potential scale of loss.”

By bringing together safety-by-design engineering, predictive simulation and large-scale physical testing, Sungrow is building a robust, evidence-based approach to BESS safety. For project owners, investors, insurers and emergency responders, this provides a stronger technical basis for assessing fire risks, planning emergency responses and protecting critical assets throughout a project’s lifecycle.

SOURCE Sungrow

Mobile-First Tech Transforms Parking From a Reactive Pain Point Into a Streamlined, Efficient Operation

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Zark, the leading provider of ancillary revenue optimization technology purpose-built for multifamily, today announced the release of its new Parking & Inventory Management solution. The newest functionality in Zark’s platform is a comprehensive mobile-first solution that simplifies vehicle registration and validation, parking space audits and parking system enforcement.

LPR+ technology and Smart Stickers highlight the rollout, adding two major advancements that push parking operations even further into the field. LPR+ combines mobile license plate recognition with AI-driven vehicle identification via a single photo from any phone. The result is instant, accurate vehicle data without fixed cameras, gates or hardware installation. Smart Stickers — QR-based windshield tags that activate only when scanned by a resident — permanently ties the sticker to the vehicle and completes registration using LPR+ under the hood for a clean, counterfeit‑resistant record of every car on the property. Smart Stickers streamline onboarding, simplify field verification, support enforcement rules and provide tow partners with a reliable confirmation tool.

The solution also automates community parking space audits, keeping property records current, and converts monthly parking fees into a direct revenue stream. This can all be accomplished without any CapEx investment or ongoing maintenance, making Zark Parking & Inventory Management a fit for any multifamily community.

“Parking management has evolved slowly at multifamily communities and remains one of the highest friction points in operations,” Zark CEO Todd Katler said. “Our Parking and Inventory Management solution changes the process from reactive, inaccurate and manual, and makes it streamlined, efficient and accurate. When managed effectively, multifamily parking systems should function consistently for residents and serve as a steady and reliable source of revenue for operators.”

Zark’s new parking capabilities reduce inefficiency and lower the risk of errors by eliminating many of the time-consuming manual processes traditionally associated with parking management. Engineered for the field, not the office, the Zark solution untethers teams from their desktops and empowers associates with the mobility to complete tasks remotely, without phone calls, emails or backtracking to the office.

“Teams have never been armed with easy-to-use, mobile-first technology to help them accurately and consistently address parking issues while they are out walking a property,” Katler said. “Now, all authorized team members, courtesy patrol members or tow companies can keep parking operations running smoothly from any point on the property, at any time. Zark puts the full parking picture in their pockets, replacing redundancy with productivity.”

Parking & Inventory Management is included for all Zark customers at no additional monthly fee for the remainder of 2026. For more information on the Parking & Inventory Management solution, visit ZarkParking.com.

About Zark

Zark is the leading provider of revenue optimization technology purpose-built for multifamily’s most underleveraged assets. Designed to improve the resident experience and generate ancillary income for operators, Zark’s intuitive platform enables residents and guests to reserve underutilized parking spaces and other assets, such as storage spaces, garages and carports. The parking tool streamlines parking enforcement for property teams with real-time tracking, customizable violations and towing coordination. Rentable Items feature helps properties maximize their amenities by offering daily and monthly rentals, enhancing the resident experience without capital expense or hefty fees. The Community Audit feature tackles significant and frustrating operational stresses by turning poorly managed records into clean, billable and verified parking assignments and rentals. For more information, visit zarkparking.com or LinkedIn.

Media Contact

Marlena DeFalco, Zark, 1 3036823943, marlena@linnelltaylor.com, www.zarkparking.com

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SOURCE Zark