Forgotten Names in Turntable Manufacturing: Part IV – Braun and Dieter Rams' Timeless Precision

Forgotten Names in Turntable Manufacturing – Part III Acoustic Research

BSR was founded in 1932 in Birmingham, England, by Dr. Daniel McLean McDonald. Like many British engineering firms of the era, it began modestly, producing transformers and public-address equipment. Nothing at the time suggested it would grow into one of the most prolific turntable manufacturers in history.

Ariston represents a classic tale of innovation, rivalry, and lost legacy. Founded in the early 1970s by the visionary Hamish Robertson, Ariston carved a niche as one of Scotland’s finest turntable makers. Robertson initially operated under the company name Thermac before evolving into Ariston in 1970 and later Ariston Audio Ltd. The company’s flagship product was the Ariston RD11 turntable, developed around 1971 with the aid of Castle Precision Engineering Ltd, a renowned Gl

Is the analog preference in audio purely nostalgic, or does psychology really play a role?

Over the past decade, sales of turntables, vinyl records, reel‑to‑reel decks, and tube‑based amplifiers have surged again, even as streaming dominates the mainstream. This revival isn’t a fleeting fad; it reflects a confluence of cultural, technological, and psychological factors that together rekindle our fascination with analog sound.

The Thorens TM 1600 reel-to-reel (R2R) tape deck is a modern, high-end analogue tape machine developed in cooperation with the Düsseldorf-based specialist Ballfinger. It was launched around summer 2020 and is designed as a half-track quarter-inch machine with three motors, capable of handling reels up to 10.5 inches at speeds of 19 or 38 cm/s (7.5 or 15 inches per second).