About the Company
Brand: Apolec (sometimes seen as Apolex in European ads)
Manufacturer: Apollo Electric / Industries, Sunwave Industrial Co., Tokyo, Japan
Market: Portable reel-to-reel tape recorders
Era of Production: Early 1960s (circa 1961–1963)
Format: Early consumer portable analog tape recorders with small reels
Technology: Transistor/small transistor circuits (not high-end hi-fi)
Apolec does not appear in mainstream mass-market reel-to-reel catalogs like Akai or TEAC, but it is listed in enthusiast databases as a rare and obscure Japanese brand focused on compact portable tape machines from the early 1960s.
Production History
Early 1960s — Brand Appearances
Apolec is documented as a brand name for portable tape recorders made by Apollo Electric / Industries (Sunwave) of Tokyo around 1961–1962.
This puts Apolec in the post-tube, early transistor era when Japanese manufacturers were producing lightweight, battery-operated reel-to-reel machines for basic recording and playback.
Models Known from Records
Unlike major brands with extensive lineups, Apolec’s documented reel-to-reel offerings appear very limited:
• Apolec RA-11 (c. 1961–1962)
A 4-transistor portable reel-to-reel recorder with small reels, typical of the era’s compact designs.
The unit ran on batteries (9 V for amp / 3 V for motor), with headphone and microphone jacks for field use.
Often sold under alternate labels (e.g., Encor, Star-Lite), and promoted in Europe under the Apolex spelling in 1962 ads.
• Apolec RA-45
Another portable model reported from the same manufacturer and period. Like the RA-11, it was designed as a battery-operated portable recorder with basic controls and speaker.
Brand Duration & Reach
Documentation suggests Apolec machines only appeared around the early 1960s and did not evolve into a broader reel-to-reel lineup.
Apolec products seem to have been marketed locally and internationally through rebranded partners (e.g., the RA-11 listed under different names).
Technical & Market Position
Portable Focus: Unlike larger hi-fi decks from TEAC, Akai, or Denon, Apolec products were lightweight transistor units aimed at voice recording and casual tape use rather than high-fidelity music reproduction.
Transistor Era: The use of semiconductor electronics (rather than vacuum tubes) reflects the early-60s shift toward smaller, battery-powered tape recorders.
Obscure Brand: There’s no evidence Apolec ever entered the mid-range or professional reel-to-reel market; it remains a collector curiosity referenced in specialist registers.
Historical Context
In the early 1960s Japan, a multitude of small brands produced compact reel-to-reel tape recorders as the technology spread beyond professional studios. Larger firms like TEAC, Akai, and Denon dominated the higher-end and export markets, while smaller outfits — including Apolec — focused on portable and entry-level equipment with modest specifications.
Apolec represents one of these obscure early consumer brands that briefly appeared during the transistorization of analog tape recorders, before the market consolidated around the major Japanese manufacturers.