About the Company
Braun — German Reel-to-Reel Tape Deck Manufacturer
Brand: Braun
Country: Germany
Parent Company: Braun AG (founded 1921)
Reel-to-Reel Era: 1960s – late 1970s
Market: Consumer/home hi-fi tape recorders
Electronics: Solid-state transistor designs
Design: Sleek modernist styling by Dieter Rams and team
Originally a radio and electronics company, Braun expanded into hi-fi equipment — including reel-to-reel tape decks — during its mid-20th-century audio division before focusing back on core consumer appliances in the late 1970s and 1980s.
Historical Development
1960s — Early Braun Tape Decks
Braun entered the tape recorder scene in the mid-1960s with models like the TG-60, introduced around 1965.
The TG-60 was a compact reel-to-reel deck designed by famed industrial designer Dieter Rams with technical engineering by Wolfgang Hasselbach. It featured three Pabst motors, three separate heads (erase, record, playback), and was calibrated for Braun’s own tape stock. Production numbers were low (possibly ~500 units), and the unit was positioned as a high-design, high-function consumer deck.
Late 1960s — Expanded Consumer Line
Follow-up models included TG-550 and TG-502, produced roughly 1968–1970. These offered solid-state electronics, multiple tape speeds (e.g., 3 3/4 and 7 1/2 ips), up to four-head configurations, and stereo recording/playback.
The TG-550, for example, is a mid-high-fidelity consumer model with four heads, three motors, and wide frequency response — typical of Braun’s attempt to combine quality sound with minimalist industrial design.
1970s — Advanced Braun Models
Into the early 1970s, Braun continued with models including the TG-1000, introduced around 1970–1974. This deck exhibited features such as electronically regulated motor torque for steady tape tension and up to 19 cm/s (7½ ips) speeds, and design continuity within Braun’s modernist aesthetic.
Braun’s reel-to-reel line remained relatively small in volume but aesthetically influential, blending functional industrial design with solid-state hi-fi engineering.
Design and Technical Features
Design Philosophy
Braun’s reel decks were notable less for massive technical innovation and more for industrial design excellence — with Dieter Rams’ minimalist aesthetic applied to consumer audio gear, aligning audio components visually with Braun’s broader product line.
Engineering Approach
These machines were typically solid-state transistor designs, with multiple motors, standard reel sizes (e.g., 7″), and stereo/quad head configurations aimed at everyday recording/playback rather than studio use.
Market Position
Braun focused on the consumer/home hi-fi segment, not professional broadcast or studio decks. The machines offered respectable specs (frequency response, wow/flutter figures) that compared favorably with other mid-range German and European consumer models of the era.
End of Reel-to-Reel Production
By the late 1970s, Braun’s audio division — including reel-to-reel tape decks — had largely wound down as the company refocused toward consumer appliances (shavers, clocks, coffee makers) and the hi-fi market shifted toward cassette decks and integrated systems.
In 1981, Braun’s audio/hi-fi division was spun off into Braun Electronic GmbH, which continued various audio products before the last sets were discontinued by 1990.
Representative Braun Reel-to-Reel Models
TG-60 ~1965 Early Braun design by Dieter Rams; three motors, three heads.
TG-550 ~1968–1970 Mid-high-fidelity solid-state deck; four heads.
TG-502 ~1968–1970 Stereo solid-state recorder with standard hi-fi features
TG-1000 ~1970–1974 Advanced consumer deck with electronic torque regulation.
Legacy
Braun’s reel-to-reel tape decks are niche collector items appreciated today largely for their industrial design pedigree and place within the company’s distinguished product history rather than for mass market dominance.
Some former Braun designs influenced later German audio brands — for example, Audio System Components (ASC) personnel and technology links can be traced back to Braun deck development practices of the 1970s.
Braun’s reel-to-reel tape deck production was a mid-20th-century German consumer audio endeavor (1960s–1970s) combining solid-state electronics with the company’s signature minimalist industrial design, notably under Dieter Rams’ direction. Braun’s line (e.g., TG-60, TG-550, TG-502, TG-1000) represents a high-design alternative in the consumer hi-fi tape deck market before shifting industry priorities and internal corporate changes led to the end of the reel-to-reel era at Braun by the late 1970s.