About the Company
Origins of Collaro
Founded: 1920 by Christopher Collaro in London, UK. The company initially manufactured gramophone motors and then record players, changers, and other audio components.
Through the 1930s–1950s, Collaro became one of the major producers of audio mechanisms in Britain, especially record changers and motor units.
After WWII, Collaro resumed consumer electronics production from its Barking, Essex, works — expanding into tape recorder components as reel‑to‑reel recording grew in popularity.
Reel‑to‑Reel Tape Deck Production (1950s–1960s)
Collaro’s involvement with reel‑to‑reel tape decks centered on two aspects:
1. Tape Transport Mechanisms
Collaro was well known for producing durable tape transport mechanisms (decks) that other small British audio manufacturers could incorporate into their own tape recorders. These mechanical units — Transcriptor and Studio decks — were used by brands such as Magnafon, Elizabethan, REPS, Sound, Sovereign, Sonomag, and Wyndsor to build complete machines. These mechanisms could handle 7″ tape reels, offering longer recording time and selectable speeds up to 7.5 ips (inches per second).
2. Branded Collaro Tape Decks
Collaro also marketed complete tape decks under its own name, especially in the mid‑ to late‑1950s:
Collaro Mk IV (‘Tape Transcriptor’) (c. 1957–1960): Tube‑based mechanism with four heads, offering 3¾, 7½, and 15 ips speeds, full‑track mono recording, and support for 7″ reels. This was a popular unit and was often used as the mechanical core of other brands’ consumer models.
Collaro Studio (c. 1956–1958): A solid‑state transport that superseded earlier tube designs. It featured three motors with a rugged push‑button control system, and it could be equipped for monitoring or stereo playback with an optional third head. This deck was also widely supplied to other recorder manufacturers.
Technical and Market Position
Collaro decks were not typically complete stand‑alone reel‑to‑reel recorders with integrated electronics and cabinetry (though some were sold as such). Instead, they were mechanical transports that many companies either used directly or combined with their own electronics to make complete tape recorders.
Their transports were valued for handling full‑size 7″ reels and multiple tape speeds — features that made them attractive compared with smaller decks limited to 5.75″ reels.
While not a major hi‑fi brand like Akai or Revox, Collaro was one of the largest manufacturers of tape transports and changers in the UK during the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Corporate Changes & Decline
In 1960, Collaro was reported to have entered into a corporate relationship with Magnavox (USA), likely expanding international distribution and technology sharing, though it was not a straightforward full acquisition at the time.
During the 1960s, as Japanese imports became dominant in consumer audio and as tape formats evolved (with cassette decks rising in the early 1970s), the prominence of British mechanical suppliers like Collaro diminished. By the mid‑1970s, the traditional Collaro audio business had faded; the brand name eventually disappeared after the larger corporate transitions (Magnavox being acquired by Philips in 1974).