About the Company
Daystrom — U.S. Reel-to-Reel Tape Deck Manufacturer
Brand: Daystrom
Corporate Origin: Daystrom Electric Corporation
Country: United States (Poughkeepsie, New York)
Active in Reel-to-Reel Production: Early 1950s – late 1950s
Market: Consumer/home audio, hobbyist, and small studio applications
Technology: Vacuum tube electronics → early solid-state experiments
Company Origins
Daystrom Electric Corporation was an American electronics company based in Poughkeepsie, New York.
In the early 1950s, Daystrom entered the magnetic tape market, producing consumer-grade reel-to-reel tape recorders as magnetic tape recording became popular for home use.
The company was part of a wave of U.S. electronics firms experimenting with consumer tape recorders, alongside brands such as Crestwood and Brenell Engineering.
Reel-to-Reel Tape Deck Production
Daystrom produced tube-based tabletop reel-to-reel decks that were marketed primarily to home users and hobbyists. The decks were relatively heavy, solidly built, and featured:
Single or dual-speed tape operation (typically 3¾ and 7½ ips)
Mono or full-track recording, occasionally with optional stereo add-ons
Vacuum tube electronics with built-in amplification and speaker outputs
Support for 5″ to 7″ reels, occasionally up to 10″
Notable Models
Daystrom Crestwood CP-201 / CP-303 (sometimes sold under Daystrom branding)
Early tube-based units
Simple push-button controls and full-track mono operationDaystrom Series 400
Mid-1950s models with improved tube amplification
3¾ and 7½ ips speeds, built-in speaker
Designed for hobbyist recording, dictation, or home entertainment
Note: Daystrom sometimes supplied mechanisms to other brands or co-branded models, a common practice in the early reel-to-reel market.
Market Position
Daystrom tape decks were consumer-grade, not professional studio machines.
They were sold in electrical stores, department stores, and mail-order catalogs in the United States.
Performance was modest by later hi-fi standards, with frequency response roughly 40 Hz – 12 kHz at 7½ ips and wow & flutter around 0.5%.
Decline
By the late 1950s, Daystrom and other early U.S. consumer reel-to-reel manufacturers were overtaken by Japanese brands such as Sony, Akai, and Teac, which produced smaller, more affordable, solid-state decks.
Daystrom’s reel-to-reel line disappeared by the end of the 1950s, and the company’s audio activity faded from consumer markets.
Summary
Daystrom Electric Corporation was an early American manufacturer of consumer reel-to-reel tape decks, active in the early to mid-1950s. Its machines were tube-based tabletop units aimed at home users and hobbyists. While the company never became a major player in the long term, its decks — such as the CP-201, CP-303, and Series 400 — represent an important chapter in the early history of domestic magnetic tape recording in the U.S.