About the Company
Kellar appears as a small British tape‑recorder brand active around the early 1970s, notable for early adoption of Dolby B in domestic machines, but it was never a major reel‑to‑reel manufacturer on the scale of Revox, Akai, or TEAC.
Brand and origin
Contemporary references identify Kellar (often “Kellar Electronics”) as a UK‑based audio company, associated in period literature with tape recorders incorporating Dolby B noise‑reduction circuitry.
The brand shows up in British hi‑fi press and manufacturer listings rather than in Japanese or continental European directories, supporting its positioning as a smaller UK maker/importer.
Products and Dolby B adoption
A 1971 Gramophone review notes the Kellar DCR1 as a domestic tape recorder and highlights it as the first machine to reach the magazine for review with integrated Dolby B, signaling a focus on improved signal‑to‑noise at the consumer level.
Radiomuseum’s manufacturer entry similarly remarks that Kellar Electronics incorporated Dolby B noise reduction into their cassette tape recorders, underlining noise‑reduction technology as a key selling point for the brand.
Role in reel‑to‑reel history
Surviving documentation explicitly emphasizes cassette decks and noise reduction; none of the standard brand directories or museum listings clearly document a full Kellar open‑reel product ladder, suggesting that any reel‑to‑reel activity was limited compared with cassette.
In the broader history of reel‑to‑reel, Kellar therefore appears as a minor, niche UK company best remembered for early Dolby‑equipped domestic recorders, rather than as a core transport innovator or a large‑scale open‑reel manufacturer.