About the Company
Magnafon was a British manufacturer of domestic reel‑to‑reel tape recorders active mainly in the second half of the 1950s, building its machines around Collaro decks and positioning them as compact, good‑value hi‑fi recorders for home use.
Company and positioning
Period advertising and articles describe Magnafon Ltd. as “manufacturers of magnetic recording equipment,” based at 5 Lonsdale Road, London W.1, clearly identifying it as a UK firm rather than an import badge.
Its products were marketed as true high‑fidelity recorders at an affordable price, targeting serious domestic users rather than professional studios.
Key models and technology
The Magnafon M1 is promoted as a portable, three‑speed tape recorder using the latest Collaro tape deck, supplied complete with microphone and 1,200 ft of tape, and described as unusually compact for a hi‑fi machine.
Other advertised products include the Magnafon “58” recorder, the Magnafon FRS (a Collaro‑based three‑speed twin‑speaker design), and a separate Magnafon pre‑amplifier for use with Collaro transcriptor decks, indicating a small family of tape products rather than a single model.
Features and performance focus
Contemporary adverts highlight three‑speed operation, push‑pull bias/erase oscillators for low noise, separate bass and treble controls, and twin loudspeakers in some models, aligning Magnafon with the higher end of British domestic tape recorders of the time.
Magnafon also offered a “Stereo System” built around its tape deck and control electronics to provide compatible stereo playback, reflecting early engagement with domestic stereo reproduction in the late 1950s.
Production period and later fate
Dated issues of Tape Recording magazine from 1957–1958 feature Magnafon adverts and product news, placing the firm’s tape‑recorder activity in the classic early British hi‑fi tape boom, before large Japanese brands came to dominate.
After the late 1950s, Magnafon disappears from mainstream listings, and modern brand directories record only a handful of Magnafon reel‑to‑reel machines, suggesting that the company either exited the field or was outcompeted as the market expanded in the 1960s.
Historical significance
In reel‑to‑reel history, Magnafon represents a typical mid‑century British specialist: a small firm leveraging Collaro transports and adding its own electronics and packaging to deliver respectable home hi‑fi recorders.
It remains of interest mainly to collectors of 1950s British tape equipment, rather than as a major technological innovator or a large‑scale international brand.