About the Company
Perfectone was a Swiss brand of reel‑to‑reel tape recorders made in the 1950s, notable for its vintage tube‑based machines and some rare units produced for broadcast/field use rather than just home audio.
Brand: Perfectone (Perfectone Corporation AG)
Country of Manufacture: Switzerland
Era of Production: Mid‑1950s to late 1950s (approximately 1956–1959)
Market: Consumer and specialized professional applications
Electronics: Mainly tube (valve) circuitry, typical of the period before solid‑state dominance
Production History & Context
Mid‑1950s — Emergence
Perfectone appears to have been active primarily in the mid‑ to late 1950s, a time when reel‑to‑reel magnetic recording was still evolving from early professional machines into consumer and semi‑pro markets.
The brand is understood to have been based near Biel/Bienne in Switzerland — a region with a strong tradition in precision electronics.
Notable Perfectone Models
Perfectone EP6A
Category: Portable reel‑to‑reel recorder
Era: 1956–1959
Electronics: Tube‑based analog design
Tape Speed: 7½ inches per second
Reel Size: Up to 7″
Track: Full‑track mono (two heads)
This model represents one of the few documented Perfectone reel tape machines in collector archives.
Perfectone EP6AII
A later variant of the EP6A with some semiconductor (transistor) elements, showing a transitional design toward solid‑state electronics.
Produced around 1959 with portable features and multiple power options including battery operation.
Perfectone DABE 126
A large, early reel‑to‑reel recorder (c. early 1950s) reportedly built with tube electronics and direct‑drive transport.
Features typical of high‑end post‑war machines: multiple speeds (e.g., 3¾ & 7½ ips), dynamic speaker, heavy chassis — indicating use beyond simple consumer playbacks.
Brand Position and Usage
Consumer & Semi‑Professional Market
Perfectone recorders were marketed for both consumer use and specialized applications.
Some anecdotal accounts suggest that certain Perfectone machines were used in professional contexts, such as synchronization with film cameras or broadcast work, due to their stable transports and pilot indicators — making them competitors to early pro recorders like Nagra.
Competition & Corporate Fate
One collector source claims that Nagra (Studer), a dominant professional maker, saw Perfectone as potential competition and acquired the brand/name to eliminate it — integrating some of its design ideas into early Nagra machines.
This claim is anecdotal and isn’t fully documented in mainstream corporate histories but appears in enthusiast archives.
Decline & Legacy
By the late 1950s–early 1960s, Perfectone tape recorder production appears to have ended — likely due to a combination of:
Market shifts toward solid‑state electronics (transistors replacing tubes)
Strong competition from larger reel‑to‑reel makers (e.g., Revox, Ampex, Nagra)
A small catalog with limited models vs. broader product lines from competitors
As a result, Perfectone recorders today are rare collector items and part of early reel‑to‑reel history rather than a long‑running manufacturer with extensive product families.