About the Company
Polydict — French Tape Recorder/Recorder & Player Brand
Polydict was a French brand name associated with magnetic tape recorders and tape players made by M. Vaisberg (Polyfil) in Paris. The company and brand appear in historic catalog listings and collector archives tied to mid‑20th‑century French audio products.
Manufacturer / Brand: Polydict, M. Vaisberg (also listed as Polyfil)
Country: France
Era: Mid‑1950s to early 1960s
Application: Consumer tape recorders and tape players
However — and this is important — the existing documentation suggests Polydict’s products were general tape recorders and players, not a well‑established manufacturer of classic open‑reel (reel‑to‑reel) tape decks in the way companies like Akai, TEAC, Uher, or Philips were. The surviving listings tend to describe studio‑style or tabletop tape recorders where reels might be part of the mechanism, but full reel‑to‑reel hi‑fi machines are not clearly documented under this brand.
What Exists in the Historical Record
A few Polydict‑branded machines appear in vintage archives (mainly on Radiomuseum.org), and they reflect mid‑century magnetic recording units, but not necessarily traditional consumer reel‑to‑reel decks with full open‑reel transport systems. Some examples:
Polydict Polydine 125/E — ca. 1957
Listed as a tape recorder manufactured by Polydict / M. Vaisberg (Polyfil) in Paris.
Features include tube electronics, multi‑motor transport, and tape record/play capabilities.
Polydict Polydyne 127B — ca. 1960/1961
Another Polydict recorder/player model with audio amplification, multiple speeds, and tape transport.
Polydict DC4 — ca. 1961
A later tape recorder model with transistorized electronics and basic tape play/record function.
These units were audio tape recorders — machines that could record and play back magnetic tape, often housed in tabletop wooden or plastic enclosures and sometimes incorporating speakers — but they don’t show up as standalone open‑reel machines in the major reel deck brand archives.
Key Points About Polydict and Reel‑to‑Reel
Polydict made magnetic tape recorders
Polydict is associated with magnetic tape recorder products sold in France in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Not a major reel‑to‑reel brand
There’s no clear evidence Polydict had a formal line of consumer reel‑to‑reel tape recorders of the type documented for brands like Akai, TEAC, Sony, Uher, or Philips in reel‑to‑reel history archives.
Collectors and vintage directories do not list Polydict as a reel‑to‑reel brand category with models, specs, or production periods, unlike those well‑known manufacturers.
Likely scenario
Polydict seems to have been a French maker/distributor of tape recorders and related audio players — possibly including basic tape record/play units that used reels — but the *reel‑to‑reel hi‑fi recorder market wasn’t Polydict’s documented forte.
Its products are more akin to mid‑century portable or tabletop recorders rather than a full production lineup of open‑reel decks with published model ranges.