About the Company
Sacofoon was a brand name under which at least one reel-to-reel tape recorder was marketed in the mid-20th century. It appears to have been produced in the Netherlands and sold primarily into the European consumer market rather than the professional audio sector.
Brand: Sacofoon
Country of Manufacture: Netherlands
Production Era: Likely the 1950s–early 1960s, when tube-based consumer reel decks were common in Europe
Market: Consumer / portable home use
Technology: Vacuum-tube (valve) electronics, typical for early open-reel consumer decks
Voltage: 220–240 V (European mains)
Historical Context
European Tape Recorder Growth
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, magnetic tape recording technology rapidly spread across Europe following its post-World War II commercialization. Alongside major brands (e.g., Grundig, Telefunken, SABA), smaller regional companies produced modest consumer models aimed at everyday home users who wanted to record radio, music and personal audio. Sacofoon was one of the many modest names that appear in collector directories from this period.
Because documentation for Sacofoon is limited in mainstream sources, its corporate history isn’t well preserved; however, the surviving recorders indicate it was not a mass-producer on the scale of Western German or Japanese brands.
Known Sacofoon Model
Sacofoon 1
One documented Sacofoon tape recorder — listed simply as Model 1 — provides the clearest view of the brand’s product characteristics:
Brand/Model: Sacofoon 1
Category: Vintage consumer reel-to-reel tape recorder
Electronics: Tube (valve)-based design
Format: Full-track mono (1/2 Rec/PB) on open reel
Tape Speed: 3¾ ips — the standard consumer speed of the era
Max Reel Size: 7″ — typical for portable/home decks
Head Composition: Permalloy magnetic head
Motor: Single-motor transport — simple, compact design
Voltage: Designed for 220–240 V mains use in European homes
Use: Basic home recording/playback of music and speech
This machine’s simple feature set reflects the modest performance expectations of early consumer tape decks: full-track mono recording at a single speed with basic mechanical transport.
Market Position & Features
Consumer-Grade Design
Sacofoon recorders like the Model 1 were entry-level consumer products, not high-end hi-fi or professional machines.
Tube electronics provided adequate amplification and tape bias for the time, but added weight and heat compared with later solid-state designs.
Typical Features
Mono full-track recording, focused on simplicity over stereo fidelity or multi-track features.
Single tape speed (3¾ ips) suitable for general home recordings with acceptable fidelity for the era.
Compact enough for tabletop or portable use within a home setting.
Brand Legacy & Rarity
Sacofoon was not widely documented in mainstream audio histories — likely due to its limited production volume and regional market focus.
Today, it is a rare and obscure collector name, known to vintage tape recorder enthusiasts and listed in specialized dealer/collector directories.
Machines like the Sacofoon 1 serve as examples of early post-war European consumer tape recording technology before solid-state transistor designs became widespread later in the 1960s.