About the Company
Wirek (Magnegraph) was a British reel‑to‑reel tape recorder brand active in the early 1950s. Products under this name were manufactured in the United Kingdom and targeted the consumer audio market during the period when magnetic tape recording was first becoming commercially accessible to the public. Wirek’s reel‑to‑reel machines were produced from about 1952 until 1955 and were built with tube (valve) electronics, which was standard at the time before transistorized designs became widespread. The brand’s recorded production output is very limited, with only a small number of models documented — primarily one known deck — reflecting the short and niche presence Wirek had in the fledgling open‑reel era.
The most documented model associated with the brand is the Wirek (Magnegraph) Model 1, which was sold between 1952 and 1954. This machine was a full‑track mono recorder designed for 7‑inch reels and operated at 7½ inches per second, the higher of the first two consumer reel speeds used at the time. It had a two‑head transport using permalloy head material typical of tape decks of that period and was built with vacuum‑tube electronics to provide recording and playback functions.
Advertisement references from the period describe the Magnegraph as a factory‑built recorder sold by Wirek, suggesting that Wirek may have sourced mechanical and electrical components from a partner such as Magnegraph Ltd of London and marketed them under its brand. Vintage advertising places pricing of these units in the mid‑1950s British consumer audio segment, with dealers promoting them as a robust and capable recorder for home use.
Wirek’s reel‑to‑reel production appears to have ended around 1955, likely due to intense competition from larger British and imported brands that were entering the consumer tape recorder market at the same time. Because only limited documentation survives and only a few examples are known to collectors, Wirek (Magnegraph) remains an obscure early participant in the reel‑to‑reel era. Surviving machines are now rare pieces of British audio history from the era when consumer open‑reel recording was still in its infancy.
Summary of Wirek (Magnegraph) reel‑to‑reel history
Brand name: Wirek (Magnegraph)
Country of manufacture: United Kingdom
Active production: Circa 1952–1955
Market focus: Consumer home audio reel‑to‑reel recorders
Technology: Tube‑based electronics, full‑track mono
Known model: Wirek (Magnegraph) Model 1 (7½ ips, 7‑inch reels)
Production scope: Limited and short‑lived; now notable mainly to vintage collectors.