OUR PRODUCT MANUFACTURERS

Quad is considered the paragon of audio innovation and excellence.  Early products were all firsts of their particular type and cast the mould for the products which would follow in future years.  Quad products are have a reputation for their longevity both in production and in performance terms, and one journalist quipped that new Quad products come along slightly less frequently than leap years.Every product Quad that released is considered an icon, building on the successes of the predecessors, refining and innovating to bring the customer 'the closest approach to the original sound.'The company was founded in 1936 by Peter Walker and named the  ‘Acoustical manufacturing company’. The...

Racal Electronics Ltd, radio communications and electronic instrumentation maker, of Bracknell. 1950 Racal Ltd was created to provide a consulting service for the planning of radio communications systems. The name was derived from the partners RAymond Brown and George Calder Cunningham 1951 Racal Electronics Ltd was registered as a private company to supply electronic equipment (previously Racal Engineering Ltd). Racal Ltd became a wholly-owned subsidiary. 1951 Racal Aerotronics (later Racal Instruments) was established as a subsidiary to build equipment for electronics instrumentation. The first factory was located at Isleworth, west London. 1954 Needing extra space, the factory was transferred to Bracknell....

Arthur H. Radford started Radford Electronics in 1946 and initially produced amplifiers for PA systems.  Buoyed by the feedback from numerous happy customers, Arthur realised that his fledgeling PA amp delivered a performance that could almost be considered hifi, so with further development he set out to conquer the hifi market. The first hi-fi product was power amplifiers which demonstrated low levels of distortion – so lmuch so that the company had to devise new test instrumentation  to quantify the distortion level.  This led to an interesting spin-off where Radford lab gear was later to become just as famous as its audio products...

  Radio Gramophone Development (R.G.D) specialised in the manufacture of very high grade  radio, gramophone and television equipment.  Established in 1929 as Radio Gramophone Development Co., Ltd. Globe Works, Newtown Row, Birmingham 6  they  suffered severe damage from a bombing  raid during 1940 and so relocated to Pale Meadow Works, Hospital Street, Bridgenorth.  The company survived as a discrete entity until 1952 when they were absorbed into the Regentone empire.  The RGD brand continued until Regentone themselves were merged with STC in 1961.  Today, the scarce and much sought RGD1046 is highly prized for it’s PX4 amplifier.

"The Radiomobile Model 100  was the first radio made by His Master's Voice, a partnership between EMI and Smiths Industries that opened in 1946. From the off, the 100 model was brilliant, taking advantage of the advances in valve technology made in the Second World War. It had push-button station selection, a warm valve sound and the whole radio exuded quality. It was standard fitting in Bentleys, Rolls-Royces and Bristols and even though it was a big heavy old thing, it could be fitted to an MG TD as well."