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Sadly missed manufacturers

I've been an audio and music enthusiast since the 1970's. We've all seen a fair number of companies come and go. Some burned brightly for a while, some not at all, and some companies are still present but only in name as they otherwise bear no resemblance to their ancestors.

Are there any companies you are sad to have seen disappear?

l can name a few former luminaries that are now gone- Counterpoint, Apogee. Both offered very good products, but unfortunately neither offered bullet proof reliability. I am of mixed feelings of the various Carver companies. I think Carver, the man, is capable of producing some genuinely first rate products but I viewed much of the marketing as smoke and mirrors which to me detracts from a manufacturer's credibility.
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Showing 3 responses by almarg

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almarg
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GSM beat me to it! I was about to post the following:

To the many good inputs that have been provided I would add the better makers of high quality tube electronics in the 1950's and 1960's, including among others:

Marantz (the present company is the same in name only)
Brook
H. H. Scott
Fisher
Pilot
Acrosound and Dynaco (David Hafler's first two companies)
REL (Radio Engineering Laboratories, no relation to the British subwoofer manufacturer).

And the 1930's forebears of quality hifi as we know it:

E. H. Scott
McMurdo Silver
Western Electric (many of whose products from the 1930's are still revered for their sonics, and are worth small or not so small fortunes)

Regards,
-- Al
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
Thanks, Zavato. As you realize, Lincoln Walsh is better known these days for having developed the Walsh driver, used in Ohm speakers, than for his earlier Brook Electronics Company. Even though Brook manufactured what were as far as I am aware the only DHT (directly heated triode) amplifiers (2A3's and 300B's in this case) that were produced for use in the home prior to the resurgence of interest in DHTs during the past few decades. Aside, that is, from some elaborate multi-chassis "radios" produced by E. H. Scott and McMurdo Silver ca. 1935, which used 2A3-based amplification in some models.

I see that there is a pair of the top of the line Brook monoblocks, the model 10C, being offered at the well known auction site right now for only $24K, for those who may be interested :-)

Brett (Isochronism), your speculation is logical, but Mark Levinson lost his original company and the rights to his own name around 1983, and he didn't marry Kim Cattrall until 1998.

Best regards,
-- Al
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almarg
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03-12-14: Knghifi
Almarg, do you remember hearing or seeing them in the theaters growing up?
If I ever heard any of the classic Western Electric theater gear in my younger days, I was too uninformed to realize it. And I suspect that in many or most cases the theaters had "upgraded" their equipment by that time. Although I believe that here and there a number of smaller movie houses continued to use that equipment until fairly recent decades.

Best of luck with your prospective purchase, if you decide to pursue it.

Regards,
-- Al
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