BGW Systems
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| Privately held company | |
| Industry | Audio electronics, Sheet metal, Computer systems |
| Founded | Hawthorne, California, 1971 |
| Founder | Brian Gary Wachner |
| Headquarters | Montebello, California, United States |
| Products | Model 750 series and Grand Touring series power amplifiers |
| Owner | Amplifier Technologies, Inc. |
| Website | http://www.bgw.com/ |
BGW Systems is a designer and manufacturer of audio power amplifiers based in Southern California in the United States. The company also manufactures other audio electronics designs as well as computer systems and sheet metal products.
Founded by Brian Gary Wachner in 1971 in his garage while he was employed as a field applications engineer for National Semiconductor, BGW scored its first major success in 1974 when Universal Studios selected BGW to supply thousands of Model 750 and 750A amplifiers for its Sensurround cinema subwoofer sound effects systems. Following the positive industry exposure from Sensurround, BGW amps began to be installed permanently in many movie theaters as well as at theme parks and nightclubs. By 1978, BGW amplifiers were installed in greater numbers in discothèques than any other amplifier.
Wachner co-wrote a paper for the Audio Engineering Society (AES) in 1975, addressing the problem of differing power claims in the amplifier industry and the hope that power rating standards set by the Federal Trade Commission would narrow the 'credibility gap'.
BGW introduced an audio crossover product in 1979 and new amplifier lines in '80 and '82. By 1983, BGW's skill in sheet metal work (acquired in fabricating their substantial amplifier housings) had grown to the point of it becoming its own source of company revenue. BGW began supplying finished metal products to a number of industries, and established a BGW-branded "Rack and Roll" line of 19-inch rack hardware in 1991.
In 1985, Wachner delivered a paper to the AES regarding guidelines for power amplifier evaluation.
1987 saw the introduction of the Grand Touring series of amplifiers, beginning with the GTA. Its successor, the GTB, came out the next year. This model line, designed for the road and known for its rugged durability and conservative power rating, was adopted by many concert sound companies, some of whom became BGW dealers. Wachner himself visited these dealers, flying around the United States in his private airplane to meet them. His interaction with the sound reinforcement system company owners and operators led to Wachner's work on signal processing in conjunction with amplifier power in order to achieve flat power response in multi-band sound systems; a paper given to AES in May 1988.
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