Revox

ReVox is a brand name of Swiss audio equipment registered by Studer on March 27, 1951.

The first Studer-designed tape recorders were branded Dynavox. After the first production series of Dynavox recorders, a new marketing company was formed in 1950 called ELA AG. Revox was adopted as the brand name for amateur recorders, while the professional machines retained the Studer name.

The first Revox-branded tape recorder was the T26, in 1952, successor to the Dynavox 100.

The T26 was also made available as a radio-recorder combination unit. 2500 T26 recorders were made, priced at 1395.00 Swiss francs.

The A36, the first 36 series recorder. became available in 1954. Unusual features for the time were pushbutton solenoid transport operations and a direct-drive capstan with no belts or idler wheels. The B36 of 1956 was the first 3-head model, the D36 of 1960 was the first stereo model.

The company moved to Löffingen, West Germany, in 1966, due to labour issues in Switzerland. But the building of a second factory was started in Regensdorf, Switzerland in 1967 - to open in 1968.

In 1967 the 36-series tape recorders ended with the G36, and were superseded by the transistorised A77 with a servo-controlled direct drive capstan. Over 80,000 36-series recorders had been manufactured. The A77 was complemented by an integrated amplifier (A78) and FM tuner (A76). The start of the 1980s saw the introduction of the "B7xx" series of high fidelity components, which was in turn replaced by the B2xx series in the mid 1980s. The B2xx series was versatile (the B250 amplifier offering 10 signal inputs, each with automatic sensitivity calibration) and feature-rich, all components containing microprocessors. Contrastingly, the "H" line, with "H" standing for Human, went to the opposite extreme, with minimalist control interfaces: several "H" components having only three buttons.

In 1990 Willi Studer sold the Studer Revox Group to Motor-Columbus AG, including all subsidiary companies. In 1991, Motor-Columbus split the Studer Revox Group into Studer (Pro), Revox (HiFi) and a Manufacturing-division. Motor-Columbus sold several subsidiaries and plants.

The extensive reorganization culminated in the sale of the Studer Group to Harman International Inc., in March 1994. The Revox Group was excluded and sold to private investors. On March 17, 1994, Harman International Industries completed its acquisition and acquired from Motor-Columbus AG 100% of Studer Revox AG. Harman paid 100 Swiss Francs (approximately US $70.00) for all of the issued and outstanding stock in Studer Revox. Harman assumed post-acquisition indebtedness of Studer Revox of approximately 23 million Swiss Francs (approximately US $16 million).

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