Obscure British audio companies

Via a reply to a recent enquiry I posted concerning subwoofers I was made aware of BK electronics who have amongst other things manufactured units for the better known REL. I live on the Isle of Wight, and a few weeks ago I found out that less than a mile from my house a company called Artisan silver Cables has been manufacturing specialist interconnects and loudspeaker cables for some years. Details of any other small specialist British audio manufacturers would really interest me. Any suggestions ?

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Greetings from a fellow caulkhead. I know John Monks, his family make the Keith Monks RCM in Ventnor.

Thanks for that one. For a long time I used to work part time for an audio dealer in Cheshire. I remember working through stacks of vinyl brought in by customers for cleaning. One day a member of staff who will remain nameless put down a priceless album on the back room gas cooker momentarily when he answered a phone call. The cooker was turned off, but the pilot light wasn’t. The result was predictable and the customer was hard to placate. The machine worked well, and it’s good to know that production continues. Even better to hear that production continues in Ventnor.

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There’s quite a few I believe, some of them quite high-end, for example CAAS Audio at Knaresborough who make amps and streamers. they do some mono blocks which I think are about 12k for the pair.

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Possibly not as obscure as some market wise, but obscure forumwise…I have no idea why.
Graham Slee.

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A few of us fans around :slight_smile:

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Croft Acoustics used to be a small business making some well reviewed amps until Glen’s death. Not sure if they’re still going.

Sadly when Glen Croft passed away his specific instructions were that the company was to be wound up immediately, the website taken down, and all equipment not already in the hands of dealers removed. Not great for anyone needing after sales service or even just some basic product info.

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That is truly sad!

Tron Electric does not get the lip service that it deserves imo…

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I remember teenaged me pressing my nose up against the window of a small local Hifi dealer in Stockport (Might have been called Murrays) and gazing at the Albarry red perspex fronted amplifiers… They looked amazing.
Incidentally it was also the first place I ever saw Naim Olive kit too.

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There used to be a British audio company in Salisbury, but I can’t remember their name.

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You missed a trick in there…:sunglasses:

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DNM, makers of reson speaker cable, and amps housed in acrylic casework: still going judging by the website.

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Crimson: a quick search suggests the preamps/power amps are still being made.
image

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That’s now a fish and chip shop.

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NVA always seemed like a very interesting audio company to me - there’s something appealingly minimalist about the styling and purist approach and the pricing seems very reasonable. I was very pleased to discover they are still going strong in 2023 as I hadn’t heard anything from them for about 20 years when they were reviewed quite widely.

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What is obscure? Not well known even in the UK or just not know outside of the UK?

I wonder how many non UK audiophiles remember Heybrook (I’m positive most UK based ones, on the other hand, remember them very well).

I sort of regret never getting a pair of their Sextets. Brilliant speakers. Beautifully crafted. We had a pair on the shop floor in whorled mahogany and they sounded as good as they looked.

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I have a pair of Heybrook HB2R’s running on my UnitiQute - love em! Picked them up for a bargain.

Also have a Heybrook TT2 turntable.

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There been several small British brands make it out to NZ that I’ve been fortunate to own. Locally these have made Naim look relatively common;

  • ITL integrated amp
  • dpa (Deltec Precision Audio amp and dac’s)
  • Royd speakers (still have a pair of Apex)
  • TDL Electronics speakers (RTL2)
  • Heybrook turntable and speakers (still have a TT2 and HB2R)
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