Birmingham Sound Reproducers
Encyclopedia
Birmingham Sound Reproducers was a British manufacturer of record player turntables.
Daniel McLean McDonald founded Birmingham Sound Reproducers as a private company in 1932 in the West Midlands
of England, UK. By 1947, the company chiefly manufactured communications sets (intercom
s), laboratory test equipment, and sound recording and reproducing instruments, including phonograph
s.
In the early 1950s, Samuel Margolin began buying auto-changing turntables from BSR, using them as the basis of his Dansette
record player. Over the next twenty years, Margolin manufactured more than a million of these players, and “Dansette” became a household word in Britain.
In 1957, BSR, also known by the name BSR McDonald, became a public company and, by 1961, had grown to employ 2,600 workers. In addition to manufacturing their own brand of player—the Monarch Automatic Record Changer that could select and play 7", 10" and 12" records at 33 1/3, 45 or 78 rpm, changing between the various settings automatically—BSR McDonald supplied turntables and autochangers to most of the world’s record player manufacturers, eventually gaining 87% of the market. By 1977, BSR’s various factories produced over 250,000 units a week.
Changing times and technology hit BSR hard in the early 1980s. Although BSR McDonald produced tape recording decks in addition to their widely used turntables and changers, consumers had begun to expect portability from their music players, and BSR were not prepared to compete with eight-track and cassette tape players or later, the groundbreaking Walkman
from Japan. In the first five years of the 1980s, once-mighty BSR closed factories and made thousands of workers redundant.
After producing their last turntable in 1985, BSR McDonald closed all divisions except for Astec Power Supply.
As well as keeping investments in various entities, including Dbx
, X10
, BSR Housewares (the later sold to the French small electrical appliances and kitchen equipment manufacturer Moulinex
.
BSR then moved it head office to Hong Kong
, as Astec(BSR) plc, and continued in Hong Kong till 1998, when Astec(BSR) plc was 100% acquired by Emerson Electric Company
(NYSE: EMR).
Daniel McLean McDonald founded Birmingham Sound Reproducers as a private company in 1932 in the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
of England, UK. By 1947, the company chiefly manufactured communications sets (intercom
Intercom
An intercom , talkback or doorphone is a stand-alone voice communications system for use within a building or small collection of buildings, functioning independently of the public telephone network. Intercoms are generally mounted permanently in buildings and vehicles...
s), laboratory test equipment, and sound recording and reproducing instruments, including phonograph
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
s.
In the early 1950s, Samuel Margolin began buying auto-changing turntables from BSR, using them as the basis of his Dansette
Dansette
Dansette was a British manufacturer of portable mono record players with a built-in speaker. Some models also had a BSR autochanger allowing several records to be loaded at once, and played in succession. It was first manufactured in 1952 and at least one million were sold in the 1950s and...
record player. Over the next twenty years, Margolin manufactured more than a million of these players, and “Dansette” became a household word in Britain.
In 1957, BSR, also known by the name BSR McDonald, became a public company and, by 1961, had grown to employ 2,600 workers. In addition to manufacturing their own brand of player—the Monarch Automatic Record Changer that could select and play 7", 10" and 12" records at 33 1/3, 45 or 78 rpm, changing between the various settings automatically—BSR McDonald supplied turntables and autochangers to most of the world’s record player manufacturers, eventually gaining 87% of the market. By 1977, BSR’s various factories produced over 250,000 units a week.
Changing times and technology hit BSR hard in the early 1980s. Although BSR McDonald produced tape recording decks in addition to their widely used turntables and changers, consumers had begun to expect portability from their music players, and BSR were not prepared to compete with eight-track and cassette tape players or later, the groundbreaking Walkman
Walkman
Walkman is a Sony brand tradename originally used for portable audio cassette, and now used to market Sony's portable audio and video players as well as a line of Sony Ericsson mobile phones...
from Japan. In the first five years of the 1980s, once-mighty BSR closed factories and made thousands of workers redundant.
After producing their last turntable in 1985, BSR McDonald closed all divisions except for Astec Power Supply.
As well as keeping investments in various entities, including Dbx
Dbx, Inc.
dbx, Inc. is an American producer of professional audio recording equipment. It was founded by David E. Blackmer in 1971. The original company goal was: "To get closer to the realism of a live performance." Its early products were based on the concept of using decibel expansion which gave the...
, X10
X10 (industry standard)
X10 is an international and open industry standard for communication among electronic devices used for home automation, also known as domotics. It primarily uses power line wiring for signaling and control, where the signals involve brief radio frequency bursts representing digital information...
, BSR Housewares (the later sold to the French small electrical appliances and kitchen equipment manufacturer Moulinex
Moulinex
Moulinex is a French brand of small electrical appliances and kitchen equipment and is owned by Groupe SEB. Moulinex was originally established as a company in 1937, however at the beginning of September 2001, Moulinex declared bankruptcy....
.
BSR then moved it head office to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, as Astec(BSR) plc, and continued in Hong Kong till 1998, when Astec(BSR) plc was 100% acquired by Emerson Electric Company
Emerson Electric Company
Emerson Electric Company is a major multinational corporation headquartered in Ferguson, Missouri, United States. This Fortune 500 company manufactures products and provides engineering services for a wide range of industrial, commercial, and consumer markets.Emerson is one of the largest...
(NYSE: EMR).