Dual (brand)

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Dual

Type	Corporation
Founded	Germany (1927)
Headquarters	Heathrow, Florida
Industry	Electronics
Products	Audio, visual
Website	Dual Electronics

Dual P 53 record player with 1210 turntable

Dual (pronounced do-AL) is a brand name of audio and video electronics.

In 1927, a German gramophone power supply manufacturer called Gebrüder Steidinger adopted the name Dual in reference to the dual-mode power supplies it pioneered. The power supplies allowed gramophones to be powered from mains electricity or with a wind-up mechanism. Soon thereafter, Dual began producing turntables of its own. Throughout 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Dual introduced cassette players, VCRs, CD players, and other consumer electronics. However, in 2001, the Schneider AG company—then owner of the Dual franchise—declared insolvency. TCL Holdings, a Chinese company, purchased the Dual assets and brand, and began marketing its own products under the name. In 2002, Namsung Electronics, a Korean-American company, bought the rights to use the name in the Americas and has been selling low-priced (but generally well-reviewed) consumer electronics under the Dual marque since then. The main product lines are home audio, mobile audio, and marine audio. Products are widely available from mainstream Internet and other retailers.

Meanwhile, rights to the Dual line of turntables were acquired by the German firm Fehrenbacher [1]who have continued to produce them in the Black Forest town of St. Georgen since 1993.