HISTORY
A journey through
our history since 1907
2020

2020

DGC GmbH changed its name to Dual GmbH and is located in Landsberg am Lech in Germany. A new generation of turntables designed or made in Germany was introduced. The top model, called “Primus Maximus“, is limited to 100 units and only made to order.

2019
2019

2019

Dual returns to the IFA Berlin exhibition after a long absence period.

2018
2018

2018

Dr. Josef Zellner takes over the DGC GmbH.

2007

2007

DGC GmbH issued a non-exclusive license to the Alfred Fehrenbacher GmbH to produce and sell turntables under the Dual brand name.

2003

2003

The first products were released under the Dual brand again.

1996
1996

1996

The parent company was restructured and sold the brand Dual to the department store chain Karstadt AG. For several years they released their own products under the Dual brand with a new retro-logo. Only the brand rights for turntables remained with Schneider.

1993

1993

Dual dipped into the red again and the last Dual factory in St. Georgen in the Black Forest shut down.

All turntables were now made for Schneider by an external contractor, the Fehrenbacher GmbH. All other products were simply bought in.

1991
1991

1991

Introduction of the “Golden Stone” turntable. This model had the same gold plated metal components as the “Golden 1” along with an artificial stone plinth.

1988
1988

1988

“Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG” became the new owners of Dual and introduced television sets under the Dual brand.

1987
1987

1987

A new reference model was released. The “Dual Golden 1” combined the technology of the Dual CS5000 with a black high gloss plinth and 24k gold plated metal components.

Because of the pressure of competition Thomson-Brand had to cut more and more jobs in St. Georgen.

1985
1985

1985

Dual introduced its new top-model CS 5000: It was a belt driven, manually operated turntable with a wooden plinth. Dual also developed, manufactured presented the first Compact-Disc player “made in Germany” and other high-quality devices.

1981
1981

1981

The German consumer electronic industry suffered from the fast growing Far East competition. Among others, even Dual filed for bankruptcy after years of loss making.

Dual was taken over by the French electronic company Thomson-Brandt. The new owner, who also owned the trademarks of Nordmende, Saba and Telefunken, integrated Dual into his group.

1975
1975

1975

Dual celebrated its 75th anniversary.

1973
1973

1973

The next major innovation was the fully automatic Dual 701. It was the first electronic direct-drive turntable made in Europe. This high-class turntable received great recognition around the world.

1973
1973

1973

The long-term competitor Perpetuum-Ebner was taken over by Dual.

1969
1969

1969

The new top of the range model, the Dual 1219, was the first Dual turntable to feature a platter with a diameter of 30cm. It was the first HiFi record changer using a tonearm with a twin-gimbal bearing system. Dual now offers a wide range of components: Portables, HiFi-record changers, amplifiers, tuners, tape recorders and loudspeakers.

1963
1963

1963

The all new HiFi record changer Dual 1009 sets new world-wide standards within its category. The 1009 and its successor, the 1019, became very popular, especially in North America.

1950
1950

1950

The Steidinger Brothers celebrated their 50th anniversary. The post war period was a time with strong economic growth. Many companies around the world were using Dual turntables and record changers built into their music cabinets.

1949
1949

1949

The first record changer for 78 records, the model Dual 1000, was introduced.

1937
1937

1937

Christian Steidinger died. His sons Oskar and Siegfried took over the management.

1935
1935

1935

The “Dual Motor” became so successful that the name “Dual” was chosen as the official company brand name. The first “Dual Turntable” to feature the new brand name was released.

1927
1927

1927

The so called “Dual-Motor” is introduced. It was a combination of a spring loaded clock-work and an electric motor for the portable gramophone units that were popular at the time.

1912
1912

1912

The brothers parted company and Josef Steidinger started his own business, named: „Perpetuum”

1907
1907

1907

In this year, the “Steidinger Brothers factory for precision mechanics” was founded. While they supplied tools for the clock makers of the region, they also worked on designing a new a spring- loaded drive for gramophones.

1900
1900

1900

In town of St. Georgen in the Black Forest in Germany, as their forefathers did, the brothers Christian and Josef Steidinger were building precision parts for clock makers. Christian started his own workshop in his new home.

We would like to thank Norbert Kotschenreuther for his support.

THE FUTURE:
THE DUAL DESIGN CENTER
THE FUTURE: THE DUAL DESIGN CENTER