Dual is returning to the North American market to release a new range of hifi record players, and is working to restructure its international distribution network.
Two manual, belt-driven record players – the CS 418 and CS 518 – will be launching in May 2021, followed this summer by the CS 618Q, a direct drive player with auto-stop and auto-lift functions, available in various finishes. The fully automatic record player CS 429 is scheduled for late Q3 2021 introduction, and its Bluetooth-enabled bigger sibling, the CS 529BT, will make its debut in early 2022, contingent on global supply-chain developments.
Dual’s distribution strategy will be to service worldwide markets in collaboration with local partners. For North America, previously its largest overseas market, Dual has tapped JAM Industries’ North American CE divisions for the relaunch.
“Dual is returning to its roots as a leading turntable brand,” says Josef Zellner Dual’s Owner and Chief Executive. “New products are being introduced for the future, whilst investing in support for the legacy products”
“We feel very fortunate to welcome Dual into the Jam industries portfolio,” adds Enzo Morelli Vice President for JAM Industries’ Erikson Consumer-Home and American Audio & Video CE divisions. “Judging by early feedback, the brand still holds a special place in the hearts and minds of retail CE buyers, and we look forward to sharing their evolving and exciting portfolio with analog fans in the USA and Canada.”
Dual was founded in 1907 in St. Georgen in the Black Forest under the name of Steidinger Brothers – Factory for Precision Engineering and rose to become one of the largest producers of record players worldwide in the 1970s. After bankruptcy in the 1980s, Dual was sold to the French firm Thomson and then on to Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG in Türkheim. Today, the company is owned and run by Josef Zellner, who had led the export department for Dual in the 1990s. The company’s Head Office is in Landsberg am Lech with a product development and service centre in Kiefersfelden, Germany.