Telefunken

Telefunken is a German radio and television company, dating back to 1903. It was a joint venture of two corporate behemoths - Siemens & Halske (S & H) and the Allgemeine Elektrizit‰ts-Gesellschaft (AEG). Thereafter, the company underwent many changes ñ from being a subsidiary of AEG, to merging with AEG, and until recently, in 2001, in its newest avatar, Telefunken USA.

Telefunken, until its most recent change had an expansive range of devices and services that were conceptualized and created between 1903 and 1996. The company began building broadcasting transmitters and radio sets in 1923. The year1932 saw record players being added to the Telefunken product range. During World War II, Telefunken was as important supplier of radar devices, electron tubes, transmitters and radio relay systems.

Telefunken engineered many radio sets, and their Gavotte line of radio sets is just one example. Some vintage radio models from the Gavotte line include Telefunken Gavotte Model 9, Telefunken Gavotte 5353 W, Telefunken Gavotte Model 5253W, Telefunken Gavotte 1063, Telefunken Gavotte1153, and many many more. Telefunken has an extensive line of playback systems and related components like cassette decks, record players, stereo systems, CD players, amplifiers, tuners, power amplifiers, pre-amplifiers, and microphones.

The Telefunken diamond bottom ECC803s, has not lost its edge as the most sought-after preamp tube till date. Its extremely rare frame grid version of ECC83/12AX7 was intended for professional and military applications only. Today, these preamp tubes are a hit with among many audiophiles. They are regarded as the best 12AX7 variant tilluntil date, because of their longevity.