Saisho
A brand used by UK based retailer Currys for low budget, Asian sourced products.
Sankyo
This Japanese company was one of the pioneers in the manufacture of Compact Cassette and did also make receivers but has exited the audio market (but funnily enough still makes music box movements and DC motors for use in cassette players). Official homepage.
Schaub
Started in 1921 by Georg von Schaub as Schaub-Elektrizitätsgesellschaft and was located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Germany, originally manufacturing various electric equipment but entered the radio receiver market in 1923. The name of the company was changed to G. Schaub Apparatebau Gesellschaft GmbH in 1925 but continued to use plain Schaub as it's trademark and it became one of the better known manufacturers of radios in central Europe. Moved to Pforzheim-Dillweissenstein in 1934 and was taken over by C. Lorenz in 1940 although the company operated mostly independently until the early 50's. Restarted production of loudspeakers and receivers in 1946 or as soon as the occupation forces allowed and sold consumer products initially as Schaub and as later as Schaub-Lorenz, all manufacture of Lorenz CE products was actually handed over to the company in 1950 due to the blockade of Berlin by the Soviet occupation forces, the Schaub company was finally merged with the rest of the C. Lorenz companies in 1958 although the name was used at the least partially up until the sale of the Lorenz consumer division to Nokia in 1988.
Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG
The company has it's roots in a company founded by Felix Schneider in 1889 in Türkheim in Swabia, Germany, that manufactured industrial woodworking machinery. The company entered the audio business in 1965 by starting the manufacture of radios cabinets etc. and moved into the manufacture of other Brown Goods soon thereafter and became in particular associated with music systems in the 70's and 80's. The Schneider company was unusual for West German companies at the time in that they focused squarely on the manufacture of low budget & value products, while the rest of the electronics sector was increasingly focused on higher priced products in response to the ever increasing valuation of the German Mark. Entered the computer market in 1984 when they started marketing Amstrad computers under their own name in central Europe, initially with notable success, but split up with Amstrad in 1987 when they rejected to distribute the AT compatible computers that the latter company was introducing at the time as they thought they where unsellable, but rather decided to hire the entire European design team from Commodore that had been responsible for designing the PC compatible designs Commodore had introduced a couple of years earlier in addition to the Amiga 2000. This resulted in the introduction of the Euro-PC line of computers in late 1988, an interesting designs in some respects, for instance the first PC compatible that had all hardware I/O and set-up functions controlled by the BIOS configuration program rather than having to open the computer and move jumpers around, another unusual BIOS related feature is that you could start the configuration program anytime, even when the OS was running, although innovative this line was not a resounding success but it did pave the way for Schneider to become one of the larger European computer OEM's in the 1990's. The company bought the trademark, product lines and factories of the Dual company from Thomson in 1988, this was not primarily to get the product lines but rather it appears to be in response to the need for a new trademark for some European markets, notably France, were the Schneider brand was either owned by local companies or there where very well known companies with that name operating in other business sectors. The old Dual factory in St. Georgen was closed down in 1993 after sales of turntables tumbled and the manufacture of the turntable lineup was taken over by Alfred Fehrenbacher but they are located in the same town as the original Dual Co., the Dual trademark was licensed to the Karstad retail chain in 1996 but by that time Schneider was only using the trademark in France one on hand and for record players internationally. The company's name was changed to Schneider Electronics AG at some time in the 1990's and different operations where organised into independently run divisions. In the latter years it was perhaps best known locally as a manufacturer of low and mid range televisions and video recorders but they had started manufacturing those in 1983 but in the early 1990's the Schneider Technologies AG subsidary developed some innovative TV's for professional usage, the most interesting of these being the laser TV which was based around a solid state RGB laser gun developed in conjunction with Jenoptik, this allows for huge screens without the usual multi screen/projector setups or the lack of brightness usually associated with projectors. Worsening trade conditions in the late 90's however meant that the company declared itself bankrupt on January 26 2002, TCL International Holdings bought production facilities, stocks and trademarks for 8,2 million € in September 2002 and used those to form a new company called Schneider Electronics GmbH.
Scientific Audio Electronics (SAE)
USA audio electronics manufacturer founded in 1968 by Morris Kessler and Ted Winchester but from 1971 or so owned exclusively by Mr. Kessler, ran into financial problems in the early 80's and was taken over in 1985 by DAK Industries but folded in early 1992 when the parent company went into bankrupcy protection (it eventually went bankrupt altogether in 1994 although the author of this link fails to mention the contractual dispute that triggered the original withdrawal of credit). Had a huge cult following amongst a certain type of "audiophiles" (and to a certain extent still has) and was in may ways the archetypal 70's American hi-fi manufacturer, along with an array of HUGE amplifiers (usually both in size and power) and the usual tuners, cassette decks etc.., the company had a mind boggling line-up of signal processing equipment ranging from graphic equalisers to specialised noise reduction units. Hard-core fans of the company's products often had large 19" racks filled with equipment, a sight more associated with a recording studio rather than a home system. Mr. Kessler currently runs Amplifier Technologies Inc (ATI). For those that own or are interested in the products of the company there exists a mailing list called SAE Talk that discusses the products of the company. There is an page with some of the early history of the company here.
Scotch See --> 3M
SD Acoustics
A high end loudspeaker manufacturer based in Surbiton, Surrey, England, disappeared in 2002. Specialised in open baffle loudspeaker systems.
Sears, Roebuck & Co.
USA based mail order house, it's still in operation and I believe still selling audio equipment, but was in the 50's and 60's one of the biggest if not the biggest seller of home audio gear in America and much of that was sold under their own Sears and Silvertone brands although invariably sourced from North American and Japanese OEM producers. The company is also the current owner of the Eaton's and Viking brands in Canada. Official homepage.
SEL See --> C. Lorenz
SELA See --> Svenska Elektronik Apparater (SELA)
Sen
Not strictly audio but I am including it here since I cannot find any info on this on the web or elsewhere in fact. Situated in Reykjavík in Iceland and operated by Chinese-Icelandic electronic engineer Jón Sen in the 50's and 60's this company was one of the first independent manufacturers of televisions in Europe. Hr. Jón later ran a radio workshop called Rafeindatæki which did in fact provide service for older Sen products but he retired in 2002. (Icelanders are the last European nation to hold onto the paternal naming system so the gentleman is Hr. Jón rather than Mr. Sen).
Seoum
There appear from time to time in Europe hi-fi separates made in South-Korea that bear this name, I am assuming these are named after the SK locality of Seoum. The separates are of a better quality than what the Koreans were usually exporting at the time, typically up with Japanese mid priced separates from the same time frame (early - mid 80's) which is unusual since at the time SK was mostly exporting low budget stuff and competing pricewise with Hong Kong. Would like to get further info on the company if anyone out there has it. And BTW the company logo sometimes has the U in the name capped, no idea what that signifies.
Shellmar
USA based packaging manufacturer, became the first USA manufacturer of magnetic audio tape and disks in 1946 when it started manufacturing media for use with recorders from Brush Development Company, these used technologies that Brush had developed in conjunction with 3M but the latter company went on to make tape formulations based on BASF IP which left Brush looking for another partner. It appears that Shellmar only made tapes and disks for a few years, at the least the Brush tapes of the late 50's were not made by the company. But Shellmar or it's descendants is still around, with factories all over North and South America and manufactures packaging for the food industry.
Shearne Audio
Founded in 1990 by John Shearne and based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. Put it's first product on the market in 1991 in the form of the Phase 1 pre/power amplifier combo, this is a transistor amplifier that uses a "valve amp like topology" or so the manufacturer claimed, it was also noted in it's day for it's unusual marble like livery. Added further amplifier models to the range in the latter half of the 90's, all based around the same ideas (and looks) as the P1 and introduced a couple of high end CD players as well, the circuits of most of their products were upgraded in or around 2000. All contact with them lost early 2003, it was noted however that for the last few months the company listed a separate address for repairs and upgrades (Upgrade were available for all their products), that address is listed here below in the off chance that it's still useful. You can still find information on their last line-up from their former USA distributor along with original USA RRP and that company may in fact still have some models in stock and so have a couple of UK dealers.
Shearne Audio, Technology House, 214 Station Road, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15-2PH
Shinagawa Musen Co. Ltd.
Small company in Tokyo, Japan, that supplied tonarms and pickups under the Grace trademark from the early 50's into the mid 80's, their products also appeared under the Andante trademark in the late 70's and early 80' but it's unclear if they owned that trademark. Last we heard (2002) the company or it's successor is still around but no longer has any connections with the audio business, they appear however to have helped owners of their products in getting service, rebuilds and retips. Would like a current address if someone has it.
Shinbang Electronics See --> Etronics
Siemens
Founded in 1947 in Berlin, Prussia, by Ernst Werner Siemens (later Werner von Siemens) and Johann Georg Halske as Telegraphenbauanstalt Siemens & Halske to manufacture in German 400 pound gorilla of the electric industry, formerly a partner in the Telefunken group and currently has interest in anything from power stations to computer memory manufacture. Founded Telefunken in association with AEG in 1903 but started the manufacture of radios and other audio equipment in 1941 after it had sold it's share in Telefunken and manufactured Hi-fi separates at the least into the late 80's. Official homepage.
Silvertone See --> Sears
SoleControl See --> Infrared Research Laboratories
Solo Electronics
A California, USA based company founded by the Lau brothers in or around 1990 to manufacture valve amplifiers under the Golden Tube Audio brand and did so with some success, but ran into problems in the latter half of the decade, started manufacturing home theatre amplifiers under the Golden Theatre name around 1999 and disappeared in early 2002.
Sonotone
American company that began manufacturing hearing aids in the early 1930's but diversified into manufacturing pickups, tape recorder heads, microphones and other transducers, and even the odd valve along with rechargeable batteries and a short lived range of hi-fi separates. Stopped making any audio related products apart from pickups and mic's in the early 60's and the audio division was sold a little later to Astatic, but the company is still around under another name and still manufacture hearing aids. More info from the Sonotone history page.
Sound Quest, Inc.
USA based maker/reseller of car audio installation and accessory products, taken over by Recoton in 1994.
Sprint See --> Recoton (Assecories and land line phones only 1998 to 2003)
Standard Elektrik Lorenz See --> C. Lorenz
Starr Piano Co.
Originally founded in 1872 in Richmond, Indiana, USA by German immigrant George Trayser and associates as a manufacturer of pianos, but note that it has not been possible to establish exactly under what name since the company frequently changed names during it's formative years, it was incorporated in 1878 as the Starr Piano Company and named after the Starr family which was the company's main financial backer at the time. During the 1880's the company transformed from a generic manufacturer of hand made pianos to a mass manufacturer of upright pianos only and in 1893 the company was re-incorporated under the same name but then with a shared ownership between Starr family on one hand and John Lumsden and Henry Gennett on the other. Following the death of John Starr in 1903 the company was taken over by the Gennett family, and the company expanded into the manufacture of player pianos at around the same time. When the increasing popularity of phonographic equipment as a source of home entertainment started to eat into sales of upright pianos Starr responded by starting the manufacture of phonographs on a small scale in the early 1910's, while initially a very small part of the operation it was so successful that the company opened a new division and factory in 1916 that not only manufactured phonographs and later radio receivers under the Starr name, but also pressed records both for their own Gennett Records and for other independent labels, the companies venture into pressing actually became the subject of a patent battle between Starr on one hand and Victor and the Gramophone Co. on the other which ended in the courts invalidating the patents of the latter 2 companies in 1922 thereby paving the way for any USA company that wanted to press records to do so without having to ask for permission or pay license fees.
What is less well known is that the company supplied professional audio products under the Gennett name during the 20's and early 30's, this included turntables in addition to cutting and pressing equipment, in fact the transcription turntable pictured in the header of the Record Players is actually a Gennett table from the late 20's. The "consumer goods division" of the company expanded their operation during the 1920's by going into the manufacture of White Goods, the company was hit hard by the great depression with the company being forced to close down it's record label (not the pressing plant however), however the white goods manufacture ended up being the Starr's saviour, they opened up a number of warehouses in the southern USA during the depression just to distribute and support their refrigeration products. The piano and phonographic divisions of the company however never recovered from the effects of the depressions and even the economic boom that happened after the second world war did not manage to boost the fortunes of the company, the slowdown in the sales of pianos did not help and the company made it's last piano in the early 1950's and closed it's factory soon thereafter. You can visit the homepage of the Starr-Gennett Foundation but they are amongst other things trying to raise funds to preserve what remains of the old factory buildings. The company still exists in the form of the old refrigeration distribution division formally known as the Starr Piano co., Pacific Division but changed it's name in 1978 to Refrigeration Supplies Distributor and is now a distributor of refrigeration parts and a manufacturer control systems known as RSD/Total Control. For an example of a phonograph made by the Starr company take a look at this page. Official homepage.
Stinger See --> AAMP of Florida (Pre 1997) or Recoton (1998 - 2003)
Sumo Electric Co. Ltd
US manufacturer of mid/high end audio electronics founded by James Bongiorno formerly of GAS around 1980 but sold the company in 1985, originally the company concentrated on pickups and amplifiers but later made more or less a full range of products, disappeared in the latter half of the 90's.
Sunrise House Ltd.
Japanese company based in the Shibuyaku district in Tokyo, was the original trademark owner of the Roadstar brand but it has not been possible to establish if the company was the original manufacturer or just a trading company. Brand later went to Fuji Electronics.
Svenska Elektronik-Apparater AB (SELA)
Swedish microphone manufacturer founded in 1948 by Sixten Lingheim, Lennart Ljungberg, Rudolf Martinson, Tore Ljungberg and Sven Josefsson, and based in Stockholm. Started to Supply the then burgeoning Swedish film industry with recording microphones, but the broadcast oriented Neumann was too heavy for boom operators so SELA designed a new microphone around a Neumann capsule that was smaller, much lighter and reportedly better sounding due to driving the transducer differently than the original. The company stopped production in 1972 for reasons not entirely clear to the author but you can get more information on the company and it's products from the homepage of Föreningen Svenskt Filmljud (in Swedish).
Symfonia See --> Berkley Testa Electronics
Syntronic Instruments
US based defence subcontractor that specialised in the manufacture of magnetic coils etc.., proposed a range of metal cone speakers in the early 90's that would have some interesting characteristics, these were supposed to be hi-fi speakers primarily but for some reason when they were finally introduced to the market a couple of years later they turned out to be intended for car audio usage only. The core business of the company was sold in 2003 but the loudspeaker division lives on as Alumapro. Official homepage.
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