BSR

Birmingham Sound Reproducers (BSR) was a prominent British turntable manufacturer founded in 1932 by Daniel McLean McDonald in Birmingham, England. The company became a dominant force in the turntable industry, eventually supplying 87% of the global record changer market and producing over 250,000 units per week by 1977. BSR was particularly renowned for its innovative automatic record changers that could play multiple record sizes and speeds, serving as the turntable mechanism for numerous consumer electronics brands worldwide. The company also manufactured tape recorder mechanisms and worked with prestigious brands like Bang & Olufsen. In the 1970s, BSR diversified into housewares, acquiring companies like Goblin Vacuum Cleaners, but this expansion ultimately weakened their core audio focus. The company closed its last turntable division in 1985 as vinyl records declined in popularity, relocated headquarters to Hong Kong, and was eventually acquired by Emerson Electric in 1998. BSR's legacy lives on through vintage audio enthusiasts who value their well-engineered turntables from the golden age of vinyl.