Michell Audio

Founded in 1966 by the late John Michell as J.A. Michell Engineering Ltd, Michell Audio has established itself as Britain's oldest turntable manufacturer, creating reference-class turntables, tonearms, and moving coil cartridges for people who love music. Born from John Michell's engineering career that began with an apprenticeship at Finchley Autos in the early 1950s, the company started in his garden shed before moving to increasingly larger premises in North London and finally settling in Borehamwood in the mid-1960s where it remained for over 50 years. The company's pivotal moment came when John met Stanley Kubrick and built the spaceship 'Discovery' for the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, which later inspired the iconic GyroDec turntable design. Introduced in the early 1980s, the GyroDec employed a revolutionary hanging pendulum-style sub-chassis with isolated drive motor that literally turned turntable design on its head, utilizing spinning brass weights in a suspended design that influenced the future of vinyl playback and became culturally significant enough that Steve Jobs owned one. Under current leadership of Jonathan Nye, who took over running Michell in 2023 following previous management by Steve Rowland, the small family-run company continues to embody John Michell's personal touch while taking on the world with cutting-edge turntable design. The product lineup includes the best-selling Gyro SE (Spider Edition) featuring a compact three-point acrylic spider plinth, the flagship Orbe launched in 1994 as a cost-no-object redevelopment of the GyroDec with dual-layer plinth and improved engineering, and various tonearms and cartridges. Operating from 2 Theobald Street, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire WD6 4SE with distribution through PMC Distribution UK since February 2024, Michell's legendary service capabilities allow them to repair every turntable they've ever made, maintaining their reputation for British-founded and owned manufacturing, demonstrating that in an era of disposable products, this British institution continues to deliver products designed to last generations while pushing the boundaries of analog audio reproduction.