DUAL is a German audio brand whose origins trace back to
1900, when Christian Steidinger established a precision mechanics workshop in
St. Georgen, a small town in the Black Forest region of Germany. In 1907,
Christian and his brother Josef formally founded Gebrüder Steidinger — a
factory specialising in clockwork mechanics and gramophone drives. In 1927, the
brothers invented a revolutionary dual-mode motor combining a spring-wound
clockwork mechanism with an electric motor, a breakthrough that allowed gramophones
to run from either mains power or a wind-up mechanism. This innovation was so
successful that the company adopted the name DUAL in its honour.
DUAL went on to become the largest turntable manufacturer in
Europe, employing more than 3,000 people across multiple factories at its peak
in the post war decades. Today, the company remains headquartered in Fuchstal,
Germany, where the flagship Primus Maximus turntable is hand-built, while
production of the CS Series has moved to the Far East under the strict quality
control of Dual personnel. Remaining at the forefront of innovation, Dual
introduced the world’s first app-controlled turntable in 2024 and continues to
offer a comprehensive range of manual and automatic models, including both
belt-driven and direct-drive designs, all backed by a five-year warranty.