Dual (pronounced do-AL) is a brand name of audio and video electronics. In 1927, a German gramophone power supply manufacturer called Gebrüder Steidinger adopted the name Dual in reference to the dual-mode power supplies it pioneered. The power supplies allowed gramophones to be powered from mains electricity or with a wind-up mechanism. Soon thereafter, Dual began producing turntables of its own.
Throughout 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Dual introduced cassette players, VCRs, CD players, and other consumer electronics. However, in 2001, the Schneider AG company—then owner of the Dual franchise—declared insolvency. Rights to the Dual line of turntables were acquired by the German firm Fehrenbacher who have continued to produce them in the Black Forest town of St. Georgen since 1993.
