While nowhere near the scale of recent acquisitions in the audio world (Beyerdynamic, Denon/Marantz/Bowers & Wilkins, Klipsch/Pioneer/Onkyo, Sonus Faber/McIntosh) there is another string of brands being consolidated — under the umbrella of Audio Tuning GmbH in Mistelbach, Austria.
Audio Tuning Vertriebs GmbH, founded by Austrian businessman Heinrich ‘Heinz’ Lichtenegger in 1986, started as an audio distribution company, later diversifying into manufacturing under well-known Pro-Ject brand (1991, Pro-Ject Audio Systems GmbH formed).
Currently Audio Tuning owns several distinct audio brands. Mo Sound, a small speaker manufacturer, produces room-decor-friendly loudspeakers with spherical cabinets made of porcelain. The brand was established by Roland Jaklitsch, who created ball-shaped speakers with ceramic cabinets and sold them in his own shop in Vienna. Mo Sound was sold to Audio Tuning about 10 years ago.
In May of 2018 Audio Tuning announced acquisition of Musical Fidelity, a private British hi-fi company, owned by Anthony Michaelson. Audio Tuning was a distributor for Musical Fidelity and when Michaelson expressed his wish to retire, Lichtenegger made him an offer not to be refused.
The Austrian company seemingly searches business opportunities in buying turntable brands. It all started with Tone Factory, a small start-up created in 2019. (Heinz Lichtenegger’s daughter, Nicole Lichtenegger-Zimmerman, a graphic designer, was involved in this start-up). Tone Factory designed an inexpensive bluetooth-enabled turntable and was seeking investment on Kickstarter platform. Eventually it was bought by Audio Tuning same year and sleek new record players began to be assembled at Pro-Ject factory in Litovel, Czechia. All Tone Factory products, which now include an amp and a speaker, use online-only sales model.
In 2021 Audio Tuning approached Fehrenbacher GmbH, a German company, founded by Alfred Fehrenbacher in 1987, which was a contractor for Dual and Thorens brands until Dual stopped sourcing from Germany in 1992 (since 1982 Dual was owned by Thomson-Brandt SA). Fehrenbacher took the opportunity and purchased former Dual factory premises and tooling in the town of St Georgen in Schwarzwald region of Germany. Fehrenbacher company continued producing turtnables but it did not acquire exlusive rights for the brand. Meanwhile Dual was purchased from Thomson by Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG which in 2002 went to insolvency and its assets were bought by TCL Electronics, China. Dual brand usage for electronic products in North America was transferred to a third company, Namsung, which started to sell automotive audio product under the Dual name. In 2007 TCL re-sold the turntable brand to a German company named Dual DGC which in the same year issued trade mark license to Fehrenbacher, so production under Dual brand started in St Georgen again. In 2017 DGC did not renew Fehrenbacher license and sold the turntable brand to a newly established Dual GmbH in Fuchstal, Bavaria. The new company started manufacturing with a contractor in China (Yahorng Electronic). The situation was, to say it mildly, a tad confusing, when Dual turntables in the market could have come from two different companies. In 2018 Fehrenbacher was purchased by Andreas Laux, and initial co-operation with Audio Tuning started, with Fehrenbacher making parts for Tone Factory turntables and doing OEM orders for Pro-Ject’s Automat (autostart/autostop) turntable line.
In 2021, after Audio Tuning bought Fehrenbacher, a new brand, Rekkord Audio, emerged as a successor to Fehrenbacher Dual turntables, time-proven designs, now supported with Audio Tuning extensive resources, parts inventory and engineering power. Rekkord Audio turntable range is produced at Fehrenbacher factory in St Georgen as well as some Tone Factory products.
In December 2024 Audio Tuning purchased intellectual property of JC Verdier, a French manufacturer of very high end turntables. A brainchild of brilliant mechanical engineer Jean Constant Verdier, who passed away in 2014, Verdier turntables were a standard of quality for many admirers in the 1980s, including Mr. Lichtenegger, CEO of Audio Tuning, himself. He approached Eric Verdier, the son of the late designer, and they agreed to the sale of IP, tooling and spare parts from JC Verdier, which also includes several models of high end vacuum tube (valve) amplifiers.
All in all Audio Tuning has accumulated a veritable portfolio of brands. Not exactly up to Harman International level, but still formidable.