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Was Peerless a subsidiary of Altec?

toxcrusadr

toxcrusadr

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Was just doing some research for another posting in Speakers about Atlantic speakers, which got me looking for an EIA code for Peerless. The only one I could find is "Altec-Lansing - Peerless, 391". Was Peerless a subsidiary, or was it once independent and was bought by Altec, or spun off?

Did it ever have a different EIA code?

I tried Googling and searching AK for some history, couldn't find anything at AK and Google gives a company in India started by a Danish company called Tymphany, which I am not sure is the same Peerless.
 
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toxcrusadr said:
Was just doing some research for another posting in Speakers about Atlantic speakers, which got me looking for an EIA code for Peerless. The only one I could find is "Altec-Lansing - Peerless, 391". Was Peerless a subsidiary, or was it once independent and was bought by Altec, or spun off?

Did it ever have a different EIA code?

I tried Googling and searching AK for some history, couldn't find anything at AK and Google gives a company in India started by a Danish company called Tymphany, which I am not sure is the same Peerless.
Click to expand...

http://test.audioheritage.org/Web_P...y_of_Altec_Lansing/02_Timelines/TL_Frame.html

1947 Acquired Peerless Electrical Products Company. Tenth Anniversary record album produced, with Bette Davis, Bob Hope, Jean Hersholt, and others.
Click to expand...

Not sure if Peerless Electrical Company was the same as the speaker maker.
 
I can't imagine they would have acquired or had more than one Peerless subsidiary though. Great info, thanks!

Funny there is not more discussion here at AK, but it may just be there are so many threads with "Peerless" that it's hard to search.
 
toxcrusadr said:
Was just doing some research for another posting in Speakers about Atlantic speakers, which got me looking for an EIA code for Peerless. The only one I could find is "Altec-Lansing - Peerless, 391". Was Peerless a subsidiary, or was it once independent and was bought by Altec, or spun off?

Did it ever have a different EIA code?

I tried Googling and searching AK for some history, couldn't find anything at AK and Google gives a company in India started by a Danish company called Tymphany, which I am not sure is the same Peerless.
Click to expand...

1- Altec has no relationship to Peerless.

2- I wouldn't put much stock in "EIA" codes. Most manufacturers stopped paying attention to them in the late 50's/early 60's.

3- The "real" Peerless was based in Denmark. It had affiliations with Vifa, ScanSpeak and, in the distant past, various other well-known brands.

4- Peerless India is a comparatively shady clone company, capitalizing on a trademark loophole. Their stuff is not terrible, but it isn't top shelf, the way Peerless Denmark was. (If you see "Peerless" speakers for too-good-to-be-true prices, there's a good chance they are from India.)

5- Peerless USA tried to be a legit supplier for a while, but failed.

6- Tymphany bought "Danish Sound Technology," which, at the time, owned ScanSpeak, Vifa and Peerless. http://www.stereophile.com/news/0301405tymphany

7- Tymphany is now operating out of China, and the Peerless name is, apparently, retired.

Hope this helps!

-k
 
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Great info, thanks. So the EIA code 391 that I found for Altec - Peerless is actually Peerless Electric which made transformers and not drivers.

So apparently there is no 3-digit EIA code for Peerless of Denmark, the driver manufacturer most people are referring to when they say Peerless.

"Most" makers may have stopped using them long ago, but there are an awful lot of drivers showing up on AK all the time from the 60s, 70s and even later, that can be ID'd using them. Funny that there are so many Peerless drivers that people seem to recognize, but they must not be doing it using EIA codes.
 
I read somewhere the new Tymphany manufacturing plant in China is absolutely state of the art and is turning out some fine raw speakers.
 
toxcrusadr said:
Great info, thanks. So the EIA code 391 that I found for Altec - Peerless is actually Peerless Electric which made transformers and not drivers.

So apparently there is no 3-digit EIA code for Peerless of Denmark, the driver manufacturer most people are referring to when they say Peerless.

"Most" makers may have stopped using them long ago, but there are an awful lot of drivers showing up on AK all the time from the 60s, 70s and even later, that can be ID'd using them. Funny that there are so many Peerless drivers that people seem to recognize, but they must not be doing it using EIA codes.
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EIA was a US trade alliance, (read: protectionist lobby.) All speaker companies with assigned EIA numbers are US-based. With the shift of most speaker manufacturing overseas, there are only a few major companies left that use the codes.

-k
 
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EIA codes were used by US based manufacturers, so you will not find them on European or Asian drivers.

Back in the 1970's Peerless Denmark made just a few models of mid-range and tweeter drivers (first cones, then domes) that were used widely by many US based speaker brands. Once you are familiar with how they look, they are easy to identify!
 
In the 70's Peerless was owned by EAD - Eastern air devices which also for a while included Infinity and KLH (after Singer...). That's one of the reasons so many models of KLH and Infinity from that era had Peerless drivers.
 
sregor said:
In the 70's Peerless was owned by EAD - Eastern air devices which also for a while included Infinity and KLH (after Singer...). That's one of the reasons so many models of KLH and Infinity from that era had Peerless drivers.
Click to expand...

That was US Peerless.

It's all a soap opera...

-k
 
If I'm not mistaking, the Peerless soft dome midranges used in vintage Infinitys were stamped "Made in W. Germany". Ditto the mid used in the DQ-10
Or perhaps they weren't Peerless as they certainly were not labeled "Peerless"?:)
 
tubed said:
If I'm not mistaking, the Peerless soft dome midranges used in vintage Infinitys were stamped "Made in W. Germany". Ditto the mid used in the DQ-10
Or perhaps they weren't Peerless as they certainly were not labeled "Peerless"?:)
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AFAIK Peerless (Denmark) didn't bother to label their drivers at all, mine aren't and those I've seen here neither. Mine only have "8 Ohms" printed on them and that's it. Oddly enough my woofer absolutely doesn't look like a Peerless woofer of the time but like a perfect clone of the mid and tweet.
 
fpitas said:
Ken,

The name lives on, from what I can tell:

http://www.parts-express.com/cat/woofers/15?m=269

The data sheets show both the Tymphany and Peerless names.

Oddly, I'm using Peerless woofers with an Altec horn.

Francis
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Thanks, I am happy to see that. Several of the Peerless designs are really good and not too expensive. Some of those PE drivers look familiar, others seem to be from the new Chinese design team. I'll find out if any of the Danish designers are still involved. (FWIW- the 830986 was my baby, originally designed for a large, fruit-flavored customer that discontinued their product within six months. :( )

-k

BTW- Which Peerless woofers are you using? I did a 10" for Peerless (1727) many years ago on behalf of a Japanese client of mine, long before I could have anticipated any formal relationship with the company.
 
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