whatever happened to heybrook

[admin_exported]

they used to make some good loudspeakers

their web site exists but thats all

 

[chebby]

They appear to still make speakers. (I see the recent ones come up on ebay occasionally)

More significantly is where the "design DNA" of classics like the HB1 has gone (the old 1980s one I mean). Their designer Peter Comeau is now director of acoustic design for the IAG group.

His latest influence can be seen in products like the Wharfedale Diamond 10.1

 

[John Duncan]

Which means that 20 years on, you can buy a speaker for £200 that probably sounds better than the HB1 which cost more in 1990. How cool is that?

 

[chebby]

JohnDuncan:Which means that 20 years on, you can buy a speaker for £200 that probably sounds better than the HB1 which cost more in 1990. How cool is that?

Peter Comeau recently wrote in HFW (November 2009 issue HFW page 49 in response to a letter) that the old HB1's would cost about £900 if made nowadays.

 

[a91gti]

Certainly a fine speaker the HB1, I had a pair hooked up to a Nad cdp and Quad 303 some years ago.

 

[Andy Clough]

According to its website, Heybrook is now owned by Audio Group UK in Cornwall. email: contact@heybrook.co.uk, tel: 01752 848816. But just tried the phone number and the line is dead. I'll drop them an email.

 

[Frank Harvey]

It is a shame - I used to work for Radfords in Plymouth in the early/mid nineties and we dealt with 2 local companies - JPW and Heybrook. Both produced excellent speakers, pretty much the best you could get for the price. If I remember rightly, JPW were the only manufacturer at the time who produced a wood veneered cabinet below £250 (they were made in Dartmoor prison to keep costs down!), and Heybrook had Peter Comeau behind them producing some great loudspeakers - the HB100 was a speaker I owned for a while, which I thought was well worth the little extra over the HB1 (£260).

I met Peter for tour of their factory - top bloke, knew what he was doing and what he was talking about. It's a shame that a company that played such a part in the development of budget hi-fi in the 80's and early nineties (mainly with the HB1) has gone.

 

[Andrew Everard]

JPW still exists, it seems - part of same group as Heybrook

 

[Anonymous]

so theyre definitely gone then dave

thought so tried the contact number for audio group and got a private number and their uk distributor now works in the satellite antenna trade

shame i still have a pair of hb1s somewhere they were good in their day

 

[matthewpiano]

I think JPW are owned by Peerless in India but they don't appear to be available in the UK these days.

I used to have a pair of Sonatas. Very nice budget speakers.

 

[Frank Harvey]

I'm assuming that the company name may still exist (if the Audio Group still exists), but product isn't being manufactured at the moment.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Indeed, that may be the case.

 

[Anonymous]

Andrew Everard:JPW still exists, it seems - part of same group as Heybrook
same contact details as for heybrook so presumably their gone too

 

[matthewpiano]

http://www.peerlessaudio.com/productscategoryLS.asp

 

[Anonymous]

Still got my JPW gold mini monitors - good speakers. Used on my surround sound now. Very solid, cute & good tweeters. Pity the company seems to not be as active as it once was.

 

[Anonymous]

FrankHarveyHiFi:

I used to work for Radfords in Plymouth in the early/mid nineties

So the next question is - whatever happened to Radford's?

I used to go into the old Bristol shop regularly in the 80s - usually to listen to speakers, LP12s etc and drool over interesting window displays - early Meridian, etc. I once had an amp repaired up the road by them - very helpful.

 

[Anonymous]

matthewpiano:http://www.peerlessaudio.com/productscategoryLS.aspinteresting site matthew dont think their anything to do with peerless since 1983 but have emailed them out of cuiriosity

in the course of researching that found out the danish peerless which includes vifa seem to be manufacturing everything in hk or china now things change

 

[Frank Harvey]

ChrisMM:FrankHarveyHiFi: I used to work for Radfords in Plymouth in the early/mid nineties

So the next question is - whatever happened to Radford's?

I used to go into the old Bristol shop regularly in the 80s - usually to listen to speakers, LP12s etc and drool over interesting window displays - early Meridian, etc. I once had an amp repaired up the road by them - very helpful. I think towards the end of the 90's Graham Radford sold off a few branches, leaving about 3 of them, then left the company to his son to run. I can only assume this didn't work out, as they sold the remaining branches, I believe, to Sevenoaks.

 

[GeoffreyW]

Gosh! I've got a pair of HB1s, but the suspension disc of the bass speakers has rotted away - they've been in the loft since I bought my Doublets. Does anyone know if I can get suitable quality replacement units?

 

[Anonymous]

you can pick up repair kits on ebay

 

[FijiFi]

Hello Geoff You can make a new suspension and upgrade the crossover with Solen polyurethane capacitors for a few pounds.

Cut a circular trough in a pece of board. Laminate light nylon cloth, two pieces with biass crossed and stuck together with finely spread silicone glue. Press the cloth into the trough with a piece of round flex cable. When dry glue onto your cones. I repaired a set of 6 inch midrange-wooffers with great success this way. They had cheap foam surrounds that had perished but the speakers performed very well, so I repaired them.

Question is, what speaker can now replace the Heybrook Hb1 s ?

Cheers Tony

 

[bigboss]

You do realise that you're responding to a 6-year old thread, don't you?

 

[Al ears]

You do realise that you're responding to a 6-year old thread, don't you?

Beat me to it Bigboss.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_10154038329961575]

I used to work for Heybrook in the summer of 94 in between uni and joining the RAF. At the time I had a TT2 turntable and a pair of HB1s as an 18 yo in my 7ft x 10 ft bedroom. During my time there I upgraded my TT2 to an external power supply and put upgraded bits on the HB1s. Sadly the TT2 went kurput and I sold it on eBay for spares but my old man still has my HB1s and I cannot get them off him. My old man also knew the owner of JPW. Over the years we had alss had another pair of HB1s, Point 5s, JOW Sonatas etc and I was in the loft of my old man's house over this easter and he has the Point 5s hooked up to a Thorens TD160 with an SME Series 3 and Linn K9 ;retro'; it will all be mine one day.

All I remeber from working for the company that was owned by a lovely husband and wife team was the fact that (imo) they were passionate about hi-fi but not the greatest business people.

Hey ho very sad but what a great place to be in my lunch hour eating my sarnies in the sound room listening to great music on great 'locally made' kit.

 

[Al ears]

I used to work for Heybrook in the summer of 94 in between uni and joining the RAF. At the time I had a TT2 turntable and a pair of HB1s as an 18 yo in my 7ft x 10 ft bedroom. During my time there I upgraded my TT2 to an external power supply and put upgraded bits on the HB1s. Sadly the TT2 went kurput and I sold it on eBay for spares but my old man still has my HB1s and I cannot get them off him. My old man also knew the owner of JPW. Over the years we had alss had another pair of HB1s, Point 5s, JOW Sonatas etc and I was in the loft of my old man's house over this easter and he has the Point 5s hooked up to a Thorens TD160 with an SME Series 3 and Linn K9 ;retro'; it will all be mine one day.

All I remeber from working for the company that was owned by a lovely husband and wife team was the fact that (imo) they were passionate about hi-fi but not the greatest business people.

Hey ho very sad but what a great place to be in my lunch hour eating my sarnies in the sound room listening to great music on great 'locally made' kit.

Great to hear. I lived in Southway at the time and was privileged to have your main man deliver my pair of HB3's himself, after deciding to replace my HB1's.

I do so wish I had kept them. ;-)