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What happened to Ariston?

M

Martyn Miles

pfm Member
We all remember the Ariston turntable that turned ( apologies for the pun) ) into a Linn, but where is Ariston now ?

I googled and there are two addresses. Richer House, which implies Richer Sounds and another address at Gallery House, Hankey Place, both in London.

Of course, another Ariston used to make washing machines. Nothing to do with audio, unless they also made a record cleaning machine !
 
Richer sounds used to market ariston CD players in the late 90's. Real budget stuff at the very bottom of the market
 
mjw said:
The founder's sons now run ART speakers, I believe.
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The founder and real man behind the brand was Hamish Robertson, designer of the RD11. Castle Engineering used to do work for him.

He sold the business to Peter Dunlop who then sold it on before setting up Systemdek with his brother. They now operate ART.

Hamish Robertson of course passed away in true rock and roll style.

After the Peter Dunlop sold the business on to John Carrick, the name disappeared from the radar. I believe Richer have the rights to the name and slapped it on some particularly nasty Chinese boxes.

The founder's chief contribution to the world of audio was to effectively blueprint the design of the LP12 and to kickstart the age of Ivor.
 
Although his design was in itself a copy of the Thorens TD 150, which in turn used the AR suspension design.
 
merlin said:
The founder and real man behind the brand was Hamish Robertson, designer of the RD11. Castle Engineering used to do work for him.

He sold the business to Peter Dunlop who then sold it on before setting up Systemdek with his brother. They now operate ART.

Hamish Robertson of course passed away in true rock and roll style.

After the Peter Dunlop sold the business on to John Carrick, the name disappeared from the radar. I believe Richer have the rights to the name and slapped it on some particularly nasty Chinese boxes.

The founder's chief contribution to the world of audio was to effectively blueprint the design of the LP12 and to kickstart the age of Ivor.
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Thanks for that. I knew a little of the story...
 
It is my belief that Derek and Ramsay Dunlop, sons of Peter Dunlop now operate ART and Systemdek.

Regards

John R.
 
rock and Roll style .. hmm isnt that a rather large euphemism for being screwed by Ivor and then turning to drink and essentially dying of a broken heart

Its a sad story - the legal/technical bits of Hamish and Ivors battles I dont get but isnt it generally held Hamish concentraed on his tt's bearing quality in addittion to the AR Thorens suspension approach?

Screwed by the superior press marketing in essence
 
Yes from an uninformed view I wondered why the name was appearing on washing machines and ever cheaper convenience products. I didnt know if there were two companies operating or what. I get quite precious about a brand name but I suppose people come and go. I know there is more to it but thats life! The Q deck then some cheap plastic midi turntables was the rocky road down for the hi fi brand name.

Seriously I always found it a great shame when a good name vanished or cheapened. I used to look at the RD80 and RD40. Saw the 40 in adverts and the Manchester Hi Fi show. I liked its unusual looks but never did get round to buying an Ariston product.

Maybe if I had actually bought some of these products, companies like Ariston and Nytech would have continued on :D
 
ian r said:
rock and Roll style .. hmm isnt that a rather large euphemism for being screwed by Ivor and then turning to drink and essentially dying of a broken heart

Its a sad story - the legal/technical bits of Hamish and Ivors battles I dont get but isnt it generally held Hamish concentraed on his tt's bearing quality in addittion to the AR Thorens suspension approach?

Screwed by the superior press marketing in essence
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No, not at all. The bearing was Linn's baby, they took out the patents. Sadly he wasn't the most astute of businessmen, so his company went broke. May not be savoury, but it's business. Linn merely stepped into the gap.
 
I bow to yr insight avole but didnt Hamish litigate over this very point ie that the bearing was the innovation he introduced and Ivor grabbed the idea and patented it ....? No slander intended
 
John R said:
It is my belief that Derek and Ramsay Dunlop, sons of Peter Dunlop now operate ART and Systemdek.

Regards

John R.
Click to expand...


I met Derek and Ramsay a few years ago in Scotland when I went to listen to their prototype Systemdek turntable.
 
It was a shame really as it is hard to protect a thing like that when you are just starting . The platter itself was more work than anything.
That is where father and Castle Precision came in. I don't know who was responsible for the Mazac. I did hear that Hamish had them made other places before Castle. I don't know if they were exactly like the classic design where they are machined and then left, then machined again etc etc. Imo the platter is much better than Thorens or AR.
 
<moderating>

Thread pruned a bit as it was getting a bit daft / hostile in certain areas.
 
There is an alternative explanation for the origin of the RD11 bearing, and that is the "panbearingia" theory. High-quality bearings originated in other parts of the Universe, and came to Earth via cosmic explosions occurring many millions of years ago.
 
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