Founded in the late 1970s by high-end audio legends Mel Schilling and John Iverson, Electro Research produced two of the industry's most respected and universally acclaimed products in its short history: the EK-1 Preamplifier and A75 Amplifier. Both products featured tank-like, industrial looking cosmetics (the all-Class "A" A75 was housed in a Hewlett-Packard chassis), and state-of-the-art circuit design.

The exceptionally-deep (and heavy) EK-1 line stage also came with a Panasonic strain gauge cartridge for phono playback, and featured multi-layered circuit construction, a unique horizontally-mounted RCA jack panel, and a nifty cable capacitance test meter right on the front panel. Combined with its beefy silver carrying handles and cool white glowing push buttons, the EK-1 produced a menacing yet elegant physical presence that mimicked its groundbreaking sound quality.

Notable Electro Research products included:

Electro Research A75 amp
Electro Research EK-1 preamp

For a look at some of the gear Electro Research made, and some discussions about the company, click here.

Similar brands include Sunfire, Krell, Audio Research, and Theta.