Lab.gruppen is a Swedish sound equipment company, based in Kungsbacka, Sweden, dedicated to building mainly public address power amplifiers
Lab.gruppen is a Swedish company located in Kungsbacka, just south of Gothenburg. We have a great staff committed to the development of boundary-breaking sound reinforcement products for the professional audio industry. With our unique switch mode and other patented technologies, we work towards providing advanced power amplifiers and powered loudspeaker management systems that are utterly reliable and sonically superior. Through continued research and persistent hard work, Lab.gruppen strives to stay among the leading brands within the professional audio community. The company eschews diversification in order to focus completely on its core discipline – audio technology.
Lab.gruppen marked another major milestone in the company’s history with the announcement in January 2009 of its acquisition of the Lake trademarks and the exclusive rights for use of Dolby® Lake® Processor (DLP) technology for both Touring and Permanent Sound Reinforcement markets, from Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: DLB).
Lab.gruppen and Lake are individuals in TC Group. TC Group is comprised of seven companies: Tannoy, Lab.gruppen, Lake, TC Electronic, TC-Helicon, White Acoustics and TC Applied Technologies.
TC Group was formed in early 2002, when the already extant TC Group of companies merged with Tgi plc. The merger was completed to create a group with the necessary expertise and market access to take advantage of the trend towards convergence of digital and acoustic technologies in the audio industry.
Lab.gruppen is an individual in TC Group, the innovators of great sounding experiences benefiting people worldwide.
in 1979, Kenneth Anderson and Dan Bavholm established Lab.gruppen while working out of a cramped electronics repair shop in Kungsbacka, sweden. Kenneth Andersson and Dan Bävholm founded Lab.gruppen in 1979 with a fist full of Kroner, hearts full of passion, determination and a desire to succeed — whatever the limitations. Neither was particularly experienced in the world of audio or music. They first met as schoolboys with a complimentary interest in electronics. Their craft was learned empirically through reading and practical projects, slowly developing the skills that would ultimately lead to the creation of world renowned, landmark products.
Their early output, however, was completely market driven. Friends introduced the budding electronics “gurus” to local musicians who were only too eager to access products to fill their needs that could be competitively priced against name-brand imports. Kenneth and Dan dived into their first project with vigor. The outcome — not a power amplifier, but a hand-made mixing console. Neither had ever attempted such a feat, but it worked. And worked so well that it served as at FOH for a concert in their hometown by the famous jazz performer, Eartha Kitt and remained in service for many, many years.
They continued to react to local market needs and created other mixers and a series of guitar heads and combos that attracted the attention of many important artists, including the legendary Johnny Winter. Their intermittent manufacture of mixers and guitar amplifiers continued through the formal establishment of Lab.gruppen in 1979.
The company was originally located inside a local hi-fi store, where the duo serviced consumer equipment for additional income. It was here that the company’s first professional audio power amplifier was created. The rest, as they say, is history. Read on and see what 2000 SEK and passion did…
When Kenneth Andersson and Dan Bävholm first met in their hometown of Kungsbacka, they were still young schoolboys who shared a passion for electronic tinkering.
After absorbing the fundamentals of electronics from library books, they scavenged parts from old radio and TV sets in order to construct their own new devices. Neither youth was musically inclined, but mutual friends referred them to local musicians who were seeking quality equipment at low cost. The first products — hand-made audio mixers — were good-sounding and durable, and they were sold for less than the mass-produced models of the day. (The teenage builders were willing to work with essentially no profit margin.)
Their intermittent manufacture of mixers and guitar amplifiers continued through the formal establishment of Lab.gruppen in 1979. The company was originally located inside a local hi-fi store, where the duo serviced consumer equipment for additional income. In the meantime, they continued to develop new products such as the AXE-AMP and SS 300 power amplifier.
Shown here is Lab.gruppen’s original accounting ledger. The first two entries show Kenneth and Dan’s initial capital injection of 1000 SEK each. This is the only personal investment they ever made! By the way the third entry is for the purchase of a cash box!! The AXE-AMP featured a tube (valve) overdrive circuit combined with a low-noise solid-state preamplifier.
Famed Texas blues guitarist Johnny Winter was an enthusiastic user of an AXE-AMP. He is shown here with Lab.gruppen co-founder Dan Bävholm in a photo from 1981.
The poster headline reads, ”The best qualities of Tube and Transistor amplifiers in the same cabinet!” The new, in-house designed power stage — doubled for stereo format — was incorporated into the first Lab.gruppen power amplifier, the SS 300.
