boulevard/18-03-02_bergmann
 

Celebrating 10 Years of Bergmann Audio

06.07.2018 // Dirk Sommer

Bergmann Audio is a company and not an individual—and that's a good thing. Otherwise it would not have been very charming to admit that I did not quite believe the news about their tenth anniversary. For me, the Danish manufacturer appeared to be much older, basically due to their technically independent designs seeming to have successfully established themselves in the analogue sector for decades.

Well, Bergmann Audio is being internationally successful. The turntables and tonearms are characterized by intelligently engineered technical details that aren't to be found anywhere else—but, in one point I've gone wrong with my assessment. The company, as I was informed during my visit to their headquarters in Hobro, was founded almost ten years ago:  The birthday celebration will take place in autumn this year. In the meanwhile, it happened to be also correct to say that Bergmann Audio is not an individual, even if Johnnie Bergmann Rasmussen developed and built the first turntables all by himself. After launching the Sindre to the market, Eva Seiberg joined the company. Other employees have not been added since then, which is quite significant as Johnnie B. wants to have a one hundred percent control over every step in the fields of development and manufacturing. Marketing and all financial matters he likes to leave to his wife.

Eva Seiberg and Johnnie Bergmann seem surprised by the author's sustained enthusiasm for the Sleipner
Eva Seiberg and Johnnie Bergmann seem surprised by the author's sustained enthusiasm for the Sleipner

Eva Seiberg previously worked as a fashion designer for more than 20 years. Her independent design studio with four employees used to design fashion for different manufacturers. After years of employing herself with sportswear, she got bored and just didn't feel like designing just another ski jacket for the market, she recounted. At that point it was about time for her to join Bergmann Audio – but not as a designer. It's her husband that exclusively accounts for the sober, minimalistic and functional visual appearance of all that noble analogue gear. As already mentioned briefly in the review on the Sleipner—for me, still one of the three or four best sounding turntables that ever found way into my listening room—Johnnie Bergmann first approached hi-fi way back in his childhood days, when, while visiting a friend, he discovered the stereo system of his friend's father, which differed from everything he had ever heard before in hi-fi in terms of detail resolution, liveliness, and spatial imaging. The turntable happened to be a Strathclyde STD 305, the amplification came from Luxman, the speakers were from B&O.

Not all parts of his formally very appealing turntables and tonearms find Johnnie B's approval in the first run. Upon request, he likes to also show his collection of the different design variations
Not all parts of his formally very appealing turntables and tonearms find Johnnie B's approval in the first run. Upon request, he likes to also show his collection of the different design variations


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