Loudspeakers

There’s an iconic photo of company founder, Peter Lyngdorf, putting the first spade in the ground for the DALI factory in the mid-’80s. This was in Nørager, a hamlet in Nordjylland (or North Jutland), where the company is still based to this day. The location is a remarkable choice, as the Jutland peninsula is a sparsely populated area of flat countryside far removed from bustling Copenhagen (situated on the Zealand island). Not uncoincidentally, it is also a global hub for the wind turbine industry. But it’s also a hotbed of loudspeaker and hi-fi manufacturing. Draw a wide circle around Nørager and you’ll encounter Audio Group Denmark, Bergmann, Buchardt Audio, Densen, Dynaudio, Gryphon and Raidho, next to some well-known pro-audio companies. It’s also the stomping ground of various loudspeaker driver manufacturers, with Scan-Speak and (formerly) Vifa as the most famous.

There’s no consensus on why this part of Denmark is home to so many hi-fi brands, including Bang & Olufsen, having a great influence on audio design since 1925. Brüel & Kjær, founded in 1942 to develop acoustic measuring equipment, has also played a role. A scientific approach to sound is part of the Danish tradition, with qualifications in acoustics offered at the Technical University of Denmark (near Copenhagen, where a second hi-fi cluster is located) and Aalborg University.