Grommes-Precision Electronics, Chicago
William “Bill” Grommes founded Grommes~Precision Electronics, Inc. in March of 1946. For more than six years Grommes~Precision called the corner of Milwaukee and Erie in Chicago its own. Began as a company that designed and manufactured signal tracers, Grommes~Precision soon evolved into consumer audio. The name “Grommes” was adopted specifically for Grommes~Precision Electronics’ line of consumer hi-fi products.
Lead by chief engineer and audiophile, Al Hart, Grommes became a pioneer in high-fidelity. The Grommes line started with mono block tube amplifiers, but soon evolved into pre-amplifiers, integrated amplifiers, stereo amplifiers, and tuners. Demand for quality high-fidelity amplifiers grew substantially and in 1952, Grommes~Precision moved its operations to Franklin Park, Illinois, just outside of Chicago.
By 1955, Life Magazine declared Grommes one of the best buys in hi-fidelity. Not only for its 55PG amplifier, but also it’s LJ-3 “Little Jewel” tube amplifier kit. By far, one of Grommes’ most popular products was the “Little Genie” and “Little Jewel” build-it-yourself tube amplifier kits. The kits came with a full-color instruction guide and all the parts one needed to build their own 10 watt tube amplifier. It was “So simple…it’s like magic.” To this day, many an audio engineer claim they first got the “audio bug” from assembling their own Little Genie kit. Others sometimes got even more…
Grommes-Precision: the short history
The original page quotes the company's own history, and it is the best summary available: William "Bill" Grommes founded Grommes-Precision Electronics in Chicago in March 1946 to make signal tracers, moved into consumer hi-fi under chief engineer Al Hart, and relocated to Franklin Park, Illinois, in 1952. The Little Jewel and Little Genie kits, simple 10-watt amplifiers with full-colour instructions, introduced a lot of people to electronics.
We have not found an independent encyclopaedia entry for Grommes, so the dates here rest on the company's own account and on collector sources such as Radiomuseum, which lists several Little Jewel models. The original page's category placed it under Radio Craftsmen; we have moved it to its own maker page.
| Founded | March 1946, Chicago (company history) |
|---|---|
| Founder | William "Bill" Grommes |
| First products | Signal tracers |
| Chief engineer | Al Hart (company history) |
| Moved | Franklin Park, Illinois, 1952 (company history) |
| Kits | Little Jewel, Little Genie |
Questions collectors ask
Who founded Grommes-Precision?
William "Bill" Grommes, in Chicago in 1946, according to the company's own history quoted on the original page.
What was the Grommes Little Jewel?
A small, inexpensive tube amplifier, sold as a kit and assembled, that Grommes made in several versions. Radiomuseum lists models such as the LJ-5, LJ-6, LJ-7 and LJ-8.
Sources: Radiomuseum: Grommes models; SoundStage!: Grommes 360 review.
