Canberra business royalty calls time after 56 years of trading

The Duratone HiFi store in Phillip… closing on July 27.

by Tony Magee

On July 27, Australia’s longest running specialist audio store under the one ownership will close its doors. 

Canberra’s Duratone Hi-Fi was founded in 1968 by Charles and Fay Cull, with initial trading running from the garage of their Curtin home.

With her parents retirement a few years ago, daughter Marie Cull is currently director of the company.

“After serving the Audiophiles and music lovers of Canberra and surrounding areas for over half a century, we have decided that it is time to say farewell.” Marie says. 

“We wish to thank all our loyal customers who have supported us over the past several decades.

“I often meet people who tell me they bought their equipment from Duratone, as did their parents before them.”

Marie Cull… “After serving the audiophiles and music lovers of Canberra and surrounding areas for over half a century, we have decided that it is time to say farewell.” Photo: Eric Pozza

It was Charles’ passion for music and high quality audio systems which unintentionally led to the opening of Duratone. He delighted in showing off his latest equipment to his friends and work colleagues at the ANU where he was in charge of the Language Laboratory.

“Fellow academics wanted what I had and then their friends and friends of friends. The demand came to a point where Fay and I had to find premises and open a shop, which we did in 1973, at 34 Botany Street, Phillip.” says Charles.

Another four stores opened later in Jamison, Manuka, Mawson and Kingston, the latter managed by long-time staff member David Boling for many years.

"My father used to travel to Europe to source the very best equipment, and on one occasion I was lucky enough to travel with him.” says Marie. 

“The highlight for me was meeting legendary Dutch audio guru AJ Van den Hul in Amsterdam. He produced a range of supreme quality audio interconnects and speaker cables as well as high-end Hi-Fi cartridges for turntables. We stayed at his house and he gave us a grand tour of Holland.”

I met AJ when he visited Canberra in 2017 and hosted an event at the Hyatt Hotel, the centrepiece of the evening being him manufacturing from scratch one of his VDH Crimson XGW moving coil cartridges, right before our very eyes.

The resulting finished product was auctioned off at the conclusion of the night, fetching several thousand dollars, all of which he donated to an orphanage he supports here in Australia.

Tony Magee (left) with AJ Van den Hul at the Hyatt event, 2017. Photo: Lexei Salpeter

The finished product! Van den Hul Crimson XGW moving coil cartridge.

Fay Cull says: "One night in early 2009, the phone rang at 1am. I awoke from my slumber and it was Charles calling from Vienna." 

He was in the Bösendorfer piano factory and had been listening to a range of loudspeakers they were making. 

“Fay, they're absolutely stunning and we just have to have them," he told her.

And so, Fay and Charles became the importers of Bösendorfer speakers in Australia, stocking the complete range at their Phillip store as well as distributing various models to other dealers around the country.

Bösendorfer* VC7 loudspeakers in Burl Walnut 

They also imported Loewe and Metz televisions from Germany, which added to the vast array of products brought in under the banner of their partner company, Duratone Imports.

Another unique aspect of the Duratone legacy was the creation and manufacture of three "house brand" speakers. The first were produced from 1973 to 1983 under the Duratone brand-name using Australian Magnavox drivers. Hundreds of pairs were sold, matched with suitable amplifiers and turntables. Two more variants followed using larger cabinets with either Lowther drivers or the Jordan Watts driver, both from the UK. 

Canberra craftsman Dick Whitfield made the cabinets.

The Duratone philosophy has always been very much based on the analogue sound, using belt drive turntables as the primary source, paired with cartridges from Ortofon, Rega, Van den Hul and Shure amongst others. Tandberg reel-to-reel tape decks from Norway also featured in the early years.

Senior staff member Andrew Hall has worked there for thirty-five years.

“I’ve seen a near full circle in sound reproduction.” he says.

“When I first started it was turntables, then came CDs, then home cinema and streaming and now it’s back to turntables. I’ve loved working at Duratone but it’s time for me to go out on my own and do something different, probably still in hi-fi but with a slightly different twist.”

Charles Cull says: “Listening at home, my hand occasionally reaches for a CD, but 95 percent of the time, I gain enormous musical pleasure from spinning my beloved vinyl.”

Over many years, Duratone has supported the musical arts scene in Canberra, having been sponsors of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, Artsong Canberra and the Canberra Eisteddfod.

Fay celebrated her 90th birthday earlier this year and Charles is not far behind. Both are still enjoying good health.

Tony Magee and Fay Cull in the Duratone showroom in 2018. 

Bösendorfer* VC-7 loudspeakers in the background.

A final word from Marie: “My heartfelt thanks to Fay, Charles, Andy, Stephen, Kaleb, Alan, Bob and Alisha, plus all the many previous staff members who have contributed their time and expertise over the past 5 decades.”

As the old adage goes, the closure of Duratone is most definitely "the end of an era."

First published at Canberra City News, July 17, 2024

*Bösendorfer's piano manufacturing technology was incorporated into their speaker cabinet designs, utilising Alaskan Sitka Spruce sound boards as part of the cabinet structure, which added a unique resonant quality to the sound.