XL-Tone Sound System Equipment Co. Ltd.
41 Barrack Street, Perth WA (1932 - 1932)
21 Barrack Street, Perth WA (1932 - 1935)
Cogan Court, 663 Hay Street, Perth WA (1935 – 1939)

Brand: XL-Tone

Manufactured, installed the XL-Tone theatre sound (Talkie) equipment into city and country picture theatres and halls in Western Australia in the early 1930’s.

The company was registered in April 1932, with Laurance C. Eimer as Managing Director.[1]

Refusing to be held to ransom by overseas manufacturers Western Electric and RCA, a group of Perth businessmen with diverse talents developed a new sound head which they called the “X.L.Tone”.
 They were Arthur Pidgeon who designed the electronics, R.A.(Bob) Yelland who was a projectionist and the group’s installation technician, and later to run the Consolidated Pictures group, also Optician Laurance Eimer and Mr. Davidson and Mr. LeCoultre who were instrument makers. The X.L.Tone sound heads circumvented the patents held by the Americans and cost a fraction of what the overseas models demanded. The X.L.Tone became the most significant movie projection industry development of the era in Western Australia which permitted the country showmen to convert their old projectors to sound and continue their operations.[2]

The first installation was in the Perth suburb of Palmyra followed by the Savoy Theatre in Victoria Park. The first rural installation was in the South West town of Pemberton in April 1932[3]

XL-Tone equipment was installed in most theatres and halls in Western Australia in the early 1930’s A travelling “Talkie” picture show using XL-Tone equipment, Prendy’s Pictures presented shows at town halls and open-air venues throughout the mid-west of WA from 1932 to 1935.

In early 1936 the eastern states manufactured Raycophone Extended Frequency Range sound equipment was replacing the XL-Tone systems in Perth and a country theatres.[4]

With Raycophone Ltd’s manufacturing and engineering talent and the financial backing of Harringtons, XL-Tone could not compete, and the company went into voluntary liquidation in March 1939.[5]

Some known True-Tone Installations; 1932 - 1935

[1] The Daily News (WA) Apr 8, 1932, Page 10.
[2] Information from Arthur Pidgeon’s daughter.
[3] Everyones.Vol.13 No.680 Mar 8, 1933, page 18.
[4] The Daily News (WA) Mar 28, 1935, Page 18.
[5] The West Australian (WA) Mar 30, 1939, page 23.