Hiwatt Amps

The HIWATT Amplifier story starts with Dave Reeves who worked as a design engineer for the SOUND CITY division of Dallas Arbiter Ltd. where he conceived the idea for a new and unique, ultra sturdy and reliable amp. Reeves' designs were not just "me too" copies of existing popular amps, but completely original and different. These amplifiers used only the highest quality components from top to bottom, inside and out.

HIWATT was a life-long labour of love for Reeves, who ran the business from (and built the amplifiers in) the front room of his home in the early years, even while working other jobs to pay the bills. Another main player in the Hiwatt story was Harry Joyce, who ran a shop that did mil-spec wiring custom wiring on contract, including items for the British navy. His shop used "no compromise" workmanship and quality control, and Harry hand-picked his elite crew of wiring technicians and taught them his meticulous methods for "mil-spec" wiring.

Reeves found Harry Joyce's custom wiring business in the phone book, and after some negotiation with the skeptical Joyce, persuaded him to wire the Hiwatt amplifier chassis. The rest is history. Sadly, both of these men have passed on, Reeves in 1981 and Joyce in 2002. Harry Joyce briefly produced his own line of Hiwatt-like amplifiers in the 90s.