SABA began as a clock-maker in Triberg (Black Forest), founded in 1835 by Joseph Benedikt Schwer.

In 1968, the American Company GTE purchased 85% of SABA with the aim of achieving the greatest possible synergy with its own Sylvania brand.

SABA built the first hi-fi audio set with wireless remote control and introduced a failure diagnosis system.

[2] SABA launched several products designed by Philippe Starck, the director of consumer electronics at Thomson.

These included: "Jim Nature" (1994), a portable TV set made of recycled high-density wood, now exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, and "Oye-Oye", a small radio with an innovative form factor.

Saba had a record label founded by Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer, grandson of the electronics company's founder, to produce music for automobile tape players.

In 1967 Saba's catalogue included Oscar Peterson, Nathan Davis, and the Clarke-Boland Big Band.