Audio-Technica

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Audio-Technica Corporation
Privately Held
Industry Audio equipment manufacturing
Founded Shinjuku, Tokyo 1962
Founder Hideo Matsushita
Headquarters Machida, Tokyo, Japan
Key people
 Hideo Matsushita (Founder)
Kazuo Matsushita (President)

Audio-Technica Corporation (株式会社オーディオテクニカ Kabushiki-gaisha Ōdio Tekunika?), is a Japanese company that designs and manufactures professional wired and wireless microphones, headphones, phonographic magnetic cartridges, and other audio equipment.

Company history

ATH-M50 headphones

Audio-Technica was established in 1962 in Tokyo, Japan by Hideo Matsushita as a phonograph cartridge manufacturer. Its first products were the AT-1 and the AT-3 MM stereo phono cartridges. Business rapidly developed and Audio-Technica expanded into other fields.[1]

In 2008, the company celebrated the 20th anniversary of supplying microphones for US Presidential Debates. For their 50th anniversary, Audio-Technica celebrated at Consumer Electronics Show 2012, debuting their AT-LP1240-USB USB DJ Turntable[2] and ATH-CKS55i.[3] Their booth also featured a dubstep dance video, "Audio 911",[4] by dancer Marquese "Nonstop" Scott produced by video production company The DVI Group[5]

Awards and notable uses

  • In 1965, the company received an award from the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology for its AT-1001 tone arm package.
  • In 1969, the company began exporting phono cartridges worldwide and launched the first microcassette recorders.[citation needed]
  • In 1972, Audio-Technica established its US arm in Akron, Ohio and started shipping VM phono cartridges to European manufacturers.
  • In 1974, the company's first headphones are launched, the AT-700 series.
  • Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Audio-Technica microphones and cartridges received numerous awards.
  • In 1992, the AT4033 condenser microphone is chosen the best microphone of 1991 at the Audio Engineering Society convention.
  • Audio-Technica was one of the earliest manufacturers of headset microphones for stage use, starting in 1990.
  • Audio-Technica has been supplying all the microphones for the Grammy Awards for the last 10 years[6] as well as providing audio solutions for television shows, for example, the American version of Big Brother, Deal or No Deal, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions, as well as the Olympic and winter Olympic games in 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2012.[7]

Technology

One of their most famous products was a battery-operated, portable record player called Mister Disc that was sold in the U.S. in the early 1980s.[citation needed]

In 2005, Audio-Technica developed "Uniguard", a method for making microphones resistant to radio frequency interference from cell phones, Bluetooth devices, wireless computer networks and walkie-talkies. 13 patents were involved in bringing the feature to fruition, as company engineers modified many different elements of microphone construction and operation. Over 50 existing Audio-Technica microphone models have been upgraded with the new RFI-resistant technology.[8][9][10]

An Audio-Technica AT815a shotgun microphone
An Audio-Technica AT-95e MM phono cartridge

Notable products

  • Mister Disc - a unique portable vinyl record player
  • Audio-Technica AT2020 - a medium- diaphragm cardioid condenser microphone
  • Audio-Technica ATH-WS55 - over the ear consumer Solid Bass headphones
  • Audio-Technica ATH-M50 - over the ear professional studio monitor headphones
  • Audio-Technica ATH-M50x - over the ear professional studio monitor headphones (Successor to the ATH-M50)

Air Dynamic Series - circumaural audiophile open air headphones

  • Audio-Technica ATH-AD500 - 40mm drivers
  • Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 - 53mm drivers, angled
  • Audio-Technica ATH-AD900 - 53mm drivers, reduced bass roll off

Audio-Technica ATH-CKS55 - consumer Solid Bass in ear buds

  • AT-LP1240-USB - USB DJ Turntable
  • AT-95e - Turntable cartridge for Hi-Fi setups

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://eu.audio-technica.com/en/about/ Retrieved April 3, 2014
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/news/047d03074d1474f3/index.html Retrieved April 3, 2014
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Audio Courses dot com. Audio-Technica Provides UniGuard RFI Protection for New Engineered Sound Integ[dead link]
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Official Audio-Technica Links
Audio-Technica Reviews & News
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