Audio-Technica

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. 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. 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 AD-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.