AKG Acoustics
.jpg) |
|
| Industry | Manufacturer, Acoustics |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1947 |
| Headquarters | Vienna, Austria |
| Products | Microphones, Headphones, Digital WiFi Systems |
| Employees | about 250 |
| Website | www.akg.com |
AKG Acoustics (originally Akustische und Kino-Geräte Gesellschaft m.b.H., English: Acoustic and Cinema Equipment) is an American owned manufacturer of microphones, headphones, wireless audio systems and related accessories for professional and consumer markets. The company operates in Austria, and was founded in Vienna in 1947.
The company was acquired by the American company Harman International Industries in 1994. By this time AKG's United States subsidiary had been established (in Los Angeles in 1985). AKG Acoustics USA, still headquartered in the San Fernando Valley, also houses regional offices for Crown Audio, another Harman Industries subsidiary.
Contents |
History [edit]
- 1945 – Dr. Rudolf Görike and Ernst Pless begin supplying movie equipment to theaters in postwar Vienna.[1]
- 1949 – AKG begins producing headphones[2]
- 1953 – introduces the world's first dynamic cardioid microphone[1]
- 1955 – founds a German subsidiary[2]
- 1985 – founds a USA subsidiary, based in Northridge, Los Angeles, California[2]
- 1991 - produces its first wireless microphones, the WMS100 and WMS900
- 1994 – becomes part of Harman International Industries[2]
- 2006 – produces a limited 60th anniversary edition of the celebrated C414 LTD microphone.[3]
- 2010 – AKG Acoustics received a Grammy Award for the work the company has done in the recording field. Dinesh Paliwal, the current Chief Executive Officer, picked up the award on behalf of the company.[4]
- 2012 - AKG announces its partnership with Tiësto to start manufacturing headphones under Tiësto's name.[5]
Microphones [edit]
Among its professional products especially noteworthy is the first C 12 (introduced in 1953) and its successors and alternate versions, which include the Telefunken Ela M 250 and M 251 (1960), the C 24 stereo microphone, the C 412, and over a dozen different models which have carried the designation "C 414" in various forms.
AKG microphones have been used for shooting Hans Hass's movie Adventures in the Red Sea and were installed on the MIR space station. They are also mentioned by Dan Brown in his novels The Da Vinci Code and Deception Point.[6]
Some microphone models include:
- D12E
- D130 - an omnidirectional microphone often used by reporters
- D190
- D222 - a dual capsule dynamic microphone used at the despatch boxes of the UK parliament
- D220
- D330 - a high-end dynamic vocal microphone used by ABBA.[citation needed]
- D112 - a large diaphragm dynamic microphone, popular for bass drums and other bass instruments
- C12 - a valve condenser microphone - the original version is now a collectors' item selling for around $10,000
- C214 - a large diaphragm condenser with single Cardioid pickup pattern
- C414 - a large diaphragm condenser with multiple variable pickup patterns
- C451 - a small diaphragm condenser microphone, originally made between the 1960s and 1980s, recently reissued
- C535 - a high-quality condenser vocal microphone. AKG made a gold-plated one for Frank Sinatra.[7]
- D409
- D5
- C1000
Headphones [edit]
AKG also manufactures a range of high-specification headphones.
The K50 model, introduced in 1959 were the world's first supra-aural and open-back headphones.
The K1000 was the flagship model, but is no longer being produced. It was an open back dynamic headphone.
The current flagship models for the AKG headphone line-up are the K701/K702/Q701, which are nearly identical. The K702 features a removable cord and is black, the K701 is white. The Q701 also has a detachable cable and comes in three color variants: white, black, and a lime green. All three models are still in production. The K701s have been largely used by professional musicians and technicians in recording studios.
Many top recording studios use AKG K240 headphones as a solution for best general use for both monitor and playback. They received particular notoriety from their prominent display in Eddie Murphy's 1985 music video for "Party All the Time" (which features the K240 Monitor).
Another notable, yet short-lived model was the K280 Parabolic – a multi-driver headphone which focused compression waves to a central point in the earcup.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
External links [edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: AKG Acoustics |
