AKG Acoustics
| AKG Acoustics GmbH
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|---|---|
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| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 1947 |
| Seat | Vienna , Austria |
| Number of employees | circa 170 |
| Branch | Device manufacturer audio technology |
| Website | www.akg.com |
AKG Acoustics was an Austrian manufacturer of microphones and headphones for professional users (stage and studio technology) and the home. After the production sites were closed by Harman International as part of the takeover by the Samsung Group, AKG is now a brand of the Harman division within Samsung, which is used for high-quality (studio, recording and hi-fi) headphones as well as corresponding professional microphones and wireless microphones becomes.
history
The company was founded in 1947 as A kustische und K ino- G eräte Gesellschaft mbH by Ernst Pless and Rudolf Görike in Nobilegasse in Vienna . Initially, the core business consisted of 16 mm film projectors , loudspeakers , delay devices and microphones .
In 1963 the company was awarded the state award , with which the Austrian national coat of arms may be used in business dealings.
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In the 1970s, Pless sold its share to the Dutch Philips group, which in the 1980s sold it on to the holding company of the industrialist Josef Taus . During this time, AKG was the Austrian distributor for many well-known hi-fi brands such as Marantz and Revox .
In 1991, AKG products were used in space as part of the Austromir research project. The Austrian astronaut Franz Viehböck worked on the Audimir experiment to explore the ability to orient through sounds.
With an aggressive expansion policy and the new building of the corporate headquarters in Vienna, the company got into economic difficulties. Many employees were given notice. The bankruptcy was averted at the last moment by Sidney Harman's interest in AKG , the founder of the Harman Group . In 1993, AKG Acoustics was taken over as a subsidiary of Harman International Industries for the symbolic value of one shilling .
AKG has traditionally manufactured in Austria for a long time since the company was founded. In the meantime, due to the lower production costs, the high-end products are manufactured in Slovakia and all other products in China.
After a few relocations in Austria, the 8,600 m² factory in Laxenburgerstrasse 254 (across from Großgrünmarkt) was occupied by the office, development, production and warehouse until December 16, 2013; AKG had also been in Lemböckgasse 21-25 for 20 years in the 23rd district of Vienna. September 2009 announced the dismissal of 100 employees in Vienna as a result of the relocation of the mass production of low-priced products to the low-wage region of Asia; over 170 employees will remain in Vienna for research and development, control, marketing, sales and the manufacture of premium products. The relocation was part of an overall strategy in the Harman Group with 11,000 employees worldwide (September 2009).
In the course of the upcoming takeover of the parent company Harman by the Korean Samsung Group at the end of 2016 , the latter announced that it would completely close and relocate the AKG locations in Austria, in particular the plant in Laxenburgerstrasse with around 130 employees, probably by mid-2017. Some employees were offered the opportunity to go to plants in other countries, such as Germany or Hungary. Essentially, AKG only exists as a brand within the Harman division of the Samsung Group. The further development of the products is now to take place through Harman locations in Eastern Europe.
Samsung tries to promote awareness of the AKG brand in the slipstream of its own products. The smartphones Galaxy S8 (presented in March 2017), Galaxy S9 (presented in March 2018) and the Galaxy S10 (presented in February 2019) are accompanied by a higher quality headset labeled with AKG and thus advertised (“Official Samsung Galaxy S8 / S9 / S10 Headphones - Tuned by AKG "). In 2016 the production in Vienna-Liesing with 131 employees was closed. In 2017, 22 of the former employees founded the company Austrian Audio GmbH with the aim of developing headphones that adapt to ambient noise. This should enable the use of headphones when walking or driving a car. It is estimated that input and output of information by voice (via headphones) to devices in automobiles will become more important. A production of 20,000 listeners per year is named as the target in August 2018.
Products
In 1953, the C12 tube large-diaphragm condenser microphone was introduced. With an initial circulation of 50 per month, this model quickly established itself as a popular studio microphone of its time. Recordings of BBC London and the Beatles in the Abbey Road Studios of EMI were made with the C12, which was built to 1962nd
Also in 1953, AKG launched the D12 moving coil microphone . It was the first dynamic cardioid microphone. This microphone is still used today as an efficient kick drum and (electric) guitar amplifier microphone.
In the late 1970s and 1980s, the product range also included pickups for turntables , the P8, P25 .
Today's AKG products include professional microphones for studio and stage use, gooseneck and boundary microphones, in-ear monitoring and wired studio headphones, as well as digital surround sound wireless headphones.
In the professional recording studio is the C414 , a large diaphragm microphone in capacitor technology, frequently use. It is very popular among sound engineers, primarily due to its versatile application possibilities. It has been continuously improved since 1971 and is now in the seventh generation. It offers outstanding technical properties and can process sound pressure levels of up to 158 dB, for example.
AKG is also used by leading artists around the world. Frank Sinatra relied on AKG products as well as musicians of our time, including Eric Clapton , Peter Gabriel and Stevie Wonder , stars like ABBA on tour in 1979 with D330BT and 1975 with D1000E, the Rolling Stones or Rod Stewart and pop stars like Anastacia , Eros Ramazzotti , Kanye West or Simply Red . Austria's most famous pop star Falco sang with AKG microphones, as did Christina Stürmer .
Well-known microphones
- C414 large diaphragm microphone
- AKG C451 condenser microphone
Awards
- 1963 the Austrian national coat of arms
- 1988 with Peschke + Skone : State Prize Design for miniature microphone C 409
- 1989/90 with Peschke + Skone: State Design Award for K 1000 headphones
- In October 2004 the C 12 VR , a large-diaphragm condenser microphone with remote-controlled, switchable directional characteristic, was inducted into the TECnology Hall of Fame in San Francisco .
- 2008 Austrian Export Prize ( Chamber of Commerce, Ministry of Economics)
- In January 2010, AKG received the Technical Grammy Award 2010 .
Trivia
In 1950, diving pioneer Hans Hass used AKG products for his underwater sound film Adventure in the Red Sea . The film won first prize at the Venice Biennale .
In 1955 , only microphones from AKG were used at the first Salzburg Festival after the Second World War. A microphone was specially designed for Herbert von Karajan .
To mark the 50th anniversary of the British broadcaster BBC , the British Post issued a 3 pence postage stamp in 1972 showing the BBC standard microphones, in this case exclusively AKG products.
In developing the AKG AV100 Aviation Headset aerobatic was Hannes Arch involved. It features noise canceling, Bluetooth connectivity and a LEMO 6-pin plug, the ability to prioritize aeronautical radio and two LED reading lamps.
In addition to AKG, JBL , Bowers & Wilkins , Studer , Uher and Bang & Olufsen also belong to the Harman Group.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ National coat of arms directory ( Memento from January 4, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Strategic realignment at AKG: relocation of mass production to Asia entails downsizing apa.at, OTS0279, September 29, 2009, accessed September 30, 2016.
- ^ Rudolf Felser: New company location for AKG Acoustics in Vienna computerwelt.at, December 6, 2013, accessed September 28, 2016.
- ↑ Samsung takes over Harman: From audio to connected cars . ( handelsblatt.com [accessed January 29, 2018]).
- ↑ Headphone specialist AKG blocks to ORF.at, September 28, 2016, accessed on September 28, 2016.
- ↑ Former AKG employees dare to start again orf.at, August 19, 2018, accessed August 19, 2018.
- ^ Website of Austrian Audio GmbH, 1230 Vienna.
- ↑ Stereo.de, Service: Pickup Repair, accessed on May 21, 2020 .
- ↑ vintage-hifi-classics.de, pickup test reviews , accessed on May 21, 2020.
- ↑ Article on bonedo.de . Retrieved February 6, 2012.
- ↑ Technical data on the website of the manufacturer AKG . Retrieved February 6, 2012.
- ^ AKG website . Retrieved February 8, 2012.
- ↑ Website of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce ( Memento from July 12, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
- ^ Six Grammys for Beyonce, three Grammys for Austria in OÖ Nachrichten, accessed on February 1, 2010
- ↑ AKG Life: The Loss of a Legend ( Memento from September 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ hannesarch.com: The Most Quiet, Comfortable and Reliable Headset Available ( Memento from September 27, 2018 in the Internet Archive )