This month, Audio-Technica is celebrating its 60th anniversary, with a heritage dating back to 1962 when, inspired by the depth of emotion he witnessed at vinyl listening sessions organized during his tenure at the Bridgestone Museum of Arts in Tokyo, Hideo Matsushita became determined to enable more people to experience the warmth of analog listening.
In a small Shinjuku apartment, he established Audio-Technica and began developing phonograph cartridges, with his first two products, the AT-1 and AT-3, achieving success and enabling him to expand his business. He opened a larger headquarters in Machida, where the company still operates today.
Alongside cartridges, Audio-Technica began producing headphones in 1974 and microphones in 1978 – beginning every process with a transducer and aiming to deliver a natural sound. At the core of every product is the art of analog.
Kazuo Matsushita, son of Hideo, became president in 1993, and the business continued to expand, opening offices throughout the world and developing products such as the modern VM series of cartridges, ATH-M50x headphones and AT2020 microphone. Today the company is an integral part of the audio industry, with products used at global events, on screen, in studios and in homes.
The brand will celebrate its 60th anniversary with a series of events across the world on the theme of analog living. Kazuo Matsushita states, “It is an honor to provide a quality audio experience to millions of people throughout the world. What begins as a simple vibration – a subtle movement – results in an emotional connection, whether that be when listening deeply to an album or sharing your voice with the world.”
