Las Vegas –
Audio-Technica celebrated 50 years in business with a traditional sake ceremony
at its International CES booth, where president/CEO Philip Cajka recounted the
company’s start in Japan as a supplier of phono cartridges.
Cartridges
were the company’s largest business segment through the 1970s and 1980s even though
Audio-Technica entered the pro audio market in the 1970s and the consumer
speaker market in the 1980s with the Signet and Design Acoustics brands. In the
early 90s, the company refocused on pro products such as microphones and
headphones while maintaining a small lineup of consumer cartridges and
headphones.
Seven years
ago, the company began to step up its consumer presence once again with the
launch of turntables followed two years later by consumer headphones. The
company will continue to ramp up its consumer portfolio with more headphones
and possibly new categories, such as tabletop docking speakers, Cajka said.
