Audio-Technica

(stylized as audio-technica) is a Japanese company that designs and manufactures professional microphones, headphones, turntables, phonographic magnetic cartridges, and other audio equipment.

== Company history == thumb|right|ATH-M50 headphones Audio-Technica was established in 1962 in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, Japan, by Hideo Matsushita as a phonograph cartridge manufacturer. Its first products were the AT-1 and the higher-end AT-3 MM stereo phono cartridges. Business rapidly developed, with the company starting to deliver cartridges to domestic audio manufacturers, and Audio-Technica expanded into other fields. The headquarters and factory moved to the current address in Naruse, Machida, Tokyo in 1965. In 1966, a test record entitled Moving Pulse (AT-6601) was released to help prove Audio-Technica's quality. In 1967, the company made a technological advance, releasing the AT-35X as the first ‘VM’ type stereo cartridge. This design increased growth in global exports, and the paten was extended across Switzerland, Canada, the UK, US, and West Germany. In 1969, the company began exporting phono cartridges worldwide and launched the first microcassette recorders.