Audix Marks a Quarter-Century

Twenty-five years ago, Audix USA got its start in Redmond City California. “We were set up initially as a distributor for Audix Japan,” says Cliff Castle, co-founder of Audix Microphones. “They were making microphone products for their domestic market which were very popular in Japan but virtually unknown anywhere else. So, we hooked up with them and set out to be their distribution arm and developed a few models for the US market based on what they already had.” After working as a professional musician for about fifteen years, Castle had a pretty good handle on the industry and decided that there was room for growth in the mic market. “I went out and started showing the product and doing all kinds of A/B demos to get our feet wet,” says Castle. “At that time, the dollar to the yen was favorable and it made the pricing was very compelling, plus there wasn’t a whole slew of microphone products on the market – not like today. Of course there were your standards, Shure was Shure, and AKG and Beyer had a few models that were pretty popular in the US but there was kind of an open field,” explains Castle. “So, we saw an opening and we started generating interest at the dealer level.”

The Evolution

Flash forward 25 years and Audix has gone from a small distributor to a full-blown microphone company. “This in an evolution has been taking place ever since the beginning,” says Castle. “After I started showing the microphones in the pro industry where people are much more critical about what they’re going to be using, we saw that there was a lot of work to be done. Our microphones were very nice up to a point, but to really be competitive at that level, we needed to put forth serious effort. This was the beginning of the long trek to becoming a bona fide microphone company.”

In the beginning, Audix USA worked in conjunction with the Japanese in designing and developing new products. Over the years however, Audix USA began to take over more of the assembly and manufacturing of the microphones. “I think that was caused by a couple of different reasons,” Castle notes. “First, the trade ratio between the dollar and the yen became much less favorable to the dollar so it became much more expensive to produce the product. Secondly, having control over the manufacturing process was ultimately becoming more important. It was the only way to be able to control our own destiny. Making the product yourself is the key to quality control. We have very tight tolerances. From the materials we choose to the way we put the product together – it’s that recipe that determines the performance of your product and ultimately its longevity.”

Making Changes

Over the past 25 years, Castle has seen the microphone market grow and change tremendously. “The Web has taken over the marketing,” says Castle. “I think it is absolutely the most wonderful tool imaginable. The technology is growing at a fast pace and the tools are there for people to get online at their leisure and get answers as to what they should be getting. There’s so much information available out there and if a company does a good job of presenting their product, it’s invaluable to the reader.” In addition to posting several informational videos on drum micing, Audix has developed a “microphone finder” to assist customers in their search for the perfect vocal mic. “The mic finder was something that we had wanted to do for a long time because we have a number of application specific vocal mics,” Castle explains. “Our mics are designed to fulfill the specific needs of vocal performing artists. We have figured out that once we know all the variables involved for a vocalist, we can get the right mic for them every time. The Mic Finder has turned out to be very useful for any potential customer. In fact, I was just looking at the analytics on our Web site recently and it’s one of the most popular pages so people really like this feature.”

The Next 25…

To celebrate their longevity and success, Audix has released a silver twenty-fifth anniversary edition of their popular i5 microphone. “I think we feel a sense of pride that we’ve hit 25, and that given the state of the economy out there we’re stable and actually still growing,” says Castle. When asked about where he thinks Audix is headed in the next 25 years, Castle laughs. “That’s a hard one to answer. I think that the next 25 years is going be somewhat easier than the first 25. We were struggling for a long time to get the product to the point where it was recognized and now we are a major brand. Now we have to do all the things that are required to continue to develop that status. We have a responsibility to develop innovative and interesting products for the marketplace and to come up the types of products that our dealers will be proud to carry and sell.”