Martin Seidl, Founder and CEO of Microphone & Headphone manufacturer Austrian Audio, chats to SOS Editor In Chief Sam Inglis about the company's origin as it emerged from the ashes of AKG, current products and future technological developments, plus why their core range of products will remain analogue at heart.
Show Notes
Chapters
Austrian Audio OC818 condenser microphone00:00 - Introduction
00:39 - Austrian Audio heritage
02:12 - Audio Engineer beginnings
02:55 - Manufacturing the CK-12 capsule
06:24 - Materials used in new capsule
07:16 - OC18: OC818 without valves
08:32 - Head basket shape
09:55 - Digital control of OC818
12:32 - Polar pattern designer
15:02 - Future digital advances
16:12 - Products in development
17:54 - Hi-X headphones
20:34 - Closed vs Open back
22:18 - Digital processing in headphones
23:46 - Currently manufacturing
25:05 - Research and testing services
27:07 - Austrian Audio USP
28:57 - Ending
Martin Seidl - Biog
Meet Martin Seidl, CEO of Austrian Audio, the microphone and headphone company that emerged like a Phoenix from the ashes of AKG and has been on a steep trajectory with technologically superior microphones and headphones ever since.
Martin is the former VP of AKG Acoustics, Microphones and Headphones and Director for JBL’s European loudspeaker business. He’s been in the pro‑audio industry for all his professional life, and Austrian Audio is his latest brainchild. Following the closure of the AKG offices in Vienna, he set out to create something new, challenging, and respectful to the AKG heritage. In 2017, he asked his former AKG team of engineers to join him to produce products embodying the sound and engineering excellence. Austrian Audio started with a core team of 22 former AKG personnel from management, acoustics, electronics, test and measurement, mechanical design, RF/wireless, and software and firmware.
Backed by over 350 years of cumulative engineering experience, Martin now leads his team in building high-quality, innovative microphones and headphones. Currently, the flagship mic is the OC818, a large-diaphragm, multi-pattern condenser microphone with a unique dual-diaphragm ceramic capsule. At NAMM 2020, the company launched a line of professional headphones, the Hi‑X55 and the Hi‑X50.
Interviewer: Sam Inglis - Biog
Editor In Chief Sam Inglis has been with Sound On Sound magazine for more than 20 years. He is a recording engineer, producer, songwriter and folk musician who studies the traditional songs of England and Scotland, and the author of two books: Neil Young's Harvest (Bloomsbury, 2003) and Teach Yourself Songwriting (Hodder, 2006).
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