Near Field Monitoring

Today, the concept of Near Field Monitoring™ seems like an industry standard, but we have Edward M. Long to thank for that. One of the most influential loudspeaker designers of the 20th century, Long was noted for co-inventing (and trademarking) the Time-Align™ speaker process and the pressure zone technology made popular in Crown’s PZM microphones, as well as developing and selling the first Near Field Monitor™ (another Ed Long trademark).

Constant Directivity Horn

A leading authority on loudspeaker technology, D.B. “Don” Keele has done it all, from his dozens of published technical AES papers, to his design work for leading manufacturers — among them Electro-Voice, JBL and Klipsch —an AES board member and even as a journalist, reviewing loudspeakers forAudio magazine.

M56 16-Track Recorder

The multitrack recording revolution began to pick up steam in the mid-1960’s, as musicians and studios sought to keep up with the latest technology. In the 1950’s, Ampex made a few custom 8-track machines (mostly notably for Les Paul and Atlantic Studios), but wide access to such tools didn’t happen until at least a decade later.

Mark II Sound Synthesizer

Today, we are so used to pocket-sized electronics that it’s hard to imagine technologies like the first computer — 1951’s UNIVAC 1, which used 5,000 vacuum tubes and weighed more than eight tons. Another such example is 1957’s RCA Mark II Sound Synthesizer, which was the first programmable electronic synthesizer and sequencer and filled an entire room floor to ceiling with rackmount components.

639A Ribbon Microphone

Introduced in 1938, the Western Electric 639A was a multipattern microphone design that offered switch-selectable pickup patterns. Nicknamed the “birdcage” microphone, under its large protective shell and windscreen were two separate mic capsules — dynamic and ribbon.