Every year at Prolight + Sound the latest products and innovations are presented. But companies also use the industry event to present themselves and their products and services. Austrian Audio was founded just over a year ago and will be taking part in the trade fair as an exhibitor for the first time in 2019. Martin A. Seidl, CEO of Austrian Audio, talks about the quality standards of the Viennese company.
What quality standards do you have for your products?
We aim to produce top-quality professional recording and stage tools in Vienna. We have already started production of own capsules, here in Vienna, just like in the good old days. The low-end market is saturated and extremely price sensitive. We’re focused upon maximum experience and value. Never the cheapest and always compelling. Our standards are extremely high with decades of experience behind the manufacturing of each capsule, one at a time.
How has the industry changed since the beginning of your production? What potential is there in this area?
We celebrated Austrian Audio’s first birthday in July of this year. Since the founding of the company, we’ve been working on in-sourcing as much as possible in order to have these hard-to-find core competencies within the company. We are all tested veterans of the industry with some of us having been in Professional Audio for more than 20 or 30 years. We’re really trying our best to intelligently counter, as much as is fiscally responsible, the trend toward outsourcing. Our bottom line differs from much of what came before.
Potential: There are large markets for quality products. There has been an oft-voiced cry of “why can’t companies just make them like they used to?!” We’re answering that without staying stuck in the past. Our first microphones will be made in Vienna with our own exceptional capsules. They will have a coveted sound from our rich heritage along with modern tools for today’s artist and engineer. We’re doing things no company has done before. There is viability in bringing a new mix of classic and glorious sound into the modern era by letting our engineering staff have their full ideas run wild a little bit.
Describe your company in 6 words.
Viennese Engineering Excellence for Modern Times.
What significance does Prolight + Sound have as a trade fair for event technology?
Is there a better place to launch a Premium European Brand? We think not! We chose Prolight + Sound as the place to launch our brand and products as it is pretty much in our backyard, has a large amount of press coverage and is very tech savvy. It is one of the best places from which to launch a technology-driven company and brand.
With regard to the Prolight + Sound 2019: Can you give visitors a little taste of what to expect?
We will launch the full Austrian Audio brand. People can stop by and hear the new classic products and get glimpse into our future. We will also be able to tell the story of our creation and shed some light about what our goals are with this new venture. Not only will we debut our new microphones and testing equipment lines, there will also be some early previews into where we are taking our company with new products.
