Imagine if every year you had to make a list of the top ten manufacturers in your field, and these top ten manufacturers were up at the top each and every single year. Imagine that because of their continued excellence over the years, they perpetually offered enthusiasts and regular consumers the latest innovations they wanted – helping them boost their businesses and gain an even larger following.
Well, that’s kind of the case when it comes to microphone manufacturers. Some of these companies have solidified themselves as the world leaders in this field, controlling most of the world’s microphone supply, and let us tell you – they don’t plan on losing their top ten spots any time soon.
But, just who are they, and how are they managing to stay on top each and every single year? Well, we’re about to find out.
1. SHURE
When it comes to microphones – no one does it better than SHURE. They are easily the world’s leading microphone manufacturer, supplying tens, possibly even hundreds of thousands of people with microphones.
With an extensive list of microphones and other audio equipment, SHURE turned their almost-a-hundred-year-old company into a global phenomenon several years ago, when podcasting became mainstream. Even the largest names in the podcasting, like Joe Rogan, use the SHURE microphones.
2. Sennheiser
Sennheiser is known for their high-fidelity audio equipment, $50,000 headphones that require an amp and a few minutes to heat up, but they’re also known as one of the most respected wireless microphone brands in the world.
Now, what many don’t know is that Sennheiser didn’t start off as a headphone or a speaker company. In fact, their first product was a DM1 microphone, so despite what we think today – Sennheiser was originally a microphone company.
3. Audio Technica
Audio Technica is another company that is widely known for its hi-fi audio equipment and microphones, and they began their journey towards the world’s fame by manufacturing phonograph cartridges for gramophones.
Nowadays, Audio Technica is mostly popular for its outstanding-sounding open-back headphones, but their AT and ATR series microphones have also flooded the market in recent years. A list of products coming out of this company is astonishing, so it shouldn’t surprise you that they’re so high up our list.
4. RODE
“RODE NT 1” is still widely considered to be one of the best condenser microphones ever made, which is probably why many still consider RODE to be the world’s leading condenser microphone manufacturer. Not one of – the world’s leading manufacturers.
Apart from NT 1, RODE also rose to fame with their large and small diaphragm condenser microphones and shotgun microphones like RODE VideoMic Shotgun R. Furthermore, this Australian company has a great following within a gaming and streaming industry, which in today’s day and age is a major field to play in.
5. SYNCO
SYNCO is one of the top microphone manufacturers in China. With such a large market, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they are cracking the top five on our list. However, it’s not just the market capitalization that makes them rank so high – it’s the extensive catalogue and the quality of their products.
From wireless clip-on G Series microphones, over D Series broadcast microphones, all the way to V Series condenser microphones – SYNCO offers a product for everyone. Their V Series V10 microphones are widely regarded as one of the best in terms of value for money, in both enthusiast and general consumer circles.
6. BLUE
Compared to some other names on our list, BLUE is a fairly young company, but regardless of its age, BLUE has found a way to become of the most well-known microphone manufacturing companies in the world through YouTube, streaming, and podcasting.
Now, don’t get it twisted – BLUE has nothing to do with the colour blue. In fact, BLUE’s an acronym for Baltic Latvian Universal Electronics – an ode to the Latvian-born founder Martins Saulespurens.
Circling back to YouTube and podcasting, you couldn’t really call yourself a YouTube podcaster, especially during the early days, if you didn’t start your career with a BLUE Yeti microphone. It was an unwritten rule.
7. AKG
AKG or Akustische und Kino-Gerate Gesallschaft (what a mouthful, huh) is another company coming from Germany, and just like Sennheiser, they’re known for their audio equipment. However, unlike Sennheiser, AKG’s primary products were movie-related products like projectors and light meters.
Later on, the company delved into the acoustics a bit more, which proved to be quite a business move. In 2010, AKG actually won a Grammy for their contributions to the art and science of music recording and performance, solidifying their place as one of the world’s best microphone and audio equipment manufacturers.
8. Neuman
As you can tell from the name, once again, we have German engineering behind quality microphones. Neuman is actually one of the world’s oldest brands and audio manufacturers, whose humble beginnings are tied to phonograph record-cutting machines and customized sound production units for radio stations, theatres and concert halls.
Despite being older than Sennheiser, Neuman became a part of the Sennheiser group back in the early 90s, which marked the beginning of a new era for the company. From that point on, Neuman became one of the world’s best microphone manufacturers with products like U 47, U 87, and KMS 105.
9. Behringer
Behringer is another fairly young company on our top ten list, founded only back in 1989. Now, what’s special about Behringer is that it is a German company founded by a Swiss sound engineer with manufacturing headquarters based in China.
Notable for their guitar amps, mixing boards, and digital pianos, Behringer wasn’t a household name in the microphone industry for a while. However, with the release of their now-iconic ECM 8000 and C-3 microphones, they have solidified themselves as one of the industry’s top dogs.
10. Yoga
Yoga microphone manufacturer, contrary to popular belief, does not make microphones specially designed for practising yoga. Taiwanese microphone manufacturer actually produces a super extensive catalogue of different microphones – from boom mics all the way to the microphones you can actually wear while practising yoga.
Conclusion
There you have it. That was our top ten of the world’s best and most popular microphone manufacturers.
