The Germans have it

All over the world, there are great brands of microphone manufacturers. In Denmark, there are DPA, Brüel & Kjær, and TC Electronic. In the United Kingdom, Aston Microphones. In the United States, there's Shure, AEA, Royer, Bock, and Earthworks. But, when I think about the pro microphones that we at Octave are using, the overwhelming majority enjoy the benefits of German engineering.

• Sennheiser
• Neumann
• AKG
• Beyerdynamic
• Schoeps
• Microtech Gefell
• MBHO
• RFT
• TLM Audio
• Brauner

One reason might be that Germany was at the forefront of the early development of microphones, with companies like Sennheiser and Neumann starting in the mid-20th century. While David Hughes and Alexander Graham Bell were instrumental in developing the microphone, it was a German, Emile Berliner (1851-1929), who really made a dent. Berliner not only designed the first "high-fidelity" microphone, but he also invented the flat disc phonograph that moved us away from wax cylinders. Much of what we listen to today is thanks to our friends in Germany. Without Octave's AKG, Neumann, Sennheiser, and Gefell microphones, we'd not be making magic.