Martin Audio celebrates 35 years of sound excellence

During Plasa 2006, Martin Audio celebrated 35 years of innovation and excellence in loudspeaker design and manufacturing at the Roadhouse club at The Piazza in London's Covent Garden. Not coincidentally, the Roadhouse is situated on the site of Martin Audio's original manufacturing facility where the company, under the leadership of visionary audio designer David Martin, began building loudspeaker systems for a new generation of music fans drawn to large scale productions by major supergroups of the 70s such as Pink Floyd, The Who, ELP, Supertramp, Dire Straits and others. From the beginning, Martin was engaged in a quest for exceptionally loud and accurate loudspeakers that could effectively reproduce the increasingly complex and sophisticated music of the times for audiences that were growing in terms of numbers and expectations for high quality sound throughout the venue. Older loudspeaker systems consisting of columns or re-entrant horns were no capable of getting the job done. To achieve this, Martin designed the most efficient speaker systems of the time, based around unique horn developments.  As such, the company's bass bins became the standard cabinet for most major touring groups of that era because Martin was driven by a passion for superlative sound quality and the desire to ensure that his customers were well supported. 35 years later, Martin Audio is still driven by the same passion that sparked David Martin's original quest with a design team constantly seeking to push the boundaries with a range of loudspeakers embodying a mixture of evolution and revolution that consistently transcend typical "me too" products. Originally, Martin Audio had distribution in only one or two countries. In 2006 the company has its own operation in North America and a steadily growing business in nearly 50 markets around the world with a wide range of loudspeakers for touring, commercial installations such as stadiums, arenas, houses of worship, restaurants, clubs, entertainment destinations, movie theaters and more. Commenting on this milestone in the company's history, Managing Director David Bissett-Powell stated, "I knew David back in the early days and we continued a relationship right up until his untimely death. I think he’d be quite proud of how the company has progressed and the team that we’ve built over the last 15 years. Some of his early customers are still with us today and it feels like the Martin Audio Team, our distributors and customers are all one big family. We all share the same passion for quality results and satisfying our end users. Every morning when I enter our facility I pass the bronze bust of David Martin in our entrance lobby and never fail to think that his initial passion is what started this whole business 35 years ago."