Ayup.
Neumann U-87, from mid-1960s to now.
Sennheiser 421, first one out in 1960 (although the current rev is MkII)
Shure SM-81, released in the late 1970s. Punk kid.
Then there are:
Linn LP-12, 1972
Decca cartridge (1958/1974?) to now
Quad ESL, 1957-1985
...hm. All British marques.
I think the AKG K141 series headphones had a longer run, especially if you count the "silver sextet" version from the late 70's (which I have). I also have the K141 Gold Monitor.
There are some that give negative comments on these, but I strongly suspect they use sub-par pre stages to feed them. These cans are 600ohm after all, and really require some voltage to truly come alive.
That said, excellent for mastering in a quiet room, but not for listening to
Last edited:
Not audio, and made by many makers, but a very long run....
The common mechanical pressure gauge was an accident. About 1848 a worker mis-made a brass tube for a laundry machine. His boss, Eugene Bourdon, tried to fix the flatted curved tube by pumping pressure to it. The curve un-coiled. Bourdon was already working on steam engines, which blew up, because there was no practical way to measure their pressure. He saw that the flat curved tube made a sensitive and low-friction pressure indicator. He got a patent and a gold medal at the 1849 fair (beating a guy named Sax). He sold it, it was widely used, and he got a Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur. His design is still THE pressure gauge for air and water (and steam, though that technology is retracting). 170 years later.
The Metal Manometer
The common mechanical pressure gauge was an accident. About 1848 a worker mis-made a brass tube for a laundry machine. His boss, Eugene Bourdon, tried to fix the flatted curved tube by pumping pressure to it. The curve un-coiled. Bourdon was already working on steam engines, which blew up, because there was no practical way to measure their pressure. He saw that the flat curved tube made a sensitive and low-friction pressure indicator. He got a patent and a gold medal at the 1849 fair (beating a guy named Sax). He sold it, it was widely used, and he got a Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur. His design is still THE pressure gauge for air and water (and steam, though that technology is retracting). 170 years later.
The Metal Manometer
The violin design was optimised in the 1560s! The design was slightly modified in about 1800
After that date there have been absolutely no changes in the design whatsoever.
After that date there have been absolutely no changes in the design whatsoever.
If we are heading that direction there are flutes more than 40,000 years old. I think the idea was audio equipment not music equipment. Am I right Soldermizer?
The Sennheiser MD-21 omnidirectional dynamic microphone has been in continuous production from just after WW II, when Sennheiser was still called Labor W. It is still quite popular among Dutch radio reporters, both national and local. Reasons: it sounds good, it fits comfortably in your hand, it is very rugged without being heavy, and due to the omnidirectional characteristics it doesn't matter much how accurately you point it at the person who is speaking, or what the precise distance is.
As far as I know, the microphone capsule has been changed once when it was still a fairly new type of microphone. Much later the connector on the back was changed into XLR. Other than that there are no changes I'm aware of.
By the way, according to https://www.witnessesofwords.com/en/ , Kennedy used it for his Ich bin ein Berliner-speech - which is remarkable considering that microphones used for public address applications normally have a cardioid characteristic to get less acoustic feedback.
As far as I know, the microphone capsule has been changed once when it was still a fairly new type of microphone. Much later the connector on the back was changed into XLR. Other than that there are no changes I'm aware of.
By the way, according to https://www.witnessesofwords.com/en/ , Kennedy used it for his Ich bin ein Berliner-speech - which is remarkable considering that microphones used for public address applications normally have a cardioid characteristic to get less acoustic feedback.
Would snake oil qualify as audio equipment, or is it just an accessory? 🙂
I thought it was American, but according to Wikipedia it is imported.
Snake oil - Wikipedia
I thought it was American, but according to Wikipedia it is imported.
Snake oil - Wikipedia
As I sit here typing I am still listening to a 1980 Fane 12-50W speaker.
Of all the speakers I have it still sounds the best.
Of all the speakers I have it still sounds the best.
What about the Shure SM58?
Don't know when it exactly started production but I think i've read somewhere they used some "prototypes" at the woodstock festival. Nevertheless I wasn't born yet so.... 🙂
Don't know when it exactly started production but I think i've read somewhere they used some "prototypes" at the woodstock festival. Nevertheless I wasn't born yet so.... 🙂
What about the Dynaco ST-70?
Dynaco - ST-70 Series 3 advanced classic tube aplifier
Has to be one of the longest lived amplifiers for sure. Any competition at all?
Edit:
Forgot that Rayma mentioned the Dynaco in post #7, still, link to newest version should help count towards the production run thing.
1975 to 2019 and beyond!
Dynaco - ST-70 Series 3 advanced classic tube aplifier
Has to be one of the longest lived amplifiers for sure. Any competition at all?
Edit:
Forgot that Rayma mentioned the Dynaco in post #7, still, link to newest version should help count towards the production run thing.
1975 to 2019 and beyond!
Last edited:
The original version of the ST-70 was sold until 1977, although the final production run had a fiberglass pcb
(and some better components on it) instead of the original phenolic board. The later versions of the ST-70,
made after Dynaco was sold, were changed significantly.