Akai ( ja, 赤井, ) is a Hong Kong manufacturer of

consumer electronics Consumer electronics or home electronics are electronic (analog or digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment, communications and recreation. Usually r ...

. It was founded as Akai Electric Company Ltd in Tokyo, Japan, in 1946.

Grande Holdings Grande Holdings Ltd () () is a Chinese manufacturer of consumer and professional audio and HiFi components based in Kowloon, Hong Kong. In the past, Grande Holdings has purchased several Japanese HiFi manufacturers, including Akai and Nakamichi ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

purchased the Akai brand, and now distributes various electronic products such as LED TV,

washing machines A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a home appliance used to wash laundry. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water as opposed to dry cleaning (which uses alternative cleaning fluids and i ...

clothes dryers A clothes dryer, also known as tumble dryer or simply dryer, is a powered household appliance that is used to remove moisture from a load of clothing, bedding and other textiles, usually shortly after they are washed in a washing machine. Many d ...

, air conditioners and

smart phones A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, which ...

, through collaborations with other electronics companies bearing relevant expertise.

inMusic Brands inMusic is an American enterprise that is the parent company for a family of brands of varying audio products used in the DJ, music production, live sound, musical instrument, pro audio, software, stage lighting, and consumer electronics industri ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

took over Akai's brand, starting the ‘Akai Professional’ label, that distributes high-end audio electronics products.

Corporate history

Akai was founded by Masukichi Akai and his son, Saburo Akai (who died in 1973) as , a

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese manufacturer in 1929 or 1946. Although reliable sources are not yet found, according to the several sources
kotobank.jp
:ja:Akai Professional), Masukichi Akai established ''Akai Press Industry'' in 1923, then his son, Saburo Akai established ''Akai Electric Company Ltd.'' in 1946, and Masukichi served as the president of both. The company's business eventually became troubled and it left the audio industry in 1991. At its peak in the late 1990s, Akai Holdings employed 100,000 workers and had annual sales of HK$40 billion (US$5.2 billion). The company filed for insolvency in November 2000, owing creditors US$1.1B. It emerged that ownership of Akai Holdings had somehow passed in 1999 to

, a company founded by Akai's chairman James Ting. The liquidators claimed that Ting had stolen over US$800m from the company with the assistance of accountants

Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewaterh ...

who had tampered with audit documents going back to 1994. Ting was imprisoned for false accounting in 2005, and E&Y paid $200m to settle the negligence case out of court in September 2009. In a separate lawsuit, a former E&Y partner, Christopher Ho, made a "substantial payment" to Akai creditors in his role as chairman of Grande Holdings.

History

Historical products

Akai's products included

reel-to-reel Reel-to-reel audio tape recording, also called open-reel recording, is magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording tape is spooled between reels. To prepare for use, the ''supply reel'' (or ''feed reel'') containing the tape is plac ...

audiotape recorders (such as the GX series), tuners (top level AT, mid level TR and TT series),

audio cassette The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Otten ...

decks (top level GX and TFL, mid level TC, HX and CS series),

amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost the v ...

s (AM and TA series),

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public ...

s, receivers,

turntable A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

s, video recorders and

loudspeaker A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or speaker driver) is an electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A ''speaker system'', also often simply referred to as a "speaker" or " ...

Many Akai products were sold under the name Roberts in the US, as well as A&D in Japan (from 1987 after a partnership with

Mitsubishi Electric , established on 15 January 1921, is a Japanese multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi. The products from MELCO include elevators an ...

), Tensai and ''Transonic Strato'' in Western Europe. During the late 1960s, Akai adopted Tandberg's cross-field recording technologies (using an extra tape head) to enhance high frequency recording and switched to the increasingly reliable Glass and crystal (X'tal) (GX) ferrite heads a few years later. The company's most popular products were the GX-630D, GX-635D, GX-747/GX-747DBX and GX-77 open-reel recorders (latter featuring an auto-loading function), the three-head, closed-loop GX-F95, GX-90, GX-F91, GX-R99 cassette decks, and the AM-U61, AM-U7 and AM-93 stereo amplifiers. Akai manufactured and badged most of its imported hi-fi products with the

Tensai Matthew Jason Bloom (born November 14, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler and professional football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he is the head trainer at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Bloom ...

brand (named after the Swiss audio and electronics distributor Tensai International). Tensai International was Akai's exclusive distributor for the Swiss and Western European markets until 1988. Akai limited its consumer hi-fi product line in the United States and Europe towards the end of the 20th century.

Introduction of the on-screen display

Akai produced consumer

video cassette recorder A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette, and can play back the recording. ...

s (VCR) during the 1980s. The Akai VS-2 was the first VCR with an

on-screen display An on-screen display (OSD) is an image superimposed on a screen picture, commonly used by modern television sets, VCRs, and DVD players to display information such as volume, channel, and time. History In the past, most adjustments on TV sets ...

, originally named the Interactive Monitor System. By displaying the information directly on the television screen, this innovation eliminated the need for the user to be physically near the VCR to program recording, read the tape counter, or perform other common features. Within a few years, all competing manufacturers had adopted on-screen display technology in their own products.

Akai Professional

In 1984, a new division of the company was formed to focus on the manufacture and sale of

electronic instruments An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electronics, electronic circuitry. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical, electronic or digital audio signal that ultimately is pl ...

, and was called Akai Professional.

The first product released by the new subsidiary was the MG1212, a 12 channel, 12 track recorder. This innovative device used a special VHS-like cartridge (a MK-20), and was good for 10 minutes of continuous 12 track recording (19 cm per second) or 20 minutes at half speed (9.5 cm per second). One track (14) was permanently dedicated to recording absolute time, and another one for synchronization such as

SMPTE The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) (, rarely ), founded in 1916 as the Society of Motion Picture Engineers or SMPE, is a global professional association of engineers, technologists, and executives working in the m ...

or MTC. Each channel strip included dbx type-1 noise reduction and semi-parametric equalizers (with fixed bandwidths). The unit also had innovations like an electronic 2 bus system, a 12 stereo channel patch bay and auto punch in and out, among others. The unique transport design and noise reduction gave these units a recording quality rivaling that of more expensive 16 track machines using 1" tape. The MG-1212 was later replaced by the MG-1214, which improved the transport mechanism and overall performance.

AX series analog synthesizers

Other early products included the Akai AX80 8-voice analog synthesizer in 1984, followed by AX60 and AX73 6-voice analog synthesizers ca.1986. The AX-60 borrowed many ideas from the Roland Juno series, but used voltage controlled analog oscillators (VCO) as a sound source as opposed to Roland's more common digitally controlled analog oscillators (DCO), and also allowed the performer to "split" the keyboard (using different timbres for different ranges of keys). The AX-60 also had the ability to interface with Akai's early samplers through a serial cable, using 12-bit samples as an additional oscillator. (archived on HollowSun.com). “''The AX73 was a simple analogue synthesiser based around the Curtis CEM 3394 chips ... Internally, the AX60 had the same voice architecture as the AX73 and VX90 ... Common to all models in the range, however, was a proprietary 13-pin DIN socket that allowed you to connect an S900 for processing through the synths' analogue filters. ...''”

Digital Samplers (S, X, Z series)

The S612 12-bit digital sampler in 1985, was the first in a series of (relatively) affordable samplers already in 19-inch studio-rack format but in black color. It held only a single sample at a time, which was loaded into memory via a separate disk drive utilizing Quick Disk 2.8-inch

floppy disk A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined w ...

s. The maximum sample time at the highest quality sampling rate (32 kHz) was one second.

The introduction of a "professional" range of digital samplers began with the 12-bit S900 in 1986, followed by the X7000 keyboard sampler in 1986, and the S700 rack-mount version in 1987. Unlike the single-sample S612, however, they allowed the use of six active samples at once, had a built-in disk drive and could be extended with six individual outputs via cable and a flash memory extension which added another six samples to the memory for multisample playback. The S700/X7000 sampler series were light-grey colored, which didn't change throughout the whole "professional" range of Akai samplers. The 16-bit

Akai S1000 The Akai S1000 is a 16- bit, 44.1 kHz professional stereo digital sampler, released by Akai in 1988. The S1000 was among the first professional-quality 16-bit stereo samplers.Russ, Martin (2004). ''Sound Synthesis and Sampling''. Elsevier. p ...

series followed in 1988, adding the option to read

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...

s and write to hard disks via SCSI. This range was superseded by the S3000 series in 1993, with optional built-in CD-ROM drive, followed by the S5000 and S6000. Additional releases of note were the Z4 and Z8 24-bit 96 kHz samplers. Sampler Models *S612 - 1985 *X7000 - Keyboard Sampler - 1986 *S700 - 1987 *S900 - 1986 *X3700 - Keyboard Sampler - 1986 *S950 - 1988 *S1000 - 1988 *S1000KB - Keyboard Sampler - 1988 *S1000PB - Playback only device - 1988 *S1100 - 1992 *S01 - 1993 *S2000 - 1995 *S2800 - 1992 *S20 - Drum Machine-styled device - 1997 *S3000 - 1993 * S3000XL *S3200 - 1996 *S3200XL - 1996 *S5000 - 1998 *S6000 - 1999 *Z4 - 2002 *Z8 - 2002

MPC

Akai also produced several Digital MIDI sequencers and

digital synthesizer A digital synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses digital signal processing (DSP) techniques to make musical sounds. This in contrast to older analog synthesizers, which produce music using analog electronics, and samplers, which play back digit ...

s such as the MPC range, a line of integrated drum machines, MIDI sequencers, samplers and direct-to-disk recorders.

New ownership of Akai Professional

In December 1999, one year before the application of Civil Rehabilitation Act to Akai Electric Company Ltd., the brand of its musical instrument division, Akai Professional was acquired by a company of the United States. The new company was dubbed "Akai Professional Musical Instrument Corporation". (''AKAI professional M.I.'') was established in the same year, however it was bankrupted in 2005. Teikoku Databank Yokohama branch, by the 7th (December 2005), Akai Professional M.I. received a bankruptcy proceedings decision by the Tokyo District Court. ... Akai Professional M.I. was established in December 1999 to focus on the manufacture and sale of electronic musical instruments, by a company of the United States who acquired the brand(s) of musical instrument division of Akai Electric Company Ltd.] In 2004, following a US distribution deal, the Akai Professional Musical Instrument division was acquired by Jack O'Donnell, owner of Numark Industries and Alesis. In 2012,

was formed as a parent company for O'Donnell's companies, including Akai Professional.

Current products

In early 2003,

began undergoing a re-exposure of Akai's brands by marketing various audio visual products manufactured by

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

. In the same year, Grande began to distribute Akai home appliances such as air conditioners,

vacuum cleaners A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum or a hoover, is a device that causes suction in order to remove dirt from floors, upholstery, draperies, and other surfaces. It is generally electrically driven. The dirt is collected by either a ...

, and

refrigerators A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...

. In 2010s, it began to distribute Akai

collaborated with some Chinese smart phone manufacturers (

Gionee Gionee () is a Chinese smartphone manufacturer based in Shenzhen, Guangdong. Founded in 2002, it was one of China's largest mobile phone manufacturers. According to Gartner, its market share in China was 4.7% in 2012, and it expanded into other ...

, etc.), in India and some other countries.

Video

AV receiver An audio/video receiver (AVR) is a consumer electronics component used in a home theater. Its purpose is to receive audio and video signals from a number of sources, and to process them and provide power amplifiers to drive loudspeakers and ro ...

s * Portable DVD players *

DVD player A DVD player is a device that plays DVDs produced under both the DVD-Video and DVD-Audio technical standards, two different and incompatible standards. Some DVD players will also play audio CDs. DVD players are connected to a television to wa ...

s *

DVD recorder A DVD recorder is an optical disc recorder that uses optical disc recording technologies to digitally record analog or digital signals onto blank writable DVD media. Such devices are available as either installable drives for computers o ...

s * Home theatre systems * Home theatre

Speakers Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

* VCD players *

VCR A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette, and can play back the recording. ...

Mobile sound

Amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost the v ...

s * Cassette receivers * CD changers * CD receivers * DVD changers * DVD receivers * Car Audio – DVD players * Car Audio – Speakers * Car Audio – TFT monitors

Home appliances

Air conditioner Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

s * Air coolers * Air purifiers * Chest freezers * Dishwashers *

Heater Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...

s * Ice makers *

Microwave oven A microwave oven (commonly referred to as a microwave) is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces polar molecules in the food to rotate and produce t ...

s *

Refrigerator A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...

s * Showcases *

Vacuum cleaner A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum or a hoover, is a device that causes suction in order to remove dirt from floors, upholstery, draperies, and other surfaces. It is generally electrically driven. The dirt is collected by either a ...

s *

Washing machine A washing machine (laundry machine, clothes washer, washer, or simply wash) is a home appliance used to wash laundry. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water as opposed to dry cleaning (which uses alternative cleaning fluids and ...

s * Water dispensers *

Wine cellar A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control system. ...

Audio

* Stereo rack systems * Mini systems * Micro music * Retro radios * Sound boxes * Portable music players * Tape Decks * Portable DAT Recorder/Player (Blue colored body,Webshop DirectOrder only, OEM from JVC/Victor) * Portable MD Recorder/Player (Blue color Body,Webshop DirectOrder only, OEM from JVC/Victor)

Digital

Wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...

Surround Sound Systems *

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...

MP3 player A portable media player (PMP) (also including the related digital audio player (DAP)) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files. The data is typically stored o ...

Mobile phones A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

Smart phones A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, which ...

Television

* Color televisions *

LCD televisions Liquid-crystal-display televisions (LCD TVs) are television sets that use liquid-crystal displays to produce images. They are, by far, the most widely produced and sold television display type. LCD TVs are thin and light, but have some disadvanta ...

Plasma television A plasma display panel (PDP) is a type of flat panel display that uses small cells containing plasma: ionized gas that responds to electric fields. Plasma televisions were the first large (over 32 inches diagonal) flat panel displays to be release ...

Set-top box A set-top box (STB), also colloquially known as a cable box and historically television decoder, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output to a television set and an external source of sign ...

Akai Professional products

Akai Professional Akai ( ja, 赤井, ) is a Hong Kong manufacturer of consumer electronics. It was founded as Akai Electric Company Ltd in Tokyo, Japan, in 1946. Grande Holdings in Hong Kong purchased the Akai brand, and now distributes various electronic produ ...

is not affiliated with Akai (a consumer audio and television brand). Akai Professional changed ownership in 2004 and is an

company, based in Rhode Island, United States.

Synthesizers

* AX60 (c.1986) – discontinued * AX73 (c.1986) – discontinued * AX80 (1984) – discontinued * VX90 (c.1986) – rack-mount version of AX73, discontinued * VX600 (c.1988) – 3-octave keyboard synthesizer with EWI connection jack, discontinued * Akai SG01v (c.1996) – desktop sound module, discontinued * MINIAK – discontinued * S612 (1985) – discontinued * S900 (1986) – discontinued * X3700 (c.1986) – discontinued * X7000 (c.1986) – discontinued * S700 (1987) – discontinued * S950 – discontinued * S1000 (1988) – discontinued * S1100 (1990) – discontinued * S01 (1992) – discontinued * S2800 (1992) – discontinued * S3000 (1992) – discontinued * S3200 (1992) – discontinued * CD3000 (1993) – discontinued * REMIX16 (1995) – table-top phrase sampler, discontinued * S2000 (1995) – discontinued * S3000XL (1995) – discontinued * S3200XL – discontinued * S20 (c.1997) – discontinued * CD3000XL (c.1997) – discontinued * S5000 (c.1999) – discontinued * S6000 (c.1999) – discontinued * Z4 (2002) – discontinued * Z8 (2002) – discontinued * MPX8 * MPX16 * MPC Key 61

Music Production Center

MPC60 The Akai MPC (originally MIDI Production Center, now Music Production Center) is a series of music workstations produced by Akai from 1988 onwards. MPCs combine sampling and sequencing functions, allowing users to record portions of sound, modi ...

(1987) – MIDI Production Centre, discontinued * MPC60II – (1991) – discontinued *

MPC3000 The Akai MPC (originally MIDI Production Center, now Music Production Center) is a series of music workstations produced by Akai from 1988 onwards. MPCs combine sampling and sequencing functions, allowing users to record portions of sound, modif ...

(1993) – discontinued * MPC3000LE (1999) – discontinued * MPC2000 (1997) – discontinued * MPC2000XL (2000) – discontinued * MPC4000 (2002) – discontinued * MPC1000 (2003) – discontinued * MPC500 (2006) – discontinued * MPC2500 (2005) – discontinued * MPC5000 (2008) – discontinued * MPC Renaissance (2012) – discontinued * MPC Studio (2012) – Discontinued * MPC Element (2013) – Discontinued * MPC Touch (2015) * MPC Studio Black (2016) * MPC Live (2017) * MPC X (2017) *MPC Force (2019) *MPC One (2020) *MPC Live ll (2020) *MPC Studio II (2021) *MPC Key 61 (2022)

Computer audio interfaces

* EIE (2011) * EIE PRO (2011)

Drum machines

MR16 A multifaceted reflector (often abbreviated MR) light bulb is a reflector housing format for halogen as well as some LED and fluorescent lamps. MR lamps were originally designed for use in slide projectors, but see use in residential lightin ...

(c.1985) * XE-8 1U rack mounted, Acoustic drum sound from S-1000 library, discontinued * XR10, discontinued Table Top Playback Sampler incl XE-8 Sound with Dance Sample Sounds 16-bit, discontinued * XR20 (2008) Made by Alesis * Rhythm Wolf (c.2015) Tabletop analogue drum machine with bass synth * Tom Cat

Electronic wind instruments

* EVI1000 (1987) – Electronic Valve Instruments, discontinued * EWI1000 (1987) – Electronic Wind Instrument, discontinued * EWV2000 – Electronic Wind Instrument sound module, discontinued * EWI4000S (2005) * EWI-USB (2008) * EWI5000 (2014) * EWI SOLO (2020)

Effects units / Utilities

* EX90R – Reverb, discontinued * ME10D – MIDI digital delay, discontinued * ME15F – MIDI dynamic controller, discontinued * ME20A – MIDI sequencer arpeggiator, discontinued * ME25S – MIDI note separator, discontinued * ME30P – MIDI 4×8 patchbay, discontinued * ME35T – Audio/MIDI trigger, discontinued * ME80P – MIDI 8×10 patchbay, discontinued * MB76 – Programmable mix bay, discontinued * PEQ6 – Programmable equaliser, discontinued * DP88 (1993) – digital audio patchbay, discontinued * AR900 (1986–89) – 16-bit MIDI Digital Reverb, discontinued * MFC42 (2001) – filter bank, discontinued * HV10 Harmony generator (2002) * VST Plug-ins (2002)

Guitar pedals

Analog Delay Delay is an audio signal processing technique that records an input signal to a storage medium and then plays it back after a period of time. When the delayed playback is mixed with the live audio, it creates an echo-like effect, whereby the or ...

* Blues Overdrive *

Chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

Compressor A compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. An air compressor is a specific type of gas compressor. Compressors are similar to pumps: both increase the pressure on a fluid and both can transp ...

* Deluxe Distortion * Drive3 Distortion * Drive3 Fuzz * Drive3 Overdrive * E2 Head Rush *

Flanger Flanging is an audio signal processing, audio effect produced by mixing two identical audio signal, signals together, one signal delayed by a small and (usually) gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a s ...

Phase Shifter A phase shift module is a microwave network module which provides a controllable phase shift of the RF signal. Phase shifters are used in phased arrays. Classification Active versus passive Active phase shifters provide gain, while passive ...

iPod/iPad Keyboard Controllers

* SynthStation25 * SynthStation49 * AkaiMPC Fly (2012)

MIDI Sequencers

* MS08 (c.1985) – discontinued * ASQ10 (c.1986/7) – discontinued

Standalone Multi-track Audio Recorders

* MG614 (c.1983?) – discontinued * MG1212 (1984) – discontinued * MG1214 (c.1985) – discontinued * DR1200/DL1200 (1988) – discontinued * DD1000 (1990) – discontinued * DD/DL1500 (1994) – 16-track

DAW Daw or DAW may refer to: People and language * Daw (given name) * Daw (surname) * Daw, an honorific used in Burmese name#Honorifics, Burmese names * Dâw people, an indigenous people of Brazil * Dâw language, a language of Brazil * Davaoeño lang ...

, discontinued * DD8 (1996) – discontinued * DD8plus (1998) – discontinued * DR4D (1993) – discontinued * DR8 (1994) – discontinued * DR16 (1995) – discontinued * DPS12 (1997) – discontinued * DPS16 (1999) – discontinued * DPS24 (2002) – discontinued * DPS24MKII – discontinued * RE32 (1999) – controller for DD/DR series, discontinued

Studio Monitor Speakers

* RPM3 * RPM8 – discontinued * 50x

USB MIDI / MIDI controllers

* APC20 * APC40 * APC40 MkII * EWI-USB * LPD8 (2009) * LPK25 (2009) * MPD16 (2002) – discontinued * MPD18 – discontinued * MPD24 (2006) – discontinued * MPD26 (2010) * MPD32 (2008) * MPK25 (2009) * MPK49 (2007) * MPK49 V2 (2007) * MPK61 (2009) * MPK88 (2009) * MPK Mini * MPK Mini Play (comes packed with 128 sounds and its own built-in speaker) * MPK Mini MK II (2014) * MPK Mini MK III (2020) * MPK225 (2014) * MPK249 (2014) * MPK261 (2014) * MAX25 (2014) * MAX49 (2014) * MX73 MIDI Master Keyboard – discontinued * MX76 MIDI Master Keyboard (1987) – discontinued

Notes

References

External links

Akai

Akai Professional

Vintage Cassette Decks
Collection of Akai Vintage Cassette decks and other brands.
akai.com at archive.org
an archive of akai.com from 1996 to 1998. {{Akai Audio equipment manufacturers of Japan Manufacturing companies established in 1929 Consumer electronics brands Home appliance manufacturers of Japan In-car entertainment Mobile phone manufacturers Musical instrument manufacturing companies of Japan Synthesizer manufacturing companies of Japan Guitar effects manufacturing companies Film and video technology Phonograph manufacturers 1929 establishments in Japan Companies formerly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Companies that have filed for bankruptcy in Japan Japanese brands