Sound Devices Acquired by Audiotonix

Acquisition

by Georg GilsteinOctober 18^th, 2021

US-manufacturer Sound Devices LLC was acquired by Audiotonix Group, which has a solid reputation in the world of live and studio audio but is new to the film industry.

On October 14th, both Audiotonix and Sound Devices released a press statement confirming the acquisition.

Sound Devices is known for their audio field recorders, but also produced video monitors (in part under the Video Devices brand), wireless audio systems, and accessories along the way.

Recently they released a tiny 32-bit recorder and wireless transmitter, the A 20 Mini.

Sound Devices joins Audiotonix

Co-Founder Matt Anderson will stay as CEO and Chief Engineer, while Co-Founder Jon Tatooles will leave after 23 years. Despite Tatooles leaving, both are happy about the acquisition.

Anderson writes:

I’ve enjoyed getting to know James and the team during the past few months. In terms of values and culture, Sound Devices fits perfectly within the Audiotonix group of companies. In a way, it will be ‘business as usual’ at Sound Devices, as we will carry on doing the same thing we’ve been doing for the past 23 years: focussing intensely on making the best sound products we can. However, the Audiotonix group brings us more strength in terms of access to capital, depth in manufacturing, knowledge in engineering, sourcing of parts, and expanding our sales and marketing expertise. I am extremely excited about this new opportunity.

More expertise and capacity for better products

The last part is quite interesting, as additional financial and production capacities and knowledge can give them an important advantage and could increase the development speeds of their products. Big groups like VITEC (Manfrotto, Sachtler, Vinten, SmallHD, Teradek, and more) and Audiotonix hold multiple brands in the same business branch. Oftentimes these are split into multiple customer groups, separating them by budget, use case, and marketing.

James Gordon, CEO of Audiotonix adds:

As with previous acquisitions we always look to increase the knowledge share group-wide and, with FPGA-based solutions and RF wireless technology at their core, we have an enviable opportunity.

Audiotonix holds brands like Allen & Heath and Solid State Logic, both famous brands in the audio mixer branch. While Sound Devices is specialized in film and field production audio, Audiotonix’s existing brands focus more on studio and live audio. This doesn’t have to be a disadvantage. Cross-branch expertise could help Sound Devices to further innovate and make their products more appealing.

Audiotonix will now hold 8 brands, which are Allen & Heath, Calrec, DiGiCo, DiGiGrid, Group One Ltd, KLANG:technologies, Solid State Logic, and Sound Devices.

Find Audiotonix’ full statement on their website: Audiotonix

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