Pioneer of audio solutions marks 75-years

Knowles Corp., a market leader and global provider of advanced micro-acoustic microphones and speakers, audio solutions, high performance capacitors and RF products, recently celebrated 75 years of innovation and industry-firsts that have redefined the audio experience for generations. Knowles contributions have been integral to the evolution of hearing health solutions and the massive advancements in voice and audio applications experienced in consumer electronics over the last two decades.

From the first Apollo mission in 1969, where Neil Armstrong spoke into a Knowles microphone, to the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, and from the first hearing aids developed in 1954 to today’s advanced hearable technologies, Knowles has had many important contributions to society. Since 1946, Knowles has innovated precision hearing assistance and speech intelligibility in the hearing health industry with microphones, speakers, and hearing aid components and accessories.

Knowles introduced balanced armature receivers to the hearing aid market to effectively improve sound quality with heightened fidelity, realism and detail for miniature, invisible hearing aids. In the 1980s, Knowles began evolving balanced armatures to deliver premium sound quality to the music business. By adding the balanced armatures to musicians’ in-ear monitors, Knowles helps to improve and protect their hearing during performances. Soon music enthusiasts began appreciating the elevated listening experience and the use of balanced armatures in premium earphones grew. Today, Knowles supplies balanced armatures to the leaders of the audio world who are rapidly expanding the True Wireless Stereo (TWS) earphone space.

Pioneering the MEMS microphone technology under the SiSonic brand in early 2000s, Knowles created a new de facto standard for microphones addressing several significant challenges afflicting prior technologies. The SiSonic MEMS microphones produced in two state of the art manufacturing facilities in Suzhou, China and Penang, Malaysia continue to set the industry benchmarks for performance, quality and scale and are the preferred choice by leading smartphone, Ear and IOT OEMS around the world to bring the best user experience to consumers.

Today, Knowles leverages its decades long footprint in hearing health and audio markets to deliver voice and audio innovation to new spaces such as TWS, smart home, virtual and augmented reality, automotive, and enterprise audio. Not just a components supplier, Knowles has grown system-level expertise over the past decade and provides high-quality, development platforms that enable customers to get to market faster.