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History

From our humble start as a radio parts wholesaler in 1925 through our current status as a global leader in audio electronics, Shure products have been everywhere and seen it all. Here are a few highlights:

 

1925
Shure Radio Company is founded on April 25 by Sidney N. Shure as a one-man company selling radio parts kits before factory-built radio sets were marketed. Office is located at 19 South Wells Street in downtown Chicago.

1926
A direct mail catalog is published, one of only six radio parts catalogs in the United States.

1928
Shure grows to more than 75 employees. Sidney N. Shure’s brother, Samuel J. Shure, joins the company. Shure Radio Company becomes Shure Brothers Company, moving to more spacious quarters at 335 West Madison Street, Chicago.

1929
The Great Depression grips the United States.  Market for radio parts kits declines when factory-built radio sets become available.  Staff is reduced to a few people. Shure becomes exclusive distributor for a small microphone manufacturer.

 

1930
Samuel J. Shure leaves to pursue a career in heating and ventilation engineering, his college major, joining a prominent company in St. Louis, Missouri.

 

1931
Shure begins development of its own microphone under the direction of a young engineer named Ralph Glover.

1932
Shure becomes one of only four U. S. microphone manufacturers with the introduction of the Model 33N Two-Button Carbon Microphone.  It is the first lightweight, high-performance product in a market dominated by large, costly devices.

1933
Model 40D is the company’s first condenser microphone.

1935
Model 70 is Shure’s first crystal microphone.

 

1936
First patent is received for a stylish and practical suspension support system for microphones.

1939
Model 55 Unidyne Microphone is the first single-element unidirectional microphone.  Its performance qualities and distinctive styling ultimately make it “the most recognized microphone in the world.”  Notably, the single-element design makes microphones smaller, less expensive, and, therefore, more accessible to all.

1941
Shure secures contracts to supply microphones for United States armed forces in World War II. 

 

1942
T-17B Microphone becomes the most widely used microphone by the U.S. Army and Navy.  Shure develops plastic cases for these mics, preventing them from getting too hot to handle in tanks and, also, conserving scarce metal for the war effort.

1942-1944
T-30 Throat Microphone, HS-33 and HS-38 Headset Microphone, M-CI Microphone for oxygen masks, and Battle Announce Microphone are all made for the military.  Using T-30s, bomber crews could communicate over the noise inside the planes.  Shure adopts strict military standards (MILSPEC) as the standard of reliability for all Shure microphones.

1946
Shure is the largest producer of phonograph cartridges in the U.S., supplying cartridges to major phonograph manufacturers, including Philco, RCA, Emerson, Magnavox, Admiral, and Motorola.

 

1946
Shure Brothers Company becomes Shure Brothers Incorporated.

1948
First phonograph cartridge capable of playing both long-playing (LP) and 78 rpm (revolutions per minute) records.

1951
Unidyne 55S is a smaller version of the renowned Unidyne 55.

1952
First Shure ribbon microphone, Model 300.

 

1953
First wireless microphone system for performers, called the Vagabond.  Powered by two hearing aid batteries, the system could transmit within a “performance circle” of approximately 700 square feet.

1954
M12 Dynetic Phono Reproducer is a tone arm/phono cartridge combination that set a new industry standard with its tracking force of only one gram.

1955
First mobile communications microphone designed to also function as a loudspeaker.

1956
Shure moves from downtown Chicago to its present corporate headquarters in Evanston, Illinois.

1958
M3D Phonograph Cartridge is the world’s first cartridge to successfully meet performance requirements of stereo recording.

1959
Unidyne III Microphone is the first high-quality unidirectional microphone that is used by speaking into the end (“end-firing”) rather than the side of the microphone.  It was the predecessor to the SM57.

1964
Shure V-15 Stereo Dynetic Cartridge is one of the finest phonograph cartridges ever made.  It featured a 15-degree vertical tracking angle and a symmetrical, bi-radial elliptical stylus.

 

1965
SM57 Dynamic Microphone is rugged and reliable with a clean, natural sound.  Into 2000, it continues to be the President’s lectern microphone, as it has been for every U.S. President since Lyndon B. Johnson. 

 
1966
V15 Type II, the first computer-designed phono cartridge, features superior tracking ability.

1966
Shure SM58 (“SM” for “Studio Microphone”) is adopted by rock-and-roll musicians, who find it offers the right combination of rugged reliability and excellent sound quality; it quickly becomes the standard for live performance vocals.  Into 2000, the SM58 remains the most popular vocal microphone in the world.

1967
Vocal Master, the first “portable total sound system,” includes a mixer, power amplifier, and loudspeakers.

1968
M67 Portable Mixer, designed for remote broadcast applications, enables journalists to cover stories live in the field.

1973
V15 Type III Phonograph Cartridge, featuring an extremely flat frequency response, garners critical acclaim.

1976
SM11 is the world’s smallest dynamic lavalier microphone.

1978
SM81 is the first condenser microphone to combine studio quality sound reproduction with the ruggedness and reliability needed for live performance. 

1981
With Sidney N. Shure as Chairman of the Board, James Kogen, Executive Vice President, Operations, is promoted to President and General Manager.

1982
Shure opens a manufacturing facility in Wheeling, Illinois, a Chicago suburb.

1983
FP31 Mixer is ”the most innovative field production mixer of its time.”  Weighing just 2.2 pounds, it was easily attached to a Betacam, providing news crews with even greater mobility.

1983
Automatic Microphone System (AMS) is the first automatic, high-quality mixer system using directional gating for installations utilizing multiple microphones.

1983
Manufacturing plant opens in Agua Prieta, Mexico, for production of phonograph cartridges.

1984
SM91 is the first unidirectional boundary-effect microphone.

 

1984
Manufacturing plant opens in Juarez, Mexico, for production of wired microphones.

 

1985
Patented Home Theater Sound System, the HTS5000, offers revolutionary surround sound capabilities via its innovative, top-rated decoder.

1989
Beta 58 and Beta 57 Microphones, with their supercardioid polar pattern and high output level, provide unprecedented gain before feedback on concert stages.

1989
Construction of a 60,000-square-foot microphone manufacturing facility expands capacity in Juarez, Mexico.

1990
Shure enters the wireless microphone market with the L Series.  Within a decade, Shure would dominate this product category worldwide.

1991
Office is opened in Heilbronn, Germany.  Shure Europe GmbH provides sales, service, and support to Shure Distribution Centers in 34 European countries.

 

1994
A 30,000-square-foot plant is built in Agua Prieta, Mexico, to expand the production of phonograph cartridges, communications microphones, headworn microphones, and transformers.

1995
Sidney N. Shure dies at the age of 93.  Rose L. Shure is elected Chairman of the Board of Directors.

1996
James Kogen retires as President and Chief Executive Officer. Santo (Sandy) LaMantia, Vice President of Engineering, is named President and CEO.

1996
Shure markets its first digital signal processing (DSP) product, the DFR11EQ Digital Feedback Reducer.

1997
S. N. Shure Technology Center is dedicated, and Evanston, Illinois, proclaims April 25 as S. N. Shure Day.   A portion of Brummel Place outside the building is renamed Shure Drive.

1997
PSM 600 Personal Stereo Monitor system quickly dominates the fast-growing market for “in-ear” monitoring systems.

1999
KSM32 Studio Condenser Microphone for professional recording gains immediate acclaim and earns a place on “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno’s desk.

1999
Shure Brothers Incorporated is officially renamed Shure Incorporated.

1999
Shure Asia Limited is opened in Hong Kong to serve Distribution Centers and distributors throughout Asia and the Pacific Rim.

 

2000
Shure Incorporated celebrates 75th anniversary.

 

2000
Shure Communications Incorporated is established, a subsidiary for automotive and mobile communications applications.

 

2004
Following the successful introduction of its E Series Earphones to the mainstream consumer, Shure established the Personal Audio Business Unit to once again focus on the consumer electronics market.

 

2005
Shure opened two new facilities in China: a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Suzhou, and a sales and marketing office in Shanghai.