The Neutrik XLR / ¼-inch Combo connector has been inducted into the NAMM TECnology Hall of Fame, as voted on by a panel of audio experts including authors, educators, engineers, and other professionals.
The award honors “innovations that have made a significant contribution to the advancement of audio technology and production,” according to the announcement.
The TECnology Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be Saturday, Jan. 18 at 4 p.m. in the NAMM Member Center inside the Anaheim Convention Center.
Introduced in 1992, the Neutrik Combo connector is a hybrid panel-mount connector combining a three-pole XLR receptacle with a mono or stereo ¼-inch phone jack.
Neutrik’s Combo connector “saves valuable real estate on today’s I/O-packed equipment and simplifies hookups with no compromise in quality,” according to the company announcement.
Today’s Neutrik Combo I series and Combo A series chassis connectors are used as inputs on devices such as mixers, active stage boxes, powered loudspeakers and computer audio interfaces and are available in a wide variety of normalling and termination versions.
Neutrik to TECnology Hall of Fame
TECnology Hall of Fame founder and Front of House editor George Petersen praised the inclusion of Neutrik’s Combo connectors into the TECnology Hall of Fame.
“The Neutrik Combo I Series connector launched exactly when an explosion of low-cost project studio and live performance consoles and loudspeakers were hitting the market and it made a profound impact in terms of how sound is created and reproduced,” he said in the announcement.
“Equally impressive is the fact that this connector remains extremely popular and is still in use every day—27 years after its debut,” said Petersen.
Neutrik USA product director Fred Morgenstern reflected on the inclusion of the Combo I Series in this year’s TECnology Hall of Fame class.
“Everyone in the Neutrik organization is very proud of the induction of our Combo connectors into NAMM’s TECnology Hall of Fame,” he said. “These really are brilliant devices which were outrageously innovative at the time they were introduced. They took the market by storm, and they changed pro audio forever.
“We are also extremely proud that, with this honor, Neutrik has become the first and only connector manufacturer with two products in the Hall of Fame. This speaks volumes about Neutrik’s innovation,” said Morgenstern.
