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Harman/Kardon is a division of Harman International Industries and manufactures home and car audio equipment. It was founded in 1953 by Sidney Harman and Bernard Kardon.〔McFadden, R.D. (''Sidney Harman, Newsweek Chairman, Is Dead at 92.'' ), ''The New York Times'', 13 April 2011.〕 == History == In the early 1950s, Sidney Harman was the general manager of the David Bogen Company, a leading manufacturer of public address systems at the time, while Bernard Kardon was the chief engineer for the same company. Due to management changes at Bogen in the early 1950s, both men resigned, and with $5,000 investment from each, formed the Harman Kardon Company in 1953. In the 1950s Harman Kardon designed some of the first high fidelity audio products that helped fuel the Hi Fi business (see section, "Receiver milestones"). Integrated receivers (combining the tuner, preamplifier and power amplifier) was an idea to introduce and provide high fidelity performance in a single unit. At the time, integrated high fidelity receivers were not new. For example, Scott Radio Laboratories manufactured such items in the late 1930s. In 1954, the Festival D1000 would be the world's first AM/FM Compact (a forerunner of today's integrated receiver) Hi-Fi Receiver. By 1956 Bernard Kardon decided to retire and sold his interest to Sidney Harman. As the sole head of HK, he continued to keep HK as a technical leader in Hi Fi products. Sidney Harman would change the name to Harman International, but the receivers, tuners and amplifiers were still branded Harman Kardon. The name continues presently. In 1969 Harman bought the major speaker manufacturer JBL. Harman was a supporter in Jimmy Carter's bid to become President of the United States. When Carter became President, he appointed Harman to be the Undersecretary of Commerce in 1976. US law required appointees to have no direct business interests in day-to-day activities, so Harman sold Harman International to Beatrice Foods, a large conglomerate for $100 million. Under Beatrice Foods, Harman International turned away from the company's earlier policy of advancing Hi Fi design and marketing that appealed to audiophiles. Under the new style of management by 1980 Harman International sales had dropped 40%. After the Carter presidency, Harman wanted to regain ownership of Harman International. In 1980 he purchased Harman International from Beatrice Foods for $55 million. However, the receiver group was not included in the purchase because Beatrice Foods previously sold the group to the Japanese company Shin Shirasuna. The Harman Kardon receiver group was the heart of Harman International, and in 1985 he was able to purchase the receiver group and return Harman International to its pre-1976 form. Harman retired from Harman International in 2007 at the age of 88. At that time he hired technology executive Dinesh Paliwal to succeed him as CEO. Sidney Harman died in 2011. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Harman Kardon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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