Peavey Electronics is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Hartley Peavey received his first patent for a unique speaker enclosure in 1964. However, it wasn’t until after graduating college that he founded Peavey Electronics Corporation in 1965.
What started as a one-man shop above his father’s ex-music store grew into one of the largest independently owned manufacturers in the music and sound industry. Hartley said, "In order to be better, by definition you must be different."
Peavey’s has created more than 180 patents worldwide with new patents now in process. Peavey went from a one-man startup to a major manufacturer by adhering to Hartley’s prime directive: “top-notch gear at a fair price”.
Peavey led the charge in the evolution of power amplifiers, as the first company to break the “dollar per watt threshold” with the CS 800. Peavey’s revolution in power amp technology continued in 2010 with the introduction of IPR switching power amplifiers. IPRs used advanced class D designs that allowed Peavey engineers to reduce weight while increasing output power, reliability and thermal efficiency—starting at 2,000 watts at under 7 lbs.
Hartley’s frustration with high-end loudspeaker suppliers resulted in Peavey designing its own ranges of high-performance pro loudspeakers. Its Black Widow and Scorpion speakers have the feature of field replaceable baskets/voice coil assemblies. This exclusive feature enables the user to eliminate expensive and tedious reconing while preserving factory specifications.
The MediaMatrix system was launched in 1993. MediaMatrix was the first digitally configured and controlled audio networking system that is now used in over 10,000 commercial installations globally, including many international airports, casinos, cruise ships, and other large pro applications.
Peavey is now one of the largest makers and suppliers of musical instruments, amplifiers, and professional audio systems in the world—distributing more than 2,000 products in 136 countries.