- A story of Persistence, Ingenuity, and Customization
At GRAS Sound & Vibration, innovation runs in our DNA. For decades, we’ve been pushing the limits of what’s technically possible in acoustic measurement — not just to break records, but to meet real, specific needs of engineers, designers, and researchers around the world.
One of the best examples of this spirit is the story of our 1/16” microphone, as told by Per Rasmussen, son of our founder Gunnar Rasmussen: “Back when my father developed his first measurement microphone, it was a 1-inch microphone. But to accurately determine its free-field response, you needed a smaller — yet equally precise — microphone. This sparked the development of the ½-inch microphone. That quickly became a success, replacing many 1-inch microphones in use. Then came the need to characterize the ½-inch microphones, and again, a smaller reference microphone was required. That led to the ¼-inch microphones. The pattern repeated with the ⅛-inch microphones
For many years, it was my father’s dream to repeat the process one more time — to create a 1/16-inch microphone. But it was a massive challenge, mainly because the preamplifier technology of the time simply couldn’t support a microphone that small.”
For years, the dream of a 1/16” microphone remained just that — a dream. But innovation is often a matter of timing as much as talent. `The breakthrough finally came when our colleague Kresten Marbjerg succeeded in developing a reliable ⅛-inch preamplifier. That opened the door to the next step: a 1/16” microphone that could be paired with a preamplifier capable of driving it properly. With this new technology, Gunnar set to work on the designs, bringing his long-held vision to life.
At the same time, a customer approached GRAS with a very specific request: they needed to measure the acoustic field around a scale model at extremely high frequencies. It was a perfect match — an opportunity to develop a highly specialized, customized solution optimized for this unique application.
And so, as with so many of our innovations at GRAS, the 1/16” microphone was born at the intersection of curiosity, technical excellence, and customer-driven customization.
Now a Firmly Embedded Part of GRAS’ Quality Culture
Today, the 1/16” microphone stands as a testament to our heritage: never stopping at what’s already possible, but always asking, “what if?”.
It’s a reminder that the smallest solutions often make the biggest difference.
If you’re working on a highly specialized acoustic challenge, we’re here to help — just like we’ve done since Gunnar’s very first designs.
Get in touch to discuss your project.
Because at GRAS, no problem is too small
— and no idea too ambitious.
