The year 1949 was significant in many ways. The radiocarbon dating process was discovered; RCA launched the 45 rpm record format; 12 nations signed the defense treaty creating the NATO alliance; the Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta’s major race wins established that company as a leader in high-performance automobiles; and in the Northern Italian town of Reggio Emilia, three passionate engineers founded RCF Audio.
The “RCF” name came from the names of its founders (signori Rossi, Campari and Ferrari), with its heritage rooted in the relentless pursuit of superior sound quality and technological advancement, something that continues to this day.
The Beginnings
One of RCF’s first products was a ribbon microphone, sold under its own brand as well as OEM’d to other companies. Offering high performance at a reasonable price, it was an immediate hit with studio, broadcast and live sound users. Other microphone models soon followed and by the 1960s, RCF had 20 different microphones in its catalog.
From the early days, RCF established a fully integrated approach that keeps R&D, manufacturing, and distribution within a single facility, thus allowing RCF to rapidly turn ideas into market-ready solutions. This vertical integration model — still in operation today — gives the company an unparalleled competitive edge in quality, reliability and value.
In the 1950s, RCF began designing and producing precision transducers for the professional applications. The company gained international recognition in the 1970s for its high-power transducers, which met the growing demands of the expanding concert industry. RCF quickly became one of the pioneering entities in this space, supplying precision 12”, 15” and 18” woofers and HF compression drivers to major brand speaker manufacturers in the USA and Europe, continuing today as a world leader in this niche.
In the 1970s, RCF had created a line of hi-fi speakers and amplifiers. A standout was the BR 40, which remained on the market for several decades — an impressive run for any consumer audio product. RCF’s international sales expanded throughout the 1980s and during that decade the company again broke new ground, launching a line of carbon-fiber car speakers.
The Turbulent 1990’s
In 1990, rather than simply providing transducers to other speaker companies, RCF entered the professional speaker market with its own brand. An enormous success, 1996’s ART 300-A was one of the first portable, active, two-way composite material loudspeakers, providing road-tough durability, high-output, light weight and exceptional sound quality.
The pro audio environment became turbulent in the late-1990s, particularly with a spate of company acquisitions throughout the industry driven by venture capital groups, and RCF was acquired by Mackie Designs / Loud Audio in 1998. Although there were some synergies between the two companies — mainly in terms of RCF component and loudspeaker design / manufacturing — the fit wasn’t really right, and in 2003, RCF shareholders re-acquired the company under independent Italian ownership. Ironically, in 2018 RCF acquired American P.A. manufacturer Eastern Acoustic Works (which had a long history of using RCF speaker components) from the Loud Audio group, and EAW has successfully operated as a separate division of RCF ever since.
Moving Forward
Today, in addition to EAW, the RCF Group of companies includes RCF, TT+ Audio, dB Technologies and Montarbo. RCF distributes products directly in the United States, France, Germany, Benelux, Spain and the United Kingdom, plus a network of over 120 trusted professional distributors throughout the rest of the world.
RCF’s versatile product portfolio includes everything from installation-grade speaker systems to portable P.A. solutions and large-scale line array technologies. Flagship offerings like TT+ Audio’s new GTX series redefine new standards for clarity, control, and setup speed in demanding touring and fixed install environments.
Certainly, systems such as TT+ Audio’s GTX family may steal the spotlight. Yet products that form the backbone of RCF’s pro audio speaker offerings — including the portable, active ART Series (now in its 9th generation), the EVOX Series of turnkey portable column array systems, and HDL Line Arrays (providing first-class performance to an extended market of professional users) — offer solid audio tools for pro applications. As an example, the HDL 20-A 1,400-watt, double-10” line array in a composite material enclosure, weighs just 67 pounds. Launched in 2012 and still in production, is the single most-sold product in RCF’s history. And RCF’s commercial audio division meets the needs for building installs, from offices and retail to stadiums.
To serve the latter market, RCF’s new Business Music Series take a new approach, with the premium CMR-S 60T ceiling subwoofer and PMR 60T pendant speakers that merge elegant aesthetics with powerful audio, ideal for professional settings requiring discreet yet strong sound solutions.
For extreme power in professional applications, in 2024 RCF unveiled its active SUB 9019-AS and 9029-AS subwoofers that deliver unmatched performance. RCF has always kept its pulse on the needs of the touring market, and the new powered 8,000-watt, 9029-AS sub is an excellent example of that trend. The 9029-AS pairs two long-excursion 19” woofers that provide solid dual-21” punch from a smaller, road-ready form factor with new patent-pending features.
At the same time, RCF continues to advance system control to optimize loudspeaker performance. The latest RDNet 5 Sound System Management and Control Software, boosts audio management performance with streamlined workflows, improved device discovery, and sophisticated UI enhancements including advanced EQ visualization and real-time FFT analysis.
But it doesn’t end there. Beyond products, RCF provides full-cycle support capabilities to integrators, engineers and end-users. RCF’s in-house acoustics team, RCF Engineering Support Group, assists with complex design projects, while its Audio Academy shares applied knowledge with the global pro audio community.
Back to the Future
This solid technical expertise, built on 75 years of history, its modern manufacturing facility, and continuous technological improvement make RCF a fundamental reference for all audio professionals and enthusiasts.
“I am proud to lead a company with such a rich heritage and bright future. There is no way I can’t be filled with pride for what we have achieved together as RCF over these past years and all that is still to come,” comments company CEO Arturo Vicari.
So, congratulations to RCF on its 75th anniversary. Here’s to 75 more!
For more info, visit RCF at www.rcf.it.
