DDA

David Dearden and Gareth Davies met while working at Soundcraft in the 1970s. They left together to found Dearden-Davies Associates in 1980. Before DDA, Dearden had built custom consoles for John Lennon (Ascot Sound Studios), George Harrison, and Ringo Starr — and worked at Advision Studios with studio designer Eddie Veale. After Klark Teknik acquired DDA in 1986 for £2 million, Dearden also designed the Midas XL200 and developed the initial concept for the Midas Heritage H1000.

DDA consoles were valued for their exceptional noise floor and a punchy quality in the low-midrange that distinguished them from both the British and American alternatives. The DCM232 was their SSL competitor — an inline console with computer automation for under $200,000. The QMR became the instrument through which Nicky Ryan created the entire sonic world of Enya. After DDA was absorbed into the Klark Teknik/Midas group, Dearden and Davies founded Audient in 1997 — carrying the same engineering DNA directly into the ASP8024.