Turtle Beach Corporation
American gaming accessory manufacturer known for headsets and audio.
Turtle Beach Corporation, which operates under the Turtle Beach brand, is an American company that makes gaming accessories. Its headquarters are in San Diego, California. The business traces back to the 1970s, when it originally developed sound cards, MIDI synthesizers, audio software, and network audio devices. It began producing gaming headsets in 2005.
The company’s earliest roots go back to 1975, when Carmine Bonanno founded Octave Electronics in Queens, New York. This entity later became Octave-Plateau and then Voyetra Technologies. Separately, Roy Smith and Robert Hoke founded Turtle Beach Softworks in 1985. Octave created the Cat Synthesizer in 1976, and after becoming Octave Plateau in 1979, it released the Voyetra Eight Synthesizer. The company also developed early music software for the IBM PC, including one of the first music sequencer programs, Sequencer Plus. In 1986, the company renamed itself Voyetra Technologies, left the synthesizer business, and focused on music software. Voyetra was part of the original MIDI standard group and created drivers and software for nearly all sound card manufacturers in the early 1990s. In 1996, Voyetra Technologies bought Turtle Beach Systems, renamed itself Voyetra Turtle Beach, and concentrated on sound cards and music composition software.
Turtle Beach Systems’ first product was a graphical editing system for the Ensoniq Mirage sampling keyboard, called "Vision." The Mirage was the first low-cost sampling device that let musicians play realistic sounds. Ensoniq sold Vision through its dealers, making Turtle Beach Softworks profitable. In 1988, Turtle Beach Systems started work on its first hardware product, a hard disk–based audio editing system. Released in 1990 as the "56K digital recording system," it was among the first of its kind. In 1990, the company developed its second PC sound card, "MultiSound," which featured high-quality A/D and D/A converters, a synthesizer from eMu, and an onboard DSP chip. It competed with products from Advanced Gravis, Ad Lib, Creative Labs, and Media Vision. CCRMA’s Music Kit and DSP Tools, originally for the NeXTcube, were later ported to NeXTSTEP using Turtle Beach Fiji/Pinnacle DSP cards.
In December 1996, Integrated Circuit Systems sold Turtle Beach Systems to Voyetra Technologies in Yonkers, New York.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Gaming
- Founded
- in Queens, New York
- Founders
- Carmine Bonanno, Fred Romano, Robert Hoke · Roy Smith
- Traded As
- TBCH / Russell 2000 component
- Hq Location City
- San Diego, California
- Hq Location Country
- U.S.
- Key People
- Terry Jimenez (chairman) · Cris Keirn(CEO) · Mark Weinswig (CFO)
- Industry
- Consumer electronics · Gaming accessories
- Products
- Gaming headsets, game controllers, gaming keyboards, flight simulation, race simulation
- Revenue
- $234.7 million (2019) · $287.4 million (2018)
- Net Income
- $235,000,000 USD
- Subsidiaries
- Roccat, Neat Microphones, Performance Designed Products, Victrix
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Turtle Beach Corporation has roots dating back to 1975, when Carmine Bonanno founded Octave Electronics in Queens, New York. The company evolved through several names—Octave-Plateau, Voyetra Technologies—and was known for synthesizers like the Cat Synthesizer and Voyetra Eight, as well as early music software for the IBM PC. In 1985, Turtle Beach Softworks was founded by Roy Smith and Robert Hoke, and its first product was a graphical editing system for the Ensoniq Mirage sampling keyboard called Vision. In 1996, Voyetra Technologies acquired Turtle Beach Systems, forming Voyetra Turtle Beach, which sold millions of sound cards to Dell and other PC manufacturers in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
In 2005, the company released its first Ear Force gaming headset, the AXP, and gradually shifted focus from sound cards to gaming headsets. By 2007, it had released wireless and surround sound headset models for Xbox 360, PC, and Wii. In 2010, Stripes Group acquired a majority position. In 2014, Turtle Beach merged with Parametric Sound Corporation, changed its name to Turtle Beach Corporation, and moved its headquarters to San Diego. The company has since expanded into other gaming accessories, including keyboards, mice, and simulator controllers under the VelocityOne brand, and acquired Roccat GmbH in 2019 and Performance Designed Products in 2024.
Reader's Guide
Turtle Beach's significance lies in its long history in audio technology, from pioneering sound cards and MIDI software in the 1970s and 1980s to becoming a leading brand in gaming headsets after 2005. The company's early work with the Ensoniq Mirage and the MultiSound sound card placed it among competitors like Creative Labs and Ad Lib. Its transition to headsets capitalized on the growing gaming market, and by 2018, the Stealth 600 was the best-selling Xbox One gaming headset. Turtle Beach's partnerships with esports organizations such as OpTic Gaming and Astralis, and its acquisition of Roccat and PDP, have solidified its position in the gaming peripheral industry. The company's legacy includes its role in the MIDI standard, its influence on PC audio, and its sustained relevance through console and PC gaming headset innovation.
Did You Know?
- The company's first hardware product was the 56K digital recording system, released in 1990.
- In 2014, Turtle Beach merged with Parametric Sound Corporation and began trading under the ticker symbol HEAR.
- The Stealth 600 headset was the best-selling Xbox One gaming headset in 2018.
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