Milab Microphones Files for Bankruptcy

Helsingborg, Sweden (August 18, 2025)—Swedish microphone manufacturer Milab filed for bankruptcy on August 11; Helsingborg District Court has appointed Ackordcentralen Syd AB as the bankruptcy trustee.

In a thread on Milab’s Facebook page, Milab marketing manager Mattias Strömberg noted that no information was as yet available regarding future customer support and later added, “The bankruptcy trustee has already taken control of the company, so nothing will be sold from the factory unless there is a future auction or if someone buys the whole estate. However, some distributors may have a bit of stock. Reach out to our (former) US distributor, Independent Audio. I believe they have some mics on hand. But please note that they will be sold without warranty.”

Pearl MiIkrofonlaboratorium was founded in 1941 in Stockholm by Rune Rosander, and made a name for itself when it introduced the first rectangular mic capsule in the 1950s. When the company began exploring world markets in the late 1970s/early 80s, it created a second brand, Milab, to bring its mics to international markets. The two brands quickly became separately led companies, however, and MiLab microphones caught on overseas with high-profile fans like Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones (Milab garnered a ‘thanks’ in the liner notes of 1991’s Dangerous album). The ever sonically aware Grateful Dead also used Milab vocal mics in the 1980s and 90s, and later Dead spinoffs reportedly used LSR-3000 mics live in the mid-2010s.

Discover more important stories—get a free Mix SmartBrief subscription!

Pearl was acquired by Milab in 2017, and is part of the bankruptcy estate. The bankruptcy comes less than a year after Milab and Pearl moved into a new building in Helsingborg, Sweden that had been customized to meet the two brands’ R&D needs—an effort that included outfitting the facility with an IAC Acoustics anechoic chamber.