The AES recognizes and honors those who have made outstanding contributions to the field of audio in engineering, technology, service, and the arts through its Awards Program.
In 1953, Edward C. Wente was presented with the AES Honorary Membership Award for his research and inventions related to acoustics and acoustical instruments; with special reference to their application to the transmission, recording and reproduction of speech and music; developmented the condenser microphone, the first really high-quality transmitter.