When RCA's microphone division was shuttered in 1976, AEA founder Wes Dooley took to the task of setting up a service center in Pasadena, CA to repair these mics for the numerous Hollywood studios that owned them. 20 years later, AEA was manufacturing 100% of the components necessary for the 44BX and parlayed that into releasing their own microphones. As of 2015, it is estimated that more than half of all movie and television scoring done in Los Angeles features at least one AEA R44C somewhere on the recording.

Essentially, the AEA R44C is an exact replica of the RCA 44BX, right down to the NOS ribbon material. Every single individual piece of the R44C can be used on a 44BX and vice versa. The AEA version adopted a BBC modification that slightly reduced the microphones weight and hum-sensitivity.

A slightly higher output version, the R44CX, is also available. It increases the potential output by 6dB with a different motor for the ribbon.