The Synthex was conceived and developed by independent Italian designer Mario Maggi, who then gained the financial backing of the Elka company of Italy, who produced the synthesizer from 1981 to 1985. Elka, a company more noted for its organs, had previously introduced their Rhapsody 490, 610 string machine, the monophonic Solist 505 and the big combo organ/synth X-705. A total of 1,850 units were produced. Today is a highly sought-after instrument which recently reached quotations around 8,000 GBP. It was succeeded by the Elka EK-22 (based on the CEM3396 chip which was also featured in e.g. Oberheim's Matrix line of synthesizers) and the Elka EK-44 (based on Yamaha's 4-OP FM).