Audioquest History Established In 1980 By Founder Bill Low

Cart Summary

	Your Cart is Empty
	View Cart

Browse By

Online Store
Brand Stores
	AcousTech
	Acoustic Research
	Aesthetix
	AKG
	AktiMate
	Alesis
	Allsop
	American Recorder
	Apollo
	April Music
	Artemis Labs
	Audia Flight
	Audience
	Audio Power
	Audio-Technica
	Audioengine
	Audion
	Audioquest
		Audioquest Interconnects
		Audioquest Speaker Cables
		Audioquest Subwoofer Cables
		Audioquest Tonearm Cables
		Audioquest Digital Cable
		Audioquest HDMI Cable: Digital Audio/Video Cables
		Audioquest Video Cables
		Audioquest YIQ Component Video Cables
		Audioquest Fiber Optic Cables
		Audioquest IEC Power Cables
		Audioquest C7 Power Cables
		Audioquest 1/8" to 2 RCAs
		Audioquest 3.5mm to 3.5mm Mini Cables
		Audioquest Adapters & Accessories
		Audioquest Audio Connectors
		Audioquest USB Cables
		Audioquest IEEE-1394 (Firewire or i.Link) Cables
		Audioquest History
		Audioquest Interview
		Audioquest FAQ
	Bags Unlimited
	Belkin
	Bellari
	Benz Micro
	Bostik
	Bright Star
	Caig Labs
	Califone
	Cambridge Audio
	Cardas
	Cartridge Man
	CEntrance
	Chesky
	Clearaudio
	Coby
	Cortex
	Creek Audio
	Crosley
	Denon 100th Anniversary
	Denon
	Digital Innovations
	Digital Systems
	Disc Doctor
	Discwasher
	Dual
	Dynavector
	EAR
	EAT
	Epos Loudspeakers
	Feickert
	Finite Elemente
	Fosgate
	Furutech
	Gemini
	Goldenote
	Goldring
	Grado Labs
	Graham
	Gruv Glide
	GutWire
	Harman Kardon
	Harmonic Technology
	Harmonix
	Helius
	Herron Audio
	Hi-Fi News
	Highwire Audio
	HRT
	Hunt
	iKey Audio
	Ion
	JA Michell Engineering
	Jensen
	Jolida
	KAB USA
	Kanto
	Kimber Kable
	Koetsu
	Kontak
	Koss
	l'art du son
	LAST
	Lehmann Audio
	LKG
	London Decca
	Lyra
	M2TECH
	Michael Fremer
	Milty
	MIT
	Mobile Fidelity
	Molly
	Monster Cable
	Mordaunt-Short
	Mullard
	Music Hall
	Musical Fidelity
	Musical Surroundings
	Nagaoka
	Nitty Gritty
	Novus
	Numark
	Okki Nokki
	Onzow
	Oracle
	Origin Live
	Ortofon
	Osage Audio
	Peachtree
	Philips
	Phoenix Gold
	Primare
	Pro-Ject Audio
	Quadraspire
	Rane
	RCA
	Rega
	Rek-o-kut
	Ringmat
	Rogue Audio
	Roksan
	Salamander Designs
	Sanus
	Sennheiser
	Shelter
	Sherwood
	Shure
	Smart
	SME
	Sonneteer
	Sony
	Sota
	Soundsmith
	Spin Clean
	Stanton
	Stillpoints
	Sumiko
	Tara Labs
	Target Hifi
	Teac
	Technics DJ
	The Funk Firm
	Thorens
	Tung-Sol
	Ultimate Analogue
	Ultralink
	Vestax
	Vibrapod
	Vincent Audio
	WBT
	Whest
	ZYX
Closeouts
New
Top Sellers
Links
Help
Contact
Learn

Email Registration

Social Nets

Special Offers

Audioquest History

HISTORY

AudioQuest was not so much founded as it was evolved. When Bill Low created
AudioQuest in 1980 it was really just a small variation of the audio
activities he had started in 1972.

During high school and early college, Bill had struggled to have the best
audio system he could. He had built dozens of Heathkit and Dynakit
amplifiers, preamps and tuners for classmates. Each US$10 or $15 he earned
building kits went to buy records or to upgrade to a better piece of used
equipment.

While at college in Oregon, Bill realized that instead of simply offering
audio component recommendations to other students, he should sell the
equipment. His small appointment-only business evolved from selling BSR
turntables and Hitachi receivers in 1972, to Linn Sondek, Radford, Celestion
and Yamaha (first dealer in the Northwest) in 1974. In 1975 his little shop
was the largest Linn Sondek dealer in the US.

By 1976, with college long over, the urge to move to California was
irresistible. The retail business was passed on to a friend and Bill set
himself up as a manufacturers¹ representative in northern California, an
especially conservative market. Dealers were fond of saying: "If I don't
already carry it, I obviously don't need it." It was difficult to even get a
chance to demonstrate the superb equipment Bill was representing, which
included Decca, Audionics, Koss Electrostatic, AEA, Dunlap Clarke, and
Celestion among others.

During visits to southern California, Bill learned that the two markets were
very different. The standard answer from the southern dealers was: "Sure,
bring it in and let¹s listen." So, in 1977 Bill moved south. Unfortunately,
the combination of open-minded dealers and excellent equipment (Cizek,
Decca, RAM, Koss Electrostatic, RH Labs, PSE, Ariston, Armstrong, Rogers,
Chartwell) still didn't work. The truth was (and is) that Bill was just
plain not good at selling! He never became a professional salesperson, he
never learned how to sell other peoples' products.

After six years inside the audio business, both as a retail proprietor and a
manufacturers¹ representative, Bill once more started a by-appointment-only
store out of his living room in Santa Monica. This time Bill made one small
but very important decision Š he decided to make custom audio cable for
his store.

Audio cable became a visible subject in the US in 1976 when Polk Audio
introduced a Japanese sourced cable under the name Cobra Cable. This high
capacitance/low inductance litz cable encouraged some amplifiers into
self-destruction, but it usually made systems sound better. By 1978, Polk,
Bob Fulton, and Jonas Miller Sound had made audio cable an important subject
for those at the leading edge of audio.

Since the 1960s, Bill had appreciated the advantages of using better than
average cable. In 1977 Bill bought a spool of the 12 awg lamp cord that Noel
Lee (future "Head Monster") was selling to his dealers in northern
California (Bill and Noel used to sub-rep each other's lines in the two
California territories). In 1978, Bill and another small retailer cooperated
in ordering a custom-made twisted pair litz speaker cable. In some ways Bill
is embarrassed to remember this cable which he refers to as "original
recipe" Š it had 435 strands per conductor and didn't use very good copper.
However, as a starting point it was really very good. It clearly
outperformed the Fulton Gold cable that was considered top-of-the-hill at
that time. It was spiraled and it did not have any electrical contact
between bare strands.

More Audioquest History