Listen Again
Welcome to the Monitor Audio Group podcast where we do a deep dive into the world of high-fidelity audio and everything in-between. In each episode we will bring together industry experts, audiophiles, listeners and musicians to explore the latest trends and technologies in the world of sound.
Listen Again
Crafting A Legacy
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Every brand has a story but some stories are built on decades of innovation, craft, and a relentless pursuit of better sound.
In this episode of the Listen Again podcast, Monitor Audio Group CEO Rob Barford and Technical Director Michael Hedges take us behind the scenes of Monitor Audio Group, tracing the company’s journey from its early foundations to the global audio brand it is today.
They share how the brand’s identity was shaped, the milestones that defined each era, and the philosophy that continues to drive its evolution. From breakthrough technologies to bold new ventures, this episode explores what it takes to build a legacy in high‑performance audio and what’s coming next.
Hear the vision. Learn the craft. Get a glimpse of the future of Monitor Audio Group.
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Learn more about Monitor Audio Group: monitoraudio.com roksan.com blokhifi.com
Listen Again is a Monitor Audio Group podcast hosted by Michael Johnson
Produced by Emily Beale - Recorded by Matt Miller - Edited by Ryan Keeble
© Monitor Audio Group
Welcome to Listen Again, the Monas Audio Group Podcast. In today's episode, I talk to Monas Audio Group CEO and technical director Robert Barford and Michael Hedges. Good, excellent. So today's episode is all about Monas Audio Group, and we are going to explore the depths of the brand over, well, well over 50 years now. We're going to talk about the three brands within the group and try to, I guess, provide a little bit of insight into why we do what we do and how we do that. So without further ado, I've got a long list of questions here, but I'm sure we'll probably go off piste a few times and you know dive into all sorts of stuff. But let's get the party started with the first question. So, Rob, I'm going to ask you to tell us a little bit about Monitor Audio Group. Where did it come from? How has it come to fruition? And what does it look like today? Just so the audience can kind of get an idea of who we are.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, sure. So Monitor Audio was born out of the 70s, when when music and and you know great artists and the reproduction of music really was was was was coming on. And you know, that we're we're one of a number of great British audio brands which which came out came out of the came out of the universities. Ourselves coming out of Cambridge, it was started by Mo Ickbale, who had a passion for engineering and and and music and creating monitor speakers. So he he went off and started designing out of the sort of a shed.
SPEAKER_02Like say many of these great British audio brands actually did, right, at the time.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's right. And and and you know, we we could list them, a lot of them are still here today, some some have fallen away. But um uh monitor audio has had had a long life now for 53 years. Um Mo departed the business circa 25 years ago. And um, but Monitor Audio has continued, and and Monitor Audio has a passion for making audio experiences, and that's evolved over the years from where we've seen you know turntables through to um now streaming and and it's moved from digital to analogue, and and but the passion for music and and and and sound stays the same. Um and the the monitor audio is rich in history with that.
SPEAKER_02So we we were started in Cambridge in 1972, weren't we? And there were three sites for monitor audio. Um there they were, as I rem, as I recall from the history books, because we weren't there, was that the drive units were being made in London, the cabinets were made here, sort of very close to this site in South End in Rayleigh, and the head office was in Cambridge, and I believe, so the story goes, was that they were sort of doing an awful lot of logistics between these three places and they wanted to consolidate. And where we are in Rayleigh was a hub of cabinet manufacturing, it was where there was a lot of woodworking skill sets, and I think the decision was that they would try to move the business to the largest part of the product and consolidate everything here. So the site that we're on now is what about 67,000 square feet? It's where we were manufacturing speakers, and we'll I think we'll we'll touch on hyphen no doubt later. Um but they they they moved all the the actual manufacturing element into this site, and Michael, you'll probably say, well, in 1998, I think production ended here in terms of us hand building the the products, but essentially um we consolidated and now we're on the same site as we were. I think when we moved to this site in 1976, didn't we? I think.
SPEAKER_01I mean from from what I've been told, I mean we we've had people umette Hallonia left us last year, worked for us for 44 years. So so you know, we're we're working with sort of the primary source there, it's not not secondary sources. So this is this is real information. And um, yeah, the the most difficult thing on the consolidation was was was was the importance of the trade of real making real wood cabinets. And you know, whilst that's not done here anymore, and of course Rochford Hockley Radio was was you know, South Essex was rich in in carpentry and and those skills, whilst we don't make them here anymore, uh and as you said, we'll touch on hyphen. Um we still are one of the only manufacturers producing real wood cabinets, um, and that's been true to Monitor Audio in its 53-year history. Um and your your team does it, Mike.
SPEAKER_00So um yeah, I mean we've obviously moved loudspeaker cabinet construction across to China, and we've got a team out there that ensure that we carry that heritage on of uh amazing craftsmanship and uh quality control.
SPEAKER_02Uh it's just uh because that is a huge brand USP, isn't it? I mean, Monitor Audio over the decades has been well known for the quality of its its craftsmanship with the the cabinetry of the the loudspeakers, and of course that grounds us here in Essex. And more recently, Monitor Audio has become a group, and we've added two further brands. We've got Roxanne and we've got Block. Now, Roxanne, um, but well perhaps you can, Michael, tell us tell us more, tell our audience a little bit more about Roxanne and Block if you don't mind.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so um we added Roxanne to our group of uh companies um what about seven, eight years ago now, six years ago? 2016. 2016 and it's been you know a journey of integrating that into the monitor audio team. We're one team though, so you know we have a team of electronics engineers and software engineers that develop those products along with our mechanical engineering and industrial design, uh, all under one roof in one in one office.
SPEAKER_02Um and that's in the the the the relatively new creative studio now, isn't it? So as part of the the the facilities here in Essex, we have you know our back end HQ office, our sales administration procurement um operations, we've got warehousing here, um, we've got a small production line, and we'll touch on that with a bit more of a focus uh later on in the discussion. And um we've got obviously marketing, sales administration.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, everything everything's in-house, Michael, as you know, and and um we pride ourselves on that. Um we have 30 to 40 staff working across RD, across all disciplines, you know, and and what's quite unique for us is is we don't outsource anything, you know. So all of the products, everything you see, everything you touch, everything you hear, is designed by Michael's team in the UK from our Pumble home here in Rain Essex.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and and that's obviously something that we're naturally very proud of. And that, um, as as Michael touched on, is something that we've extended to the likes of Roxanne and Block. So essentially the the ethos behind our product development is the same across all brands. I mean, could you expand slightly on that, um, Michael, and just explain sort of maybe let's let's let's explain sort of the the process of product development and you know some of the timescales and the things that are involved in that because it's it it is quite complex. We've established that we do everything in-house, which is um which is great. We've touched on a little bit of the production. Let's talk about the development side of things.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so I mean developing products is a complicated business. There's a lot of moving parts that you've got to make sure all come together at the end to make a reliable product that people love for life, really. So we do that in a quite methodical way. We've got a number of teams here. We've got an industrial design team, mechanical engineering, electronic software, acoustic engineering, and we've got production engineers and product engineers in China that support us with our manufacturers. That all comes together to give us uh a project plan effectively that takes us from that first concept.
SPEAKER_02You've touched on a really good point here, because I'm gonna go to like what consumers say about manufacturing in China, because we see a lot of negativity around that, don't we? I mean, we've we've you know, we've we've said earlier on that that monitor audio, if we focus on that brand, is very well known for its cabinetry, its quality of its cabinets. I would say actually, I mean, it's easy for me to say because I work in a company that that is that uh uh uh better than it's ever been and still being manufactured in in China. So can perhaps we could just sort of talk about that a little bit more because I think our consumers shouldn't be afraid that we manufacture in China. Um we have a team of what is it, eight or ten people out there in China at the moment? Yeah, including QC and engineering staff, yes. So we've got full continuity in terms of RD with a team over in China. We can ensure that we meet that that stringent and very tight quality control that we that we have in place by having that uh relationship with with the team in China, with the team, the R and uh the RD team here as well in the UK. Um and I mean obviously we have started to to to make some products here in the UK, um, which is a lovely story. And you know, there there is a there is something very nice about that. But could you explain perhaps, Michael, the the the the things that we do to ensure that we can continue that that that quality?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean first of all, we design everything in the UK with our industrial design team here, and we specify exactly what we want. And that's really the start of that journey. Uh, we go through a lengthy concept process, which I'm sure we'll talk about uh later today, uh, to make sure that that design is really hitting what the customer needs. But then from an engineering point of view, we take that to our own team in China, uh, who we have, a product engineering team out there. They go to some of the best suppliers in the world for wood cabinets. We're sourcing some of the best wood veneers for those cabinets, and we're making sure that the engineering processes used to deliver the quality there are refined and optimized to give us really, really consistent cabinet. So it's hard to make one cabinet really well. It's really hard to make a thousand cabinets the same. And so, really, there's a massive focus on how do we not just make one, but how do we make many. And that's what our QC team here, both in the UK and in China, enable us to do. And that's what our engineering teams are helping us engineer the products for quality and then check the products, meet that engineered for quality standard that we have. And we we constantly get told out there, you know, we've got some of the hardest QC standards in the industry to meet. Um, it does make it a challenge, but we're just not willing to bend and buckle on those. We really do think you know our product is seen as being a piece of craftsmanship, and we have to maintain that, and you only maintain that by keep pushing, uh keep pushing suppliers to be to be better and keep your quality control standards as high as you possibly can make them.
SPEAKER_02And and and that's also echoed with the facilities that we have here on site in in Essex, but also in China, where you actually have the same anachoic chambers, don't we? They are exactly the same, so that we can keep that level of continuity in terms of driver development and testing and things like that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's really important at every level. Whether it's checking something that's the right colour, so use a colorometer that's been calibrated to check it. You can do that in the UK through to light rooms where you can put a product in it and you can look at it. Um, that you have that continuity between the UK and China. So you can check something in the UK, you can check it in China, we can communicate really easily that what we're seeing is the same thing, and then we can make changes in data-driven steps moving forwards. So, you know, we're constantly moving forwards, and we're not making sort of subjective assessments on things, but we're giving quantifiable evidence as to why what we're seeing in the UK may be different to what is being seen by the other team. And uh that helps us drive development forward in really incremental steps, moving forwards to better and better things all the time.
SPEAKER_02Well, we we went slightly in detail then, slightly off base. So we were going to talk about sort of Roxanne and and block brand. So let's go back to that. So tell us a little bit about Roxanne. You know, either you know, let's let's go on there.
SPEAKER_01I mean, Roxanne is coming up to its 40th anniversary. Um, it was um came available uh as an acquisition back in 2016, and we saw that as a perfect synergy with Monitor Audio, and which which evidently then created the Monet Audio Group and in its current form. Um, and you know, it's perfect synergy for us. It's got a rich history, um, very much known for turntables back in the day, and it's being modernised now into uh more of a uh electronics brand for the connected consumer and the modern consumer. Um, with with with our relationship with Blue Sound and obviously more people streaming and consuming high-res audio. But but what we want to do is keep the integrity of the brand. So it's it is about high fidelity two-channel audio, and um, but it's about having fun. You know, there's a lot of things in in the electronics world which sort of restrict that thumb you get from an amplifier now. And um through John Green, our electronics design director has a rich history and working on you know in a number of um uh uh uh competitive brands, um uh he he's bringing um sort of the freedom autonomy to be able to design really cool, great sound in fun, vibrant boxes, and um that's been reflected in the reviews, certain, certainly around the Tessa and most recently in the um the recent launch of the new Caspian range.
SPEAKER_02That's really interesting. You touched on personality there because you could think, actually, how can there be a personality in a load of electronics? But certainly from a marketing perspective, which is the era that I'm involved in, one of the things that I could tell from the Roxanne brand was that there was quite a significant brand personality there, you know, like from their historic advertising, from the way that they named their products and you know, some of the finishes on the products, it was quite out there, it was quite rich gained.
SPEAKER_01The Persian heritage as well, which which comes through in the mailing and the branding. And I remember us having a conversation that that a lot a lot of the electronics brands, when when you look at them on on paper or in print or how to advertise were very black, white, silvers, a lot of tech specs. And with that Persian heritage, I I sort of said to you, why don't we funk funk this up and do something different and put a bit of colour around it and and and and make it stand out because it it stands out in its performance, so why shouldn't it stand out in its image?
SPEAKER_02It does, and actually, John was really robust, and I'm sure you're you can go a bit deeper on this, Michael. I remember having a discussion with him, and he was like, actually, I spent a lot of time with Caspian listening, the previous ranges, and there were parts of that product that he has maintained to ensure that that signature, if you want, the the performance of that particular product in the products that we're now making as part of our group are retained because there is a lot of global customers that love their Roxanne products, and we didn't want to dilute what was special about those original products, but we wanted to bring them up to date and into products that were, you know, that we that we were happy with. I mean, perhaps you could say a f a few words on that because I think that's that's really interesting, the fact that you could have something that you know it's not like driving a car that you but but is it actually? Because it's the performance element, isn't it? It's it's the playback of music in a certain way.
SPEAKER_00So maybe you can I think the key thing, we'll we'll touch into sort of like the transparent design philosophy a little bit later. But the key thing is that uh when we look at brands that were you know, adding them to the group, that Roxanne already shared all that DNA. So we're not like changing um Roxanne to try and m move it into. And it had a series of very key technologies that may not have been um fully marketed out and needed updating for a modern product. But we've taken, for example, the Caspian M2's power amplifier stage, and John, with his experience in the over the years, has been able to eke more performance out of it, but while but while maintaining its character and personality, and that's become Euphoria. And now this is a technology fit for the future that's been named and has a defined set of characteristics to it that we will now take on to new product and be able to use uh you know at different power levels and different levels of quality, but um, it's a scalable uh element.
SPEAKER_02And euphoria is the amplification platform, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yes, it's the name we've given to our power amplifier architecture, um and it's an amazing, amazing um sounding uh power amplifier, especially in its its Caspian guise. Um but you'll see that come into future products, and um yeah, it's really just building on that heritage. Roxanne's been known for really, really good analog integrated amplifiers, and the heart of those analog integrated amplifiers was effectively Euphoria, power amplifier architecture. Yes, we've we've taken it to the future, but really we haven't we're not we're not breaking it, and that's the key. So it's and you're just constantly coming back to making sure that we take what are great products, bringing them up fresh for the future for the new, you mentioned it earlier, the new connector consumer. Um giving them the tools, the keys that they need to enjoy their products and um and delivering that sound performance that we're all craving for as audio, you know, passionate audio people.
SPEAKER_01It's also also, I mean, if you look at how consumers are consuming music, obviously streaming is now massive, um, but you're seeing a resurgent synonym, even CDs, even the old tape deck. And Rock Sands, not forgetting its history there, as Michael mentioned, it's an analogue. Um it was always analogue first, you know, back in the day. And um it's but we're still delivering that. If you look at the the the Otessa range, which only launched two or three years ago, you've got a CD transport and an integrated amp plus a streamer, so it caters for all. And it's the same in the new Caspian range. There's an integrated, there's a um there's a streamer in there. So so it it it's trying to continue to stay true to its roots, giving people that those hybrid options to be able to consume their music.
SPEAKER_02One of the things that has come up a lot in the forums, particularly the the the owner forums of Roxanne, is the fact that we've potentially moved away from the the first product, the turntable, the Xerxes turntable, the thing that started the brand. And we we we have ceased production of turntables, haven't we? I mean, we're not beating around the bush because we're focusing on getting the electronics platforms right for today's connected consumer, as you rightly say. You know, that I think can we can we maybe discuss a little bit about the strategy around this? Because I think there's a lot of fans out there of the Xerxes of the Roxanne brand that are sort of questioning why we've done that. So perhaps we could just put a little bit of meat on that particular bone.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think um now, whilst we discontinue turntables today, I mean the the the options and future is always open. Um the Xerxes platforms, whilst they were they're amazing, they're incredibly engineered products, um, had come to the end of their lifespan. And um developing and distributing turntables globally is a big challenge. You know, there's a lot of moving mechanical parts and turntables which make it difficult difficult, especially in the US in particular, where boxes may not be as cared for from our friendly couriers. Um so it does make it a challenge. Um, and there's some great companies out there. We we you know, Riga's the projects, the LINS, they're amazing companies producing amazing touch. And it and it there's also this um uh group of sort of hobbyists who are who are doing very, very good high-end turntables. Um so what we've decided at this point in term time where we're going to invest our money, and and electronics is not cheap, is to focus on the the new modern kinetic consumers, bringing that um history and and heritage of Roxanne into a new way of listening to music. Um longer term, once we've got all of our ranges up and and to spec, we we we continue to look at our roadmap and it might be something that we reconsider, but we wouldn't want to do it and not do it justice. I think if if if Roxanne has a turntable in it, it needs to perform and and improve on what we had before. And and at this point, we we we felt that the investment would be wiser elsewhere in the short term. I think that's what I was gonna add, really.
SPEAKER_00You kind of covered it there, Rob was you know, if we're gonna do something, we're gonna do it really, really well. Um, and um that's really, really important to us. It drives every decision that we make through product development um and through the commercial aspects of looking at what products to do next and where to put our investment. We're gonna make sure we do products well if we do them.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. Oh, and that's a a brilliant segue into Block. So tell everyone about Block. What is it?
SPEAKER_01Well, Block's high-fired uh furniture, let's say to uh two channel furniture at currently, it might may evolve over over the years. It was a a business we we picked up from a a local guy called called Dan Dan Quill uh back in 2019, so just pre co. David and he he'd managed to set up and design a range of furniture and had reasonable success. Dan got to the point where where it it it needed to go to the next level, and um we acquired the business in in 2019, and obviously that that enables us to to sell it in the hundred plus countries which we sell in now. So it it opened block up. Um what's been great, and I'll let Michael come in on this bit next because it's his team who have designed the latest range, which launched in July this year. I think it was July, wasn't it? Um was to put our industrial design team uh around around what is actually a very, very um good platform to work off.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean that's the exciting thing that you know loudspeakers are partly furniture, but they also partly have another function, the sound quality. And we get all excited about sound quality. And there's no difference really with block, it's partly furniture and it's partly the system that brings this or shelves that brings the rest of your system together. It has a sound quality effect, it needs to hold your equipment securely and robustly, but it's also from an industrial design point of view an area where we can innovate. And you'll see on Stacks uh 2G, there's a a whole host of little innovations that just make it easier to use when it comes to levelling it, the special tools we've implemented.
SPEAKER_02No, it's not that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. And it but it but it has, but but it also provides a lifestyle element, and I think that's really important because you know, if you look at the market for hi-fi racks, they they can be a a bit of an ISO. Um, and I think you know, a lot of our homes are quite precious to us, post-COVID in particular, and we've invested lots of money in them, and it's they're supposed to be safe, nice spaces, and and and enjoyable spaces. So hi-fi can in a way be quite scary for some because it can look quite.
SPEAKER_02Well, it takes up quite a lot of real estate in in the people's lounges, spaces wherever they they they want to put it. And I think so. Going back to the industrial design element, um you're right. It had we we we looked at Stax 2G very much with two hats on, didn't we? We we looked at the acoustic performance element because we're a performance-first brand, but we also are very design focused and and we want to essentially make our products suitable to be sat in people's spaces and ideally blend, not not not not too much.
SPEAKER_01It gives you a compromise, doesn't it? Yeah. Well you know, you can go very hard on performance, but it could may look slightly um unappeasing to the eye.
SPEAKER_02And that will suit some, for sure. There'll there'll be people out there that that want to have the best sounding system, and they're not too worried about what that looks like because you know, for for for the hobbyists, the audio files out there, they are more interested in in the total performance of that system. And and and and that's that's wonderful. Um, but we've we've come from you know, with the design element of the block, very much in this this finding this this middle ground, if you will, this this nice, clean designs that will suit an interior, because I think consumers are more concerned with the presentation of, let's say, products in general in their in their in their spaces.
SPEAKER_01They want it to look and feel how they but when when you spend serious money on a system, and when we are talking even at even at our um earliest range, those at lowest ranges, if we say bronze, you know, you're spending significant money on a system, so you want that to perform and get the best performance out. So this just gives you the opportunities to to still have a great looking product and a great looking system, but but you know, not compromise on that performance.
SPEAKER_00I think just taking it on, you know, Stax 2G is the first piece of block furniture designed by Monitor Audio's industrial design team. With that, look at take look at the speakers, the full system, the speakers, the rack, the electronics in mind. But we've got more projects on the roadmap. We you know we're gonna be looking at how we can do furniture for hi-fi, and we're we're very, very focused on it's furniture for hi-fi, it's not home furniture, but um, we're gonna be focused on furniture for hi-fi and how we deliver those really unique bits of furniture that uh lift the audio experience, are there for people who are you know purchasing in this environment and support the rest of our products? So it's it's a really exciting little brand. And um I know the the industrial design team absolutely love working on a block product because it's it's something unique, and there isn't a huge amount of innovation in that market. You know, a stand is a stand, a shelf is a shelf, but it's not because it's treated like that, it people see it as a bit of a dead end, but it really isn't. When you actually open it up and you go, what could this be? Yeah, my goodness, there's a lot of scope in there. And so that's what I'm excited about. In the next 10 years for furniture, audio furniture, it's gonna be really exciting, it's gonna be really interesting, and there's I think a lot to do.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's very interesting. And this again nicely segues into the transparent design philosophy that we have here as an organization. Um we we we call it that because we when I first started back at the organisation a couple of years ago, we were talking around this subject a lot. And for me, I got quite excited about hang on, there must be a way that we can kind of distill this this excitement, this energy that's and the way that we do things here into a sort of a phrase that could explain it. And we discussed, didn't we, at length this and we uh eventually ended up with transparent design philosophy. Tell us uh what that is, uh, because it's so important, it's the DNA that glues everything together from a product perspective, but it also runs through the entire organization, doesn't it? Really, essentially. So let's let's let's talk about that a little bit in a bit more detail.
SPEAKER_00At its most fundamental level, it's about getting as close to the artistic intent as possible, really giving you an emotional connection to the music. But that emotional connection isn't just the listening, it encompasses every aspect of it, it encompasses the appearance of the product, how it sits within your room, uh it in the delivery, the support afterwards. And that's really why it becomes this holistic thing. Um, but it also is something that um because of the aim is so north star about it, it doesn't also tie us down to necessarily following our history all the time. So we are agile, we can look at new technologies that maybe get us closer to that intent and we can adopt them. Now we are known as being the Metal Cone Loudspeaker Company, the Morish Audio brand, and we have a massive uh history of that. And we we really are experts in delivering loudspeakers with metal cones, and it really is the best technology to use for loudspeakers. Um but what we what we're doing there is using the technology to get us to, or as close as we possibly can, to the artistic intent, that emotional connection to the music. We want you to sit down in front of your audio system and connect. And if we're not doing that, we've done something wrong. So everything we do is about that connection. From the visual impact, how it sits in your room, the speaker, uh the audio quality, how you connect it up. The whole process is about connecting.
SPEAKER_02And and how do you see it, Rob, from a uh as of a business commercial kind of proposition?
SPEAKER_01Because I think it comes back to the music again. I mean, a lot a lot of brands talk about their sound. Um manufacturers talk about their sound, and I think there's a maybe a bit of arrogance to that. I think um the artist is what the sound is about, you know, or or or from on the movie side, it it's the directors and and the producers who are carefully putting the soundtrack together to um hear that loud um explosion or or or hear those small little gunshots. It's um our job is to is to replicate that in its true truest possible form. And that's what the transparent design philosophy does. Um so it takes that sort of middleman arrogance. We are we are a facilitator of that. We are there to project that. And um how better than to do that to be transparent about and have a philosophy which has the full intent of achieving that, and give the respect to actually the artists and and the people who are actually really creating the content.
SPEAKER_02And understanding that within the organization, actually, I think it's really it's been quite interesting to see the adoption and the understanding of that philosophy because now within operations, within product procurement, even within you know, even the finance team, you know, whilst these people actually practically don't touch a product, let's face it. You know, not well, not in their day-to-day. You know, they're dealing with numbers of the products we produce. They do. But yeah, understanding it, kind of having that transparency within the organization of understanding that sort of that principle, then all of a sudden, actually, we're it it helps us all row in the right direction, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_01I mean it improves a lot of things because it makes you incredibly efficient, you know. When everybody's pointing towards the same objective and have the same understanding, yes, you you can go off peace slightly and you pull people back in. But but you know, in the last two and a half years in particular, certainly since since since since I took over the reins, um we've seen all of the teams working a lot more tighter together, but with that one direction, we're under this philosophy. And um we work very much as a as a unit, we we win or lose together. Um, but you could ask all 80 to 90 employees what monitor audio is, and it all give you the same answer. While well, if we go back three or four years, you might get different answers. And but that all centres towards the experience for the customer, you know, and it's not just the experience of obviously um listening to the products and having that immersive experience. It's if you're a professional integrator, for example, um, you're getting a product range which makes sense, which is easier for you to install because you're a customer at that level. Um, so we have levels of customers which we have to adhere to as well. You know, it's it's our distribution partners, it's the retailers, it's the end consumer, of course, is the most important. It's the professional integrators. So we are very clear, and you you see that in how we've structured our ranges. I think we had, well, eight years ago, I think we might have had nine or ten passive speaker ranges, which has been brought down into a more concise package which makes sense for this brand and it makes sense to the consumer. Well, before it could be a little bit too confusing because we were trying to do a bit too much for everybody. And the same on the CI side, we've very much focused on and that's custom integration for those that may not know. Yeah, yeah, we focused on um having the most amount of solutions and the most amount of architectural solutions to be able to create that environment in any space.
SPEAKER_02And we're we're talking about integrated audio solutions within the home that are speakers that go into ceilings, walls, that are virtually invisible, where people can can benefit from like a smart home type of setting.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, which is now making up 40 to 50% of our business, and it's the market which is actually really, really buoyant and booming, you know. Certainly from sort of the Netflix streaming streaming booms we've seen post-COVID with people wanting cinemas in their home and and having that surround sound experience and and and and taking advantage of um things like Dolby Atmos and bits and pieces. But but yeah, I mean we took 45 models, I think it was 45, Michael, wasn't it?
SPEAKER_0045 models into yeah, it's just a bit more, yeah, but including including trims and stuff. It was about 70, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, into 19 models on a very clear system so that the integrator and the customer can actually understand you know the levels of performance um and and how we fill that space with sound. Um, so um, and that's all come about because of of this one-way transparent design philosophy and one way of thinking. That's very interesting.
SPEAKER_02Um, this one's gonna be a bit more testing for us to answer. Because, you know, we don't want to give too much away. But what sort of trends, Michael, do we see shaping the audio industry and and how is Monitor Audio Group across our three brands kind of approaching that? We might touch on new product, that gets exciting, but you know, let's Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I mean, we've got a number of different branches to our business, some of those are different brands, but you know, there is a strong and consistent hi-fi business there. We make amazing passive loudspeakers that connect to two-channel electronics from RockSun. Um, and and the performance there is just unsurpassed. Uh, and really that that gives you this sort of really strong North Star position. But we're seeing, like Rob mentioned, you know, a big move towards integrated audio. Uh professional installers coming into your home and saying, How can I install for you the best audio system, media room, you know, kitchen audio, uh, cinema room in your basement. Even outside room. And even outside, yeah. You might have an outside space, and we just have amazing weatherproof speakers to really deliver that audio. So we're seeing a real sort of surge in that area, and we're delivering those performance products into those.
SPEAKER_02Because actually, this is this is quite interesting because custom install main, you know, many customers that could listen to this podcast may not understand or know about those types of products, but they could have a hi-fi system. But the thing that excites me most about this, let's call it segment, is that you could easily have your two-channel hi-fi system in your listening room that could integrate within a wider custom installed speaker integrated home where you could have speakers dotted around in the kitchen, in the bedrooms, in open spaces, and even outside. And it could all work seamlessly together. And you know, that's that's amazing because the technology has now got us to the point where that seamless move into the home, it's not just audio, it could be lighting, it could be um automation of curtains, blinds, um, heating, all sorts of stuff. I mean, that's a really amazing place to be working in right now, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00And I think for a long time, custom install architectural loudspeakers might have been seen as a compromise, but they're really not anymore. Uh, our in-wall series within the creator series is a really strong performance. It goes toe-to-toe with our passive box loudspeakers that are in the room.
SPEAKER_02And and so we don't think about anything in isolation, do we? Not really. Not anymore. I mean, before when I I guess hi-fi was hi-fi in its most traditional sense of speakers, separate boxes, hi-fi rack. But we actually think of it as part of a wider audio solution, don't we?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's possible to have a set of creator W3Ms that are in-wall, high-performance loudspeakers that are almost transparent to the aesthetic of the room, that deliver, you know, gold series level hi-fi performance within that room. And so for that customer that's they're really, really into audio, but for constraints, they can't have loudspeakers out in the room. They can still be delivered that performance. And I think that's what gets us up. You know, it's it's constantly delivering for different people's requirements, and that there's a vast majority, you know, set of requirements, those audio experiences, whether that is a cinema room, whether it is a beautifully clean, minimalist uh list you know, living room, or outdoor on the veranda, we're delivering those audio performances, connecting in people with the artist, you know, and wherever they are in their kind of space, I guess. Making that emotional connection. Uh and we've put more and more and more RD in uh you know over the last 10 years into those um custom-installed products as architectural speakers, and uh those technologies are seen throughout our whole range, you know, whether it's in wall or box landspeakers, you're getting that performance.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and we talk with we're not gonna obviously disclose what's coming. Um I think you as our marketing um manager might might have a few words to say about that. But we we but we have a we have a strong roadmap. Um we're producing across the three brands anywhere between six to ten projects a year. Um, some of that is obviously um refreshing current ranges, some of that's bringing new product to market. And um but but really we talked about those connected consumers and convenience uh and bits and pieces. Obviously, we want to try and um bring more people um and certainly some of the younger generations into the brand. So expect to see see some product maybe in that space. Um and and of course, through our connections, we we work and have a have a very strong relationship as a partner with with Blue Sound, um, which is an incredible uh hopefully we'll be talking to those guys independently on another episode.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. So that's something to look forward to.
SPEAKER_01So specifically Blue OS, yeah, the streaming platform. And so look, you know, if if you want to get excited about things, look that I think that there could be some things coming in that space, um, across across the Roxana and and monitor audio brands, maybe. And uh and then we have um more furniture as as as Michael suggested as well. So um, and of course on the on the CI side, we we we want to lead and we want to be seen as um uh a lead innovator in in custom install. Um we work in a number of um markets which are which are growing massively across the globe on CI. Um and you know we have our new crater range, which is fantastic and very high performance. But we provide all of those architects with solutions and and expect to see some more because there's a lot of innovation and a lot of things to do in that space.
SPEAKER_02Well, one of the things um thanks Rob, sorry, I don't didn't want to cut you off there. But one of the things I'm I'm I'm sort of uh focused on mentioning, because we mentioned it right at the start. We talked about hyphen and we talked about production going to China uh back in the sort of like mid to late 90s, but let's just touch on that before we wrap up. So hyphen is our statement loudspeaker, Michael. Roxanne is our electronics brand. Um, we have moved production back into the UK, which I think is really exciting, and it's a lovely thing to finish this discussion on. So, can you say a few bits and pieces around that before we wrap?
SPEAKER_00I think there became some synergies. Obviously, Monitor Audio moved its production to China in the early 2000s, late 90s, and that left us with um you know, without production facility here in the UK in the end, after shutting it all down. But the acquisition of Roxanne brought a production facility back into the Monitor Audio group. Roxanne's products, you know, known for British-made products, and Caspian is made here on the Roxanne production line. So we've been building since we acquired Roxanne the ability to produce products here in the UK. Hyphen was that next step. Okay, let's bring a loudspeaker back. Let's bring that passion of production of loudspeakers back to the UK. And why not be the statement loudspeaker? Uh so we have uh the ability here to build hyphen loudspeakers. We've got a bunch of UK suppliers that bring some of those parts into us here. They're tested on our Achoic chamber here in the UK, the same one we use for RD. So it's not really a production, it's like this uh more of a hybrid RD production uh sense. That you know that the testing standards are not just a small little booth at the end of a production in a noisy environment, but really is an RD facility that's doing the final testing vibe. And so it's amazing that the levels of quality and consistency we can achieve with the dedicated um you know technicians that that build that product and just know it inside out.
SPEAKER_02Um that's something that I think we all feel very, very proud of as well, isn't it? Really, to have production now back in Essex on some of our key and most important products. I mean, that's that's that's really something that you know we're we're very pleased about and proud of.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think it it what what makes this business so enjoyable is you know coming up with a concept, which I'm not going to take credit for the concept, but but it was a we were trying to convince our our owner to to to allow us to do something really special in Monitor Audio back back during COVID. And um obviously our owner's fantastic and and and and was willing to invest, which really gave you and Charles and the rest of the team the opportunities to go and do something quite special and and to see that then come to fruition and then physically be made here, you know, um even like seeing the cabinet and the intricacy of the cabinet and that being being being built by our um uh our supplier cut and edge in the UK uh with material from the UK is quite fascinating. And then you put it all together and and and you listen to it and then you see those reviews come out and and and and consumers really enjoying the product and and all of the good content. And available globally, right?
SPEAKER_02So, you know, that's that's a tremendous thing to to to see.
SPEAKER_00And on that point, I mean for anyone who's looking at a career in an industry, my goodness, this is a fantastic career to have. Like we you're so tightly coupled to the product and the experience of the customer afterwards. You know, we spend ages, whether it's the finance team or the engineering team, designing these things, making sure everything's working, it's costed correctly, but then finally it lands with a customer and they smile and you think, that's it, job done. Yeah, so what what a job done. So I would encourage anyone that's listening to it that's thinking of a career, you know, what to do. If you're into engineering or any other area of business, business management, any of those areas, yeah, audio companies, yeah, what a place to spend your career.
SPEAKER_01And it and it but but also from from a from a UK perspective, bringing manufacturing um back into your skill sets, which which uh you know I've been uh sort of lost in the UK to have that here and and be doing something here, even at the highest end, we sort of yes, it's low volume products. I mean, I I'd love to sell a thousand a year um at that price point, but but you know, let's be realistic. Um it's it's one of those aspirational products for people. Um but it's great to have manufacturing back in the UK and and seeing great businesses with good history like us working. But still respecting that that um other countries offer us um fantastic opportunities to produce products as well.
SPEAKER_02Fantastic. Well, brilliant. Guys, um thank you so much for the discussion. I think we're gonna have to bring this one into land. Thanks so much for listening to the Monitor Audio Group Podcast. Listen again. If you liked it, please rate and comment and subscribe so that you can stay up to date with all the latest episodes.
