Far from monotonous: How a stereo speaker company went from DIY to cottage industry

It started out as a do-it-yourself project, but building stereo speakers has turned into a going concern for Ross Connolly and his company, Are Audio.

'When people hear them they just want them': Ross Connolly is turning his passion into a business

Curtis Rumbolt · CBC News · Posted: Dec 25, 2016 1:30 PM EST | Last Updated: December 25, 2016

Ross Connolly started Are Audio while attending university after investing what he earned from building his first DIY speakers in better materials and components. (Submitted by Mark Bennett)

A St. John's man has created his own cottage business from very humble beginnings, by manufacturing high-end stereo speakers while juggling the demands of being a graduate student at Memorial University.

After finishing his undergraduate degree and moving back home, Ross Connolly wanted a nice set of speakers.

Not being able to afford what he wanted at the time, he collaborated with his friend Richard White to build his own.

"The parts for that came from everywhere," he said.

"Discount bins at retail stores around town, literally stripping down computers and taking components — basically anywhere we could get them. Scrap stuff, really."

I guess you can say it's like the right recipe...if you don't put it together the right way, you're not going to end up with the right product.- Ross Connolly

Connolly enjoyed the sound of the speakers, and he and White regularly tweaked the design to improve the sound.

Later, someone heard the speakers and, impressed, asked to buy them.

"So we sold those speakers and took that money and reinvested it in buying better components, proper materials — going into hardware stores and getting proper materials like boards — instead of tearing apart bookshelves."

Ross Connolly has been juggling being a full-time university student and speaker building for the past seven years. (Curtis Rumbolt/CBC)

That was the genesis of Connolly's company Are Audio seven years ago. Soon after, he was building custom speakers by hand, based on those original designs.

"I guess you can say it's like the right recipe. It's like you can have all the ingredients but if you don't put it together the right way, you're not going to end up with the right product."

A speaker company is born

Connolly said the products are in constant development, and that he and White are always refining the process.

"Basically there's a lot of developing the product using computers, modelling them in three dimensions or using CAD [computer-assisted design] software."

"From there, after you built them, it's tweaking them by ear, because computers can only tell us so much."

Connolly has also gotten a lot of support from his friend Jud Haynes, a music promoter and graphic designer, as well as a former member of the band Wintersleep.

Haynes largely created the Are Audio coffee-inspired brand and styling and built its first website.

That theme seemed natural to Connolly, since he and White would often meet at a coffee shop or share a cup of java to discuss product development.

Are Audio's speakers can be customized with exotic hardwoods or painted any colour you'd like, unlike speakers bought off the shelf. (Submitted by Are Audio)

The company's bookshelf speaker, for instance, is marketed as the Light Roast 2.0. There's also a Dark Roast and a new speaker, the Grinder.

From humble beginnings

Connolly does all this despite having no electronics or engineering background. He's currently in the PhD program in psychology at Memorial University.

"No woodworking either. I was working at a autobody shop through high school as a summer job so that's where I learned how to do all the finishing work and painting and things. So that was a huge help."

After selling Are Audio's products largely through word of mouth for the past seven years, Connolly now has a distributor in Ontario and sells through individual retailers, like Paul Frecker Audio in Conception Bay South.

Are Audio has produced nearly 100 sets of speakers so far.

Connolly says Are Audio's Light Roast 2.0 speakers have been selling well since they were introduced a year ago. (Submitted by Are Audio)

Connolly said sales of the bookshelf speakers have been doing "very well" since he started selling the latest version over the past year or so.

"I think it is just word of mouth. I really haven't spent a lot of time or money investing in marketing up until recently. They just sound great. They look great," he said.

"They have a whole custom aspect where you can choose the colour, the different type of hardwood. Not a lot of companies offer that. When people hear them, they just want them."

New products

He's also since introduced a subwoofer and will come out with a floorstanding speaker in the new year.

Are Audio's Light Roast line of two-way speakers have been a hit with well-known Canadian musicians, including members of Wintersleep, Hey Rosetta and Death from Above 1979 (Curtis Rumbolt/CBC)

Are Audio speakers have proved a hit with some well-known Canadian musicians. Haynes has a bunch, as does Loel Campbell of Wintersleep and Jesse Keeler of Death from Above 1979.

He's also branched out into making speaker cabinets for guitarists. His first one was a design for Hey Rosetta! bassist Josh Ward.

All of this and so far it's only been a part-time pursuit.

"I can't say it's a full-time business because I'm in school full-time as well so just basically juggling school and the speaker business, but that takes up a significant amount of time."

Once school is out of the way, Connolly would like to spend more time developing the business. He'd like to outsource the cabinet making to a local business so he can concentrate on managing the business.

It's a big step for someone who's had a hand in building every product the company has ever produced, but he's hopeful the timing might just be right.