Community Professional Loudspeakers is an American manufacturer of

loudspeaker A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or, more fully, a speaker system) is a combination of one or more speaker drivers, an enclosure, and electrical connections (possibly including a crossover network). The speaker driver is an ...

s and sound reinforcement equipment. The company has been located in the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

area since its inception in 1968, and has occupied its present location in

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...

since 1981. A majority share of Community was acquired by Audioprof Group International (AGI) of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, Belgium, in October 2015. AGI already owned Apart Audio of Belgium. Both Community and Apart Audio were acquired in July 2019 by Biamp of

Beaverton, Oregon Beaverton is a city in the Tualatin Valley, located in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oregon, with a small portion bordering Portland. The city is among the main cities that make up the Portland metropolitan area. Its population was ...

Background

Bruce Howze founded the company in 1968, which was first named Community Light and Sound. The company originally started in the Philadelphia area, and now occupies a 100,000 square foot space in Chester, Pennsylvania. Community established itself as the first company to utilize

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

to create large yet lightweight loudspeaker horns and enclosures. In 1970, it introduced its first notable live sound reinforcement loudspeaker product, the LMF, a fiberglass midrange horn. The company next developed the Leviathan fiberglass composite bass horn, which

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

used in his 1971 tour. Several top musical groups from that era used Leviathans as well, such as the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

, and

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

. In the mid-1970s, Community became one of the first companies to meticulously test and document the performance of both its own loudspeakers and competitors’ loudspeakers. Community based its test measurement philosophy on the underlying principles of “free field” and “far field,” believing that far more dependable and relevant data can be obtained by testing loudspeakers at measurement distances that correspond to actual listening distances. Since its founding, Community has pursued pioneering loudspeaker technologies. In 2010, the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted the company a patent for Carbon Ring Cone Technology. Steve Johnson joined Community in 2013 as president. In 2015, Community was acquired by Audioprof Group International of Belgium, which also owns Apart Audio. Howze continued with Community. The brand has a global presence with its products being for live performance and permanent installation in houses of worship, schools, and other venues. Community Professional is also well known for its weather-resistant loudspeaker designs, which are installed in major sports stadia and arenas throughout the world. This same quality makes the company's loudspeakers a valuable component in emergency notification systems, such as the one used by the Tidal Information System in Venice, Italy.

References

{{Reflist Loudspeaker manufacturers Audio equipment manufacturers of the United States