Cambridge SoundWorks was a

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

-based consumer audio manufacturer and retailer.

History

Cambridge SoundWorks was co-founded in 1988 by

Henry Kloss Henry Kloss (February 21, 1929 – January 31, 2002) was a prominent American audio engineer and entrepreneur who helped advance high fidelity loudspeaker and radio receiver technology beginning in the 1950s. Kloss (pronounced with a long o, l ...

, an audio engineer and businessman, and colleague Tom DeVesto. Kloss had founded or co-founded a number of earlier loudspeaker and consumer audio companies, including

Acoustic Research Acoustic Research was a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company that manufactured high-end audio equipment. The brand is now owned by VOXX. Acoustic Research was known for the AR-3 series of speaker systems, which used the acoustic suspension woof ...

, KLH and Advent Corporation. It was founded with the specific mission to design and manufacture well-priced, high quality, high performance loudspeakers and audio products to be marketed directly to the consumer. From its inception, the company's success was significant and its products received critical acclaim. Cambridge SoundWorks began offering its products (such as the Ensemble I, II, and III satellite speaker systems) by catalog and multi-page magazine advertisements. In 1991, the company opened its first retail location in

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...

. In 1994 it sold its first products on the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a ''internetworking, network of networks'' that consists ...

, using the

CompuServe CompuServe (CompuServe Information Service, also known by its initialism CIS) was an American online service provider, the first major commercial one in the world – described in 1994 as "the oldest of the Big Three information services (the oth ...

network. This made it one of the first companies to sell consumer electronics on the Internet. The unique selling formula developed in its first store proved successful and eventually spawned the opening of 30 showrooms in New England and metropolitan

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. In 1997 Cambridge Soundworks was bought by then

Creative Labs Creative Technology Ltd. is a Singaporean multinational technology company headquartered with overseas offices in Shanghai, Tokyo, Dublin, and Silicon Valley (where in the US it is known as Creative Labs). The principal activities of the compa ...

. Eventually, Cambridge SoundWorks manufactured over 60 different models of home stereo, home theater, multimedia speakers and assorted electronics products. Its products were designed in California, with Research and Development and Acoustic Engineering in Massachusetts. These products, along with other major brands of high-performance audio and video components, were sold through an online store. As of February 2018, the Cambridge Soundworks website redirects to theoontz.com, where a product line of portable bluetooth speakers is sold.

From 2020

As of 2020, all Cambridge SoundWorks retail showrooms are closed. The company continued to manufacture loudspeakers for home theater and multimedia applications, as well as distribute other brands such as

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

and

Marantz Marantz is a company that develops and sells high-end audio products. The company was founded in New York, but is now based in Japan. The first Marantz audio product was designed and built by Saul Marantz in his home in Kew Gardens, New Yor ...

. Cambridge SoundWorks marketing also included catalog and internet sales, in addition to worldwide product distribution by partnerships with IBM, Gateway, and the parent company Creative Technology Ltd. Creative ordered Cambridge to reduce the number of products sold under its trademark. It has subsequently gone through two newer owners.

References

External links

Cambridge Soundworks
Former official website
Oontz by Cambridge Soundworks
(to which the former official website redirects) {{Creative Technology Audio equipment manufacturers of the United States Loudspeaker manufacturers Companies based in Essex County, Massachusetts Creative Technology acquisitions