by Dr Tony Hooley

Background | Development | Success

I founded 1... Limited in 1995 on the basis of a bunch of novel ideas, an initial patent filing and a £45k SMART Award. My notion was that one could make radically new types of loudspeakers, by harnessing the computing power of modern digital signal processors to overcome otherwise insuperable mechanical problems.

Such Digital Loudspeakers would have significant advantages in the professional and consumer markets, including lower weight, smaller size, better efficiency and quality. The market was huge, many billions of pounds worldwide, and there was no visible competition.

Initial funding for the first year's work came from my own pocket, followed by around £50k private investment to match the SMART Award. With this we were able to build a second prototype (the Mk II) which was able to make plausible, if unpleasant, sounds using nothing more than an array of smoke-alarm 'sirens' as the sound generators.

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