A UK headphone maker, spun out of the University of Warwick, that builds high-end electrostatic headphone systems and is developing electrostatic audio for cars.
Warwick Acoustics makes high-end headphones that use electrostatic drivers, a design in which an extremely light membrane is moved by changes in an electric field rather than by a magnet and coil. The company says the approach gives very fine detail. Its products include the Sonoma headphone system, the entry-level Bravura and the flagship Aperio, which comes with its own amplifier and digital-to-analogue converter in a desktop unit. The Aperio uses a transducer called the Balanced Drive HPEL, which the company says took nearly two years to develop. It also says it is developing what it calls the first electrostatic audio system designed for use in cars.
The company grew out of research at the University of Warwick; a press release from the university names Dr Duncan Billson, of its School of Engineering, as one of the founders, and Martin Roberts as managing director. Roberts trained as a design engineer, spent about ten years in aerospace and defence and moved into hi-fi in 1999. A hi-fi magazine feature records the company describing itself as a start-up with ambitious goals, starting with an award-winning product to show off its patented core technology. We did not find a published mission statement or values, so we do not quote any.
The company is described as UK-based, and a hi-fi magazine feature gives its location as Nuneaton in Warwickshire. Its headphones have been sold in London at Harrods, and the metal finishing for a limited gold edition was done in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, which links the work to the West Midlands' craft and manufacturing history. The company showed its Aperio and Bravura systems at Capital AudioFest 2024, a hi-fi show in the US, where a reviewer reported each Aperio takes about 50 person-hours to assemble.
The pages we found give few details about the team beyond Martin Roberts and a second named person, Orazio Pollaci, so we do not describe the culture or headcount. What they do suggest is a small, engineering-led business with a hands-on approach to building, testing and finishing a premium product. Its emphasis on light-weighting, power efficiency and sustainable materials is stated in the 2020 press release as part of its design approach.
A company of this kind employs acoustic and electronics engineers, materials specialists, amplifier and digital audio designers, skilled assemblers and test technicians, industrial designers, and sales, marketing and distributor-support staff who work with hi-fi retailers around the world. Engineering and physics graduates are a natural fit, but so are people who love music and enjoy careful, hands-on craftsmanship.
Website: warwickacoustics.com
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