Business takes sound quality into stone age (From Stroud News and Journal)

Business takes sound quality into stone age

TWO INNOVATIVE music-loving friends from Stroud have mixed business and pleasure in their latest venture - stereo speakers made from stone.

Jonny Anderson,40, a stonemason and Steve Wilce, 40, a sound engineer realised that if they combined their trades they could produce speakers out of stone, which creates a much clearer sound.

Jonny said: "I'm a stonemason by trade and started making stone speaker stands to put my speakers on. Then Steve, who was a sound engineer, said why don't you make actual speakers out of stone? We talked about it for three years and then suddenly just thought we'd do it."

The pair named the enterprise 'Wa' because as well as being a combination of their names Wilce and Anderson, it is also a sound, which is the basis behind the idea.

According to Jonny stone speakers create a much more definite sound than regular wood speakers: "Since having my pair I have heard parts of the music that I had never heard before. The whole point of having CDs is to try and get as close as possible to the original version that was recorded in the studio and with stone speakers all the nuances of the voice and the different instrumental parts come out that would normally be lost."

He added: "It's known that using heavy dense material is good to make speaker cabinets because it doesn't resound as much as wood so all the different parts of the music come through - people have made speakers out of concrete in the past."

Unlike concrete speakers though, Wa's speakers are also aesthetically pleasing because they are all made from Cotswold limestone.

The pair recently sold their first set of speakers to a client in Nottingham, who ordered the huge metre squared speakers for a party room.

Later this month Wa will also be displaying their speakers on a stall at Glastonbury festival.

Jonny said that the service they provide is very much a bespoke one, as they will produce the speakers to suit their customers needs, tastes and desires.

Jonny added: "We'd never dream of running these off the production line, we'll make them to suit a person's individual tastes and the room that they will go in and Steve will make sure that he gets the best quality electronics for each set."

As well as the speakers, Jonny also makes stone sculptures and has recently sold some to top London chef, John Torode for display both in his restaurant, Smiths of Smithfield and his house.

For more information about the stone speakers or to order a set from Wa contact Jonny Anderson on 07967 396066 or Steve Wilce on 01453 731702.