Georgia has produced both musical hits and technological innovation, so it isn’t surprising that the state has produced the latest startup to challenge the status quo when it comes to audio equipment.
Audality, based out of Lawrenceville, Georgia, has been working since 2010 to create speakers that change how music is delivered. Their speaker systems provide uncompressed HD audio, something that President Mark Krikorian says rivals the “audiophile sound in a hi-fi system.”
Coming off of a new seed round this November, the team is continuing to grow its unique line of speakers. Krikorian answered a few of our questions below about what makes their technology unique and how the company has grown in Georgia over the years. Here’s what he had to say:
* How did Audality get off the ground? What makes you unique in the market?
Paul Raley, our CEO, founded the company and invented our WiC technology to revolutionize wireless audio. Paul is educated as a mathematician and physicist who spent the first part of his career developing and marketing airborne radar, satellite, and wireless technology. Throughout, Paul developed audio amplifiers and electronics in his spare time. He founded the company to bring the latest in wireless technology to wireless guitar systems, which were notoriously unreliable and inferior in tone.
We developed a technology that is superior to Bluetooth or WiFi for audio. Our technology delivers uncompressed HD audio to multiple speakers with no network, no apps, and no complicated pairing or setup. It is the first wireless audio technology to rival audiophile sound in a hi-fi system.
* Can you tell us a little bit more about WiC® technology?
Our WiC technology solves the inherent problems in Bluetooth and WiFi for wireless transmission of high-quality music. Bluetooth has slower data transfer compared to WiC, compresses the audio signal, reducing the quality of the sound, and only allows one connection between a device and speaker; so only one person can connect to a speaker. WiFi has better sound quality, but requires router configuration and proprietary apps; WiFi sacrifices portability by demanding the use of a high-speed network with a router; and as homes adopt smart devices that sit require WiFi, the battle for network bandwidth reduces the audio quality. The complexity of wireless, room-to-room speakers also frustrates the average home audio system user.
* Is your team all in the Metro Atlanta area?
Yes, the entire Audality team is in Metro Atlanta. Atlanta is a great place to do business. It has the perfect combination of the creative media and entertainment community, thriving technology environment, and business leaders that welcome the film and music production industries to the area.
* What are you most excited about when you think about the future of Audality?
Audality is going to change the world. Until now, people have had to sacrifice sound quality for portability and convenience. At last, our products have brought hi fi audio and portability together. We offer beautiful home audio systems that sound even better than they look. For events, our wireless microphone transmitter has an audio input jack so you can talk or sing while you play music from your phone or computer. With it and our wireless, battery-powered hi-fi speakers, you can have your wedding on top of Mount Yonah, or you can have a popup karaoke in Piedmont Park. Wherever you see an audio cable today, in the future, you will see Audality.
