Leon Speakers turns speakers into art, jobs

Leon Speakers got its start in 1997 when a trio of University of Michigan graduates who loved music, art, and engineering decided to combine art with audio by creating a custom speaker company.”We’re still trying to mix art with audio and business with Bohemia,” says Noah Kaplan, president of Leon Speakers and the only one of the original three co-founders still with the company that reinvented the speaker industry. The firm got its start building custom speakers using silk screens and exotic hardwoods, taking advantage of a market that wanted better looking stereo speakers that could be installed in odd places. Kaplan says Leon Speakers came up with sound solutions for flat-panel TVs, developed the first speakers specifically for plasma TVs, and invented the sound bar.”We were always trying to get the momentum,” Kaplan says. “We knew plasma would take over the world. We have been working our faces off to keep up with technology.”That has allowed Leon Speakers to establish a downtown Ann Arbor retail presence, a Whitmore Lake factory, $3 million in annual revenues, 650 dealers and a staff of 30 people. It expects to grow its revenue 55 percent in 2011 and make a few more hires on top of the six people it added this year.”We’re just starting to hit our stride,” Kaplan says.Source: Noah Kaplan, president of Leon SpeakersWriter: Jon Zemke