Ray of Sound - Audion

Ray of Sound

A-Rated; "These are truly extraordinary amplifiers."
- Sam Tellig, Stereophile Magazine

Audion was established in 1987 by David Chessell following his love of music and being a long time enthusiast, always delving into the depths of various components and amplifiers. The concept in those early days was to allow people to get an insight into Audiophile high-end without sacrificing their home or bank balance. This overall picture still holds good for most of the current production with just a few bespoke built and designed products entering the upper echelons.

David Chessell - For the love of music

In 1986 David was given the position of technical director for Audion Innovations during a time when the company had an enviable reputation for sound quality. It was at this time and the few preceding years that a friendship flourished between David, and Audion Innovation’s initiator and one of Europe’s top Audion designers Mr. Erik Andersson.

Audion Innovations

During this first vital year Europe saw the release of the 1st and 2nd Audion triode amplifiers, the first of its kind from a western manufacturer designed by Erik and produced under the direction of David. Unbelievably, this was to set the trend throughout the world for triode amplifiers of the highest sonic quality.

Ray of Sound

300B by Golden Dragon

In 1992, a re-launched copy of the 300B by Golden Dragon enabled two friends to join together with a base in the UK, to enable a superior amplifier to be designed and distributed around the world. The first joint product was the infamous “Silver Night” mono-blocks, and Noel Keywood provided us a front-page debut in Hi-Fi World with an “educational” review with regard to sound quality and technical specifications for a no-feedback design. This level of excellence fired the imaginations of many Audiophiles and promoted the company into the limelight as one of the world’s innovators once again. The worldwide acclaim that followed has elevated Audion to the greatest heights.

The following years saw the introduction of many new products, most of which are contained within this site and are world beaters in many areas including best sound, together with professional high build quality and reliability, at competitive prices.

Erik now lives in Sweden, but still works very closely with us delivering new products and world-class designs. A result of this is the Paragon power amplifiers in our latest design chassis, adding to the world famous Audion range to keep us at the forefront of high-end Audion design. David Chessel too, still has input into Audion, but purely in a consultative form.