Founder's Award

 

Los Angeles & Orange County Audio Society Announces 2025 Founder’s Award

The Los Angeles & Orange County Audio Society announces the 2025 Founder’s Award will go to Sheryl Lee Wilson and the late David A. Wilson II, who passed away in 2018, the co-founders of Wilson Audio Specialties, Inc., one of the world’s elite loudspeaker manufacturers. This is the first time the Society is making a dual award and first time to a posthumous recipient.

David’s wife and business partner Sheryl Lee will accept the award at the Society’s 32nd Anniversary Gala and Awards Ceremony on December 7, 2025, in Buena Park, CA. The current CEO and Creative Director of Wilson Audio, Daryl C. Wilson will also attend.

Wilson Audio was originally founded in Waukegan, Illinois in the garage and then after being there a very short time Dave and Sheryl moved their growing family and small business endeavors to Novato, California. Later, the family and the company moved to Provo, UT where it is headquartered today.

Inspired by the well-respected in its day Dahlquist DQ-10, the Wilson Audio Modular Monitor (WAMM), was the company’s first major loudspeaker design. However, the speaker that “saved the company” was the Wilson Audio Tiny Tot (WATT). Dave Wilson designed and developed the original WATT as a studio monitor that spoke the same sonic language as the WAMM he had at home. Later the WATT was used to demo Dave Wilson‘s recordings at shows. Sheryl Lee was the prime mover in getting the WATT speakers into production and combining it with the Puppy woofer upon which it sat.

The WATT/Puppy combination is embodied in some of the current Wilson speakers including the SashaV and AlexiaV. Dave Wilson’s speakers are known for their extraordinary attention to precise time alignment and use of exotic resonance damping cabinet materials. These are just a few of the elements responsible for the Wilson signature dynamic, transparent, and true-to-life sound.

Presenting the award to Sheryl Lee Wilson will be Michael Wechsberg, CEO and President of the Los Angeles & Orange County Audio Society, and Michael Fremer, Executive Vice President of the Society, The Absolute Sound editor at large, and proprietor of the website trackingangle.com. Robert Harley, editor of The Absolute Sound where Dave was once a reviewer, will deliver the keynote address for the Gala on December 7, 2025.  Further information about the event will be posted on the Society’s website www.laocas.com during the coming months.

2025 Founder’s Award will go to Sheryl Lee Wilson and the late David A. Wilson II
PAST WINNERS

Recently honored by the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society now celebrates its 31st  year serving top audiophiles in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.  The largest audio society in the world with over 2700 members, the non-profit organization provides up to 14 major events per year in Greater Los Angeles and showcases and promotes the very best in great gear and recordings worldwide.  Though the majority of members hail from Southern California, the Society boasts members from 14 states and nine countries.

The Society’s Board of Directors awards the Founder’s Award annually to those professionals in the high end who continue to advance fine musical reproduction in the home and distinguish themselves as the best in their profession.

  • The 2024 Founders Award went to Dan D’agostino of DMAS and Krell
  • The 2023 Founders Award went to Bill Low of AudioQuest.
  • The 2022 Founders Award went to John Atkinson of Stereophile
  • The 2021 Founders Award went to George Cardas, Founder of Cardas Audio
  • The 2019 Founders Award went to Andrew Jones, VP and Chief Speaker Designer for ELAC
  • The 2018 Founders Award went to Michael Fremer, editor of AnalogPlanet.com and a senior contributing editor at Stereophile Magazine.
  • The 2017 Founders Award went to John Grado, President of Grado Labs.
  • The 2016 Founder’s Award went to Bob Carver, President of Bob Carver Audio.
  • The 2015 Founder’s Award went to Harry Weisfeld, founder of VPI Industries.
  • The 2014 Founder’s Award went to Chad Kassem, President of Acoustic Sounds.
  • The 2013 Founder’s Award went to Robert Harley, editor in chief, of The Absolute Sound.
  • The 2012 Founder’s Award went to Tim de Paravicini, President of E.A.R. of Great Britain.
  • The 2011 Founder’s Award went to Richard Vandersteen, President of Vandersteen Audio.
  • The 2010 Founder’s Award went to Keith Johnson, Executive Producer of Reference Recordings,
  • and the 2009 Founder’s Award went to EveAnna Manley, President of Manley Labs.

Other previous winners include Harry Pearson, Founder The Absolute Sound, Dave Clark, Editor Positive Feedback Online, Dennis Had, Founder Cary Audio, David Robinson, Editor in Chief Positive Feedback Online, and Ray Kimber, President of Kimber Kable and our most-honored member.

The trophy awarded is specially produced by the same company that created the Oscar for The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

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© 2018-2025 The Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society