George and Carolyn Counnas – Zesto Audio – 2026 LAOCAS Founders Award
The Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society will honor George and Carolyn Counnas, founders of Zesto Audio, with its Founders Award at the Society’s 33rd annual Gala and Awards Ceremony on Sunday, December 6, 2026, at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Buena Park, California.
George and Carolyn Counnas are the founders of Zesto Audio, an internationally respected manufacturer of handcrafted, high‑performance vacuum‑tube electronics based in Thousand Oaks, California. Their shared dedication to thoughtful design, meticulous craftsmanship, and the emotional experience of music has earned them the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society’s highest honor: the 2026 Founders Award.
George Counnas, President and Chief Design Engineer, brings decades of engineering experience shaped by a lifelong connection to music. His career began in England, where he worked at DECCA Navigator, then Britain’s largest electronics firm, as part of a specialized R&D team designing airborne navigational systems for the Royal Air Force. This rigorous engineering background shaped his mastery of vacuum‑tube and solid-state circuitry as well as the production of precision electronics.
After George and Carolyn married, they moved to the United States, where George built a career as an audio engineer and producer, working both in studios and on large stadium shows with renowned musicians.
George designs for the 21st-century listener by blending classic tube principles with modern CAD tools. His phono stages, amplifiers, preamplifiers, and newest product—a tube DAC—are known for their detail and natural musical presentation.
Carolyn Counnas, Executive Vice President, is the creative force whose artistic and industrial design vision defines Zesto Audio’s unmistakable aesthetic. With a background in fine art and corporate account management, she personally designed the company’s signature curved, sculptural enclosures and wave‑like faceplates—an elegant departure from traditional boxy audio components. Her work transforms each product into functional art. Beyond design, Carolyn leads branding, marketing, dealer relations, and customer experience, shaping Zesto’s identity and growth with strategic leadership and a warm, community-focused presence. Her contributions have helped establish Zesto Audio as a respected force in the industry while elevating the role of industrial design within high-end audio.
Together, George and Carolyn have built Zesto Audio into a globally recognized brand. Their partnership blends engineering mastery with artistic vision, resulting in components that stand apart in both performance and design. Zesto Audio reflects their shared belief that music reproduction is both an art and a science.
The Founders Award is among the Society’s signature honors, presented to individuals whose vision, craftsmanship, and commitment have made a lasting impact on the world of high-end audio. The Society, now celebrating its 33rd year, is widely recognized for serving audiophiles across Los Angeles and Orange Counties through events, awards, and educational programs.
The 33rd annual Gala and Awards Ceremony will bring together music lovers, audio manufacturers, reviewers, retailers, and industry leaders for a day of recognition, fellowship, and celebration of excellence in recorded music and audio reproduction.
PAST WINNERS
Recently honored by the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society now celebrates its 33rd 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 2025 Founders Award went to Sheryl Lee Wilson and the late David A. Wilson II, who passed away in 2018, the co-founders of Wilson Audio Specialties, Inc.
- 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.