Aragon and Acurus Sold to Indy Audio Labs

Anyone who has followed the world of high-end home theater may recall the Klipsch-Aragon debacle that resulted in Klipsch buying out, and completely abandoning, the Aragon brand 8 years ago. This occurred when Klipsch purchased selected assets of the privately held Mondial Designs Ltd. in 2001, acquiring the Aragon and Acurus brands of high-end amplifiers, preamplifiers and processors. Now, predictably, the leading global manufacturer of loudspeakers is selling the rights to these electronics brands. What wasn't predicted is that they would sell them to two former Klipsch employees.

According to Mike Klipsch, president of the Klipsch brand, Klipsch purchased the brands because, at the time, it was aggressively seeking new ways to enhance its sound experience and wanted to develop perfectly matched, electronic solutions under the Aragon name. While this sounds nice, the truth is revealed more clearly in the results of the acquisition. Klipsch may have had good intentions, but at least with respect to Aragon, the brand was left to sit and collect dust - effectively ruining the product line. In 2005 they made it official and ceased production of the Aragon line, though they honored warranty terms and provided some customer support.

It was, in effect, a complete waste and one of the poorest (though perhaps not as costly) business decisions we've seen in years.

Today, the discontinuation of Aragon has opened new doors for former Klipsch electronics engineers Rick Santiago and Ted Moore. These two industry veterans, with 36 years of experience combined, have co-founded a new independent startup company called Indy Audio Labs, LLC and plan on developing and marketing new products under the Aragon and Acurus names. Indy Audio Labs will also assume full responsibility for the ongoing service and support of existing Aragon and Acurus products.

According to Santiago, IAL CEO, we are living in a time when traditional home entertainment experiences are being significantly re-defined and enhanced. “In our opinion, few manufacturers have been successful at providing the A/V realism and operational simplicity that consumers want, especially in this new digital media world. Indy Audio Labs is excited about developing future-ready entertainment products that exemplify the high-performance, reliability and ease-of operation of the classic Aragon and Acurus models,” he concluded.

Effective May 18, when people call the Aragon tech support line at (866) 781-7284 or the Aragon service line at (914) 693-8008, they will automatically be forwarded to Indy Audio Labs. Additional support information can be found at www.indyaudiolabs.com.

Personally, we can’t wait to see what’s next for Aragon and Acurus. Anything will be better than what's transpired over the last 8 years - which is basically nothing.