[Still-One]

Originally Posted by GaryProtein

Very interesting. I never knew there was a connection.

Gary
I pulled this from a Stereophile article from about July 2010.


Vivid Audio is not a familiar name to many audiophiles, but the company has its roots in one of the most iconic audio designs of all times, the B&W Nautilus. Among Vivid's owners are Robert Trunz, erstwhile co-owner of Bowers & Wilkins, and Laurence Dickie, who used to design B&W's drivers at their R&D facility in Steyning, England.

When Trunz left B&W, in 1996, he emigrated to South Africa, where he met Philip Guttentag and Bruce and Dee Gessner, who had been in the retail hi-fi business but were now interested in building high-end loudspeakers in South Africa. Trunz suggested that they bring in Dickie to design drivers rather than rely on OEM designs. Vivid Audio launched their first products, the B1 and K1 floorstanders, in 2004. By 2006, the partners felt the range needed a flagship product, a design process that would take over 18 months before a prototype could be shown at the 2008 CES.