About

About Pacific Coast Audiophile

Pacific Coast Audiophile is located on beautiful Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.  It’s a community steeped in woodworking tradition, and the home of spectacular old-growth forests.

We are family-owned and operated:  Design, research, testing, building, finishing, and packaging/shipping are all done in-house.  Our diverse backgrounds in music/art/design and electronics technology complement each other… and sometimes make for some *ahem*… interesting discussions!

The best part of being a small company is being able to see the big picture, while having the education and expertise to drill down into the critical details when needed.  So you can rest assured:  Nothing is mass-produced at Pacific Coast Audiophile.  Every one of our speakers is the product of hours of testing and work — handmade, and truly one of a kind.

How we fabricate Open-Baffle Live-Edge speakers:

Every speaker starts with the selection of wood: Scouring Vancouver Island, BC, Canada for arborists and small mills to supply figured 3″ thick off-cuts, end-cuts, and unique cuts that aren’t useful for production of straight grained lumber.  We’re proud to create beautiful, functional objects from wood that might otherwise be pulped or discarded!

First, the wood is planed to thickness.

For Epoxy River speakers, the wood is selected and arranged to best show off its figuring and create a harmonious appearance for the speaker pair.  After a design is conceptualized, the wood is cut to length and width to fit inside the mold. For the set of speakers in this photo, a thin layer of opaque blue epoxy with mica flakes was poured in the bottom to provide deep colour and initially stabilize the material.

After the base coat has cured, transparent blue epoxy is poured and dried for 4 days.  After that, the speaker blanks are removed from the molds and surface planed.

The blanks are planed to final thickness and trimmed to size, and the speaker holes drilled.

For Maple Monolith speakers, wood slabs are selected for colour, figuring, and grain.  Speaker blanks are cut from the best parts of the slab to create two unique pieces that make an aesthetically pleasing pair.  The blanks are then planed and cut to size and speaker holes are drilled. Burls, checks, cracks, and holes form one-of-a-kind patterns, which are filled with epoxy to stabilize the material.

The woofer and tweeter holes are contoured, and baffle edges rounded.  The baffles are sanded and an epoxy sealer is applied.

Then it’s time for the last round of patching and sanding, and the final epoxy flood coat is applied. This is the magic stage where craftsmanship, nature, and chance all come together. Fingers crossed while the flood coat dries!  Natural wood is unpredictable — its imperfections form its unique beauty, but it also challenges all our skills and experience.

Will a tiny void or invisible porosity cause unexpected bubbles under the glassy topcoat?  Will our painstaking control of process, cleanliness, and temperature be enough to prevent drips, runs, sags, dust motes settling on the surface, or (worst of all) exothermic overheating that causes irreparable blistering?

If all the conditions are right (and we have a bit of luck), we won’t have to sand off the entire flood coat and start again…

Whew!  After the flood coat is dry and cured, the base is attached and the woofer and tweeter are fastened to the back of the baffle.

The base is hollowed out and the electronics are installed inside and connected to the woofer and tweeter.

A carbon fiber cover-plate is installed to protect and insulate the electronics.

…and with that, a new speaker is born!  Handcrafted, every step of the way.

Fun Facts and Photos: