Legacy Products

Dave is best known for his principal leadership role at Wilson Audio Specialties, a high-end loudspeaker manufacturer he and Sheryl Lee co-founded in 1974. At first, Wilson Audio was an extension of Dave’s hobby, but eventually Sheryl Lee encouraged Dave to pursue his love and passion full-time.

In the early days, the business was located in their home in Novato, Marin County, California, and expanded to commercial spaces as the business grew. In the early nineties, Dave and Sheryl Lee made the choice to relocate their business and their home to the town where they first met, Provo, Utah. While the two faced many struggles and challenges, together they built one of the most respected and revered companies in the audio industry. Wilson became well known for its state-of-the-art loudspeakers, which featured innovative technology authored and invented by Dave, and which were built and executed with exacting standards. Dave, with Sheryl Lee at his side, fostered a company culture with authenticity and excellence as its core principles.

The professionals and craftsman who work with them at Wilson are considered a part of their extended family and are treated accordingly. Within the audio industry, Dave is almost universally regarded as the greatest loudspeaker designer of his generation, and the company he led is one of the most respected and admired in its industry.

Dave was just as fascinated with the art and science of recording acoustical music as he was loudspeakers. Dave and Sheryl Lee formed Wilson Audiophile Definitive Recordings in 1977. Many of Dave’s recordings, still available today in several formats, are heralded as among the most natural and lifelike of all time. In the mid-eighties, Dave was also a respected writer and reviewer of audio equipment for several prominent HiFi magazines. His perceptive and analytical gifts served him well in this endeavor. Dave wrote what many consider to be some of the most lucid and reasoned product reviews of that time.

Dave possessed an enormous intellect and was nearly encyclopedic in his ability to retain facts and information. His appetite for knowledge was insatiable. Dave was an avid reader, and retained the information gleaned from his reading.

He loved the art and science of discovery. In his pursuit of knowledge, he would often design and then carry out a meticulous set of experiments in the hunt for answers to the questions he was asking. Once the answer came, he exuded a childlike excitement and was passionate about sharing his discoveries with his friends and colleagues.

He was a gifted teacher and patient mentor to those around him. He would often use his keen sense of humor during these teaching moments, injecting laughter into the learning process that made each lesson all the more memorable.