CharterOak Acoustic Devices
CharterOak is a US-based pro audio equipment manufacturer led by Michael Deming. The company sources components from around the world, taking advantage of aggressive pricing on certain materials and parts from Asia, then does assembly and finishing in the US.
For example, of the M900T, Deming says, “We order the PCBs unpopulated from Asia as they come from a preexisting platform, and then populate the circuit boards here with our component set… Basically, PCBs and raw metal parts, cases, and accessories come from Asia; we do all metal finishing, machining, plating, laser engraving, powder coating, and assembly of electronics and mechanical parts and testing here in Connecticut at our own facility, and at a number of local precision subcontractors.”
In the company’s early years, some printed circuit boards were sourced from China, prepopulated. Charteroak’s US staff would replace and upgrade key components, at a relatively high cost. Beginning in 2011, the company began transitioning PCB manufacturing to the US, both to increase board quality and reduce costs associated with component removal.
