Harold Beveridge - Bev to his friends - was an avid music lover and a consummate engineer. The Beveridge Line Source results from his desire to recreate, as close as humanly possible, the live sound of the concert hall at home. After many years of hard work, research, and experimentation, his dream became reality.

Harold was an electronic engineer by profession, having graduated from McGill University in Canada. He worked for a number of years at Raytheon, in their Waltham Massachusetts plant, designing vacuum tubes and participating in the early development of Radar. He was later able to apply the scientific knowledge he gained from this work (on wave propagation, the Doppler effect, and related phenomena) to audio and sound theory and incorporate those in his audio reproduction systems.

As Rick (Harold's second eldest son and frequent assistant) recounts, the first electrostatic unit build by Harold Beveridge (and the hundreds more that followed) were all home designed and built. They were essentially high frequency units that aimed to improve upon those days' commercial dynamic systems that were "no better than public address speakers", as Rick puts it.

The improvement in sound was startling. Harold kept improving the system, experimenting with different materials, drive sizes, parabolic acoustic mirrors and other devices, a path that slowly evolved and led to his discovery of the acoustic lens.

That day, in 1965, changed his life. "I never saw dad so excited before or since", recalls Rick. "I was on leave from the Air Force. The moment I got home, dad dragged me out of the car and led me straight to the workshop. There it was, the prototype acoustic lens; dad was beaming." The acoustic lens was born.

The eventual prototype speakers were three feet wide and six feet tall. Each speaker contained three 2' transducers. Only one pair was ever made; it is now believed to have perished. The later, full production systems based on that prototype, were called Model 2s, in recognition of that first model which opened a new era in sound reproduction.

Quality, both of sound and of manufacture, was paramount to Beveridge. In order to ensure that his speakers enjoyed the best possible source of amplification, he enlisted the aid of the best available audio designers. Roger Modjeski, then a relatively young electronic graduate, was called in to re-design the pre- and the power tube amplifiers for the Model 2 and shortly afterwards the solid state amp for the SW, as well as the electronic crossover. Once actively amplified, the speakers were referred to as "Systems". There were to be no compromises and no corners cut, save for maximum sound pressure level, which was never Beveridge's top priority. The Model 2 thus embodies the true spirit and vision of Harold Beveridge.

Later, when higher SPL were required, sub-woofers were added to the system, housed in their own separate cabinets; these were also actively amplified. They were to cover the lower octave, relieving the electrostatic panels from reproducing the low 30-70 Hz range. The lens design was also slightly modified, with a somewhat wider throat opening. An additional 10 dB increase in SPL, or headroom, was thus achieved. Late 70s saw the ever soaring demand for efficient loudspeakers which could provide increased sound pressure levels at what seemed like all cost. In response, Beveridge developed the Model 3, and later the Model 5 and 6, all elegant, tubular cabinets that addressed the issue successfully. The latter models were passive speakers, allowing users to provide and mix their own preferred amplification.

The legendary Beveridge loudspeakers systems now enjoy a long awaited, well deserved revival. Since their initial introduction in the early seventies, these systems have revolutionized sound reproduction for discerning listeners and music lovers around the world. The fact that most of the original systems are still in use today is the most unequivocal and irrefutable testimony to their enduring and unparalleled qualities.

The initial company - Harold Beveridge, Inc. - manufactured and marketed the famous Model 2, Model 2 SW, Model 2 SW-1, and Model 2 SW-2. The last HBI product was the elegant, pantheonically tubular Model 3. Later, California Audio Technology (CAL) developed and manufactured the Model 5 and the Models 6 (B and S), all based on similar designs to the 3, but somewhat narrower in diameter. Further innovations, both in electrode and lens design, allowed these systems to achieve even higher SPL, while maintaining the original Beveridge wave dispersion concept.

All models enjoyed world-wide popularity; even today, they can be found making music in far corners of the world such as New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia, Europe, Israel, and Australia. Due to their commanding sonic qualities, such as timbre purity and transient response, emotionally-involving imaging, and extremely low distortion, they became sought-after transducers by top-class musicians, studio engineers, and audio reviewers. The Model 2 SW-2 were the reference monitors for the discerning musical ears of Frank Sinatra, Julie Andrews, and Leonard Bernstein, to name but a few. Some audio reviewers inisited upon retaining the reviewed pair as a reference against which all other systems, regardless of origin, were subsequently judged.

The revolutionary cylindrical waveform technology was implemented singularly and in the most successful manner by Harold Beveridge. His lifelong persevering effort in research and development culminated - according to many independent testers, critical reviewers, and discerning owners - in the most realistic and faithful sound reproduction systems ever to grace and serve the music.

Harold Beveridge died in 1997, in good age, after seeing his life dream become reality. Today, his sons Rick and Bruce Beveridge continue the tradition of these legendary systems. New models are being manufactured, based on faithful adherence to the original principles. Old models are being serviced and restored to factory specifications.

A legend is reborn.

Note - top page photos courtesy of (left to right):

Model 5, System 2 SW, Model 6 - Beveridge promotional literature
Model 3 - Glynn Wilson