Canadian specialty distributor The Watershed Group has announced an exclusive distribution partnership with high-end German turntable and phono-stage manufacturer Clearaudio that commenced January 1st. Watershed also announced that the company will represent speaker manufacturer Vienna Acoustics that was founded in 1989 by chief designer Peter Gansterer, and affectionately name their speaker models after classical masters such as Mozart, Liszt and Beethoven, all of whom are tied back to the city of Vienna where the speakers are hand-crafted.
Clearaudio was founded in Erlangen, Germany in 1978 with headquarters in the Meilwald nature reserve and partners with the world-famous Fredrich-Alexander University for engineering and mechanical technology. The company remains an independent family business managed by a trio of siblings; Patrick, Veronika and Robert Suchy.
Clearaudio has a world class reputation for sound engineering and hand-builds the majority of the components used to create their collection of turntables that range in price from a modest $1,000 to over $200,000. The company also prides itself on carrying component and replacement parts for up to ten years after a product has been launched.
M&K Sound, an American brand with a longstanding partnership with The Watershed Group in Canada, will now be represented throughout North America by Watershed.
M&K was founded in 1973 and received immediate attention when Walter Becker of Steely Dan commissioned M&K Sound to design a studio reference subwoofer for the Pretzel Logic LP mixing sessions, an album that is included in Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
“Our mandate at the Watershed Group is to partner with the very best manufacturers in audio and video from around the world” stated Mark Lefler, Managing Director for the Watershed Group. “We have always admired Clearaudio for their exceptional, no compromise philosophy of manufacturing the very best turntables available, and we could not be happier knowing such a high-end company sees parallel values within our organization and has entrusted us to represent the brand for Canada. Vienna Acoustics manufacturer some of the most beautiful sounding speakers in the world” added Lefler. “Vienna Acoustics attention to high-precision and hand-built craftsmanship aligns perfectly with our client base that seek out the best products the world has to offer and of course, there is no greater complement than when a partner like M&K Sound, entrusts us with expanding the partnership to now include all of North America. We could not be prouder starting 2024 with such incredible partnerships.”
The Watershed Group above partnerships have commenced as of January 01, 2024.