Experience a fresh new sound from your hi-fi

During the late 1980’s, John became increasingly more involved in the issues determining accurate sound reproduction and related research. He believes the professional experience and discipline he gained over many years in resolving a wide range of very complex issues, both national and international, enabled him to bring a fresh approach to many of the inherent difficulties.

QR Design, part of the QR Group, was founded in 1989 to introduce new ideas and better solutions to problems relating to sound reproduction and which build upon the many excellent hi-fi products already on the market rather than to replace them. By incorporating in each hi-fi system, however modest, the appropriate products or modifications, the listener may effectively experience the original recorded performance in his listening room, with all the feeling of a 'live' occasion. The company also provides related consultancy advice.

Ringmat Developments (founded 1992) is the manufacturing and marketing arm of the QR Group. "Ringmat Developments" has become a household name among music lovers around the world, owing to the success of RINGMAT, its flagship product in the field of LP record sound reproduction.

By 1996, demand for new Ringmat products had grown to such a point that we had to concentrate all our resources on the manufacture and development of our own products. As a consequence, the shops had to be closed. Over the years

that followed, the Ringmat brand was further enhanced by a succession of equally distinguished products in the fields of isolation support, electromagnetic control and new cable technologies. As a result, thousands of our products are now in daily use with music lovers around the world, including musicians and music and hi-fi reviewers, and are recommended by hi-fi companies.

In developing many of the new products and other ideas, John was ably assisted by other designers, including Russ Andrews, Max Townshend, Tim de Paravicini and Tony Faulkner. But above all, he is deeply indebted to his co-designer of RINGMAT, and of our CD Statmat and Vivacity AR Platforms, Denis Morecroft.

Like many companies, we have evolved and research is playing an increasingly greater role. We are now primarily a sound reproduction research and development organisation that shares with others the fruits of our endeavours, so that anyone can improve the reproductive sound (and sometimes the picture) quality obtainable from their music and moving picture sources. This is achieved in two ways.

Firstly, and most importantly, will be the publication of our research work dealing with the essence of accurate sound reproduction and many of the problems involved in achieving such accuracy. Many papers on this subject have been written and they now need to be collated and in due course published on this website under the Hi-Fi Advice section. Some of our earlier research work has already been included on this website under the headings ‘The Story of Ringmat’, ‘The Story of Statmat’ and ‘The Story of Ringmat cables’.