Radian Audio is a major player for all application segments of the OEM loudspeaker component business. We excel in diaphragm replacements, compression drivers, planar ribbons, and coaxial loudspeakers. We are able to accommodate extensive OEM options.

In 2018, Radian introduced the world's first complete range of coaxial ribbon (CR) drivers. This patent-pending line of coaxial ribbon drivers is designed for high-performance applications, where ultimate sound quality, transparency, and resolution are required from a highly coherent coaxial source.

From its modern facilities in California, under the new management, the company is quickly expanding its catalog to serve different markets, always with a differentiator in well-engineered solutions, with consistent build quality, and better-sounding products.

A Bit of History

Radian Audio Engineering, Inc. was founded in 1988. The company's initial offerings were replacement compression driver diaphragms for Altec, JBL, Emilar, and other leading brands of the time. The diaphragms took off so well that it wasn’t long before the company was making compression drivers.

The company was founded by Dr. Richard Kontrimas, who held a Master’s degree in physical chemistry and a PhD in metallurgy from Iowa State University. He would put his knowledge to good use in the development of Radian’s unique aluminum alloy (aluminum, titanium, and copper), spin-forming, and annealing processes for the diaphragm.

Radian benefited also from contributions of some of the leading speaker and mechanical engineers involved in the development of compression drivers for Cerwin-Vega, Emilar, Renkus-Heinz, and others, whose disciples continued the work at Radian. Those strong Californian connections also led Radian to temporarily venture into finished speaker designs, particularly stage monitors and installation speakers.

Several major loudspeaker manufacturers quickly identified Radian as an important source for their compression driver needs and became O.E.M. customers. Still today, Radian is recognized for some of the best-sounding large-format compression drivers that deliver high-performance "behind the screens" in the finest studio monitors, concert sound arrays, and high-end audio speaker systems.

Radian compression drivers range in size from 1¾”, 2”, 3”, and the most smooth and clean 4” drivers in the audio industry. These high-frequency drivers were also essential to create some of the best-selling coaxial drivers, which, not surprisingly, are used in many stage monitors.

Richard Kontrimas retired in 2016 and sold the company. In 2017, under new ownership and new management, the company embarked on a quest to reestablish Radian exclusively as an OEM and ODM supplier of drivers and speaker components, supplemented with extensive manufacturing and logistic capabilities in the United States and the Philippines.

Radian reinforced its neodymium compression driver product line with its flagship 950/951 Neo 4" with the option of aluminum alloy or (Materion) beryllium with a 5-slit phase plug. In fact, Radian’s long relationship with Materion as a supplier of Truextent premium acoustic beryllium domes, cones, and diaphragm assemblies was strengthened until Materion ceased material supply to the audio industry. And under the new management, Radian also initiated a development program using carbon fiber and composite materials, being able to supply alternative diaphragm and dome versions of its various drivers.

Today, Radian Audio, based in Pomona, California, is a major player in the O.E.M. loudspeaker component speaker business, serving all application markets. With over three decades of success under its belt, Radian Audio proudly entered its fourth decade with its eye toward the future.

Operating independently as a proud Californian speaker manufacturer, Radian has expanded its comprehensive product line of coaxial drivers and launched a new generation of high-power ribbon planar tweeters, which continues to expand with dedicated models targeting also high-end audio, home theater, residential installation, and studio monitors.