David Gunness is an American audio engineer and inventor specialising in loudspeaker design and digital signal processing (DSP). After spending 11 years at Electro-Voice and another 12 at Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW), where he developed the Gunness Focusing technology, he co-founded Fulcrum Acoustic in 2008.
Throughout his career, Gunness has pioneered the development of high-output professional loudspeakers, advanced coaxial designs and passive cardioid technology. As part of the Celestion Interview Series, he reflects on the early stages of his career, his most significant technological innovations, the philosophy behind Fulcrum Acoustic and the music that continues to inspire him.
His journey into the audio industry began out of necessity.
I was a college musician who couldn't afford a proper PA system. I decided to build my own loudspeakers so I could perform live. I bought plywood, used a table saw in my basement and built my first speakers using Radio Shack components, recalls Gunness.
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This hands-on experience sparked a deep curiosity about crossovers and loudspeaker design, leading him to spend countless hours studying Audio Engineering Society publications and attending specialised audio courses while completing his engineering degree. His professional career began at Electro-Voice, where he worked on major design projects that taught him invaluable lessons about tooling and horn design, directly influencing the dozens of coaxial horns he has developed since. Gunness also demonstrated that large-format digital steering was possible with EAW's KF900 system, a project he considers his masterpiece before founding Fulcrum Acoustic.
Today, Gunness is recognised for his work at Fulcrum Acoustic, a company built on consistently delivering outstanding sound quality.
We have around 130 products in our catalogue. The voicing of our 30-inch coaxial horns is identical to that of our 5-inch fill speakers. That makes it much easier to integrate large systems because you're not fighting loudspeakers that inherently sound different from one another.
Reflecting on the industry's most significant technological advances, Gunness points to the growing capabilities of digital signal processing (DSP), which he used to develop processing technologies first introduced as Gunness Focusing at EAW and now marketed by Fulcrum Acoustic as Temporal Equalization™ (TQ). "Every loudspeaker we've developed requires DSP, allowing us to maintain high levels of sound quality and consistency".
At the heart of Fulcrum Acoustic lies a deceptively simple philosophy: "Be the company your customers need you to be." Gunness emphasises that delivering high-quality, great-sounding products must always go hand in hand with strong customer support.
If you partner with your customers and help them succeed, your own sales will grow. Your greatest opportunity as a loudspeaker manufacturer is to be a hero. When you bail your customers out of a difficult situation, you've got a customer for life.
Despite his career as an engineer, Gunness still considers himself, above all, a musician. He currently plays several instruments in a band and cites Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon by James Taylor as the album that sparked his passion for creating and reproducing the highest-quality sound, an ambition that has shaped his entire career.
