Headquartered in Gauting, near Munich, Germany CMA Audio GmbH is a value added distributor focused on professional audio and hifi technology products, systems and services. CMA Audio is the distributor for Audeze, IsoAcoustics, Mogami, MXL, MicW, and Spear Labs in Germany. But the company's business model has an interesting twist. CMA also distributes products from German manufacturers in the worldwide market, and that was essentially focused on the Lake People portfolio of products, which in 2009 expanded with the introduction of the Violectric brand, with products addressing the specific needs of the hi-fi and home audio market, and more recently Niimbus, as a new high-end brand "by Lake People," combining the highest quality products and design, "Handmade in Germany."
After years of a successful distribution partnership, CMA Audio is now the sole shareholder of Lake People Electronic GmbH. Since January 2020, Christof Mallmann is the Managing Director of the company, while its founder and head developer, Fried Reim, assumes the position of CMA's Chairman of the Advisory Board. Michael Zirkel from CMA manages the global distribution of the brands Lake People, Violectric and Niimbus.
Since 1986, Lake People has been developing solutions for recording studios demanding the highest standards in sound quality and reliability. The company is headquartered in Konstanz (Constance in English) a picturesque city located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany, bordering Switzerland. The connection with the Lake Constance region inspired the company name "Lake People", but also the fact that the entire development and production takes place in the region, using also local suppliers.
Over the years, its product architecture and circuits have been constantly refined, making the company’s current catalog the result of over 30 years of development. This covers offerings as diverse as the F355 microphone preamp, the balancing and summing amplifiers of the Ana series, AD/DA converters such as the F446 and the signal splitters and sample rate converters of the Digi tool series. Lake People offers first-class solutions for almost any professional use case. Its crowning achievement is the Reference Series, a brand new, reference-class range reflecting many years of development work.
But while Lake People focuses on professional applications, Violectric aims at home audio users, offering versatile headphone amps and converters with superior sonic properties for use in private listening environments. As CMA confirms, the Violectric brand in particular will see an extensive revision of its portfolio in 2020.
“We develop, produce and distribute Lake People products for the professional market, including broadcasters, airports, conference centers, theaters, other major installations as well as private studios. We’ve been offering these products to private consumers for a while now, and it’s gratifying to see that their excellent quality has fed a growing popularity," says Fried Reim, the chief strategist and founder of Lake People.
"Our Violectric brand and product lines address the specific needs of the hi-fi/high-end home audio market. Our target customer is a pragmatist interested in experiencing genuinely effective, technologically advanced solutions implemented in a way that’s guided by the highest quality standards. This approach is also reflected in the simple yet elegant external design of our Violectric product range,” Reim adds.
Changing the Strategy, Keeping the Quality
CMA Audio now wants to reinforce and reaffirm the renowned quality of Lake People, Violectric and Niimbus products. Research and development will be expanded in order to satisfy the demand for high-quality products from the manufacturer. The new Violectric portfolio planned for 2020 will mirror the focus on the company’s manifold strengths.
In addition to the existing facilities, a cable manufacture will be established in cooperation with traditional Japanese specialist Mogami. “We will showcase the potential of Lake People even more prominently,” Managing Director Christof Mallmann says. “The company and all its brands are revered by professional and audiophile users alike. With constant quality, a host of exciting new products and the new cable manufacture, we will continue to build on this reputation.”
US and Canada Distribution: www.power-holdings-inc.com
www.cma.audio | www.lake-people.com | www.violectric.com
