So what does Ofra Gershman enjoy the most about her life in the audio business? I asked her this question when I interviewed her recently, and she said, “I think it’s the joy of giving people music and seeing the look on their faces when they listen.” Gershman Acoustics loudspeakers have an exceptionally musical tone, and if you own them or have spent time listening to them at an audio show, you know what she’s talking about.
Some Company History
Eli Gershman, a master speaker designer, started the Toronto-based company 27 years ago. Ofra, who has a professional background in marketing and graphic design, admits that she knew Eli was an audiophile when she married him and that his love for audio went back many years before they met. But, she says she was initially reluctant to join him in the business. In fact, while she has always loved music, she had no interest in the audio business or in how loudspeakers were made. “I said well I know nothing about this. In order for me to promote and really get into it, I have to know what it’s like, what really makes this thing tick. And I know nothing.”
Eli’s response was, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll teach you.” Looking back, she says, “I really have to give him the credit because he really loved me and this business, and he got me involved in every step of designing and what he was looking for.” In fact, from the beginning, Eli has included her in everything from the physical design of the speakers to testing and marketing them. “He taught me what it takes and why things are done the way that they are done, and he taught me what needs to be done and why.”
“Happily, I was just fascinated by it,” she says, “I wasn’t exposed to it before, and once I was, I became really fascinated with how much better you can make the sound if you do certain things.”
Her Role in the Company Today
Over the years, Gershman Acoustics has grown up. These days Ofra still helps with the listening tests, but she is also the public face of the company managing their marketing strategy and image. As she explains, “Eli doesn’t like to be in the public eye as much, and I don’t mind it. I actually enjoy it, in fact. He’s in the background doing the smart part of designing, innovating and engineering, and I do all the smarter and more difficult parts of the business.”
“I do wear a lot of hats,” she says. But she also admits that she likes to do things herself. “I know exactly what I like. I’m one of those crazy people who has a problem with other people doing things for me. I usually have to be hands-on with everything, but this is what makes our company what it is. We still like to do the work hands-on.”
In the early days of the company, Ofra did all of the graphic design and marketing, but these days if things are hectic she will give an ad to an agency. “I still enjoy doing the work though if I have time because my other side is art. I grew up with art. Both of my parents were artists and into photography and had a studio.”
Designing and Building Speakers
Ofra says designing and building the speakers is an organized headache. “It’s mostly Eli’s department. I get involved in it to make sure that things are done on time. I co-ordinate. I sometimes ask Eli to design a certain product which I think is needed in our line or in the market. ”
Most of the time you will find them in the Gershman Acoustics office in downtown Toronto. Gershman loudspeakers are built in Canada, and until 2009 they owned a factory in Ontario, but since then they have contracted with skilled artisans in Toronto to build the cabinets and they use a finisher in another Canadian province.
“I don’t get too involved in the design or in terms of the actual cabinets, but I help in terms of whether I like it or not.” She says she usually looks at a few possibilities and will comment on them, but the final decisions are left to Eli and the design team. “I do help. If I think it won’t sell, and I think people won’t want to have it in their house, I put my foot down and we try something else.”
Unlike some other speaker companies, Ofra says that as a smaller company they are not constrained to design speakers to fit a particular price point or a particular size to maximize the number of speakers that will fit into a shipping container. “We can actually go crazy with what we do if we believe that something would sound and look incredible, we can do that.”
Listening to Music
If you are building world-class loudspeakers, you’ve got to really enjoy listening to music, right? Ofra says she grew up in the era of rock and disco, and that’s what she plays if she wants to get into a good mood. “I also love jazz, and I like anything that has some kind of rhythm as well so I can really get into it. Bass is very important to me in recordings, and this is why every speaker we make has really good bass. We always try and emphasis that bass has to be there and you should be able to hear it. It has to play, and it can’t be just a one-note bass.”
Living in Toronto, they have access to lots of jazz clubs, and they try to make it a point to go hear live music once a week. There’s also the Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto where they like to go on Sundays to listen to an orchestra rehearse. Admission is free, and you can change your seat during the performance to hear how different the acoustics are from one section of the rehearsal hall to another.
They have also opened a Gershman Acoustics listening room in downtown Toronto that has different equipment that they really like, and they host events for audiophiles and music lovers. “We try to let people know what’s available and what things sound like. We even bring some of the manufacturers in to give seminars. It’s just for people’s knowledge and trying to bring new people in.”
Audio Shows and Audio Folks
Ofra says the thing that has surprised her the most about the audio business is the comradery of the people that they get to work with. “We became really good friends with the people involved in the industry. It became so much fun that I just enjoy doing it. I haven’t seen this in any other industry and it’s really nice. It’s a community.”
She says it doesn’t feel like a competition for some customers to prefer one speaker and others to like another. “When I go to trade shows, a lot of our competitors are our friends. We all give it our best.”
If you are attending the Toronto Audiofest October 18th to 20th, you can go by and meet Ofra in person. Gershman Acoustics will have two rooms, one with Nordost, and the other with VPI and Krell. And, you can be one of the first to hear a brand new Gershman Acoustics speaker that is debuting at this show. I know I’m looking forward to visiting with her at an audio show!
