welcome & introduction

this site

the company

advantages

further intro for New Englanders

for customers outside New England

history

brief tour

our customers

who they are

what they say about us

our staff

how to contact us

basics

phone & e-directory

our departments

visit us: directions, a map, etc.

job openings

welcome & introduction

this site

This site includes a buyer's guide, pages of learning, and hundreds of links to the rest of the audio/media world. Explore it freely. The site map on our home page will help you.

You can also use it to easily connect with our staff — to get info or person-to-person advice, to place orders, and to get other pre-sale or after-sale support.

We enjoy informing our customers, giving ideas, opening up new avenues. The Internet, we find, is a great place for that.

Matching audio professionals with suitable tools is our business. We hope that you will put us to work for you. During the past few decades we have become New England's leading dealer in professional audio goods. We offer hundreds of mostly mid- to high-end product lines — perhaps the widest choice of good stuff anywhere. We're devoted to helping our customers choose and use what suits them. We enjoy helping them to stay informed about what's new, and well educated about new concepts and technologies. (See what our annual Expo provides, for instance.) We have hundreds of customers, at facilities of all kinds. They have been loyal to us for many years, as we have been to them. We invite you to become one of them.

Most of our customers know us well. If we are new to you, you might like to see what they think of us. A number of them have sent us their opinions. See what they say about us. (Some excerpts appear in the column to the left.)

We enjoy friendly, effective partnerships with our customers. Many of those partnerships have grown for ten or twenty years or more. We’re here to provide value in the long term as well as with each and every sale.

When you talk with us or e-mail us, tell us your realities. The better we know you and your work, the more useful to you we can be. Treat us as if you employed us. In fact, you do employ us.

• Your choice of products here is among the widest anywhere.
• We are careful to sell you reliable products.
• Our prices are low.
• Our service is prompt.
• Our research and advice for you are well-informed.
• Our knowledge is up-to-date.
• We keep a good stock of useful demos.
• Our staff is courteous, friendly, and thoroughly professional.
• Our understanding of your work and facility is solid.
• We have a lot of experience.
• We have influence with manufacturers.
• We know how to help you solve problems.

We are located on the western edge of Boston. Our offices and showroom are on Route 9 in Wellesley Hills, a half mile from Route 128/I-95, less than five minutes off the Mass. Pike. Directions follow below. Our New England customers sometimes visit us in person. They can also phone or fax us inexpensively, and receive ground shipments from us within a day or two. We know the New England states well — their cities and towns, mountains and valleys, flat land and coast, cultures and histories. We visit them on business and non-business trips. Since we communicate with New England customers all the time, we are familiar with many of the region's professional audio/media communities. That gives us a certain "general store" presence that is both enjoyable and informative. We hope that you will visit us when you are nearby.

If you are from outside New England, we will be happy to have you as a customer. We have loyal customers in many states and foreign countries — in Asia, Europe, South and Central America, Canada, and the Middle East. Thanks to our familiarity with the Net, phone, fax, fast freight, wire transfers, etc., global business isn't hard for us to manage, and it's fun. We aren't here trying to replace any good local dealer you may have. If you don't have one, however, we can do well for you from afar.

Some products we represent only within New England. They include those made by Audio Precision, Digidesign (depending upon your circumstances), Neumann, Sonic Solutions, Sony (many of the rep products), and some others. If you can, you should buy them from a local dealer, where you should benefit from nearby pre-sale and after-sale support. We have learned from our own example that if you have a good dealer — conscientious, responsive, knowledgeable, etc. — near to you, you'll be better off going there. If you don’t have one, well, we will gladly help you as much as we are able.

history

We founded Parsons Audio in 1989, building upon our customer and manufacturer relationships, many of which date back into the 1970s. We have long been the leading supplier of professional audio goods to New England's (and many more distant) recording and production studios, broadcasters, college and universities, film and video and multimedia facilities, corporate media departments, performance venues, etc.

brief tour

At the top of this page you see a photo of our front door. We occupy a ground floor suite in a two-story wooden office building about three minutes from one of the region's major crossroads — the Massachusetts Turnpike and Route 128/I-95. Customers find us easy to visit.

We're located on a major highway, Route 9. Our neighborhood isn't fancy. The highway is standard Americana, lined with small office buildings, a few stores, car dealerships, a gas station, a big HMO, a day care center. A good Chinese restaurant, The Wok, is next door to us. Many other good restaurants are nearby. Back from the highway are streets full of single-family homes with small yards and mature trees.

Inside we have a number of rooms. Just inside the front door is a sales office, occupied by our employees, office equipment, and a fluctuating pile of goods in transit to customers. The next room is a large showroom, where we display consoles, recorders, speakers, processors, microphones, studio furniture, acoustical materials, etc. In that room we stage many of our events — product presentations, training sessions, seminars, audio courses, etc. Downstairs is a smaller demo room where we demonstrate DAWs and related products. We sometimes call it our Digital Dungeon. Next to it is our Storage Room, full of boxes and other stuff which belongs out of public view.

Visit us some time and we'll give you a real tour, no longer than interests you.

"Parsons Audio is a place where the hype is at an absolute minimum, the prices are VERY fair, and you don't need to feel the least bit paranoid about the purchasing process. Not only that, but their outreach is great — Parsons has done more for real audio knowledge in the New England area than just about anybody else. An air of sweet reasonable calm pervades the place, which makes it really easy when (a) you're new at this and a little fearful of coming off sounding dumb with your questions, and (b) when you're knowledgable and don't want to have to endure yet another illiterate sales argument based on hype du jour. I love buying stuff from 'em. Hell, I love an excuse just to drop in and hang out for an hour!"

— David Moulton, 1999 Grammy nominee for Best Engineered Album, Classical

"The Parsons folks don't mess around. Their prices and service are the best anywhere."

"… fantastic advice, fair prices…. Their service is so good I feel guilty that I can't buy more stuff!"

"Your prices are competitive and the equipment is top notch. But ultimately, I decided to buy from you because I had confidence in your customer support team. It was knowledgeable and accessible; willing to talk me through problems and always returned my calls promptly. This kind of service is priceless."

"The Parsons Audio staff is always knowledgeable and friendly, and, of course, they've got the goods."

"I had always heard good things about Parsons Audio from others. (We) put a lot of trust and faith in Parsons Audio to come through for us with good prices, timely delivery of the equipment we needed, well researched advice on newly developed products, and most of all, a truly friendly and professional attitude. You succeeded in all of these areas...."

"Even when a manufacturer may not actively enough stand behind their product, the people at Parsons do. It makes all the difference in the world to us."

"We are fortunate to have Parsons Audio. These are people who help us make decisions to buy things — important decisions that sometimes put our business on the line. It’s very comforting to know that you’re gonna be supported by them."

"...stunningly superb annual expo. ...(Parsons) really gives back to the audio community."

"I can't buy pro audio gear based on pieces of paper — the glossy brochure, the spec sheet, and the price tag won't do. I buy it based on what I hear, and based on what other practicing professionals hear too. The only way I can find out what stuff actually sounds like, to know if it is a useful music production tool, is to call Parsons Audio. I try the gear out at their showroom. They stock a wish list worth of gear to choose from. Then I borrow a demo piece.... Then...I buy my favorite one at Parsons. You need a partner in this process: Parsons Audio."

"In my years of doing business as a recording engineer and producer, I have rarely encountered a firm...with as much integrity and also sheer joy of purpose as Parsons."

"Not to take anything away from other Pro Audio shops, but there's a reason we at our radio station have worked exclusively with Parsons Audio for the past decade. ...Parsons Audio's commitment to imparting knowledge, news, and functionality in a field of ever increasing complexity is a Godsend to us. They are more than a dealer of high end professional audio equipment; they are an integral part of the Pro Audio community."

"Thank you for your excellent customer service. I have always felt that I should give my business to human beings rather than to computers. The service and support you've shown me is second to none, and proves that there's more to a purchase than the price (of course you've always met competitors' prices)."

"Parsons Audio defines 'full service' sales professionals. The support they provide is unparalleled, immeasurably helpful, and never limited just to the items sold. My relationship with them is long and ongoing, and gives me comfort that when technology lets me down, they'll be there to save my butt."

"I recently built a small recording studio. During its construction and decision making concerning how to equip the studio, Parsons Audio was extremely helpful and truthful in their advice on what was best to purchase. Their prices were the best I could find anywhere, and their quotes were always accurate. Equipment was purchased and delivered in a timely fashion. "

"I go to Parsons because they offer great products, better pricing, and are pleasant and professional. Beyond that, they do more for the New England community of audio professionals than anyone else around. Parsons' support is invaluable and EVERYONE should show their encouragement by buying from them!"