15 Audio Brands That Make Speakers And Headphones In America

Audio is a worldwide industry with manufacturers located everywhere from the U.S. to Europe and, of course, Asia too. There are quite literally hundreds of options to choose from, and that's just for speakers. Where does one even begin to look? Well, price tends to be a big factor when purchasing audio gear. Many folks typically look for sound quality and sound signature as baselines as well. One more factor that many look at is where audio gear is made, since made-in-America products are still considered higher quality by consumers. 

In a world of globalization, few tech products are manufactured in the U.S. these days. Studies show that the U.S. ranks fourth overall in technology exports, and the vast majority come from China. With that said, some companies still choose to make products here, and you can absolutely buy American-made audio products from manufactures that make their products here. Below is a list of audio companies that design, build, and sell their products in the U.S. for those who want their tech homegrown. 

Audeze is an audiophile company that primarily sells headphones. The brand is best known for its LCD lineup of headphones, the latest of which is the Audeze LCD-5. In addition, they also make headphones for professional use, gaming headsets, and, as we were surprised to find out, a Bluetooth conference speaker like the ones you see in movies. Generally speaking, you can buy Audeze products from a host of online and brick-and-mortar retailers, and they tend to sound pretty good. 

Per Audeze, every planar magnetic and electrostatic driver is built in their Orange County, California factory. The U.S. factory also hand-assembles and tests each headphone that comes out of the facility and costs over $399. Since the LCD-5 has a $4,500 MSRP, that means those headphones are built and assembled in the U.S. along with most of the brand's other products. We took a tour of Audeze's facility in 2024, and it's quite the place to see. Not bad for a company with early products designed for MRI machine use, since traditional headphone materials couldn't be used there.

Avalon Acoustics isn't a household name, but it is an American company. It's based out of Boulder, Colorado in a facility where the company designs, builds, and ships their various products. Like most other high-end audio companies, Avalon employs craftsmen, engineers, and musicians to design, build, and test the equipment to make sure it sounds good. Each product is entirely made by hand, so no mass-produced parts here. Just a good old-fashioned set of speakers that cost a lot of money. 

The brand sells reference monitors for home theater and studio use, which is likely why many folks haven't heard of them before. Their main lineup consists of the Precision Monitor, of which there are seven variants. There are also three speakers in its signature lineup, including the cool-looking Tesseract speakers, the pinpoint-accurate Isis speakers, and the Saga series, which is based on the Tesseract. Of those, the Tesseract is the most interesting, as the speaker array is seven feet tall, making most humans feel short by proxy. Sets can cost north of $100,000, and even their smaller models cost thousands of dollars. 

When it comes to manufacturing, Bose is a little odder than most. Most of its mainstream products are built in either Malaysia, Mexico, or China for the sake of costs. However, Bose also keeps some facilities close to home too. There are manufacturing facilities in Westbrow and Stow, Massachusetts, along with the brand's headquarters in Framingham, Massachusetts. It's difficult to tell for sure which products are made where without inspecting each product's box, but at least some of the brand's speakers are still produced in the U.S. plants. Most of the rest have been moved offshore. 

It makes sense because Bose sells a lot of different products. It includes several different earbuds, Bluetooth speakers, regular speakers, headphones, and more. The company also has products designed for home theaters, automobile sound systems, aviation, PA systems, and a host of accessories. That's a lot of work for one manufacturing plant to do, which is why Bose has nearly half a dozen in total. So, most of the stuff you see on store shelves is probably made elsewhere, but if you look enough, you can find American-made Bose products out there. 

Bottlehead isn't a household name, but the company makes good audio equipment. It focuses primarily on speaker and headphone amplifiers that utilize vacuum tubes. The company uses a unique approach to their product. Most of its stuff is sold in kits that are assembled by the customer. On top of the sense of accomplishment for building a high-end amp, the user will also know to repair their kit if it ever breaks down. Bottleneck sells parts and upgrades in the event that happens as well. They also sell reel-to-reel modification kits, which is one of the most unusual products on the list from any brand. 

All this cool tech is made in America. More specifically, each part of each kit is made to order in the company's facility. That means it can take a few weeks to get your order since the parts are being brought into existence specifically for you. The site also features a forum where you can get help or information if you're a first-time builder. In addition, the company's staff also chats there quite a bit, giving it a more personal touch. 

Dan Clark Audio is a favorite in the audiophile community. The brand makes plenty of products but focus primarily on headphones, headphone amps, and headphone DACs. Its top products are the ÆON series and the higher-end Ether Flow C headphones, along with a few other boutique options. If you spend enough time on any audiophile forum or subreddit, you'll hear someone mention one of those two product names eventually. Dan Clark Audio also sells Schiit products on its website. Schiit is another U.S. audio brand that also happens to make their products here in the U.S. 

While it isn't expressly said on every product, nearly everything Dan Clark Audio makes comes out of the company's facility in San Diego, California. All of Dan Clark's headphones use planar magnetic drivers, specifically the audio brand's V-Planar technology, for which Dan Clark Audio has a patent. Speaking of patents, the brand has a few of them, including for the TrueFlow technology used in Ether Flow and Aeon Flow headphones as well as the one for titanium hinge-less couplers for the headband, asymmetric multi-layer damping, and 3D printed double-walled earcups. 

Grado Labs is one of the best-known U.S. audio companies on the list. It proudly hails from Brooklyn, New York, where it's been making headphones since 1953. Much like Dan Clark Audio, Grado has various patents for its designs, and has collected a total of 48 such patents over the years. The company still makes and assembles nearly everything in Brooklyn today, although word from the grapevine is that some of the wireless audio components are sourced from China. Even so, those headphones are still assembled here.

Grado Labs headphones are best known for their unique designs. The on-ear or over-hear designs feature metal earcups and leather headbands that look like something a radio operator would've used 70 years ago. It's a cool retro design and a definite conversation starter. The SR60x is still one of the best headphones you can buy for under $100, and the products get better as you go up. The only weird thing about Grado is that its headphones tend to have a higher-than-average treble response, which can be a bit harsh if you're not used to it.

Klipsch is a well-known audio brand that makes all sorts of products. It's mostly known for its speakers, but also make sound bars, computer speakers, headphones, and audio receivers, among other things. You may hear more buzz about larger companies like Bose, but Klipsch has a loyal fan base that will gush all day about how good products are if you give them the chance. The brand has also worked with retailers like Costco to put together very nice home theater setups for consumers. Like Grado Labs, many of Klipsch's products emphasis higher frequencies, so make sure to watch reviews before you buy one. 

In any case, Klipsch is much like Bose where it builds some of its products here in the U.S. and other products elsewhere. Unlike Bose, Klipsch proudly lists everything still made at its Hope, Arkansas, facility. They include the Heritage Series, Professional, THX Ultra2, Palladium, and some Reference II speakers, along with speakers generally used in movie theaters. Per Klisch, some speakers can take upwards of 12 hours to assemble by hand with the help of robots. 

I'm personally a big fan of Koss, and it's mostly because of the Koss Porta Pros, which have been my lawn work headphone of choice for a decade. It also has a fairly interesting history as the first audio company to make stereo headphones. The aforementioned Porta Pro headphones came out in 1984 and are still sold today as one of the more reasonably priced on-ear headphones on the market. The brand also makes wireless headphones, gaming headsets, and communication headsets for things like call centers. On the high-end, Koss is also one of the few headphone brands that still makes electrostatic headphones. 

Like Bose and Klipsch, Koss makes its products everywhere, but some are still made at the company's headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At the very least, the brand's high-end headphones are made there, including its electrostatic headphones, which are handmade and tuned at the company's HQ. The company also has manufacturing in Mexico and China, which is the norm for larger audio companies these days. Most of the company's more affordable products are made there. 

Mark Levinson is a high-end audio brand that specializes in a few different products, including audio receivers, headphones, preamplifiers, and turntables. It has made sure to stick with the times. The company's streaming CD players let you listen to your record collection on CD or whatever streaming service you wish to use. Since CD quality is quite good for audiophilia, having it and streaming services in one spot makes for a nice music setup at home. You'll pay for the privilege, though, as the Mark Levinson No. 519 alone runs for about $25,000. The brand's headphones are also on the high-end, with the No. 5909 starting at a cool $1,000. 

The company itself is based out of Northrdige, California, where at least some of its products are made. The aforementioned No. 519 is "handcrafted and designed in the U.S.A." and so are a number of its other products. Some others, like the No. 5101, are assembled in China. Mark Levinson is a subsidiary of Harman International, which is a subsidiary of Samsung, so some offshore manufacturing is to be expected. 

Mesa Boogie is an audio company for musicians. It specializes in the manufacture of guitar and bass amps, cabinets, pedals, and other assorted tools that musicians use to rock out. The first time I'd heard of Mesa Boogie, it was watching "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster," where eventual bassist Robert Trujillo used a Mesa Boogie during his audition with the band. Per Mesa Boogie, Trujillo still uses Mesa Boogie gear to this day along with James Hetfield and Kirk Hammet. Other artists that use the brand include legends like Bootsy Collins and Bruce Springsteen, classic acts like the Doobie Brothers and Santana, and punk rock legends NoFX. 

Mesa Boogie makes all of its gear out of its Petaluma, California, facility. You can even check out a short video tour of the facility. According to Mesa, all of its chassis are hand-wired, tested, and broken in before shipment. The company says it has a hammer test for its chassis to make sure the amp won't fail. This is legitimate, and you can watch them perform the test here. Skip to 4:10 in the video to see the test.

Tech fans get pass if they confuse McIntosh for Apple's MacIntosh that the company made in the 1980s and 90s. This one is an audio brand that has been around for longer than Apple, having opened its doors for the first time in 1949. The company is known for its home audio products, although its most well-known creations happened outside the home. This is the company that created the Grateful Dead's famed Wall of Sound and supplied audio for Woodstock in 1969. It also provided the system used in U.S. President Lyndon Johnson's inaugural address in 1963. That's a pretty good resume for an audio company. 

It's an all-American company as well. McIntosh is based out of Binghamton, New York, where it also makes all of its audio products. There are a lot of them too, from preamplifiers to CD players and home theater speakers. The most unique products in McIntosh's lineup are its room correction equalizers that listens to the audio in the room and corrects accordingly. You don't see those every day. 

Pass Labs is an audiophile company that specializes in boxes that make your music sound better. Specifically, the brand exclusively sells preamplifiers and regular amplifiers for your music. There are well over a dozen products to choose from based on your preferences, as well as headphone amps for the headphone audio enthusiast. Pass Lab products all have a minimal design that includes metal boxes with various buttons and knobs. The setups can be quite complex. The company's XP-32 preamp, for example, is a three-piece modular system that includes one power supply and two boxes controlling a different audio channel. That system goes for around $20,000 depending on where you buy it. 

Pass Labs is based out of Foresthill, California, where it also makes all of its products. In the early days, the company was in Nelson Pass, California and the equipment was made with a few homemade CNC machines that were tasked with making the company's earlier designs once they were ready for production. In terms of quality, Pass Labs makes some of the best solid-state gear in the industry. 

PS Audio is another high-end audio company that focuses primarily on preamplifiers, amplifiers, and home audio and theater speakers. With all of its products, it's possible to build a whole stereo system from scratch with only PS Audio components, making it a nice option for folks looking for high-end audio all from the same place. Like most audio companies in this category, the prices can get rather exorbitant. A pair of Aspen FR30 loudspeakers costs $35,000 and comes in white or black colors. It does have less expensive products, like the PMG Signature 512 DAC, which costs around $300. That's not bad for a high-end audio product.

Founder and CEO Paul McGowan has a whole blog post on PS Audio's website about how nearly all of its equipment is made in America. Per McGowan, PS Audio sources many of its components from local companies and the ones that don't come from the U.S. are only outsourced because they're unavailable in the States. Every product that PS Audio makes is assembled in the U.S. except for the Sprout100.

Sennheiser is a truly global company. It has factories everywhere, it seems, and there's a reason for that. The legendary audio company makes a ton of products from headphones and IEMs to professional audio equipment for music concerts and just about everything between. You can also find a lot of stuff like antenna combiners that you wouldn't think to need until you set up a larger music gig that requires wireless IEMs to keep the band in time with each other. For such a big company, it's no surprise that they make products just about everywhere. 

In terms of manufacturing, Sennheiser has major manufacturing facilities in Wennebostel, Germany, Tullamore, Ireland, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Per Sennheiser, the Albuquerque plant focuses mostly on professional audio equipment, including microphones and monitor systems. Thus, if you want U.S.-made products from Sennheiser, you'll need a job in live music in order to do it. Its most popular products — headphones — are typically produced in Ireland, while the Germany plant generally makes microphones, monitors, and business-oriented stuff like conference call audio tech. 

ZMF is an audio company based out of Illinois that makes mostly high-end headphones. Most of the rest of the company's product lineup is based around its headphones and includes replacement earpads, cables, and DIY replacement parts. There is also a selection of amps and DACs available to power the headphones and send the best possible signal to them. An interesting tidbit about ZMF's lineup is that they have both solid state and tube amps, and they can range up to $7,000. For headphones, they are only marginally more affordable, with the most expensive Caldera model going for $3,500. 

Zach Mehrback, the founder of ZMF, got his start in headphones by modifying existing headphones, eventually going to build his own. Per ZMF's website, the brand makes all of its headphones out of its Chicago, Illinois facility and they even have a YouTube video about it. There aren't any such distinctions about its amps or DACs, and the company does source some components from outside the country. So, it's not 100% American made, but it's close enough.