Founded by William Z. Johnson, who began designing bespoke audio electronics in the early 1950s and operated a specialist audio retail shop in the mid-1960s. Johnson's endeavours almost single-handedly revived vacuum tube design at a time when major industry manufacturers had abandoned the technology in favour of low-cost solid-state equipment, whose inferiority in musical fidelity is now widely acknowledged. Many industry observers regard Johnson as one of the true originators of the entire concept of contemporary "high-end" audio, a technical specialism in which American companies remain distinct innovators and leaders globally.