Beginnings
Zsolt Audio was formed in 1987 by brothers Zsolt and Alpar Huszti to import famous British hi-fi brands into Hungary: Audiolab, Arcam, Celestion, Creek, Epos, Exposure, Ion Systems, KEF, NAD, Rega, Roksan, Royd and Spendor, amongst others. 1991 saw burgeoning designer Zsolt introduce his first creation, the StandART loudspeaker. Nearly 1,000 pairs of this floorstander were sold ― an astonishing success in the small and underdeveloped Hungarian market.
By this time we had begun working with Richard Hay, the legendary designer of Ion Systems products (previously Nytech), an acquaintance that would prove to be very important in our activities and profoundly determine our future course. We started to assemble his unique 'shoebox-design' Obelisk amps (think Naim for people on a budget), which turned out to be a big hit in Hungary. This not only proved to be invaluable experience for us in hi-fi manufacturing, it also provided indelible lessons in developing and realizing ideas that reach beyond conventional thought and design. All too soon, however, Ion Systems went out of business, with Richard Hay leaving the world of hi-fi for the time being. Zsolt Audio had reached a crossroads....
We decided to carry on the spirit of Ion, and formed Heed Audio. Whilst the Obelisk, found a second life in our Heed Obelisk Pro, a new amplifier concept was realized alongside it. Based upon another brainstorm, the Heed Nexus power amplifiers were born ― featuring a second-to-none circuit topology in which a highly unusual bridge-mode approach was employed to avoid DC coupling and to realize a fully balanced „floating" system. Although not in production ever since, the resurrection of this near-mythical amplifier is still quite possible in the not too distant future. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves here, suffice to say that we continue to maintain many of the unique ideas and technical principles we learned from these early studies to the present day: use of balanced circuits, external power supplies even in case of integrated amplifiers, avoidance of DC coupling, actively driving speakers, and so on.
Evolution
A new era began at Heed Audio in 2000 when we were commissioned to manufacture an auxiliary component, the Orbit. This sophisticated turntable power supply had been originally designed for Zsolt's DIY hi-fi magazine Hang & Technika 
(Sound & Technology), as an austere PSU kit for Rega Planar turntables. As a product which could successfully compliment the estimated 300,000 Planar turntables sold world-wide, the Heed Orbit proved to be spot-on: „this analogue performance-enhancing drug is bloody cheap in comparison with rival products, not least those selling in huge quantities", German high-end magazine Image Hi-Fi declared in its rave review.
The success of the Orbit led to the development of further products. Press and retail alike gave high praise to the Heed Quasar, our discretely built, two-box phonostage; it was awarded „Image Hi-Fi ― Best Phonostage 2002", one of Europe's premier hi-fi accolades. In fact, by 2004 we had no less than 6 new auxiliary components: various phono stages, headphone amplifier, two-box preamplifier, even pairs of 40-watt monoblock power amps ― all compact, yet substantial black „bricks" squeezed into a svelte 9x6x22 cm! Legendary journalist Paul Messenger tested them all in one comprehensive review for Hifi+ concluding: „this Heed combo transcends mere issues of sound quality and simply gets you into the spirit and emotion of the music itself."
International distribution began to expand commensurately. We found an enthusiastic proponent in Bob Clarke, university teacher (!) and high-end distributor in California who brought Heed Audio to the United States. And even our old „family" returned; Robert Hay, Richard's son, took us on as distributor for the UK.
Forget Hi-Fi, Remember Music
In 2005, we appointed a new German distributor, Stefan Becker of B&T Vertrieb who emphatically expanded our profile with the hi-fi press and dealers alike. He also encouraged us to look out for new challenges ... how about a cute little integrated? Why certainly! Once upon a time there was this amp named Obelisk...
But, in order to live up to 21st-century expectations, the Obelisk had to be revamped once again. While initial prototypes dazzled critics and crowds at select hi-fi shows, manufacturing sufficient quantities challenged our resources and logistics to the utmost, resulting in a rather bumpy start. These difficulties were overcome by 2008, however, and the Heed Obelisk Si, along with its optional X-2 power supply took a number of markets in Europe and North America by storm, reaching almost iconic status.
Well before official reviews started to roll in, word-of-mouth began to spread, with many English, American, French and German internet forums passionately discussing the „Obelisk phenomenon". We note with no small amount of pride a certain thread title on Germany's popular hifi-forum.de: „The noble HEED Obelisk Owners Society".
And the experts seemed to agree: „A genuine revelation at a price, after all, without competition." (Thierry Soveaux, Diapason, France), „This is the type of device we adore. A little jewel to discover in France!" (Ghislain Prugnard, Prestige Audio, France), „It really does make that solid-state valve-sound a little closer to reality." (Jason Kennedy, Hi-Fi Choice, UK), „Worldwide cult is fully justified." (Heinz Gelking, Image Hi-Fi, Germany), „It deserves an enthusiastic recommendation for those who feel that true music reproduction is synonymous with rendition of the live act." (Salvador Dangla, Alta Fidelidad, Spain). The Obelisk Si won the two most prestigious awards given in France that year, the Diapason D'Or, and the CHOC by Le Monde de la Musique.
And, while the Obelisk took centre stage, it was not entirely alone. Two headphone-related forums ― headfi.org and rockgrotto.com ― triggered a most unexpected success of a previously unheralded product of ours, the Heed CanAmp headphone amplifier. After Mike Grierson (alias PinkFloyd), contributor to both forums, reviewed the CanAmp declaring: „The Heed CanAmp is by far the best [headphone amp] I have heard to date bar none", it immediately set off a chain-reaction that would lead to forum threads tallying nearly 3000 member replies and over 300,000 page views, provoking a huge wave of demand worldwide.
The CanAmp handily broke all sales records at Heed Audio between 2007-2009.
These recent successes have sparked remarkable growth. We have doubled the size of our facilities and invested heavily in research & development. While our worldwide distribution presence has continued to expand accordingly, we have reached a reliability benchmark which ranks with the very best in the hi-fi industry. All of our trade partners agree that Heed Audio components are among the most reliable products they have ever distributed.
So the dawn of this new decade finds a rapidly expanding Heed Audio Obelisk range taking on a life all its own. In just 15 months we managed to launch a stunningly analogue-sounding CD-transport (Obelisk DT), a 5-input, remote-controllable stand-alone DAC to compliment it and any other digital source (Obelisk DA), a highly versatile state-of-the-art preamplifier (Obelisk PRE), an excellent value-for-money stereo power amp (Obelisk PS), and our current flagship monoblock power amplifier (Obelisk PM). The new products won three international awards within a year.
