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Why shop at Sonic Sense?

We realize there are plenty of places to buy pro audio equipment these days, both online and at local shops. In order to stand out from the crowd, and stay in business (for 19 years now), we’ve focused on a few key areas to keep our customers coming back:

A knowledgeable and available staff. As you can read about in our history below, Sonic Sense was created after frustrating experiences while buying equipment from pretentious, difficult, and poor quality vendors. We do our best to be readily available & helpful in every conversation we have whether it be around equipment or order specifics.

Member services. If you haven’t registered as a member yet, we’d recommend you do so. Members receive access to personalized pricing, a database of helpful information, informative newsletters (if you’d like them), plus speedy checkout & order history. Learn more about becoming a member.

Great after sale support & return policy. We don’t leave you hanging after the purchase, feel free to call us about product support or questions around your order. Need to make a return? No problem we’re flexible, available, and glad to take your unique situation into account. You can see more around our returns policy here.

Our History...

The “Reader’s Digest” Version

Coming Soon!

The Bigger Picture

It could be said that Sonic Sense started from a mix of frustration and passion. In 1994, in an attempt to purchase several high-end pieces of equipment to support her partner’s obsession with recording live rock and roll, Parker found herself at an impasse. Several dealers failed to provide the level of product knowledge expected when one invests thousands of dollars on equipment and others were patronizing as she sought these elite pieces of gear.

With the realization that no one ever asked, “What is your application?” nor respected her intended use for the equipment when she told them, Parker pushed Nutter to join her in the development of a company dedicated to providing top-quality equipment with meticulous attention and respect for client needs.

Knowing the demand for high-end equipment shared by Nutter’s peers in the concert recording world, the team chose to forego the product search through dealers and took their interest directly to manufacturers.

While a few lines of microphones AKG, Microtech Gefell, Schoeps, A to D converters by Apogee, and DAT machines from Tascam were immediately available to fit our use case needs, other products remained more elusive. Recognizing the need for high-quality DC powered microphone pre-amps for remote recording, Marc contacted his friend Michael Grace who had just founded Grace Design. With a hefty purchase order in hand, Marc and Mike began the project that quickly became the Grace V2. To meet the needs of those with a smaller budget, Marc met with the team at Sound Devices and laid down the spec for the Sound Devices Mix Pre 2-channel AA powered unit. Soon thereafter, Apogee discontinued the legendary AD-1000 A to D converter and Nutter once again sought manufacturers to fill the void. After nearly a year of testing and comparing numerous studio oriented converters, Nutter had his solution - Benchmark Media. The makers of some of the finest converters agreed to build a new unit specifically for portable use.

While busy working with the manufacturers to develop these products, Nutter continued touring the country seeing his favorite bands, silly hippies, and sharing the new gear through an extensive network of “concert tapers.” Armed at each show with a 10 foot digital cable and a Graham-Patten DA-14 digital distribution amp, Nutter provided patches to eager concert goers who savoured the feed which included different equipment at nearly each set.

By 1999, dedicated to finding better ways of spreading the music and providing a wide array of audio samples, Sonic Sense began offering weekly downloads of concerts the team attended. Complete with extensive liner notes, each recording offered an opportunity to hear A/B comparisons of various microphones, pre-amps, converters, and even cables.

It was also this same year that Nutter and Parker met two of the three most influential people in their career. While attending a concert in Oakland on New Year’s Eve 1998, Marc and Mojan met legendary systems engineer and UltraSound Owner, Don Pearson and Acoustical Consultant and developer of SMAART audio measurement software, Sam Berkow. They hit it off. With Marc’s interest in audio and live sound, he soon found out how much more there was to audio. With Berkow, Marc worked on acoustics projects and live sound events in difficult acoustical spaces. With Pearson, “Dr. Don,” as we say, Nutter assisted in systems optimization work in large concert venues and getting himself in trouble.

Marc found work outside of Sonic Sense, as he wanted further experience in large-scale systems design and optimization in order to provide the best possible service to Sonic Sense’s future clients. Parker began diversifying Sonic Sense’ product offerings while Nutter developed the chops that would eventually lead to Sonic Sense’ further expansion. With days filled pulling wire and terminating racks in schools and courtroom projects and nights filled with mixing for churches, Nutter had a support team behind him second to none in our industry. “Don, I know it’s six O’Clock on a Sunday night and you are having dinner but the guitar player is getting shocked everytime he steps up to the microphone.” As always, Don suggested tests and solutions.

During this same period, the friends introduced New York contractor David Andrews to Nutter and Parker. This provided opportunities for Marc to work with greats including Bob McCarthy (Meyer Sound system design and optimization expert and SIM expert) at world renowned venues, and handling system engineering responsibilities for shows during the New Orleans’ Jazz Festival. These three mentors led Nutter and Parker to the bigger picture; the scientific and holistic approach to audio they were seeking.

Following a three year run as VP of the Commercial Division at a major live sound and contracting firm, Nutter began looking at what Parker was achieving with the company they started together. With large projects like The Pearl Theater at The Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, The Sondheim Theater in Cedar Rapids, IA, or a 3000-seat church in California under his belt, Nutter was ready to rejoin Parker to take Sonic Sense where the team always envisioned it going.

Today, Sonic Sense has over 7000 square feet of office space and about 15 employees. Our hand-selected team is comprised of musicians, DJ’s, sound engineers, and computer nerds all focused on providing a knowledgeable and friendly approach towards equipment sales & service. Recognizing the value of education in every element of our work, we strive daily to provide informative content and service to our customers via every medium possible!