During 2004, Howard was checking out audio gear for sale on eBay when he ran into an ad for DIY audiophile cables. The cables in question appeared to be well-designed and the asking price was attractive. The gentleman who made and was selling the cables was Colin Saunders. After some back-and-forth between the parties, a sale was consummated.

When Howard received the cables, he was impressed. Indeed, they nicely improved the sound of his system over what he was using at the time. Colin and Howard quickly became friends and began emailing each other every day about audio. Much of their early conversations revolved around the DIY aspect of the hobby. Colin was knowledgeable about the topic and he taught Howard how to make cables, parallel AC line conditioners, and the like.

Soon thereafter, one of the big audio publications heard about Colin’s talents and hired him as a staff writer. Colin eventually helped Howard get a job there too. Over the years, as Colin took a temporary break from reviewing, Howard went from being the low man on the totem pole who understood little about what was going on in the audio industry to one of the veterans with lots of product reviews and feature stories under his belt. He also began working as a freelancer for other AV publications.

Almost from the start, Colin asked Howard to partner with him on an audiophile-themed YouTube channel.  Though intrigued by the idea, Howard always refused the offer as his day job as a lawyer was demanding. Bear in mind that at the time, audiophile YouTube channels were in their infancy.

By around 2019, it finally seemed time for Howard to wind up his legal career and take life a bit easier. By then, the first word that was coming out of almost every manufacturer’s mouth when discussing product reviews was “video.” That’s a trend that even today hasn’t abated.

In addition to not wanting to be left out of the video trend, there were several other things that were then coming into play. For one, Howard was eager to strike out on his own and achieve the freedom that comes with running your own shop. For another, Howard’s social media presence was growing rapidly, and it was clear that he was on to something. In 2022, Howard told Colin that he was ready to start the YouTube channel.

Colin asked Howard to attach his name to the fledging channel as he believed that doing so would provide it with some credibility. However, Howard adamantly refused to do so as he neither wanted to be in the spotlight nor place his reputation on the line should the channel not succeed. Ultimately, he agreed and they called the channel “The Listening Chair with Howard Kneller.”

As time progressed and The Listening Chair’s social media ecosystem grew, the two knew that they had something. Veteran reviewer Kemper Holt later joined the company as did ultimately a large and talented group of individuals from around the globe. 

During 2024, it became clear that The Listening Chair had grown to a point where it needed a website. Shortly thereafter, we posted a temporary one, which hung around a bit longer than anyone anticipated.

Most recently, in 2025, Colin had to take a step back from The Listening Chair in order to attend to other responsibilities. It was then that Jiles McCoy joined the company. A technophile with deep expertise in two-channel audio and home theater, Jiles is a recognized and trusted name in the global consumer electronics community.  Over the past few years, Howard and Jiles had collaborated on a number of projects, including The HiFi Mafia.  With the two always wanting to deepen their collaborative ties, it was the perfect time for Jiles to jump aboard.  Together, they launched this new website.

As you read through these digital pages today and hopefully continue to do so in the future, know that one of the team’s primary goals is to bring you insights about the gear and the industry that other audiophile publications do not. In fact, we have a fairly long list of bones that we have to pick with the audio industry. Although most of these will be the focus of future articles and videos, there is one that we think is worth mentioning here. It’s the trend among a growing number of high-end manufacturers to release only limited technical specifications about their products and instead market their wares through puffery and hyperbole.

When we have asked about the above strategy, we have generally been told that the product at issue is a luxury good as if that has any relevance to the lack of product detail. (Of course, Ferrari releases detailed specifications and other information about its automobiles.) We don’t want overly long and technical reviews which, according to statistics, most people will not read. Still, we intend to hold manufacturers’ feet to the fire. If basic information about such products is not available, we will call it out.

Going forward, there will also be plenty of interesting special projects. Right now, and as described on the website, we are building a high-performance Sound Lab that has been designed to be the best sounding room ever created to review audio gear. We will also be working with some of the leading names in the music and recording industries on a series of unique recordings that we believe will be of interest to audiophiles and pro-audio participants alike.

We hope that our work will not only inform you about this great hobby, but also inspire you to slow down a bit and spend more time in your listening chair.  Life goes by too fast not to.