A tale of two Walters

Acommon theme in this space in Stereophile is the need to reach new audiences and generate broader interest in the hi-fi hobby.

- BY JULIE MULLINS

At a time when traditional hi-fi buyers are becoming scarcer—as older generations pass on—the need becomes more critical to the industry's survival.

Recently, two industry stalwarts—who both happen to be named Walter—have come together to form “an audio distribution and marketing superpower,” their first press release said. The Walters are bringing their skills and experience together to form the 2WA Group, merging their respective companies: Walter Schofield's marketing firm Nexus Audio Technologies and Walter Swanbon's Fidelis Distribution. “Fidelis Distribution and Nexus Audio Technologies no longer exist as those entities,” Schofield said during a recent conversation I had with the two cofounders. 2WA's “core group” has two other members: Dwight DiMartino, who is serving as inside sales and service-support manager, and David Hudon, who specializes in logistics and technical support.

In turn, 2WA will work closely with some other businesses, which the Walters call the “2WA support team”: Penry Creative (branding experts), JK Performance Group (new-media marketing), and Sohmer Associates (PR).

In the late 1970s, the two Walters were teenagers, both working in hi-fi after school: Schofield at Tech HiFi, Swanbon at the more specialized Eardrum Audio of New England—not to be confused with Eardrum in Long Island or the one in Westchester, New York. Soon after they met, Schofield started coming into Eardrum to hear and see the new gear. They started to hang out together. “We've been friends ever since,” Swanbon said.