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About Us

Generations of Experience

Soundscape is a third generation Baltimore based A/V company specializing in the sale and installation of high-quality audio and video equipment for home theater and multi-room A/V systems. Our skilled and knowledgeable staff are down-to-earth and keep things simple and straightforward for our customers. We also offer service and support for the products that we sell.

Showroom

We are proud to offer industry leading products at competitive prices. We have 4 demonstration rooms where our customers can relax and view and listen to a variety of media including digital video and audio discs, analog vinyl records, and streaming internet music. Check out our showroom for a demonstration.

Our History

Park Radio was established September 30, 1930 at 604 W. North Avenue near Park Avenue.

Img: Lee Dorsey, 1930’s in front of 604 W. North Ave

Thomas Lee Dorsey, Our Founder

Lee was an amateur radio operator at the age of fourteen. Even though he dropped out of high school, his interest and proficiency in electronics allowed him to persuade Johns Hopkins to accept him in the electrical engineering program. After a brief interlude at Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), he opened Park Radio Service in 1930. At this time, commercial radio was still in its infancy. 

In the beginning, sales were mostly radios, small and large, at first only AM and perhaps some shellac 78 records. Selling records was a big part of the equation for success. Through the 1930’s and the late 1940’s, the typical music system was a cabinet containing the radio, a speaker and perhaps a record player. RCA Victrola, Zenith, Pilot, Capehart and other now-long gone companies were the high-end of the day.

High fidelity components and systems began to leave the fancy furniture behind after World War II. The electronics expertise gained during the war would inevitably trickle down to consumer grade products. Avery Fisher, Herman Hosmer Scott, Sidney Harman, Stuart Hegman and countless others who had become seasoned electronics designers and technicians during the war found great success, designing and bringing audio components to market. Their emphasis was on fidelity and performance. As interest in better audio progressed, other innovators such as Saul Marantz and Frank McIntosh raised the bar for performance in consumer grade audio.

After 45 years in business, Lee Dorsey’s sons John and Ed formally joined the business in 1975. Their affinity for both the musical and hobbyist elements of the business made them an important addition to the legacy and future of Soundscape in Baltimore.

About - Soundscape 75

Soundscape 1975

The business also moved to its present location that same year - but at first with only half of the building that is currently occupied. John and Ed Dorsey both were proficient musicians and audiophiles. Additionally, their father’s interest in electronics and all things mechanical had made a permanent impression on them. Later they were joined by brother Richard Dorsey, who had studied music in college.

A new name was deemed necessary as to reflect on the wide range of products and services that customers were searching for. Customers were calling for the newest high performance audio systems, moving beyond the simpler days of AM radio and 78's.

Soundscape Today

Ed’s son Justin also works at Soundscape, helping customers on the salesfloor and managing repairs and warranty service.

Our commercial installation and design team is led by Andrew Myer...... (need more)

 

About - Soundscape Now - v2

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