Our story · Dutch by design

How close can a loudspeaker come to the music itself?

The question Maarten Smits keeps returning to, since 1989.

The people behind the panels

Final was founded in the Netherlands in 1989 by Maarten and Michiel Smits, with one ambition: to bring listeners closer to the original performance.

Final grew from Maarten Smits’ pursuit of greater clarity and definition in reproduced sound, and his determination to improve how electrostatic loudspeakers could perform in the home.

That same curiosity continues to guide the company today. Every loudspeaker is developed through close listening, practical experimentation and a detailed understanding of the materials and technology involved, and hand-built in the Netherlands by the people who first imagined it.

Two Final electrostatic panels in the workshop, between a stair, packed components and pallets — From the workshop · Final archive
Where the panels
are made.
Every panel begins in the workshop. Making it part of a room takes attention to every detail, from the openness of the panel to the shape of its frame.

A continuing pursuit

The idea
keeps moving.

From the first chapter to the loudspeakers we make today.

1989
A Dutch original.
Maarten and Michiel Smits establish Final, beginning a shared exploration of electrostatic loudspeaker design.
1990s
Listening comes first.
Final focuses on the audiophile community and the possibilities of the electrostatic panel.
2000s
A different course.
Final passes into new ownership and sets out in other directions. In time, the company goes quiet.
2019
Back to the bench.
Maarten Smits brings Final home to Bloemendaal and returns to the question that started it all: how close can a loudspeaker come to the music itself?
Today
The pursuit continues.
A new collection carries the electrostatic principle into homes and listening spaces, hand-built by the people who first imagined it.
Explore the collection