What began as a hobby to spend more time with his son quickly evolved into something far greater. While enjoying a glass of wine with his beautiful wife, Pierre Fourie had an idea that combined two of his long-standing passions: quality time with his 11-year-old son and a lifelong dream of building his own loudspeakers.
An engineer by training, Pierre had always imagined designing and constructing speakers, but the demands of life kept pushing the dream aside. Now, with some time on his hands, he realised this project could achieve both goals. As he embarked on this journey, what started as a hobby soon turned into a realisation—Pierre had found his true passion.
The first speaker he built was a modest 2-channel “boombox” featuring two 4-inch drivers and small tweeters. Made from Masonite pressed board, the rectangular unit wasn’t visually striking, but acoustically, it delivered impressive sound. Yet, while working on it, Pierre was already dreaming of something grander—bigger drivers, larger cabinets, and a speaker that would look as stunning as it sounded.
Next came two tall, Bluetooth-enabled speakers, one for each of his children. These speakers, finished in a sleek, bright white, featured full-range drivers in one and a combination of two tweeters and two 6.5-inch mid-range drivers in the other. But Pierre’s ambitions didn’t stop there. He soon built a large, floor-standing 3-way speaker system. This model, fittingly named Grande, boasted a dome tweeter, two 8-inch drivers rated at 250 watts RMS, and a powerful 15-inch 1000 watts RMS woofer. The Grande pair, with their pristine finish of five layers of white paint, looked and sounded spectacular.
From the very beginning, Pierre branded his creations under the name Fourier Acoustics, a tribute to the French mathematician Joseph Fourier, whose work laid the foundation for modern acoustics. The name also carried a personal touch—a play on Pierre’s surname, Fourie.
One evening, a couple of months down the path of this loudspeaker hobby, everything was about to change. The hobby was about to transform into a business idea. After sharing numerous photos of his speakers with a good friend, the friend requested a custom build. Something special.
It was then decided that Fourier Acoustics would build their first custom pair of speakers. The hobby had just become a small business venture. The design that was penned was that of the beautiful ‘Basis’ speaker – named so as this was to be the basis of Fourier Acoustics. As this would be a back-loaded horn design, Pierre had to find a way to neatly and consistently create flowing and curved tubes for the horns. Luckily his brother Cornell already had the solution, as he had built a 3-axis CNC milling machine a few years before. And so it started, Fourier Acoustics was alive. They immediately pulled their younger brother Dewald, with his keen eye for style, also into the venture.
Cornell and their younger brother Dewald, whose keen eye for aesthetics was indispensable, soon joined Pierre in the venture. Raised in Uitenhage, South Africa’s automotive hub, the three brothers grew up in a teacher’s house (also a qualified motor mechanic with a diploma in engineering), so there was no doubt that the brothers were going to come out the other end with an innovative and technical mind-set to life.
With a combined 72 years of experience in window and door frame manufacturing, engineering, and software development, their paths had led them to an unexpected but deeply fulfilling passion: crafting high-quality loudspeakers.
Upon the completion of the Basis speaker, the Fouries put ideas to paper for their next build.
The Calabash, inspired by the gourd of the same name, was the next major project. A bookshelf-sized speaker with a 6.5-inch Kevlar woofer rated at 125 watts and a sensitivity of 87 dB, the Calabash produced a rich midrange and crisp high notes, making it ideal for instrumental music. Its craftsmanship was equally impressive, built from 20 layers of high-quality plywood to form a rigid, thick-walled enclosure that provides for a solid, vibration-free loudspeaker. The units pack quite the punch and are true pieces of functional art.
Following this, the brothers introduced the Berlin, a two-channel unit featuring soft dome tweeters and four 5.25-inch Kevlar drivers, rated at 100 watts RMS each, creating a stunning piece that could sit on a shelf or table top, delivering powerful, clear sound.
Recently, Fourier Acoustics unveiled the Pangolin, a compact passive subwoofer with a 10-inch driver. They are also working on their next flagship model, the 3-way Baobab, and have begun custom builds for new clients. More will be shared about these in the coming months.
With operations based in both the Eastern Cape and Gauteng, production takes place at their factory near Jeffreys Bay, while design, sales, and marketing are handled from Sandton.
As 2024 draws to a close, Fourier Acoustics is seeing its customer base grow steadily, promising a busy and exciting end to the year. If you’re hoping to get your hands on a pair of these bespoke speakers before the holiday season, it’s best to place your order soon, as each unit is custom-built to order and is delivered to your doorstep with a personalised plaque to denote the owner of the masterpiece.
Fourier Acoustics: where passion for sound meets precision engineering.
