Pro audio brand management firm Audio Alchemist has announced the acquisition of Chameleon Labs, manufacturer of analog equipment inspired by classic 1970s British preamps and compressors.
Established in the early 2000s, Chameleon Labs was acquired in 2014 by veteran audio electronics designer Marcelo Vercelli, known for developing products and patents for Event, Mackie, RCF and KV2, who has focused the company on a new generation of products that include the flagship 7603 preamplifier and the 7721 stereo VCA compressor.
“Chameleon Labs invested two years and a mountain of cash for research and development into the total ground-up redesigns of the 7602 and 7720,” says Audio Alchemist principal Marek Stycos. “Both new incarnations now perform in an utterly different sonic weight class, thanks to tech like discrete EQ, op amps, proprietary-wound input and output transformers, SMT construction, vetted film resistors and custom internal universal power supplies fueling fat voltage rails. This has catapulted them out of the copycat classification and into the annals of modern American design — with a tip of the hat to British sensibilities.”
Stycos, who is now president of Chameleon Labs as well as president of Dangerous Music Group, continues, “In 2022, Chameleon Labs approached Audio Alchemist with an offer to sell us the company. This will provide the funding and vision needed to take Chameleon Labs to the next level of its evolution. Since the acquisition, we’ve built a healthy inventory of 7603s and 7721s.”
