Sound Should Belong to the Space.
Not as an afterthought. Not as an add-on.
But as an integral part of the design itself.
Gowanus Audio designs and builds custom audio systems for commercial and residential environments. Each system is engineered to fit the space—visually and acoustically.
Our Approach
People perceive the space with their ears and with their eyes. We treat it that way. Every project begins with the space itself: its scale, function, and character. Every system we deliver is purpose-built for that environment—seamless, balanced, and deeply immersive. Nothing off-the-shelf, nothing generic. Systems that belong where they're installed.
Founder
Gowanus Audio was founded in 2016 by Pete Raho, a Brooklyn-based designer and fabricator whose serpentine path has led him to approach audio as both engineering and craft. Pete brings both a left and right brain sensibility that informs the design of every project, and whose analytical precision ensures each installation is executed without compromise.
His background spans fine art auctions, custom furniture, corporate retail, and years of buying and selling high-end audio equipment. Each experience honed a different skillset: the aesthetic, the handmade, the analytical. Great audio, to Pete, is conceived, built, and refined with intention.
Pete is also the founder of diyaudio.nyc, a Brooklyn-based community for audio enthusiasts and builders of all experience levels and abilities.
Learn more about Pete
Why Gowanus Audio?
We specialize in fully custom audio for commercial and residential spaces—custom crafted designs optimized for your acoustics, integrated seamlessly into the space, and built to last. Architects, designers, restaurants, retailers, and private clients trust us to elevate their projects with sound that blends into the space but stays with the people in it.
The Name
Gowanus Audio reflects both place and philosophy—a commitment to thoughtful, small-scale manufacturing and craft within an urban landscape known for reinvention and grit.
Watch Pete's TEDx talk on urban manufacturing