They Look Casual but Product Speaks Volume : The dressed-down minds behind Sonance are major producers of ‘architectural audio’ equipment including hi-fi in-wall speakers.

SAN CLEMENTE —  “I knew you were coming, so I put on jeans today,” said public relations director Mitch Simon, smiling as he leads a tour of Sonance, a high-tech speaker company in San Clemente, where all the workers are dressed as if for a trip from the couch to the refrigerator. “Usually I just wear shorts and a T-shirt myself.”

As does Scott Struthers, the shy, 33-year-old founder and hands-on president of the company. In denim shorts, a black polo shirt and his rose-color-framed glasses, he’s not your typical businessman. But Struthers runs a successful, growing company with 1992 sales of about $10 million, and more likely this year.

“I think it’s really important to wear what you want to work,” said Struthers. “Instead of making our company like IBM, where everyone tries to look the same, we have a bunch of individuals with a common goal--to take care of our customers.”

Formed in 1985, Sonance was the first to produce a high-fidelity stereo speaker designed for in-wall installation, and now specializes in “architectural audio” products, such as in-wall speakers, volume controls and amplifiers designed for home theaters in the houses of the rich and lavish worldwide.

Along with nearly 45 employees, the company has at least 800 distributors for its specialized in-wall speakers. The speakers are designed so they can almost melt into the wall, camouflaged by paint, wallpaper or even covered by a painting on special fabrics.

The company said it commands nearly 40% of the world market for high-fidelity in-wall speakers, according to a 1991 study conducted by the company and verified by an independent trade publication.

Indeed, Sonance speakers and amplifiers can be found in the Virgin Megastore on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles and will be installed in the new Virgin music store in the Triangle Square in Costa Mesa. William Shatner of “Star Trek” fame and Pilar Wayne, widow of John Wayne, are among the people of note who have Sonance speakers in their homes.

“I think they have the best product,” said Lee Hafley, senior manager of Audio Visions, an audio and video installation company in Irvine, which has put Sonance products in many commercial businesses and homes. “Sonance spends a lot of money on research and development and they ask for a lot of dealer feedback.”

A Minnesota native of Wayzata, near Minneapolis, Struthers was a college physics and business major who bought his first stereo--and speakers--when he was 18. Five years later, he made a much more costly purchase with personal savings when he and partner Geoff Spencer plunked down $30,000 for a company called Home Technology Systems, which evolved into Sonance.

With the increasing popularity of home theaters, the company is now moving into the area of subwoofer speakers, which can differentiate and adapt to either video sound or stereo sound.

“When the bomb blows up during a movie you want to be able to feel it in your chest,” he said. “But for music you want an accurate sound. The subwoofer can adapt to either.”

Struthers has high-fidelity speakers throughout his house, even in the shower.

“It’s the best area in the house for sound,” he said. In the mornings before his five-minute commute--just two lights--he likes to listen to classic rock music, everything from ABBA to AC/DC. He especially likes the Rolling Stones.

Typically just the speaker system in several rooms can cost from $3,000 to $8,000. But for a home theater system, including movie screens and high-tech sound, the cost can range from $20,000 to $100,000.

Sonance competes with companies like Infinity Systems, a speaker manufacturer in Chatsworth, in Los Angeles County, and with Sound Advance in Santa Ana.

“Sonance is unique in that they focus everything they do on the custom home installation market,” said Mitch Witten, director of home audio sales at Infinity, who said the company sells its products at major retail stores such as Circuit City. “Sonance knows their niche and I would say they are the dominant player in that portion of the marketplace.”

In Orange County, Bertagni Electronic Sound Transducers International in Santa Ana started a division called Sound Advance in June, 1992, to target specialty in-wall speakers for the residential market.

“We are trying as hard as we can to give Sonance and the other names in the business a run for their money,” said Susan Schneider, manager of customer relations for BEST International. “Sonance does a very good job.”