Since 1974, our family of gearheads and audiophiles has been known for helpful advice, unparalleled know-how, and lifetime support of every product we sell.
In 1974, when Bill Crutchfield founded the company in the family garage in his hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia, he was
really trying to fix a problem he'd experienced as a customer: how do you figure out which aftermarket
car stereos and speakers will work in your vehicle? He came to the conclusion that expert information,
shared by people who really cared about problem-solving, was the answer. More than 6 million customers later,
those principles continue to drive the business.
We've grown to employ over 600 people in our home state of Virginia, built tools like the Vehicle Finder tool and our interactive 28,000-vehicle-strong Vehicle Fit Database,
and developed technological innovations to let customers audition speakers online and shop for A/V gear with an Advisor steering their web journey.
Need an expert?
Crutchfield Advisors like Cam and Morgan are ready to help.
Our Advisors receive weeks of hands-on
training with a wide range of car and home electronics before helping customers from our Virginia call centers. And our customers can rely on free lifetime technical support
on any gear they buy from us, be it a TV, a subwoofer, headphones, or a drone. It all stems from Bill's continued leadership, and his ongoing belief in detailed, expert information and exceptional customer service.
The results are good for everyone: Crutchfield is proud to the be the only company to win the BizRate Insights Platinum
Circle of Excellence award 23 years in a row. Bill Crutchfield was inducted into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame for his
contributions and leadership. Crutchfield has been honored four times as one of the Best Places to Work in
Virginia, by the Best Companies group and Virginia Business magazine.
Meet our family
What separates Crutchfield from everyone else? Our level of care and expertise. We’re right here in Virginia, ready to help you.
“We don’t need a 500-page manual on how to behave. Just treat people the way you want to be treated.”
Bill Crutchfield instituted the Basic Beliefs in 1983, during a period of crisis and culture change. The business was suffering, and after
some deep consideration, Bill found the reason: with Crutchfield’s rapid growth in the early 1980s, employees had lost their direct connection
to Bill and his personal values. In response, he wrote out his core beliefs, and met with each employee to explain how important they were. While
some didn’t initially subscribe to the new approach, most employees welcomed it, and the business took off. To this day, we follow the Basic Beliefs
in all that we do.
Exceed our customers’ expectations by providing a truly exceptional level of integrity, courtesy, service, and helpful information.
Value each of our coworkers and provide a work environment that promotes dignity, team harmony, and personal satisfaction.
Respect our business partners and maintain mutually rewarding relationships with vendors who demonstrate high professional standards.
Maintain a passion for excellence through a commitment to continuous improvement.
Promote a culture of innovation through the acceptance of change and risk, generation of new ideas, and decisive, responsible leadership of new initiatives.
In 1974, Bill Crutchfield ran into a problem while restoring his Porsche 356. He wanted to upgrade the audio system by
installing a new stereo. But after an exhaustive search, he couldn’t find help from any
local or mail-order resource. So he started his own business to help car owners upgrade
their own sound systems.
But it wasn’t a hit right away. Crutchfield’s first year sales didn’t come close to covering the start-up costs.
Without a business consultant to turn to, Bill sent out questionnaires directly to his customers.
“My customers told me they needed more information, so I made room in the catalog for a detailed story about car stereos and installation techniques. With that, the business took off.”
Bill’s DIY attitude, innovative spirit, and natural knack for helping others have been part of our company’s DNA
ever since. We still look at every product presentation, customer interaction, and package shipped as an
opportunity to create — yet another — lifelong fan.
Our Timeline
Check out some great photos and milestones from our company’s 49 year history.
1974
Bill launches his new mail-order car stereo business and sends out his first catalogs. The Porsche 356 shown here is the same one that sparked the idea for his business. It remains on display at the Crutchfield Store in Charlottesville, Virginia.
1975
Based on customer feedback, Bill re-imagines what a catalog can be, and changes the electronics business forever. The Crutchfield catalog isn’t just a list of products. It is a snapshot of the gear, tech, and trends we’re into now — and how we’re helping others enjoy it.
1981
Our business expands to include home audio and video. To the delight of our in-house audiophiles, Crutchfield starts carrying home audio systems and portable players like the iconic Sony Walkman. Our selection soon grows to include “cutting edge” video gear such as HiFi stereo VCRs and 19” color tube TVs.
1983
When company sales start flagging, Bill identifies the cause as a lost connection to the company’s original values. Bill crafts the Crutchfield Basic Beliefs to clearly define our values, employees respond, and the business takes off again.
1992
We formally create our vehicle research team and start providing our vehicle-specific installation instructions known as MasterSheets™. Even our most experienced DIY customers find these detailed instructions invaluable.
1995
Crutchfield.com is born. We launch this website and become the very first authorized online retailer of consumer electronics.
2006
The Vehicle Finder tool makes finding the right gear even easier. Our system digs through years of hands-on research and measurements to instantly serve up products and installation gear that will fit your vehicle.
2007
Bill Crutchfield enters the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame. Other 2007 inductees include luminaries such as Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft; Dick Schulze, founder of Best Buy; and the legendary Dr. Amar Bose.
2013
Crutchfield begins offering pro audio equipment for the stage and studio, to the applause of the many gigging musicians who work here.
2019
We introduce SpeakerCompare™ — our Patented Virtual Audio™ tool for auditioning speakers online. This breakthrough technology simulates the sound of different home and car speakers through headphones, so you can compare their sonic characteristics.
Research & training
“We’ve dedicated ourselves to research, and it continues to fuel our drive to give customers
everything they need to make smart decisions.”
— Bill Crutchfield
“We’ve dedicated ourselves to research, and it continues to fuel our drive to give customers
everything they need to make smart decisions. And we’re always striving to do it better.”
— Bill Crutchfield
Vehicle research team
With a database of over 28,000 vehicles — and counting — Crutchfield has more car audio DIY dirt than
anyone. Our Vehicle Research Team is a big reason why. Their in-depth info makes it easier for you to
find the gear that fits and install it in your vehicle.
They’ve collected all this the old fashioned way — by taking apart dashes and doors of all types of vehicles.
Each step in the removal and replacement process is documented with detailed, step-by-step notes and upwards of 400 photos.
Research is our thing
Around 150 cars go through the full process each year, and numerous other vehicles roll into our research garage when we need a quick look at a new factory system.
All this info comes into play when you speak to a Crutchfield Advisor or enter your vehicle information into our
Vehicle Finder page.
Instead of wading through a bunch of stuff that doesn't work, you’ll go straight to what fits your car. Plus, we can send you our
vehicle-specific installation instructions — free with most car audio purchases.
Hands-on research
Our product research team opens the box for almost every one of the thousands of products we sell. Why? We want
to make sure you know everything about your purchase.
We have a team of full-time, in-house product researchers with about 100 years of experience between them. “I’m the ‘newbie’ of the group, with 23
years here at Crutchfield,” quipped researcher Mark G. as he unboxed a new set of headphones. “But I still feel like it’s something new every day.
One day I’m testing the state-of-the-art features of an $8,000 camera and the next I’m weighing and measuring a $25 accessory.”
Going in deep
“We measure every product and part down to the 1/1,000th of an inch,” said researcher Stacey B.
It’s all to make sure you — and your Advisor — have the most accurate info possible while shopping. We provide these specs on
our website, and use the data to inform our product recommendations.
This is how we match TVs with the right wall mounts, or properly pair speakers and amps. And we combine the info we collect on car audio products
with the info we collect on vehicles. So when we say something fits your car, we can say it with confidence and firsthand knowledge.
Training
Before our experts ever talk to customers on their own, they go through extensive classroom and on-the-job training. “Each Advisor goes through about 14 weeks of product and skills training, give or take a few days,” said JR, the head trainer at our Charlottesville headquarters.
“The majority of our time is spent on products, because there are soooo many,” said JR. “But we also teach them how to ask the right questions — to ensure we're helpful and recommend the best solution.”
“It’s on-the-job learning as much as classroom learning.” said JR, the head trainer at Crutchfield headquarters since 2009.
Beyond the classroom, the training class gets hands-on with the stuff we sell, often in real-world situations. They travel to a professional recording studio, fly drones in a remote control airfield, and install stereos into their own vehicles. “They live with the product,” said JR, “so they can speak from experience when they talk to customers.”
No polystyrene packing peanuts here! Instead, we make our own starch-based, biodegradable peanuts. They readily dissolve in a compost pile or landfill. And making our own has reduced diesel exhaust, too – one truckload of our raw material creates the equivalent of 22 truckloads of finished material.
Our Packsize boxing system optimizes each box for the items going into it. By reducing how much corrugated cardboard we’re using and creating smaller truckloads, we conserve natural resources, reduce diesel fuel usage and exhaust, and give you less material to recycle.
