Ever wondered how a Cambridge Audio product goes from idea to reality?
Oscar Stewart is our Product Manager for physical products. He’s the link between what our customers want and what we actually build. That means working closely with engineers, designers, and the wider team to make sure every new product delivers on sound, functionality, and usability. From early concepts to final decisions, Oscar plays a key role in shaping products that feel as good to use as they sound.
So… what does a product manager actually do here?
Great question. My role as a product manager is to ensure that our customers have a voice when we develop products. It's easy to get caught up making interesting, engineering-led products without considering whether they’re suitable for our customers—that's where I come in. I'm here to ensure the products we make align with customer needs.
What’s the first step when we decide to make a new product?
We take ideas and talk about them—where they fit into the market, what the customer needs are, and how we can solve them. We try and use as much market data as possible to help ensure we’re building the right product with the right features and solutions.
How do you balance what people ask for with what’s actually possible?
That's a difficult question. We have to dig deep into the value of the proposals and try to understand the underlying customer need behind them. We can then make a call on whether it’s a valuable feature, and if it’s possible to implement. We’d love to make everything that everyone wants—sadly though, we have to take a more targeted approach.
What’s one feature or idea you loved… that didn’t make the cut?
Well, I'm a big headphone user, so a pair of passive headphones for home use would have been a great project for Cambridge. Never say never though.
Do you have a track you always test with?
I used to always use Porcupine Tree – Trains, as it begins acoustic before kicking into a heavier prog-rock track. Lately though I’ve switched it up a bit. Sleep Token – The Night Does Not Belong to God has become one of my most used tracks. There’s a huge range of genres going on; it’s a great test track in my opinion.
If you weren’t a product manager, what would you be doing instead?
I've been working in audio for many years now, so I’d still be in this industry, just in a different role. I can’t say for sure which role, but perhaps it would be something business development–related or sales.
Got a question for Oscar? Drop it in the comments.
Or add your ideas in the New Product Ideas space, and Oscar will take a look!