Cliff Stone was the founder of Foundation Audio in 1979, which produced a single-stem metal speaker stand in England. The single-stem metal speaker stand became extremely popular and was known as the Foundation Classic. Many audiophiles marveled at its superior build, quality, finishing, and pleasing aesthetic. Having achieved to be the benchmark of all speaker stands, the Classic was put to draw comparisons with other stands within the same price range category through the years. Cliff Stone took 2 years to synthesize the unique Foundation Formula Fill which was used in filling the speaker stand in the factory. He was rewarded the Accessory of the Year Award by The British FBA for his great effort in 1985. Formula Fill was a mixture of filling materials applied to speaker stands. The Fillings cancel out unwanted harmonics and absorb some of the vibrations generated by the speaker cabinet. It opened up the speakers' natural sound without any change to the basic character of the speaker.

In 1996, Cliff Stone sold Foundation Audio to Focus Audio, a high end speaker manufacturer based in Markham, Ontario, Canada.   Focus adhered to the authority of  "the Foundation" of its products and designs whereas Cliff Stone remains as an exclusive consultant of future projects. Immediately after the acquisition, Cliff Stone modified the Classic and Designer speaker stands. The new stands outperformed the old Classic. They are given the names the Classic II and Designer II. Since then, the new stands have been manufactured in Canada.