Cable Research Lab may not be as immediately familiar as certain monster-scale wire companies but its designs harken back to the creations of Paul Weitzel and Winston Ma in the late 1990s, when they were known as FIM cables, since they were initially marketed by First Impression Music, Inc (FIM). Since that time the company has transitioned through ownership changes, settling on the CRL name in 2002. In 2006 CRL released a new generation of cables with the design and manufacturing side helmed by Art Almstead, president of Twisted Pair Designs. His team has sought to combine the high-energy-conductivity design of the original FIM cables with its own R&D improvements.