Walt Lewsadder at Woodland Stereo. Arnie Nudell thought he was pretty good also, helping with Arnie's first loudspeaker designs.
Pioneers in the history of higher end/accurate sounding components....and you..
Not a contest, just what good people that made good sounding "gear" helped you on your journey?
Mine would be Henry Kloss, Tom Holman, Saul Marantz, and some very, very good people representing those and other companies. In going to the early CES shows in Chicago, and events in NYC and other cities, some of my best education, experiences and "times" were with some of the "other" people that worked for those companies that were not the big names. When the store I worked at was a major Advent speaker dealer I/we spent time at the Drake Hotel in Chicago with some simply great, helpful and wise people from Advent.
Mine would be Henry Kloss, Tom Holman, Saul Marantz, and some very, very good people representing those and other companies. In going to the early CES shows in Chicago, and events in NYC and other cities, some of my best education, experiences and "times" were with some of the "other" people that worked for those companies that were not the big names. When the store I worked at was a major Advent speaker dealer I/we spent time at the Drake Hotel in Chicago with some simply great, helpful and wise people from Advent.
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Eric Alexander and Duke LeJeune helped me a lot with speakers. Keith Herron helped me understand the importance and meaning of timing. Krissy Tetrault proved the signal is not what we think it is. Chris Brady helped me with the ideas and a lot of the Teres Audio components that went into building my turntable. DJ Casser taught me a huge amount about vibration control, with components and concepts that 30 years later still pay big dividends even though they have been massively improved on by what I've learned from Rick Calder and Max Townshend. Stewart Marcantoni started it all, introducing me to Caelin Gabriel and Ted Denney, and pulling the strings that got me into the Talon room one year at CES. So probably better include Mike Farnsworth of Talon. Oh, and Michael Fremer. When having narrowed it down to a VPI or a Basis I could not make up my mind, Michael Fremer called and we had a nice long talk. At the end of which I had learned one of the most important lessons of all: that the way to do it is to talk about how things sound, because once you know enough about that you will not need anyone to tell you. You yourself will know what to do. |
I would guess we all know that this is also a generational question. The influences of each decade from the 1940s on would be different people with some overlap of the people that were productive for a long time. A major thank you to those designers and business people that have helped me have so much pleasure from their efforts. |
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This guy! Edgar VillchurAcoustic suspension was invented in 1954 by Edgar Villchur, and brought to commercial production by Villchur and Henry Kloss with the founding of Acoustic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts Speaker cabinets with acoustic suspension can provide well controlled bass response, especially in comparison with an equivalently-sized speaker enclosure that has a bass reflex port or vent. |
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I have never lived such a charmed life as MC. No one has ever pulled strings allowing me access into the Talon room nor has Michael Fremer ever "called me" for a "nice long talk" (note MC didn't call Fremer nor was is it a brief talk...ha...whatever) to help me through a component buying decision. So much for the OP's opening words "Not a contest...". |
Pieces and bits in all that i read from giants audio mouths in audio magazine and sometimes in forums help me understand basic... But some totally unknown people inspire me on par with them, about unknown or less known facts and with "speakable and unspeakable" experiments and experience... If engineering masters are many in the industry, nevertheless i was helped the most by few imaginative ordinary but unorthodox people..... All my embeddings ideas comes not from audio masters but were inspired by mostly unknown or not well known customers and audiophiles.... Masters mainly create their piece of electronic engineering design audio gear, but what will you do with them AFTER buying? This was for me the fundamental question, what will i do with what i bought? Listen to it when the gear is connected out of the box and stay still? If it is dissatisfaction or boredom after this listening experience, upgrading toward another new product coming from a great master? Some unknown people speak an another language than throwing money in upgrading chase.... I listen to them and begins my own journey with my own ignorance able to be creative without the burden of too much heavy and straight knowledge to imped it.... Ok if you want a master name : Floyd E.Toole, he was not a master electronic desiger but a great acoustician, and most ignore or underscore the importance of acoustic , they turn their head instead to upgrading costly electronic components.... The acoustical embedding control is very important like the other 2 but it speak more spectacularly than the mechanical or the electrical embedding to the ears... :) 😊🤐😎 |
A very firm yes to Mr. Vandersteen. In the last 20+ years perhaps the biggest speaker influence to introducing people to "real" fidelity. The 1, 1B, 1C. 1Ci....and the bigger models, but the one series must be the modern day "welcome to high fidelity" that the original Advent was for many of a slightly older generation. Mr. Kloss and Mr. Vandersteen were/are as an album was once titled, "Twin Sons of Different Mothers". |
Now, these were not "entry level" but Jim Thiel and his company made beautiful music with their speakers. I will need to write down my "audio gear" history...but either Thiel or Magnepan will probably be the most owned speaker brands of mine. Ours is a very small part of what is consumed for music playback. I would guess there are some boombox models that sold more than most high end speaker models. In my youth through my middle age, I realized that many have a jukebox in a bar for their "reference" point for the sound they desire....which is fine, but does not have much to do with most of us on AudiogoN. |
I left out the Michael (I think it was) who was VP of the record label Holly Cole recorded Temptation on because I am still embarrassed to have forgotten his name. But he’s another one I learned a lot from. He came to visit our audio club and play us some demo tapes on the release of their newly remastered Kind of Blue, their claim to fame being having tracked down a master tape and researched the deck and figured out all the Kind of Blue everyone has been hearing for years and years is at the wrong speed. Michael Fremer by the way, this was 1992 or something like that, no internet, hardly any email, people would write actual paper from dead tree letters to Stereophile. Or fax. Mine was faxed. Thought long as I’m going to the trouble asking questions might as well include a couple phone numbers. This was before cell phones too so put my work number on there. Lo and behold Mikey calls me at work! Ha! My life has always to me seemed rather normal. Looking back on it though, meeting Carl Sagan, Paul Newman, Jerry Seinfeld, and Mario Andretti, being on set with Michael Douglas and Dennis Miller, if all you do all day long is peck out pointless whiny blather it must all sound unbelievably fantastic. Oh well. |
Miller, I know what you mean. I raced at Road America in a race that Mr. Newman was at. Ate with Henry Kloss, and just happened to be in some place for some reason when a "known" person was there. None of it made me any better/different than that fanfare for that "common man". .. As a sidelight.... Steve McQueen and Paul Newman were actually very good drivers and their fame may have made some people think it was their fame...but no, the were good drivers. McQueen won his class at Sebring driving with Peter Revson. From Bullitt, the the film Le Mans, McQueen did every bit of driving the insurance companies would allow and then he would do a bit more. The fact that Dick Van Dyke is a distant cousin doesn't help me as he has no idea I exist. But you can't help but envy a guy that was in a show with a young, beautiful Mary Tyler Moore. |
Name-dropping tends to go hand-in-hand with narcissism. But hey, if the shoe fits ;-) https://qz.com/907931/name-dropping-basically-always-backfires/#:~:text=Why%20we%20name%20drop,of%20Georgia%20psychology%20professor%20W. Here’s the really bad news: “Name dropping is absolutely terrible for our credibility,” says Davey. When we name-drop, no matter how smoothly we try to insert another person’s name in the conversation, the listener almost always sees through the act. Interjecting another person’s name is distracting, and it also leaves the listener questioning why you’re so hesitant to just talk about yourself. One study (paywall) found that when someone name-drops to assert their closeness to a powerful person, they’re perceived both as less competent and as manipulative. Who does this sound like? lol |
Isn't it sad when you have done somethings in your life that included some people that others might recognize that it becomes "name dropping" to the insecure? I guess that some of my studies, travels and business experience that happened to include some people that did some very good work is seen as name dropping (Paul Land...?)....guess I shouldn't mention two of my parents friends....Roy Rogers and Ed Sullivan....but not the ones you think, but men that had those names. I wonder how many men in the world have the name, James Bond, that have lived the encounters you can imagine. I was at a restaurant in Chicago when they called out that the table was ready for James Bond. I am tempted to say something about James Van Allen...but.... |
Let me get this straight....only insecure people roll their eyes at name-droppers? You will never find one psychologist who will agree with that premise because it's backwards. Name-dropping is a sign of insecurity...a need to garner more credibility by associating oneself with greatness. Those who see through the thin veil are normal. |
Ken Stevens from Convergent Audio Technology (CAT) has been making some of the best sounding preamps and amps in the world (tube or SS) for more than 30 years, and deserves mention. It’s hard to have a conversation about world class amps and preamps without mentioning his gear. To his credit, he’s done it his way....he’s never sold out or caved to the business politics of the industry, doesn’t pay much attention to the marketing game, and still has very little internet presence, yet is extremely well regarded in the inner circles of esoteric audio. The pursuit of perfection has always comes first, and he just keeps raising the bar, which is exactly why his gear performs like it does. While not exactly known for world class stuff, David Hafler has made some excellent products and has had a significant impact. Over the years I've had a Hafler preamp and Hafler DH-500 amp. Years later I'm still enjoying the fruits of his labor listening to some modified Dynaco amps that he designed. |
A guy named Fred Farmer owned an audio store in Pembroke, MA. He introduced me to and ultimately sold to me the Apogee Duetta Signatures which I still own today. His store is long gone, but thanks Fred. Been happy listening for the past 30 years! Jerry Seinfeld, Paul Newman and Michael Fremer were not present however. |
