Who's Who in Amp/ Preamp design?


I think of certain companies and certain people come to mind (PS Audio, for example), but other manufacturers appear to be corporate black holes (Mark Levinson- the company for example). Just who is who, to the best of your knowledge? Who should we be watching out for in amp/ preamp design and what are they like, and for which company? Can we get some personalities involved!! We are in this for the fun of it right, who is out there making our lives better? Manufactures chime in if you dare!
Example:
BAT- I think of a dude named Victor laboring over his balanced circuits, sweating due to the heat they put out,
PS Audio- I think of a cheerful guy named Paul McGowan and some other happy dudes with code names working on amp and power solutions in the crisp air of Colorado.
Threshold/ Pass- I think of Nelson Pass, circuit designer and circuit homebrewer!
Marsh - obviously there is a someone named Marsh at this place.
Gryphon Audio design- I think of a guy in black clothing named Rassmussen testing the designs while listening to a reel-to-reel (Revox perhaps?) with the lights dimmed due to the power-hungry class A designs being used.
Krell- Dan D'A. CEO but does he actually do anything?
Vandersteen- well, speakers don't count in this thread.

Anyone else?
(spelling does not count on this thread...obviously!)
south_park

Showing 2 responses by sean

To explain the above post for those that aren't familiar with this "company", they had kind of a "cult following" in the late 60's. Everybody involved in this "project" were very close knit, ala the "Family" nomenclature. As such, their love of audio and things musical were "put away" and their products simply became just another "FAD" of the hippy & drug culture. There are those that still remember Charles and know him as being quite eccentric in his theories. He was surely the mastermind behind some of the most extreme music related projects in history. Some of them being so removed from the mainstream that many thought them criminal. Charles even went so far as to record his own demo's. With some help from Mike Love of the Beach Boys, he was able to cut such classics as "Garbage Dump", along with a few other acoustic based tunes. The work was so legendary that bands such as Guns & Roses have even covered one of his tunes. Alas, Charles has other things to deal with and his mind ( what is left of it ) is hard at work on trying to figure out how to break down the barriers that conventional ways of thought have imprisoned him in. Don't look for any "new products" soon, but if he does release something, you can bet it WILL make the news. Sean
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