R.I.P: Rest In Peace Roy Johnson, Green Mountain Audio's Genius


All,

It is with heavy heart that I bring to you the heart breaking news of the passing of one of audio's true geniuses. Roy Johnson passed away this week after a long battle with cancer. He was a truly brilliant speaker designer, and true friend, and an amazing person. For those of us lucky to have known him as customers or friends we know he was infinitely committed to lending a hand, imparting his wisdom, solving problems and creating some of the most amazing loud speakers ever heard.  There were often gremlins in my system not centered around his loudspeakers and Roy would literally drop everything and help me trace down problems, while all the time educating and teaching me, not for gain, not for money, but because that's who Roy Johnson was. 

He will be greatly missed for his humor, his dedication, and his selflessness in audio and in life.

Rest in Peace Dear Friend,

You Are Loved
128x128birdfan
I'm terribly sorry to read this news. it was only last weekend I was talking about Green Mtn Audio & Roy with a family member & was informed that it was his birthday that day. We almost picked up the phone to call him to wish him but decided not at the last minute realizing the time difference across the globe meant it was deep into the night in Colorado Springs.
Little did we know that he was no more....... :-(

I've personally known Roy since 2003 when I bought my C1.5i both sight unseen & unheard. I never regretted it - loved the speaker! I was looking for a special speaker that would render the music as naturally as possible - little did i know that I was looking for a time-coherent speaker as that word didn't exist in my audio vocabulary. That's how I e-ran into Roy via (what I think is the single best audio thread on Audiogon) the forum topic " Time coherence - how important and what speakers?". Roy's contribution in that thread was superb - as many have posted above before me, he sought to educate us forum members unlike many other manufacturers. I was fortunate to meet Roy personally several times both at RMAF and at his 2 different manufacturing workshops. We spent a lot of time together listening, him educating me & touring his manufactory. I agree - for those interested in his work he had all the time in the world. It's also thanks to him that I know about Garden of the Gods which I've visited atleast 3 times now - spectacular place indeed! 
I'm sorry to see one of the best in this business pass. May his soul rest in peace.
Like others I hope he made succession plans to carry on his work - it would be a shame to see all this work flounder & stop. We still need time-coherent speakers....
All,

If you are in the Colorado area and would be interested in an "Audiophile" memorial in Colorado Springs in the coming weeks (or months). My thoughts are to choose a home here which could accommodate a  number of audio nuts and eat and drink while listening to Roy's deigns. I personally have three sets of speakers to add to this experience: Continuum .5's, Continuum 1.0's, and the amazing Chroma HD's please feel free to reach out to me via PM if interested. 

Best 

Benj
One more thing.. If you go to YouTube and type in "Green Mountain Audio" there's a playlist created by Roy with some great tunes and eccentric curiosities..
In the mid-1990s I just lusted after a pair of green marble Diamantes at a local dealership. Just gorgeous. Sad to hear this.

RIP