1. Home
  2. amps-preamps
  3. 153000-300

Roger Alan Modjeski (RAM) 1951 - 2019

It is with great sadness that I announce Roger A. Modjeski passed away peacefully in his home in San Pablo, CA after an 12 month battle with cancer. Roger started Music Reference in 1981 and later RAM Tubes, The Tube Audio Store, and The Berkeley HiFi School. For more than 38 years he tirelessly ran his business and designed some of the most unique and well received audio components in the industry. Right until the near end Roger was working, designing, and teaching until he physically was unable to continue.

The link below will take you my playground where I have posted my tribute to Roger (click ENTER after the page loads):

http://www.electrafidelity.com/

Fare thee well my friend.
clio09
davedahlcalifornia
2 posts
 
Roger was one of my best friends for 30 years. He was logical to the point of pain-in-the-ass and we spent hundreds of hours on the phone when we didn't live in the same town, talking about science and theories and unraveling the universe.  He taught me so much, but if there's one lesson brightest in my mind it's to always ask, "How do you know?" And it's amazing how many answers fail that simplest of tests. 

"Let's find out," he would say.

davedahlcalifornia
2 posts
 
Roger talks about his design philosophy in this short video from about 8 years ago... https://youtu.be/x5Tr9lDT6fo
ndevamp
55 posts
 
Yes I remember he would say let’s work it out! It annoyed him that people would come out with a statement and say it’s true, and only have erroneous evidence for it.
gallassero's avatar
gallassero
10 posts
 
I bought an RM-5 Mk.II and RM-9 Mk.I in 1991. In 1995 I sold the RM-9 and bought 2 RM-9 Mk. II's ( hard-wired Mono ). I had ONE tube fail in 24 years. After 20 years I switched all the tubes out on both amps ( Svetlana El-34 & NOS Amperex 6922's.) , tube-rolling as Art told me Roger coined the term.
Early in 2018 Roger wanted to know if I would be interested in a pair of new amps to DIRECTLY drive my Soundlab Majestic 945's, I said HELL YES. Sadly that will not materialize. After 24 years, I have changed EVERY piece of gear in my system, and STILL not needing to upgrade the RM-9 Mk. II's. Clearaudio Stradivari V2, Kuzma 11" 4-Point, SOTA Millennium, Audible Illusions M3B, Soundlab 945's, Tara Lab cabling. I will play these amps 'till the day I retire from earth.
Never met him in person. My sincere condolences to the family. Roger was a delight....... in every aspect..........
ndevamp
55 posts
 
Mmm, sounds like he was working on the direct drive amp for the Majestic last year. So a circuit for it probably exists somewhere in his stuff. I imagine it would be a refinement of his 80s-90s one. I wonder if this was going to be a statement circuit for him, an early hint that he was becoming ill?
More to discover