Absolutley! +1
Without Bob there would be no DVD-A (aka Dolby TrueHD )
Major contributions to design and research on digital audio processing and active speaker designs as well
Leading High-End Audio Designers
- Thread starter MylesBAstor
- Start date
Absolutley! +1
Without Bob there would be no DVD-A (aka Dolby TrueHD )
Major contributions to design and research on digital audio processing and active speaker designs as well
Any list would be sadly unfinished if Leo Spiegel isn't mentioned for the Apogee speaker line. Also, little known, for now, is Hung Ho who makes the Fire preamp.
no mention of linkwitz??? heck, most of the speaker guys already mentioned would use his filter topology??
+1 for Roger Sanders from my view point. Just see his posts in the speakers section for a taste of why he belongs on any such list.
Ken Stevens of CAT, Jeff Rowland, Franco Serblin, the late Arthur Janszen, Jim Winey and Jim Strickland are just a few that come to mind.
Harry Nyquist and Claude Shannon? 
Definitely Linkwitz. How many designers can get a credible 40 hz and a great soundstage out of household plumbing?
P
Definitely Linkwitz. How many designers can get a credible 40 hz and a great soundstage out of household plumbing?
P
Dear MylesBastor: +++++ " which designers (or even stores) do you feel have had the most significant impact upon the high end audio industry? " +++++
first than all I would like to say that any manufacturer/designer that goes/marketing/commercial at the HEAM ( high end audio market ) deserve our each one " distinction ".
Reading over the thread and with all respect to each person that already posted IMHO all those " names " are important as all the ones we can find in the Stereophile Annual audio buyers gyide or the " old " Audio bible.
But from there to say whom were the ones that makes " the difference " needs IMHO a more in deep research and maybe more selctive and I'm not saying that all the ones name it in the thread are not important ones NO everyone is or was important but meny were " followers " but IMHO only a few were the " starters ".
Not only as designers but manufacturer names ( where we don't know the designers name. ) and some " names " that we normally do not think on them but that directly or indirectly help with significance to the HEAI grows.
Obviously that each one of us have different know how about and the other subject is that there are to many links in the whole HE audio chain and in each one link there are/is some one that makes " the difference ".
I don't know whom will be the best judge to name the ones that makes " the difference " for the better in each HE audio link, certainly I'm not.
I can write some important examples: the ones that start with the MC cartridge designs and that matketed ( because these ones IMHO were whom makes the real " the difference ". ), Joe Grado and Ortofon. Where can we put cartridge/tonearms manufacturers like: Fidelity Research , Supex, Satin, Audio Technica, Grace, Empire, ADC, Sonus, Stanton, Ikeda, Decca, etc, etc, Remember Klipsh? and his Klpishorns?. Remember Luxman with theirs vaccum hold down TTs?. Where is Marantz or Machintosh? ( were important? I don't know. ), Technics or Denon or Pioneer or Onkyo or Kenwood or Micro Seiki or Yamaha or Sony or Stax or Victor on TT, tonearms and cartridges and a full Japanese list that many of us are unaware of its existence or importance in the today HE status. Keith Monks. Rabco tonearm designer, etc, etc.
I think that list that makes " the difference " is a very hard task and certainly a welcome information when appear in the future.
regards and enjoy the music,
raul.
first than all I would like to say that any manufacturer/designer that goes/marketing/commercial at the HEAM ( high end audio market ) deserve our each one " distinction ".
Reading over the thread and with all respect to each person that already posted IMHO all those " names " are important as all the ones we can find in the Stereophile Annual audio buyers gyide or the " old " Audio bible.
But from there to say whom were the ones that makes " the difference " needs IMHO a more in deep research and maybe more selctive and I'm not saying that all the ones name it in the thread are not important ones NO everyone is or was important but meny were " followers " but IMHO only a few were the " starters ".
Not only as designers but manufacturer names ( where we don't know the designers name. ) and some " names " that we normally do not think on them but that directly or indirectly help with significance to the HEAI grows.
Obviously that each one of us have different know how about and the other subject is that there are to many links in the whole HE audio chain and in each one link there are/is some one that makes " the difference ".
I don't know whom will be the best judge to name the ones that makes " the difference " for the better in each HE audio link, certainly I'm not.
I can write some important examples: the ones that start with the MC cartridge designs and that matketed ( because these ones IMHO were whom makes the real " the difference ". ), Joe Grado and Ortofon. Where can we put cartridge/tonearms manufacturers like: Fidelity Research , Supex, Satin, Audio Technica, Grace, Empire, ADC, Sonus, Stanton, Ikeda, Decca, etc, etc, Remember Klipsh? and his Klpishorns?. Remember Luxman with theirs vaccum hold down TTs?. Where is Marantz or Machintosh? ( were important? I don't know. ), Technics or Denon or Pioneer or Onkyo or Kenwood or Micro Seiki or Yamaha or Sony or Stax or Victor on TT, tonearms and cartridges and a full Japanese list that many of us are unaware of its existence or importance in the today HE status. Keith Monks. Rabco tonearm designer, etc, etc.
I think that list that makes " the difference " is a very hard task and certainly a welcome information when appear in the future.
regards and enjoy the music,
raul.
Completely agree with Joe Grado. No list is complete w/o him.
Stuart Hegeman = HK and many other ventures
Dick Sequerra/Sid Smith = Marantz
Nakatsuka = Ortofon before moving to Namiki and eventually ZYX.
But in the end, we're not talking about products; we're talking about designers whose products advanced the state of the art in high end audio. I'm not sure all the products you've listed fall into that category. Remember, like the Baseball Hall of Fame, there are always borderline candidates who had great careers but not quite worthy of being inducted into the Hall. But I'm sure there also a few names not mentioned and that's why we're compiling the list, not criticizing other people choices. It would also be interesting in the long run to create a geneology of audio designers and from what original companies they began at. Something like all the people who came out of Dayton Wright.
Dear Myles: Yes, that designers geneology could be great.
My point is ( like I posted ) that every single designer deserve a high respect but some one with the right know how must have to distinguish those designers/manufacturers that made a true breakthrough in difference with those other " followers " that help to the HE grow up but that were/are great " followers " but not really a " breakthrough " ones. As I posted I'm not that " some one " with the in deep knowledge in each audio link to make that list but for me the important subject should be the " breakthrough " designer/manufacturer or product ( some one designed that product but with some big Japanese enterprises is almost imposible to know which one was the designer. ).
One easy example is Ortofon: IMHO with out Ortofon , that was whom impulse the LOMC cartridges, maybe the MC does not exist in commercial way and with its high success. This can you read in the Ortofon ( Petersen/Poulsen. ) site:
++++ " 1946 :The first mono cutterhead for the gramophone industry is developed, succeeded by development of the world’s first Moving Coil cartridge developed by Ortofon. " +++++
Koetsu, Dynavector, Supex and the like IMHO were/are " followers ", very important ones indeed but just " followers ".
Dr. A.J. VdH was/is IMHO a breakthrough in stylus shape design, he was/is not a follower on that regard but the one that made " the difference ".
Anyway, interesting thread.
Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.
Raul:
Perhaps this is where language fails us. As I said, there were athletes that had really solid careers but don't belong in the hall of fame. Same for audio designers.
I'd have to say that one of my criteria would be that they weren't one hit wonders and contributed in several areas of high-end audio - such as say Dick Sequerra in speaker, amp, preamp and tuner design--and even radio station design. Edward Vilchur's many contribution as well as Stuart Hegeman. There's no question that we in the US tend to be slanted toward US manufacturers; read Ken Kessler's book and there is a different world of designers in the UK. Remember that it wasn't probably until the '90s that US high-end audio products really made a dent in the UK market.
Actually one would have to give kudos also to Joe Grado for the MC. As I remember, he kept MCs out of the market for a long time since he had the patent on them here. My memory could be failing me too here.
Myles, which of KK's books are you referring to here? I only know of two: the McIntosh one and the Quad one.
There's a third one: it's KK's view of the development of the high-end industry and a few other funny insights. It's cheap and funny. I'll get you the name.
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