Ken Ishiwata of Marantz passes away at 72

[Elberoth]

Absolutely heartbreaking news.

Ken Ishiwata, *1947 - †2019

Rest in peace, my Dear Friend.

 

[Zero000]

Spoke to Ken once at length. Saw him at many shows.

Sad. What happened i.e. what caused his demise?

 

[Bodhi]

I was sad to hear the news of Ken's passing. Ken is a true legend of this Industry and leaves an incredible legacy. His amazing passion, dedication and skill raised the bar & made Marantz the respected brand it is today. And such a beautiful soul. R.I.P.

 

[microstrip]

Sad to learn about his passing. Not long ago we had him in Lisbon at our local AudioShow . I had the pleasure of listening to him telling about the beginnings of the compact disk and narrating the unknown stories of the Sony/Philips collaboration to build the first CD players. RIP.

 

[Elberoth]

Spoke to Ken once at length. Saw him at many shows.

Sad. What happened i.e. what caused his demise?

AFAIK he had some health issues for some time.

 

[Zero000]

AFAIK he had some health issues for some time.

Now I think about it I have spoken to him a few times over cigarettes outside shows. Just brief chats but I do remember the long one we had about Apogees. He had some Scintillas at one stage. He was using Nautilus last time I asked.

Hope it wasn't the cigarettes.

 

[howiebrou]

Oh no! He was such a funny and nice guy. He wandered into a store more than 12 hrs ago in HK when I was listening to some music, plonked himself right next to me and chatted at length. I still remember it vividly, listening to Chie Ayado Tennessee Waltz...

 

[redandgold]

The audio world looses a genius. He was always humble despite his knowledge.

 

[Nemal1]

Truly sad and the passing of a very amiable gent. R.I.P

 

[Elberoth]

BTW - the above picture with a Marantz amp looking cake, was taken during Warsaw Audio Video Show back in 2018.

Together with Polish Marantz distributor, we gave him a special cake to commemorate his 40-years with Marantz. Lots of int'l press were present - people like Paul Miller, Ken Kessler, Paul Messanger, Alan Sircom, Doug Schneider etc. Ken Kessler gave a beautiful speach. I have such a fond memories of that evening.

 

[NorthStar]

Wow, quite young, RIP

 

[analyzer]

Saw him often at Munich show.
A very sad news.
R.I.P.

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

Very sad news, he was such a nice person and a true enthusiast.

R.I.P. KI.