Joe, wait till we introduce you to Bill!
3 Audio Deities at 6moons
Hello.
I would like to pass along a link to all of us here which goes into a lot of detail concerning three local folks who I respect beyond words. http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/forbidden/forbidden_8.html They are all friends, and Vinh Vu and Bill LeGall are just about family to me. Each has the area of knowledge, and I dare say they are probably the best in their fields, in the world.
Lloyd Walker's turntables are perhaps the zenith of analog playback. What can you say beyond the fact that his products are the destination in the field? Lloyd is a down to earth, approachable, fun loving person. I can't say enough about him.
Vinh Vu's turntable dustcovers are perfect to the point of being personally endorsed by Harry Weisfeld of VPI himself. In addition, Vinh has been building a tremendous amount of momentum with his Gingko Audio isolation devices. Check the past few issues of Stereophile and you will realize that the biggest problem Vinh is going to have is keeping up with demand. Look for a more formal review upcoming from Michael Fremer.
Bill LeGall is the best speaker guy in the world. In addition, he is one of those individuals only the truly blessed are lucky enough to have come into their lives.
While I am providing the link, I must say that whatever I can write or do pales in comparison to the job Srajan Ebaen has done in putting the piece together. There is so much detail and the pictures give a true insight into each man. 6moons.com has been growing and growing as one of the sites when it comes to audio. I can now understand why. My hat is off to a truly special man. Thank you, Srajan.
Enjoy,
Joe
I would like to pass along a link to all of us here which goes into a lot of detail concerning three local folks who I respect beyond words. http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/forbidden/forbidden_8.html They are all friends, and Vinh Vu and Bill LeGall are just about family to me. Each has the area of knowledge, and I dare say they are probably the best in their fields, in the world.
Lloyd Walker's turntables are perhaps the zenith of analog playback. What can you say beyond the fact that his products are the destination in the field? Lloyd is a down to earth, approachable, fun loving person. I can't say enough about him.
Vinh Vu's turntable dustcovers are perfect to the point of being personally endorsed by Harry Weisfeld of VPI himself. In addition, Vinh has been building a tremendous amount of momentum with his Gingko Audio isolation devices. Check the past few issues of Stereophile and you will realize that the biggest problem Vinh is going to have is keeping up with demand. Look for a more formal review upcoming from Michael Fremer.
Bill LeGall is the best speaker guy in the world. In addition, he is one of those individuals only the truly blessed are lucky enough to have come into their lives.
While I am providing the link, I must say that whatever I can write or do pales in comparison to the job Srajan Ebaen has done in putting the piece together. There is so much detail and the pictures give a true insight into each man. 6moons.com has been growing and growing as one of the sites when it comes to audio. I can now understand why. My hat is off to a truly special man. Thank you, Srajan.
Enjoy,
Joe
11 responses Add your response
I enjoyed Srajan's essay (both pts 1 and 2). Trelja introduced me to Vinh Vu in New York in May and I found him to be a warm and genuine person, in addition to being the creator of a great value-for-the-money group of products. I have also had the pleasure of spending some time with Lloyd and Felicia Walker at another AudiogoN member's home listening to music on the Proscenium Gold turntable. They are great folks, very personable, a joy to spend time with. I don't think anyone can dispute the sonic and visual work of art that Lloyd and his partner Fred Law have created. Trelja - thanks for the report and the heads up on the article from 6moons... |
I would be the first (well, maybe the second) to protest Joe's pronouncement of diety for the likes of me (the concept of God is foreign to Buddhists like me anyway). But I can vouch for Bill's qualification based on Frank's definition. I know that Bill did work for free for many, including for me, on many occasions, and he has the testimonial letters to prove it. In fact, Srajan's evocation of angelic visions when he speaks of Bill and Loretta was not the first. I have read a glowing letter from a Professor of Theology no less, proclaiming that very same vision. Let's say that even if Bill is not an angel or a god, his place is well reserved upstairs. One of my favorite movies is "Pay It Forward", with Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, and Haley Joel Osment, not only because it it entertaining but also because it suggests the concept of "paying it forward" as a way of perpetuating acts of random kindness as opposed to "paying it back" which is self-limting. Bill epitomizes the concept, he is kind to others without ever expecting to be paid back. Our world is infinitely better with people like him, and we can all endeavor to be like him. So while I appreciate Joe's kind words, I don't think I am worthy of being mentioned in the same likeness of Bill. But he certainly sets an example to guide my actions everyday. Vinh Vu |
Nice to see this exchange. As long as Trelja's moniker "deities" is understood tongue-in-cheek as he meant it, we all should be in good shape. I wonder whether you guys saw Part I of this article? It's here: www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/forbidden/forbidden.html - a few comments of Part II refer to things covered in Part I and otherwise don't make much sense... Cheers, Srajan |
Thanks guys! By the way, in the pictures of Vinh's second system, please note the Millersound speakers (D'Appolito monitors with offset tweeter) Bill used to build. I can personally attest to their fine sound. Unlike most speakers, they used HDF, Bill doesn't like the sound of MDF much at all (though he can make it sound good via his damping techniques). I kind of forgot how nice the finish on them actually is. There are a lot of things most speaker companies could learn from Bill, he has all kinds of tricks and the like. But, what will strike you the most is that these speakers listed for $495 new! Can you believe it??? Do you think he was making any money at all on these speakers? That's the reason they aren't sold any longer. He just can't bear to charge people a lot of money for something. But, he REALLY can't bear not giving them the best at the same time. I think it was probably a painful decision for him to stop making loudspeakers, but he is the kind of person who would stay up for a very long time trying to figure out how to give the world all of the performance of much more expensive products without having to charge one cent more. Plato, if you knew Bill, under your very definition, you may just put him on your audio deity list. He IS that kind of a person. |
Plato, I have never met any the people being discussed except for Lloyd Walker. Lloyd is a great guy and good friend but would never be mistaken for "God like," nor would he want to be. Perhaps that is the opinion of the writer at 6 Moons. He is entitled to his opinion and writing style. The comments were from the writers heart and insight to his thinking as much as his subject's. I do agree that people who share deep passion for quality and workmanship (to the absolute best of their ability) is rapidly diminishing in today's society. Because the people in that article are still holding to those standards, I cannot help but admire them. I was impressed with the through coverage and deep photographic documentation. It's nice to see alternatives to otherwise dry and boring technical reviews of audio equipment. |
Uuuuuuh, I don't know what to make of all this mutual gushing... I guess the qualifications for godhood have slackened just a tad over the years... Here we have three great guys who pay attention to detail. If they gave all needy audiophiles their products for free out of the goodness of their hearts, forsaking their own costs and hard work, well, then I'd be jumping on the "god" bandwagon too! I hope you A-goners don't take this the wrong way, because I admire these gents a great deal myself. |
Also note the story about the visit to tweak Mike Malinowski's system (Vinylmike on Audio Asylum) in which a frustrated Lloyd Walker finally swaps out a power cord to make the system begin to come alive: http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/forbidden/forbidden_12.html It is all in the details. . |
