If there was Nobel prize in audio...

1) Edison has to be there and first. He did it all without mathmatics and for the most part all mechanical. To call him a genius says to little. Everything practical started with him.

2)Lord Rayleigh(1842-1919) author of two volumes titled "Sound". Still relevant and unsurpassed in many ways.

3) Harry Olson, author: "Elements of Acoustical Engineering" By the way, does anybody know if Lynn Olson, speaker maker and general audio guru and nice guy is in any way related to Harry?

4) D.T.N. Williamson designer of one of the (or the) first valve amplifier although my understanding is that he never actually made one.

I will stop here - there are so many!

Audiogon. For provideing this small corner of the web for our use. It's not perfect, but nothing truly useful ever is. Keep up the good work Agon!

The boys at MSB - for bringing real hi-end digital to the masses of poor budget restricted 'philes.

Paul Hales could earn one by opening up shop again, supporting his marvelous deigns and maybe treating us with some improvements on his already amazing sonic bargians.

Actually, John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain and William Shockley received the Nobel Prize in Physics for inventing the transistor in 1947.