Very sad to read about this. Al has been a source of wisdom and sage advice, and I warmly thought of him as the Audiogon "dad", a go to kind of guy who never yells, but always instructs. He will be greatly missed. I will pray for Al, his wife, and family.
Update on Audiogon Member Almarg
I have some very sad news and information to share.
Al ( @almarg ), through his wife Margaret, asked me to post the following...
{"The attached letter to you was dictated at his bedside to me earlier today. I hope I got his words down precisely as he desired."}
"Unfortunately Al has an extremely aggressive form of Mantle Cell Lymphoma coupled with a mutation of gene TP53 (known as tumor suppressor gene). He has received outstanding advanced treatment with the latest and greatest chemo drugs at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale in New Haven. Unfortunately it appears that he only has a few weeks to live.
Please feel free to post a substantive update [on Audiogon]. He has not been able to do that because of his condition. Please indicate that he has enjoyed solving problems, researching others,’ and learning a good deal himself while developing his answers.
He and I wish everyone all the best of health and success in audio endeavors, in that order.
Al [and Margaret]
September 9, 2020"
I will post my very personal response tomorrow.
Al ( @almarg ), through his wife Margaret, asked me to post the following...
{"The attached letter to you was dictated at his bedside to me earlier today. I hope I got his words down precisely as he desired."}
"Unfortunately Al has an extremely aggressive form of Mantle Cell Lymphoma coupled with a mutation of gene TP53 (known as tumor suppressor gene). He has received outstanding advanced treatment with the latest and greatest chemo drugs at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale in New Haven. Unfortunately it appears that he only has a few weeks to live.
Please feel free to post a substantive update [on Audiogon]. He has not been able to do that because of his condition. Please indicate that he has enjoyed solving problems, researching others,’ and learning a good deal himself while developing his answers.
He and I wish everyone all the best of health and success in audio endeavors, in that order.
Al [and Margaret]
September 9, 2020"
I will post my very personal response tomorrow.
155 responses Add your response
I never had the pleasure of meeting or speaking to Al In person but over all the long years I’ve been on this forum, I was always impressed and inspired by Al’s depth of knowledge and his never ending willingness to help a fellow audiophile. He was one of the main reasons this forum worked and he was ALWAYS a gentleman. Thank you Al for all your years of service and my sincerest sympathies to you and your family. Mike |
@ david_ten - This is very sad news. My best wishes to Al and Margaret. It is a delicate matter to identify breakthrough treatment options for late stage patients, but there are potentially significant improvements for mantle cell lymphoma in clinical development. The following study is recruiting patients: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03088878?term=Oncternal&cntry=US&draw=2&rank=3 I am quite familiar with the program - the science is excellent, discovery program comes from UC San Diego, and my understanding is that clinical benefit is, to the extent that data have been released, quite meaningful. You may want to share this with Margret and Al. All the best! |
Terrible news. I joined Audiogon only a few months ago. I've spent a good part of this pandemic reading old threads, looking to expand my audio knowledge. I learned quickly to look for Al's posts. His were always the most informative and helpful to me. I marveled at the depth and breadth of his knowledge and experience, but I was more impressed by the care and thoughtfulness with which he answered. My condolences to Al and his family. |
I haven't been posting hear long, but been reading and learning for a while, and Al has a vast knowledge that was easy to understand. We should all try to be more like him, never a negative word, even though there were times that I didn't know how he could be nice to some of the comments he received. What a class act. |
@david_ten thank you for initiating this thread. I’ve had the privilege of becoming friends with Al over the past 15 or so years. Of course, Audiogon provided the connection, but we’ve conversed on topics audio and otherwise, back and forth, over time. Always wished we could do an audio show together in NYC, as it would have proved a day of days, but he wasn’t comfortable traveling into the city from a physical and mental standpoint. Nothing would be truer than to say Al embodied all the plaudits folks have given him in here. Of course, Al was neither foolish nor naive. Those who shilled in these forums, acted in a completely inappropriate or insulting manner, put forth ridiculous theories and ideas, pumped themselves up, or put down others engendered a strong sense of disgust in Al. But he never let it show here, even to the very few who had the temerity to attack him. He carried himself with absolute dignity, grace, and decorum, and though he possessed an obvious sense of the beauty and emotion of music, normally let the facts and numbers speak for themselves. He also had tremendous respect and fondness for many here, as well. God bless you, Al. Though I’ve made a lot of friends here over the years, and have come to like even more, no one came within a thousand miles of what you provided here to all of us. Wishing you and Marge comfort and peace... |
Wow! I just saw this. i have been here since 2000 and always knew almarg as a poster with knowledge and very helpful and always pleasant. Thanks Al for all the good camaraderie over the years. You have been a shining light of reason and good advice to people such as me. I value you highly and pray the best for you and your family. I join with Douglas Schroeder and others in my prayers for you come to the saving grace knowledge and to be completely healed as well. Thanks for all your help Al. arte |
Al has always set a standard on this forum the rest of us could aspire to in helping those he often doesn’t even know with his technical knowledge and generous nature. He teaches many of us various aspects of engineering and was always humble in how he so willingly shared his knowledge. A rare shining light in today’s online communities. I wish Al, Margaret and the rest of his family my warmest wishes, hoping for a miraculous turnaround in his health. While I haven’t had the pleasure of knowing Al outside of his active participation in audio forums he helps to bring out the best of other members and I hope and pray it will continue. |
Al I have frequently visited this forum over many years, and I have always admired the depth of your knowledge and the grace with which you shared it on this forum to those in need. I am truly saddened to learn of your aggressive Mantle cell lymphoma. As has been stated before, you are a gentleman’s gentleman, a true mensch amongst men. My heart goes out to you and your beloved wife. |
Tonight I was reading a thread about interconnect & speaker cable capacitance and inductance here on Agon. I looked over to the left and the date was from back in 2009. And, to no surprise interesting posts by you know who, Almarg. Always enjoy reading his replies. Thanks Al, RIP. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/interconnect-inductance-vs-capacitance |
