McIntosh during the summer of 1969.
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I think for me, I would pick a manufacturer who is doing cool and innovative things. I don't mean they do great in the market, but that something unique is happening. So, anyone with their own CNC machines, like Magico or YG would probably interest me. Early days of theater sound, so JBL and Altec Lansing. Working with Snell and his curved baffled in the A models. Genesis with the line arrays. Apogee making giant magnets and ribbons. Not a maker, but I wish I had actually gotten a degree at GA Tech and been able to do graduate studies with Dr. Leach. Maybe Jensen transformers, and whoever was making the earliest op amps in tin cans. Best, E |
This is easy . I had occasion to meet many but one guy sticks out . Stu Hegeman was a wild guy who drank a bit but had more original thoughts that anyone I ever met . I meet him at the big Chicago show in ’70 , ended up eating lunch with him and he actually built one of his Hapi preamps for me himself .I kept it alive for 40 years ! |
*G* I'm working on getting a good excuse to get a CNC machine into my shop for 'various 'n sundry' projects... I can 'fake' some things, job out current stuff as the company needs arise. But it's the 'after hours' personal things that would keep me out of these forums that would keep me dulling bits...*L* Doesn't need to be SOTA.... (Leaden Hint) ;) |
...but this would be the current 'toy' of choice..... I'm a big fan of versatile...'one trick ponies' around me end up getting 'modded' relentlessly....*L* https://www.snapmaker.com/platform/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMInKqjyJT-5QIVDVXBCh2qgw3OEAEYASAAEgJk5vD_BwE |
.....meanwhile.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBTr-2jVVfo ...to go back to.... https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000006457099/spacexs-falcon-heavy-rocket-launches-and-lands-successfully.html?playlistId=video/science Instead of fighting over 'turf', we ought to go back to looking at some new 'turf'. ;) Just think of the 'tech transfer' that could make audio beyond your wildest dreams..... |
Candidate for the greatest Darwin Award of all time: https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/02/22/daredevil-mad-mike-hughes-reported-dead-in-rocket-crash-near-... Most Darwin Awards were fake, I know, but this guy... had previously gone up and ended up in a neck brace. His entire reason for the rocket was to prove the earth was flat. |
RIP, Mad Mike...*skoal*'clink'* At least you had the gumption to defy all to try....there's honor in that. Yeah, the majority of us can laugh, call him a fool, mad, a waste of misguided talent and energy...but a willingness to put skin into the game and pay the Big Price for it.... That level of commitment at least deserves respect. I have a shirt in the closet with an image of the Space Shuttle. When I wore it more often, I'd get the comment.... "But people have died in that thing! Would you....Do you still want to go?!" Oh, Hell Yes! In a N.Y. minute... It's the most exciting ride one could wish for. It makes history every single time it flies, whether it comes back or not. If you're on it, it's because you've worked to get aboard and you deserve to be on it. It's the most unique experience one will ever have, ever. ....and the view is incredible. You return with a perspective that changes you indelibly. --------------------- I've wished that the ISS inhabitants would turn the cameras away from Earth...when on the night side on an orbit.... ....and give us the view towards Out There... ...a view unfettered by pollution, clouds, air.... The view of the Real Deep. I may a 'silly romantic' about it, but I'd like to see it. With my own eyes... |
I like the Space Pens......y'know, the ones' that would write upside down? *S* Priceless when you're on your back too messed up to sit up.... Actually, there was a black market for them...the aliens couldn't get enough of them. When they were discontinued, they were pissed (or their version of it.....you really don't want to know how it's done....). Anyway....they got so upset over that, they're going to return and waste the planet. It'll take them a while to get back to this sector, but they've got this new virus that starts slowly, but is supposed to wipe us off like snow on a windshield... |
Don't really buy into this fandom and realistically most of the audio companies listed are working on stuff way too "simple" to catch my interest so I am loathe to pick individuals. But, if I had to make a choice, I would take Burr-Brown and ADI in their haydays of converter design, with Toole at the National Research Council in Canada, Fraunhofer Institute when they were developing MP3 and working on AAC, heck I would take BOSE when they were developing the original acoustics for the Vette over most of the choices. |
Whoever invented and was making those small suitcase looking record players used for playing 45 rpm singles. They provided more people more fun than the most expensive systems ever could. Lo-fi, hi-fun. In second place whoever invented the transistor radio you borrowed from your Mom so you could listen to the "Top Forty" wherever you were around the neighborhood. Same principle, different application. Mike |
In second place whoever invented the transistor radio ....@skyscraper, fyi, the first commercially produced transistor radio is considered to be the Regency TR-1. Surviving examples are highly prized by antique radio collectors, and go for many hundreds of dollars these days, or even a good deal more than that depending on condition and color. Regards, -- Al |
Saul Marantz was old when I met him back in the 1970's, but he was a pretty interesting guy. David Hafler--really neat guy: DYNACO!, and James Bongiorno, of course: Hadley, Dynaco, Marantz, and SAE as well as GAS. They worked with John Curl, as well, another neat guy, and you want to work with him, not Mark Levinson, obviously. Henry Kloss--never met him, but Acoustic Research, KLH, Advent and.Kloss Video...neat guy on the cusp of the revolution into today's "high end" in both audio and video. All he lacked were today's microprocessors and code...he saw the future, certainly. Jim Winey was a true pioneer, and his son continues the magic today. Bob Fulton was a neat guy, and Bill Johnson was cranky but very dedicated to his work. Too many to choose from, I guess...many, many more I did not list. Neat thread! Cheers! |
Nelson Pass or Julius Siksnius of Audire. Both were/are great designers and builders. I knew Julius for decades. He personally answered the phone whenever a customer called. Nelson actually asked a job applicant if he did crossword puzzles. Apparently, Nelson thinks some problem abilities are helpful in audio design. |
I met Paul Klipsch in 1978 or 1979 and sold a lot of his speakers, though they were not my personal favorites, they were basic, very well made and not a single purchaser wanted to return the speakers after the sale. Paul was an interesting guy. He had multiple wrist watches on his arms, each set to a different time zone. He was also a very curious guy. I do remember how many manufacturers had these very complicated dealer agreements, demanding certain display and stocking levels, etc. Paul basically had a credit agreement, you agreed to pay for the inventory he shipped to you within 30 days, none of all of those other demands the other manufacturers put on their dealers. |
My Dad would be number one. He was an architect and I pass by many of his designs today that still stand the test of time. He was very creative and original for his time. I only helped him out for a few months for a summer back in high school. Second would be Ed Duda who was one of the designers of the Lafayette KT-550 tube power amplifier. Mine still kicks ass! I was getting around to meeting with him a few years ago but he was sick and passed before I could meet up with him. R.I.P Ed! Happy Listening. |
Wow!! Talk about feeling out of place. I never have wanted to build electronics nor work with anyone who did. I respect them and their work. But my focus is solely on the music itself. For me, music is not a hobby but a lifestyle. I love listening to it and playing it (drummer/vocalist). Bill Watkins is the only designer I know. (knew). I met him in his store while looking for speakers. My 1st impression was, "What does this old guy know about stereo?" I soon learned that it was quite a lot. And it shows with his new Gen 4 speakers. Bill had a great opportunity to sell me some speakers that day. Yet he chose to diagnose the problem I had and fix it which was not a money maker for him. He had my respect from then on. He was honest and a straight shooter. I would have worked for him but only to help market his equipment. You see, Bill was a straight shooter in a world where many enjoy being fed a line of BS. i think he played music too. Music has been a love affair for me since I was 8 yrs old. At 69 yr old now, I came along at the perfect time to see a revolution in music. They were fabulous times with lots of cutting edge things going on, both with the music & the equipment which it was played. |
@artemus_5 Wow!! Talk about feeling out of place Please don’t make this weird. ;-) We just talk mostly about hardware on this forum, so if you think of a car forum, I’d love to work for Ferrari in the early days. That’s why we got here. If you want to talk bands you’d like to have toured with, that makes a great topic for a new forum in the Music section. |
I would work with Machina Dynamica. I would learn to run rocks through the rock polisher and test all the different Zip-Loc baggies for sound quality. Together we would fulfill my lifelong dream of travel through time and universes. Maybe even learn how to make your stereo sound better with a phone call. Naw who am I kidding. He would keep me on the rock polisher. But still, to work with such greatness.... |
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