Rafe Arnott: I had the rare opportunity recently to catch up with Audio Note UK head honcho, globetrotter, music lover, and hi fi-industry legend Peter Qvortrup, who graciously agreed to be assailed with questions by me regarding what his company has up its sleeve for 2016. Qvortrup is a man I’ve offered to drink beer […]
Audio Designers
Interviews and conversations with Audio Designers
Found 142 results
“While the selection and fine tuning of exhilarating-sounding vintage audio equipment is an exciting, often life-long search, let’s not forget it’s ultimately the music that matters—mankind’s mysterious mastery of making air move in esthetically & emotionally thrilling ways. Most importantly, remember to ask yourself the age-old question: Can I dance to it?”This has always been […]
STEREOLIFE ….. Cabasse is recognized as one of the best known loudspeaker manufacturers, and one which gives us very interesting products, especially in the high end segment. Founded in 1950 by Georges Cabasse, the firm inherited not only its creator’s name, but also his genius as his special gift, a memory for sounds led him […]
David Lander (Stereophile) writes: The Pennsylvania Gazette documented an early connection between music and an American named Winey when, in 1759, it listed for sale as part of an estate “a middle sized organ, having eight stops.” Interested parties were directed to one Jacob Winey, a Philadelphia merchant. It’s not known whether there’s a familial […]
John Atkinson writes: “Meeting Englishman Tim de Paravicini for the first time, you start to wonder if your mind has slipped a gear, whether premature brain fade has cut in. The conversation seems not only to be racing by unexpectedly quickly, but also subjects you hadn’t even realized were subjects are being examined in […]
Gray Bread (Positive Feedback) writes: He of All Things Deeply Biased… He is an audio engineer extraordinaire and has the medal, golden sash and purple hat plume to prove it. His best friend was the Most Interesting Man in the World until he got tired of supplying all the beer and told him to go […]
Colin – can we get meaningful measurements of power line noise? Is the noise too low-level to measure without exorbitantly expensive equipment? What equipment is required? Outside of laboratories, who has it? We buy all sorts of devices to clean up power. So why can’t we measure the noise that’s there and target it? Wayne […]
William – how did your interest in music reproduction start? Since I was young I’ve always been in the world of music. My uncles were jazz guitarist and bassist. For my part I’ve played Fender bass. I have no preferred style of music. I can listen from Mozart all the way to Deep Purple and […]
Questions by Matej Isak, Mono & Stereo You and your name are the legend of it’s own in high-end audio. Where and how did all started for Mark Levinson? This is a long story, too long for now. Basically, I was a musician and enjoyed recording my teachers and friends. I wanted the sound to […]
Stephen Mejias writes: In our September issue, I wrote about Pioneer’s excellent SP-BS22-LR loudspeaker. At just $129.99/pair (and often discounted), the SP-BS22-LR represents extraordinary value and may very well attract a wider and younger audience to true high-fidelity sound. The only thing I don’t really like about the speaker is its tongue-twister of a name. […]
This piece was originally published in Stereophile in 1998: One of the big industry stories of 1985 was the split, both personal and commercial, between the British Linn and Naim companies. Led by Ivor Tiefenbrun and Julian Vereker (footnote 1) respectively, both companies had started up in the early 1970s. Both men held similar views, […]
Geoffrey ….. why is there such diversity between audiophile values and the audio engineering establishment’s values? I’m not sure there is – indeed, I would argue that, more often than not, audio engineers are just audiophiles who have taken their interest to the next level and gone pro. Perhaps I should start by suggesting that […]
Geoffrey Owen: Somewhat like Terry Wogan and his listener, I feel my first article secured one noble reader. My hope now is to double that number in this follow-up. In my last piece, I suggested the audio industry was populated by three distinct stereotypes, these being gods, gurus and mystics; the first two I’ve covered […]
Jim Austin / Stereophile Magazine write …. Nelson Pass is a consummate engineer, but he got his start in physics, earning a bachelor’s degree from UC Davis. As he worked on his degree, he was already an audio designer, focusing on loudspeakers—great training for a designer of audio amplifiers. Soon, in 1974, he cofounded Threshold […]
The Computer Audiophile writes ….. Shortly after attending CES 2016, where MQA was a very hot topic, I realized that there was more speculation about MQA than available facts. Nonetheless, it seemed like everyone had an opinion about MQA. Most people had never heard the final output of the MQA process, an actual song or […]
First published in 1988 Richard Vandersteen doesn’t look like a typical loudspeaker designer. True, he wears glasses, but his presence suggests a longshoreman or somebody who’d be played by Gene Hackman. And sure enough, he tells you in a quasi-Dukes of Hazzard drawl that he’s been a construction worker, plumber, truckdriver, and electrician. Electronics had […]
When we set our sights far in the future the world looks nice and rosy. Imagine that new pair of speakers gracing your living room, the new amplifier, the rebuilt room. According to Mark Twain imagining the future takes a combination of things. “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind […]
Paul Wilson writes: We live in a global economy. High-performance audio components are made in almost every country in the world. Even China has emerged as a purveyor top-shelf brands. But, what about New Zealand? I had the pleasure to interview Mr. Brian Willoughby, Managing Director of Plinius, who just happen to be located in […]
There’s a perfect volume level for every single track ever recorded. But, there’s a lot of factors that go into the choice of how loud is perfect. Room size, the number of people listening, the actual music itself. Find out from Paul what it takes to figure out the perfect loudness level. Watch Now
HP’s introduction: More often that not, I go straight into posting the interview without too much, if any history. However in order to avoid confusion and to minimise misunderstand, I’ve lifted this maker’s history from their site. Here it is – and please take time to read because it is relevant. Thanks. Company history: […]
Howard Popeck: Hello Jo. At short notice, thank you for taking the time … Jo Lang: I have a bit of time right now so I thought I would respond to your kind invitation. You are as I understand it, that rare individual who is an audiophile maker blogger; am I correct? […]
Howard Popeck writes: This is, as far as I know, the final interview with the late Colin Howard, former production director of BS Meridian, founder of London HiFi Services, innovator, designer and the co-founder of Burton Somervell speakers. I conducted this interview some years ago and only discovered it yesterday. It has never previously been […]
Introduction: “The engineer responsible for the design of the 1543 DAC is Scott Berry. Scott is an electrical engineer who worked for many years in R&D and manufacturing for Tektronix and Xerox on the West Coast of the USA. Scott’s experience was in electrical engineering R&D work in high technology industries, but not in the […]
All images shown here have been selected by the HFA editorial team. HFA: How did you first become interested in music speaker design and/or hi-fi? PC: In my youth reel-to-reel tape recorders were all the rage and, as a singer in our church choir, I started making choral recordings. It fairly soon dawned on me […]