Edgar Villchur RIP

SY · 18th October 2011, 01:34 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/bu...ies-at-94.html

Edgar Villchur, one of the real pioneers in home audio, has died at the age of 94.

Pano · 18th October 2011, 02:02 PM

What a guy. He really do more for home Hi-Fi than anyone in history.

kevinkr · 18th October 2011, 02:34 PM

An audio icon. He may have done more than anyone to make hifi practical for the average space constrained living room. The AR-1 was a lot smaller than its contemporaries, and the public demos in the late 1950s through the 1960s I suspect did much to popularize high quality music reproduction in the home.

The Boston area was a pretty exciting place hifi-wise back in the 1960s with Villchur, Kloss, and Dick Burwen all local (more or less) to name just a few. Unfortunately I was way too young to appreciate all of this..

Salas · 18th October 2011, 02:43 PM

In retrospect the 60s must have been USA's finest in inspiration general. Middle class was at its strongest, that's why.

kevinkr · 18th October 2011, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salas

In retrospect the 60s must have been USA's finest in inspiration general. Middle class was at its strongest, that's why.

There was a lot of civil unrest here in the 1960s, and the tragedy of three assassinations in just 5 yrs.. Great struggles over the Vietnam war, and civil rights. It was a time of great hope and sadness too.. Amazing that so many strides were made over that decade, standard of living was generally higher at the end of the decade than the beginning, and we made it to the moon.. The hifi scene was just a part of the improving landscape I guess. It was a thrilling time in some ways..

GOR3 · 18th October 2011, 03:09 PM

When I was a kid in the '60s, my parents would play bridge with the neighbors. I would tag along, ostensibly to learn bridge, but the real reason was the neighbors had a pair of AR-3s. The sound was astonishing. It began my love of audio. All thanks to Edgar Villchur.

jlsem · 02:58 PM

I grew up in an AR home, too. My dad still has the AR-3 speakers, which I restored for him and my brother still uses the turntable. The Harmon Kardon transistor integrated amp and the BASF cassette recorder are long gone, however. They didn't make the cut.

John

Pano · 19th October 2011, 03:01 PM

Also an AR-3 kid. Little EL84 integrated amp and Lafayette R2R deck.. Sounded very nice. Only the reel-to-reel still survives.

18th October 2011, 01:34 PM	#1
SY diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Austin, TX Blog Entries: 1	Edgar Villchur RIP http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/bu...ies-at-94.html Edgar Villchur, one of the real pioneers in home audio, has died at the age of 94. __________________ “Listening to records is like ****ing a picture of Brigitte Bardot.” - Sergiu Celibidache

18th October 2011, 02:34 PM	#3
kevinkr diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Boston, Massachusetts Blog Entries: 6	An audio icon. He may have done more than anyone to make hifi practical for the average space constrained living room. The AR-1 was a lot smaller than its contemporaries, and the public demos in the late 1950s through the 1960s I suspect did much to popularize high quality music reproduction in the home. The Boston area was a pretty exciting place hifi-wise back in the 1960s with Villchur, Kloss, and Dick Burwen all local (more or less) to name just a few. Unfortunately I was way too young to appreciate all of this.. __________________ www.kta-hifi.net

19th October 2011, 02:56 PM	#7
jlsem diyAudio Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Dallas,TX	I grew up in an AR home, too. My dad still has the AR-3 speakers, which I restored for him and my brother still uses the turntable. The Harmon Kardon transistor integrated amp and the BASF cassette recorder are long gone, however. They didn't make the cut. John Last edited by jlsem; 19th October 2011 at 02:58 PM.

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18th October 2011, 02:02 PM	#2
Pano diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: North Carolina Blog Entries: 4	What a guy. He really do more for home Hi-Fi than anyone in history.

18th October 2011, 02:43 PM	#4
Salas diyAudio Chief Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Athens-Greece	In retrospect the 60s must have been USA's finest in inspiration general. Middle class was at its strongest, that's why.

18th October 2011, 03:09 PM	#6
GOR3 diyAudio Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Connecticut	When I was a kid in the '60s, my parents would play bridge with the neighbors. I would tag along, ostensibly to learn bridge, but the real reason was the neighbors had a pair of AR-3s. The sound was astonishing. It began my love of audio. All thanks to Edgar Villchur.

19th October 2011, 03:01 PM	#8
Pano diyAudio Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: North Carolina Blog Entries: 4	Also an AR-3 kid. Little EL84 integrated amp and Lafayette R2R deck.. Sounded very nice. Only the reel-to-reel still survives.

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