'compressive' vs 'expansive' as 3rd harmonic variants is really interesting – first time of heard this description.
Two Beers Hopefully Guinness
After listening to the "formative years" part, I wonder what it is that makes someone more prodigious than, say, the average Joe? I'm sure a lot of folks, including myself, have had these elements in life;
But never started a speaker nor amplifier company, became successful at it and famous in the industry. That's what I'd find most interesting. Where does the prodigy come from?
- likes music from growing up with it [check]
- likes messing around with electrics and mechanics from an early age [check]
- Father with home shop and neighbor who both amply provided electronic material to fool with [check]
- College roomates with BIG stereos, people doing Xover sims when SPICE was run off a punched-card deck on a mainframe, friend with his professor's access to B&K measuring equipment, association with people doing commercial speaker production [check]
- Career-long easy access to anechoic chambers (Maynard MA and Dupont, WA) and associated B&K measurement equipment, measurement experts. [check]
But never started a speaker nor amplifier company, became successful at it and famous in the industry. That's what I'd find most interesting. Where does the prodigy come from?
Very educational. I always learn something new every time he gives an interview or lecture, BAF. I found it very interesting that he plays vinyl in his upper living space. Vinyl is my choice as well for serious listening.
Being an intelligent person and being good at selling yourself which NP obviously is.The hardest thing in life is to admit that you're stupid and get on with life as there's no impediment to a stupid person to become a Nobel Prize winner.
I could deal with getting a Nobel prize instead of being the most well known audio designer 🙂
Prodigies are just people who don't veer off onto side tracks at every cross-wind, which in real life are constant. . . . . so supporting circumstances don't hurt.
Read Malcom Gladwell's "Outliers" . He maintains that it's less about 'genius' and more about involvement (ie depth + time). By that standard, we're all prodigies at being our own selves.
Read Malcom Gladwell's "Outliers" . He maintains that it's less about 'genius' and more about involvement (ie depth + time). By that standard, we're all prodigies at being our own selves.
Mike Powell is a guy. I met him years ago when he was with AB systems, yet another company that came out of ESS. It was originally created by George Anderson and Bob Byrd, George being talented at mechanical drafting and other stuff and Bob being a circuit designer. Bob took over from the legendary Pete Werback, my mentor back then, when Pete quit ESS and formed his own company, Linear Power. When ESS went bankrupt George and Bob started AB systems, and George was the chassis designer of the original Threshold amplifier the 800A, and some others. How Mike came to be in business with Jeff Kels (my neighbor in Foresthill)and AB systems is not clear to me, as when we got together socially we were having too much fun to talk about it.
Linear Power took over my little business of making audio power amps in 1973 and became a major player in the category until Pete's death in an aircraft accident.
It's amazing how many connections there are, this being a small example.
Linear Power took over my little business of making audio power amps in 1973 and became a major player in the category until Pete's death in an aircraft accident.
It's amazing how many connections there are, this being a small example.
I had to read that a couple of times. I don't know what other amps George designed the chassis on but I have always appreciated the Threshold chassis design. Simple, rugged, and easy to work on.
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