speaker dave has passed away. May his soul rest in peace.
Below is his message from his wife.
Dear WonderfulAudio and all --This is David's wife Melinda with sad news that David died mid January. He enjoyed the diyAudio forums immensely. In his last days, he asked that I reach out to you all with thanks. Hoping it's appropriate, I included the story below about the guy I love. Best to all --Melinda Rayburn Smith
David L. Smith
March 23, 1955 – January 18, 2024
My beloved David has died. He struggled increasingly with lymphoma and associated
lung complications. He leaves behind a sad but grateful wife, partner, and fellow
adventurer and two crazy spaniels, cherished family, friends and colleagues. We miss
him greatly but take comfort that he is no longer struggling.
David was an engineer. He loved measurements.
We met 50 years ago. The moment I laid eyes on David, he didn’t have a
chance.
We moved 11 times in 44 years of marriage. This included 3 countries, 3
apartments, the first one over a garage, 8 houses and one beach house.
As an engineer, David worked for numerous companies, including JBL in
California, KEF in the UK, Snell and Bose in Massachusetts, McIntosh in New York
and PSB in Canada.
We’ve had five spaniels, two American and three English.
Lucky me, he had one wife.
Work travel took him to China, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, EU, UK, Canada and
throughout the US. When I asked David what he enjoyed most about work, his reply
was, “Being surrounded by people who kept me on my toes.”
I have always considered David the consummate Renaissance man. His interests and
talents ranged from drawing to piano playing, photography to political junkie, kayaking,
rowing, bird watching, biking, hiking, ping pong…
And, of course, collecting. David collected cameras, watches, radios, amplifiers, pre
amps, speakers, LPs, magazines, books… He loved to find quality old stuff and repair
it, use and then place it lovingly on a shelf. A day before he died, David mentioned that
he wanted to start collecting old light fixtures. I am not certain if he was kidding.
Probably not.
David was hospitalized for the last two months of his life. We are incredibly grateful to
the staff ranging from the meal order taker (lots of milk), to the highly professional
oncologists, pulmonologists, cardiologists, hematologist and hospitalists. Top on our list
is the nurses and therapists who treated his failing body and both of our souls. Thank
you all.
We were asked many times during David’s last months, “What was our secret to our
long and happy marriage?” At first, we just shrugged, but soon realized we did have a
good answer. “Laugh together often and genuinely.”
David, I promise to continue to do so.
With love and gratitude, Melinda
Below is his message from his wife.
Dear WonderfulAudio and all --This is David's wife Melinda with sad news that David died mid January. He enjoyed the diyAudio forums immensely. In his last days, he asked that I reach out to you all with thanks. Hoping it's appropriate, I included the story below about the guy I love. Best to all --Melinda Rayburn Smith
David L. Smith
March 23, 1955 – January 18, 2024
My beloved David has died. He struggled increasingly with lymphoma and associated
lung complications. He leaves behind a sad but grateful wife, partner, and fellow
adventurer and two crazy spaniels, cherished family, friends and colleagues. We miss
him greatly but take comfort that he is no longer struggling.
David was an engineer. He loved measurements.
We met 50 years ago. The moment I laid eyes on David, he didn’t have a
chance.
We moved 11 times in 44 years of marriage. This included 3 countries, 3
apartments, the first one over a garage, 8 houses and one beach house.
As an engineer, David worked for numerous companies, including JBL in
California, KEF in the UK, Snell and Bose in Massachusetts, McIntosh in New York
and PSB in Canada.
We’ve had five spaniels, two American and three English.
Lucky me, he had one wife.
Work travel took him to China, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, EU, UK, Canada and
throughout the US. When I asked David what he enjoyed most about work, his reply
was, “Being surrounded by people who kept me on my toes.”
I have always considered David the consummate Renaissance man. His interests and
talents ranged from drawing to piano playing, photography to political junkie, kayaking,
rowing, bird watching, biking, hiking, ping pong…
And, of course, collecting. David collected cameras, watches, radios, amplifiers, pre
amps, speakers, LPs, magazines, books… He loved to find quality old stuff and repair
it, use and then place it lovingly on a shelf. A day before he died, David mentioned that
he wanted to start collecting old light fixtures. I am not certain if he was kidding.
Probably not.
David was hospitalized for the last two months of his life. We are incredibly grateful to
the staff ranging from the meal order taker (lots of milk), to the highly professional
oncologists, pulmonologists, cardiologists, hematologist and hospitalists. Top on our list
is the nurses and therapists who treated his failing body and both of our souls. Thank
you all.
We were asked many times during David’s last months, “What was our secret to our
long and happy marriage?” At first, we just shrugged, but soon realized we did have a
good answer. “Laugh together often and genuinely.”
David, I promise to continue to do so.
With love and gratitude, Melinda
(wonderfulaudio, thank you for passing on this message.)
Dave was one of the great posters on this forum. His professional knowledge and experience made him an asset, and he was always willing to teach others in a patient and welcoming way. He will be missed.
To Melinda Smith, David's wife, you have our thoughts and respect.
R.I.P. Speaker Dave
Dave was one of the great posters on this forum. His professional knowledge and experience made him an asset, and he was always willing to teach others in a patient and welcoming way. He will be missed.
To Melinda Smith, David's wife, you have our thoughts and respect.
R.I.P. Speaker Dave
So very sorry for your loss Melinda and thank you for sharing the personal and private side of Dave. His posts were always sincere and although most here fully appreciated his experience, Dave always shared a bit of humility……a great guy who will be missed by all here who corresponded with him.
This is so incredibly sad.
David to me was a legend with some truly historic speaker designs for major companies under his belt, and yet he shared his knowledge here freely and modestly, as well as giving insights into his methods and procedure. Every single post a gem. He will be sorely missed.
Thank you Melinda for sharing these beautiful memories with us. My deepest condolences.
/G
David to me was a legend with some truly historic speaker designs for major companies under his belt, and yet he shared his knowledge here freely and modestly, as well as giving insights into his methods and procedure. Every single post a gem. He will be sorely missed.
Thank you Melinda for sharing these beautiful memories with us. My deepest condolences.
/G
Melinda, my condolences to you and your family.
David was a treasure. His posts were filled with genuine insight. He taught me (and others) quite a lot about this hobby through his many posts. I did an interview with him for TNT-audio. I always wanted to meet him and I’m sorry I couldn’t make that happen.
David was a treasure. His posts were filled with genuine insight. He taught me (and others) quite a lot about this hobby through his many posts. I did an interview with him for TNT-audio. I always wanted to meet him and I’m sorry I couldn’t make that happen.
Oof, that hurts. Easily one of my biggest inspirations. I used to work in downtown Seattle and live in the suburbs, and my favorite way to kill time while I waited for traffic to die down was to head over to the library near Capitol Hill and read David's articles and patents. They have them on microfiche on the top floor, it was like diving into a vault of knowledge.
If Melinda is reading this, please know that I never met Dave but he made a positive impact on my life. His generosity in patiently sharing knowledge was an inspiration.
If Melinda is reading this, please know that I never met Dave but he made a positive impact on my life. His generosity in patiently sharing knowledge was an inspiration.
Melinda,
As a Canadian designing professional speaker systems for the last 30 years I've come across David's work many times. And every time I was impressed with his knowledge and attention to detail. He was very skilled and it showed in the work he did. My deepest condolences.
Todd Michael
Yorkville Sound
As a Canadian designing professional speaker systems for the last 30 years I've come across David's work many times. And every time I was impressed with his knowledge and attention to detail. He was very skilled and it showed in the work he did. My deepest condolences.
Todd Michael
Yorkville Sound
I am shocked !Truly a giant in the industry and his experience with different companies and design work was probably unique.
A truly sad day for me, sincere condolences Melinda Smith I hope you know just how many people your husband affected in a positive beautiful way with the gift of music and knowledge for the science of loudspeaker design and other fields.
R.I.P
David L. Smith
A truly sad day for me, sincere condolences Melinda Smith I hope you know just how many people your husband affected in a positive beautiful way with the gift of music and knowledge for the science of loudspeaker design and other fields.
R.I.P
David L. Smith
