http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/business/edgar-m-villchur-hi-fi-innovator-dies-at-94.html
Edgar Villchur, one of the real pioneers in home audio, has died at the age of 94.
Edgar Villchur, one of the real pioneers in home audio, has died at the age of 94.
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..
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..
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..
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
John
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