Looking back on my years in hifi, from sales back in the 80s to rookie circuit repair and "upgrades" today, and all the listening and enjoyment I've gotten out of it throughout my life, I have an appreciation for products from certain designers. I wanted to name my three favorites, and I encourage everyone who reads this to name theirs. And discuss it. Thats part of why we're here.
Here's my top three, no particular order:
- Nelson Pass (and not just because he might see this). His time is limited and valuable yet he still answers questions and participates in DIY camps. He designed the simplest amp I've ever owned, the one that got me into the study of electronics, the Adcom GFA-555. Its my stand-by, my go-to, the one amp I can depend on because there's so little that can go wrong with it yet so much that goes right. Everyone else needs twice the parts to do half the job that Nelson does.
- Jim Strickland (RIP). He designed the Acoustat TNP (Trans Nova Preamp), which morphed into the IRIS preamp after he was brought into Rockford Fosgate's Hafler unit. The IRIS was the second preamp I owned after my Hafler DH110, and it served me well for a decade. A cap refresh turned it into something amazing. I could sell every other preamp I have (I lost count and keep finding them around the house) and as long as I had my modded IRIS to stick in front of whatever amp I kept for last, I'd be fine with that. I didn't find out until too late that Jim lived not too far from where I lived at the time. Opportunity missed.
- Stan Warren (MIA). The mad scientist of Oregon. His PS Audio and Superphon designs were noteworthy, but he had a second career of doing mods on other peoples' designs. I've owned a Warren-mod amp and the changes were the craziest stuff - pronounced "impossible" by a couple of people in the business who looked at it - but they worked. The sound had an unearthly character: crisp like solid state yet sweet like a fine tube amp. If you've never heard an amp Stan upgraded, try not to. You're probably never going to forget it and you'll judge everything else you hear against that one amp. I wouldn't miss any chance to learn from Nelson or Jim Fosgate or John Curl, but Stan Warren is the one guy I'd really like to study with. I have so many questions for him. He and I have mutual friends and I've been trying to find him for years, but that may never happen. (Stan, if you see this, send me a PM).
And because I'm certain no one here including myself is able to keep the list down to three, here's my honorable mentions:
Erno Borbeley (he has had his hands in a lot more than just the Hafler 200, but since almost every other David Hafler amp started right there with the exception of the SE series - I think - Erno's had quite the contribution to my hifi experience)
Jim Fosgate (too many to list but I would start with his original mobile audio designs which turned the industry on its ear, and the man is still going strong in his 80s with Black Ice Audio)
James Bongiorno (RIP, again many designs but the early Sumo is exquisite)
Bob Carver (I was fascinated by the tales of his amp challenge back in the 80s, and years later I had a chance to work on some of his products and own a few. Interesting designs with cheap parts, similar to Hafler but in some cases with far poorer-quality PCBs. Yet where the Hafler sound can be flat to a fault, Carver stuff is just more fun for me to listen to. Both respond well to parts upgrades. Bob's a really interesting guy, kind of a blend of Nelson and Bongiorno, the engineer and the artist. I wish I could afford his new tube stuff.)
Paul McGowan (he knows the business side as well as the design side, and he's a fun person to listen to. His explanations of some basics like transistors and power supplies have really helped my studies)
John Iverson (MIA, quite literally! Electron Kinetics, Electro Research, plus the Robertson Audio Ten Forty and Ten Sixty that may have been lifted directly from his work)
Finally, a shoutout to the unknown designer who came up with the NAD 2150 and 2200 amplifiers and their 1155 preamp. Top flight work, all around.
Here's my top three, no particular order:
- Nelson Pass (and not just because he might see this). His time is limited and valuable yet he still answers questions and participates in DIY camps. He designed the simplest amp I've ever owned, the one that got me into the study of electronics, the Adcom GFA-555. Its my stand-by, my go-to, the one amp I can depend on because there's so little that can go wrong with it yet so much that goes right. Everyone else needs twice the parts to do half the job that Nelson does.
- Jim Strickland (RIP). He designed the Acoustat TNP (Trans Nova Preamp), which morphed into the IRIS preamp after he was brought into Rockford Fosgate's Hafler unit. The IRIS was the second preamp I owned after my Hafler DH110, and it served me well for a decade. A cap refresh turned it into something amazing. I could sell every other preamp I have (I lost count and keep finding them around the house) and as long as I had my modded IRIS to stick in front of whatever amp I kept for last, I'd be fine with that. I didn't find out until too late that Jim lived not too far from where I lived at the time. Opportunity missed.
- Stan Warren (MIA). The mad scientist of Oregon. His PS Audio and Superphon designs were noteworthy, but he had a second career of doing mods on other peoples' designs. I've owned a Warren-mod amp and the changes were the craziest stuff - pronounced "impossible" by a couple of people in the business who looked at it - but they worked. The sound had an unearthly character: crisp like solid state yet sweet like a fine tube amp. If you've never heard an amp Stan upgraded, try not to. You're probably never going to forget it and you'll judge everything else you hear against that one amp. I wouldn't miss any chance to learn from Nelson or Jim Fosgate or John Curl, but Stan Warren is the one guy I'd really like to study with. I have so many questions for him. He and I have mutual friends and I've been trying to find him for years, but that may never happen. (Stan, if you see this, send me a PM).
And because I'm certain no one here including myself is able to keep the list down to three, here's my honorable mentions:
Erno Borbeley (he has had his hands in a lot more than just the Hafler 200, but since almost every other David Hafler amp started right there with the exception of the SE series - I think - Erno's had quite the contribution to my hifi experience)
Jim Fosgate (too many to list but I would start with his original mobile audio designs which turned the industry on its ear, and the man is still going strong in his 80s with Black Ice Audio)
James Bongiorno (RIP, again many designs but the early Sumo is exquisite)
Bob Carver (I was fascinated by the tales of his amp challenge back in the 80s, and years later I had a chance to work on some of his products and own a few. Interesting designs with cheap parts, similar to Hafler but in some cases with far poorer-quality PCBs. Yet where the Hafler sound can be flat to a fault, Carver stuff is just more fun for me to listen to. Both respond well to parts upgrades. Bob's a really interesting guy, kind of a blend of Nelson and Bongiorno, the engineer and the artist. I wish I could afford his new tube stuff.)
Paul McGowan (he knows the business side as well as the design side, and he's a fun person to listen to. His explanations of some basics like transistors and power supplies have really helped my studies)
John Iverson (MIA, quite literally! Electron Kinetics, Electro Research, plus the Robertson Audio Ten Forty and Ten Sixty that may have been lifted directly from his work)
Finally, a shoutout to the unknown designer who came up with the NAD 2150 and 2200 amplifiers and their 1155 preamp. Top flight work, all around.
Last edited:
I end up with four rather than three:
Peter James Walker and M. P. Albinson and others at Acoustical/QUAD because of the invention of current dumping (and the QUAD-63 and the pioneering work on subtractive tests)
L. V. Viddeleer because of his most original tone control circuit and amplifier design from the 1950's
Peter Baxandall because of his many contributions, some of which very simple yet very effective.
Peter James Walker and M. P. Albinson and others at Acoustical/QUAD because of the invention of current dumping (and the QUAD-63 and the pioneering work on subtractive tests)
L. V. Viddeleer because of his most original tone control circuit and amplifier design from the 1950's
Peter Baxandall because of his many contributions, some of which very simple yet very effective.
