Chris Strahm of LinearX has Passed Away

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Very sad to come across this thread, even though it's quite old. I've used LEAP for nigh on 25 years, a BRILLIANT piece of software which was so well supported. RIP Chris
Yes, and what a MIND he had! I talked to him a couple times on the phone, and afterward I felt like a pleeb! Only one other program has a TRUE crossover-optimiser, where it changes the component values to give you the transfer function that your goal is. It is made by the former designer for Dynaudio, and it looks fantastic, but expensive. :(
 
Chris Strahm was a exceptionally bright designer, engineer and entrepreneur, and he ran his business in a productive, efficient manner. Early on, LinearX -- the company -- had a reputation for excellent customer service with well-design and constructed products. As time wore on, LinearX evolved into (basically) a one-man show, with Chris calling all the shots. Yes, his wife and one other person were on hand, but the business revolved around Chris, and when he died, the company died with him. Virtually everything stopped.

With the LX500, Chris had about all he could handle, and it was a monumental task to design, configure, write manuals, test, set up production and distribution of this new product; sadly, he didn't finish it. I had the distinct impression that Chris worked through the night on this immensely complex new product, and this had to be a great strain on his health. Many people -- myself included -- had long-standing deposits down on the brand-new LX500. I waited for over five years for it, and it just never came. I talked with Chris on several occasions, and he was understandably tense and impatient, but I held on year-after-year until finally, just a few months before he died, I pulled the plug and requested a refund, which I received. Sadly, many others were not so lucky.

It was sad to lose such an accomplished designer as Chris; it is also sad that the once highly respected company declined so precipitously. In the end, it is doubtful that the LX500 would have been as hugely successful as the earlier LinearX products (which largely set the standards), mainly because of the huge variety and array of internet-based measurement tools and the presence of many other competitive products that evolved during the development of the LX500. Nevertheless, the LX500 had such great promise in a package that was very competitively priced with the best equipment available; alas, it will never see the light of day unless another company takes up where Chris left off.
 
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