Chris Strahm of LinearX has Passed Away

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If you have a Voice Coil account (free for industry pros) you can read the VC Obituary:

Complete Loudspeaker Industry Focus: Voice Coil February 2017 Now Available!

I've talked to Chris a few times over the years and he was always nice and extremely informative, his technical ability was unmatched. I remember when I first purchase LMS, I was blown away at how well the UI was built. The user manual is just as much a reference for loudspeaker testing as it is a manual of how to use the product. I marveled at the fact that he designed the PCBs, wrote all the code and wrote the product manuals.

I remember joking his wife, Susie, about the fact that Chris needed to take more vacations. He was a workaholic and worked all hours of the night, typical of an engineer or programmer. I doubt that anyone can pick up where he left off with the LX500.

He will be missed.

Rob

P.S. The phone at LinearX has been disconnected. I suggest that you don't place any new online orders.
 
There was nobody in the industry that I personally learned more from than Chris. This saddens me deeply. He was patient and taught me more than he'll ever know. I was amazed that he supported his LMS and LEAP products personally and was always willing to answer questions and help in any way that he could. I had always hoped I would meet him one day..There were very few in the industry that could match his genius, IMHO.
 
Certainly "sad" enough for all parties involved. While the firm's outstanding liabilities have clearly been a long time coming, can we assume that at this juncture Susie has more than a full plate, and that much of the operations / financing might have been beyond her control?

If legal actions are available for restitution, could she at least be granted a period of grace an mourning?
 
Hello Everyone,

Chris was a friend of mine and we worked together for over 15 years. Our company distributed his products in Europe.
With his loss a lot of knowledge is gone and he will be missed...

I just wanted to give you all an update of what is happening at the Moment.

As you all know Chris ran his company with Susie and Eva. As Chris did everything by his own there is no way for Susie or Eva to keep the company running. Therefore Susie wants to sell the company and the house near the company in which they both lived. With the money she wants to pay back the refunds from the LX500 customers. The reason why the webpage is offline is because someone pulled the plug of the server.
At the moment we are also looking for some missing update packages from the server. It would be really helpful if someone with the files could send us these. We also want to offer the packages on our webpage, so that all LinearX customers can download the missing software. We are looking for:
- Update Enclosure Shop
- Update Crossover Shop
- Update Filtershop
- Demo Crossover Shop
- Demo Enclosure Shop
So if you have any of these please send it to us or contact us: linearx(at)physical-lab.com

I will keep you updated when I know more.
 
This looks hopeful - while perhaps the LX500 was a bridge to far - at least for a firm with such limited resources, it's heartening to see the intent to honor the customers patience for refunds. It just would be a crying shame if that meant Susie lost a lifetime of equity that was probably going to be her retirement.
 
Hello Everyone,

Chris was a friend of mine and we worked together for over 15 years. Our company distributed his products in Europe.
With his loss a lot of knowledge is gone and he will be missed...

I just wanted to give you all an update of what is happening at the Moment.

As you all know Chris ran his company with Susie and Eva. As Chris did everything by his own there is no way for Susie or Eva to keep the company running. Therefore Susie wants to sell the company and the house near the company in which they both lived. With the money she wants to pay back the refunds from the LX500 customers. The reason why the webpage is offline is because someone pulled the plug of the server.
At the moment we are also looking for some missing update packages from the server. It would be really helpful if someone with the files could send us these. We also want to offer the packages on our webpage, so that all LinearX customers can download the missing software. We are looking for:
- Update Enclosure Shop
- Update Crossover Shop
- Update Filtershop
- Demo Crossover Shop
- Demo Enclosure Shop
So if you have any of these please send it to us or contact us: linearx(at)physical-lab.com

I will keep you updated when I know more.

Thank you for the update.

I have sent Physical Lab the update files for LMS, Enclosure, Crossover and Filter Shop. If you need the update files contact them or PM me.

Cheers,

Rob
 
Hello Everyone,

Chris was a friend of mine and we worked together for over 15 years. Our company distributed his products in Europe.
With his loss a lot of knowledge is gone and he will be missed...

I just wanted to give you all an update of what is happening at the Moment.

As you all know Chris ran his company with Susie and Eva. As Chris did everything by his own there is no way for Susie or Eva to keep the company running. Therefore Susie wants to sell the company and the house near the company in which they both lived. With the money she wants to pay back the refunds from the LX500 customers. The reason why the webpage is offline is because someone pulled the plug of the server.
At the moment we are also looking for some missing update packages from the server. It would be really helpful if someone with the files could send us these. We also want to offer the packages on our webpage, so that all LinearX customers can download the missing software. We are looking for:
- Update Enclosure Shop
- Update Crossover Shop
- Update Filtershop
- Demo Crossover Shop
- Demo Enclosure Shop
So if you have any of these please send it to us or contact us: linearx(at)physical-lab.com

I will keep you updated when I know more.

This statement above seems like very encouraging news. By the way, do you know the cause of death? Had Chris been sick for any time last fall?
 
The only issue I have with a refund is that I've been looking forward to owning an LX500 for more than five years now! If Susie can get someone to take over the project and promise an actual product, even if it doesn't have all the capabilities Chris envisaged, I'd even be prepared to kick extra cash into the bucket (and I've already paid in full). My guess is that most of the 130 people who've committed would be prepared to do the same, which would be a powerful incentive for someone to take on the project.
 
Physical Lab,

Thanks for your updates and encouraging thoughts regarding LinearX. I'm sure it is reassuring to those who have invested with the company, have existing products or who have put money in advance for the LX500.

Can you give us any update as to what happened to Chris? When you think about a one-man show, so-to-speak, with a company that had exceeded one million in sales nearly twenty years ago, had very little debt and maintained a really excellent reputation in the field for nicely engineered and well-built products and good customer service, it comes as a great shock and surprise that everything came to a screeching stop with Chris' death. No apparent path forward; no follow-on plan that is evident. Besides that, there are many products -- owned by professionals and audiophiles -- with no basic product support going forward. So not only are there many deposits on hand for the LX500, there are probably a number of LinearX instruments that are in the plant now for alignment, updates or repairs. There are probably even more products in the hands of owners in need of updates, etc.
 
The only issue I have with a refund is that I've been looking forward to owning an LX500 for more than five years now! If Susie can get someone to take over the project and promise an actual product, even if it doesn't have all the capabilities Chris envisaged, I'd even be prepared to kick extra cash into the bucket (and I've already paid in full). My guess is that most of the 130 people who've committed would be prepared to do the same, which would be a powerful incentive for someone to take on the project.

Totally agree. I'd be happy to wait if there was any chance that the LX500 could be finished.

Does anybody know how close it was? There have been very few updates over the last couple of years
 
Dongles

Why not try & copy the data/files etc, from the linearx dongle onto a USB stick for eg ? Might be worth a try, especially as USB sticks are cheap. Plus i doubt if you would need a large capacity one.

*

Sad & bad news about his death. I don't have any of his gear, but i hope someone can take over the business etc for the sake of others. As at least one LX500 exists @ LinearX, plus i expect circuit diagrams & PCB's etc as well, it should be possible to duplicate them.
 
WOW! This is very sad news. I did not know Chris nor his family, but I recently acquired a used copy of LEAP (and dongle) and have just begun unraveling the mysteries that this software hides. My deepest condolences to the family as I am sure this is a very troubling time.

I am wondering if anyone from Physical Lab, or any members here, are willing to provide informal tech support for LEAP users...? I'm having some configuration issues and could use some troubleshooting help. Please message me if you have intimate knowledge of the software.

Sincerely,
Brian
 
I just now found this out here. I am shocked and saddened to hear this news. About six months ago, I was taking a look at the LinearX page to see the latest. I think of the struggles he had with the LX-500, which included many vendors drying up. One time he had an entire shipment of a device that was completely out of spec. THEN he had to move his entire plant because somebody bought the industrial block and threw everybody out. While they were building a new fresh plant, it was hit with severe rain damage in the middle of the almost finished construction.
I never met him in person, but talked with him on the phone a number of times. Every time I had to take that virtual handle on the side of my head and wind it up a few times to keep up with what he was saying. Years ago, I bought LEAP Four on floppy disks. After it was upgraded, LEAP 5 and LMS for windows. Five was a bit scary at first, but I managed it in time. To watch the values of the crossover components change as the response would flatten out was a GEEK BLAST for me!!
One engineer wrote him a thank you note on the forum. The gent’s job was to figure out how the front of a television would affect the cheap speakers used in it. He said that LEAP 5 nailed the response perfectly, on a T.V. with an oddball, angular front. That prevented them from building ten or so prototypes.
This has wrecked my day as he passed away, way to young.
Much moreover, my most heartfelt condolences go to his family and friends.
 
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