Photo 1: Audinate enhanced its Dante Virtual Soundcard software.

Virtual Soundcard Gets An Update

Audinate recently improved its Dante Virtual Soundcard (DVS) software for Windows. The DVS software enables your PC or Mac to connect your favorite audio application directly to a Dante audio network. DVS uses your computer’s standard Ethernet port on your computer to communicate with a network of other Dante-enabled devices—no special hardware is required.

With the new Windows Driver Model (WDM) mode in V3.2.0, DVS for Windows now adds support for applications including iTunes, Windows Media Player, Skype, and more. PC users can play or record audio from these applications with professional sound quality.

Additional features include: a choice of 64 × 64 ASIO or 8 × 8 WDM mode (it presents as four stereo Windows WDM soundcards), a choice of 44.1- or 48-kHz sample rate in WDM mode, Windows 8 32- and 64-bit support, integrated online help, and clock performance improvements. DVS V.3.2.0 is a free upgrade for current licensees.

Download the Dante Virtual Soundcard V3.2.0 for Windows at www.audinate.com/DanteVirtualSoundcard.

E-Series A/V Receivers Make Entertainment More Accessible

Denon Electronics, a manufacturer of premium home and personal audio products, has launched its E-Series A/V receivers, including the AVR-E400 7.1 Channel Network Home Theater Receiver (SRP: $599), the AVR-E300 5.1 Channel Network Home Theater Receiver (SRP: $399), and the AVR-E200 5.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver (SRP: $249). All three A/V receivers provide new levels of user friendliness, cutting-edge performance benefits, and home entertainment solutions. The AVR-E400 and the AVR-E300 feature Apple’s AirPlay, enabling users to stream their iTunes music from a Mac or a PC, and stream music stored on their iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

Photo 2: The Denon Remote App enables users to control their multimedia experience.

The AVR-E400 and the AVR-E300 add even more network functionality, enabling users to enjoy music from sources such as Pandora, SiriusXM, vTuner, and Spotify, and view photos via Flickr. The AVR-E400 and the AVR-E300 are also compatible with the Denon Remote App, so users can control almost every aspect of their multimedia experience, including browsing Internet radio and files on a media server, playlist creation, volume, input selection, surround-sound modes, and menu navigation

The new AVR-E400 7.1 receiver provides a surround-sound performance with advanced networking technology and total user flexibility. For example, users can configure the AVR-E400 for a full 7.1-channel system or have a 5.1-channel system in their main room and connect a pair of stereo speakers located in another room. For total system connectivity, the AVR-E400 is equipped with six high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) inputs including five on the rear panel along with one on the front panel, which enables users to connect an HDMI-equipped camcorder, game console, or other portable multimedia device.

Denon’s new AVR-E300 receiver is rated at a maximum of 175 W for each of its five channels and it is equipped with five HDMI inputs including four on the rear panel along with one on the front panel.

The Denon AVR-E200 has a maximum 165-W rating for each of its five channels. The affordable, entry-level AVR-E200 A/V receiver delivers 5.1-channel surround, featuring the latest Dolby and DTS high-definition surround-sound decoding. The HDMI 5.1 receiver also features Denon’s Quick Select function, which provides four buttons on the front panel and on the remote control.

Users can also customize the audio parameters for each source with their preferred sound setting. The AVR-E200 is equipped with four HDMI inputs, including three on the rear panel and one on the front panel. For more information, visit Denon’s website, http://usa.denon.com.

Digi-Key Signs Agreement With GeneSiC

Digi-Key, a global electronic components distributor recognized by design engineers as having the industry’s largest selection of electronic components available for immediate shipment, announced an agreement to distribute GeneSiC Semiconductor’s silicon-carbide technologies.

Founded in 2004, GeneSiC Semiconductor is a leader in silicon-carbide (SiC) technology. Its products play a key role in conserving energy in numerous high-power systems, running faster, cooler, and more efficiently. This efficiency makes the SiC products ideal for increasing efficiency in energy-harvesting applications.

GeneSiC has the largest commercial SiC diodes portfolio, offering a SiC switch. The super junction transistor (SJT) is expected to revolutionize insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and field-effect transistor (FET) designs for engineers who want higher performance. While others have abandoned the silicon, high-voltage rectifier product market, GeneSiC Semiconductor has been investing in new products. GeneSiC Semiconductor’s products are available for purchase at Digi-Key’s website, www.digikey.com. aX

Photo 1: Ray Kimber is the founder of Kimber Kables.

Innovator Continues to Test the Limits of Kable

SHANNON BECKER: Tell us a little about your background and where you live.

RAY KIMBER: I live in Roy, UT, a suburb of Ogden, UT.  I have always been interested in electronics and audio. In 1955, as a 5 year old, I built a crystal radio kit with help from my father.  Then, without any help or permission from my father, I “borrowed” his pair of army surplus communication headphones. Next, I “borrowed” uninsulated craft wire from my mother’s hobby box—and for insulation, adhesive bandage tape from the medicine cabinet—and wired it into the crystal set. My father worked as an appliance and electronics repairman, so the kitchen table was always filled with projects and test equipment. I was always right there “helping.” The crystal radio kit is long gone now—the victim of too many modifications—but I wanted to be like my dad. So, my interest in audio and electronics, along with my childhood “technical phase,” carried into elementary school, scouting, church,  junior high, and high school.

SHANNON: How and when did you start experimenting with audio electronics?

RAY: Thank goodness for a rich(er) uncle who had a tape recorder in the 1950s. I was enamored with it. And while I was still in grade school, my father would give me unfixable electronics to tinker with (he supervised the application of power). I literally used baling wire (my grandparents were farmers) to graft a tone arm from one phonograph to another one that had a working motor. During high school I became acquainted with the owner of The Hi-Fi Shop in Ogden. The store carried McIntosh, JBL, Fisher, Dynaco, Thorens, Revox, Shure, Rabco, Ortofon, Sony, and TEAC equipment, among others. He also owned KBOC, a stereo FM radio station—I was in heaven. I worked as a DJ, and I built dozens of kits for his customers.

Photo 2: The 12TC cable has two 8-AWG conductors. The cable’s tonal balance is full, rich, and powerful while the musical impact and dynamics reveal three-dimensionality and imaging.

SHANNON: How did your company Kimber Kable come about?

RAY: In the mid-1970s, I was working as an engineer with a professional audio company in Los Angeles, CA.  We had started to design and install equipment in large dance clubs, along with existing studio and commercial projects, and there was a problem with noise. With the advent of disco, the speaker cable was in close proximity to the flashing lights, strobe lights, and neon. Placing the speaker cable in a conduit or other shielding created other problems. I was stumped until I visualized a solution that had the conductors twisting in opposite directions, but with two conductors that wasn’t possible. Then, I remembered a Scout craft called Boondoggle. I promptly went to Yale Radio in Hollywood, purchased hook-up wire, and days later had some hand-braided speaker cable. I fully expected it to reject noise, what I wasn’t prepared for was the obvious difference in sound. Events brought me back to Utah where I pursued the idea.

Photo 3: The PBJ interconnect exhibits simple construction incorporating tri-braid field geometry, VariStrand, Hyper-pure copper conductors, and extruded fluorocarbon dielectric.

SHANNON: What types of products/services does Kimber Kable provide?

RAY: We offer a complete line of speaker cables, analog and digital interconnects, video cables, and power cords. All our products share a familial design structure, but each was designed as a unique “problem solver.” Our goals of great products, performance, and value would not be nearly as compelling without the great service and knowledge of the individuals who’ve made the company possible. Wattgate, WBT USA, IsoMike, and Heatshrink.com are companies under the Kimber Kable umbrella.

SHANNON: In the past 33 years, how has Kimber Kable evolved? What has been your greatest achievement thus far?

RAY: It might be the nontechnical achievement of providing a stable gratifying business for our employees, vendors, and customers.

Photo 4: Ray Kimber’s IsoMike is an experimental recording apparatus and method used to recreate an original performance in direct-stream digital (DSD) high-definition audio.

SHANNON: Can you tell us about your IsoMike demonstrations? How did you start doing them? What do the demonstrations entail? What type of equipment do you use?

RAY: The IsoMike sprang from some curiosity I had regarding series crossovers for loudspeakers. I was curious about how large a space between two microphones would be required before “flanging” would drop to inaudibility if the two microphones were mixed together at the same gain. I then repeated the same experiment but I used gain differential as the factor. Using a sine wave, it turned out to be about a 10’ separation or about 10 dB of differential. However, when using a complex tone, that spacing requirement jumped to about 20’ or about 20 dB. I then concluded that unless a single-point microphone scheme was used, that 20’ plus of separation lowered the flanging effect. But microphones spaced so widely apart would never sound right on a speaker playback (actually they would sound very right and very left, with no center image). Hmmm, I wondered how to make the microphones “think” they were spaced wider than they actually were. I hit on the notion of spacing the microphones at what I considered to be a good width for speaker playback, about 5’ or 6’, and then developing an absorptive asymmetrical baffle to isolate them.

SHANNON: What do you think is the key to sound done right?

RAY: Attention to every detail. You must understand the cost and benefit to each choice in a system. The ability to use both perceived and measured evaluations is also important.

Photo 5: A group of musicians rehearse on stage and use an IsoMike to record their audio sound.

SHANNON: What do you see as some of the greatest audio innovations of your time?

RAY: Radio frequency bending of cabinet materials, cast cabinet materials, astonishingly insightful test and measurement equipment, and direct-stream digital (DSD) have made audio great. Let me use two companies as examples, one relatively under-the-radar and one very well known. Merging Technologies provided the ability to record, edit, and master in DSD and digital eXtreme Definition (DXD). And, Sony for regaining the passion of design and manufacturing in its new SS-AR series of speakers. Audio innovations are great, in part, because of small companies like Merging Technologies with truly great products and Sony, a gigantic company that still has the ability to show soul.

SHANNON: Can you recommend any useful new parts or promising technologies? Is there anything you’re currently using that you think readers should know about?

RAY: The newest generation of DACs are delivering greater fidelity for the dollar, and I am delighted that some of them work in DSD. DSD downloads are gaining ground, we have plans to use the service from Blue Coast Records for our IsoMike downloads. And it warms my heart to see new entries in the turntable, cartridge, and phono preamp lineup. Headphones and the associated headphone amplifiers and portable DACs are also enjoying increasing popularity. aX

Across

1.    CONSONANCE—Repetitive
3.    TRIGGERDIODE—A DIAC [two words]
4.    RADECHON—Barrier-grid storage tube
8.    WATERFALLPLOT—Cumulative spectral delay [two words]
9.    WINDING—Coiled material
12.    PHASEINVERTER—Two outputs created from a single input, one is identical to the original and the other is a mirror image [two words]
14.    TFTDISPLAY—Uses little electricity and provides a clear flat-screen display [two words]
15.    BIFILAR—Used in bipolar power-supply transformers to improve output voltage symmetry
17.    WALSHDRIVER—Inherently omnidirectional [two words]
18.    DARLINGTON—Resistor type that uses a shared collector
19.    FORWARDBIAS—Voltage applied to a semiconductor’s controlling element [two words]

Down

1.    CODEC—Converts analog signal to digital and the digital signals back to analog
2.    BRANDENBURG—Audio engineer who has contributed to the MPEG Audio Layer 3audio compression format
5.    HARRIESVALVE—Eliminates a tetrode’s kink [two words]
6.    POWERPENTODES—The EL34, the 6CL6, and the 6K6GT are examples of these tube types [two words]
7.    PINCH—It was the early tube’s central part. Lead-in wires were fed through and it mechanically supported the electrode system.
10.    LINESOURCE—A true one extends from floor to ceiling [two words]
11.    SEISMIC—Floor-shaking bass reproduction
13.    SURFACENOISE—aka, needle scratch [two words]
16.    GLITCH—Brief transient spike

A few good things came out of the disco era—including a custom-made speaker cable that addressed sound-quality issues arising from cables running near discotheque strobe lights. Ray Kimber devised that handbraided cable, inspiring Kimber Kable company and its handcrafted audio and video cables (p. 27).

Ron Tipton explains how he updated a pair of MTX Audio Monitor 5i 5.25″ bookshelf speakers to use with a new computer (p. 15).

You can best test a newly designed loudspeaker by comparing its sound to what you hear through high-quality headphones. Top-notch amplifiers drive such headphones. George Ntanavaras describes how he built a high-power headphone amplifier (p. 20).

Nine years ago RCF, a global player in pro audio loudspeakers, renewed its commitment to product research, development, and manufacturing in Italy. It has launched many new products since. Vance Dickason tested one—the ultra-compact ND950 1.4 neodymium compression driver and its complementary HF950 injection molded composite horn (p. 34).

If you’re a hobbyist who is considering swapping out rectifier tubes in your audio equipment, you should take a few precautions. Find out what they are in Richard Honeycutt’s article comparing solid- and hollow-state rectifier tubes (p. 30).

Which is better for heating tube amplifiers? Alternating or direct current? It’s an ongoing debate. Gerhard Haas examines the data and concludes that despite the prevalence of AC, DC offers clear advantages for indirectly heating vacuum tubes (p. 12).

Regards,
Mary Wilson
editor@audioxpress.com

SHANNON BECKER: Tell us a little about your background. Where are you located? Where and what did you study?

ADAM CLARKSON: I have been working in product development for the past 10 years in Franklin, IN, for my father’s company, Agri-Tronix, where we manufacture agricultural electronics and also professional tournament fishing scales. Yes, tournament fishing is a sport and we provide the scales necessary to decide the winner. I attended Indiana University for two years after high school where I studied graphic design and pre-engineering. After my brief tour of college life, I bounced around from bartending job to bartending job before deciding to come to work for my father. It’s truly been a blessing to work for the man I most admire, I’ve learned more from him than I could ever describe. My brother, Ben, began working with me about two years ago after he graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts.

SHANNON: What is your current occupation?

ADAM: Sales, marketing, project manager, graphic designer, technician, and anything else that needs to be done.

SHANNON: How did your interest in audio electronics develop?

ADAM: I’ve always been interested in electronics and always loved good audio. There was an allure to vacuum tubes, so we started experimenting and we really think that we’ve created something special.

Photo 1:Brothers, Adam (left) and Ben Clarkson, are working on BlueTube Audio’s classic wooden speakers designed to match their new vacuum tube amplifier.

SHANNON: How did you and your brother Ben get involved with Kickstarter? What about it appealed to you?

ADAM: The ClockOS was our first kickstarter project. I had a friend who had  decent success on Kickstarter, and I thought, “Hey I could do that.” So we set out to come up with a project to put on Kickstarter and test the waters. We came up with the ClockOS, which had  mild success. We learned so much from doing that project. And, we did some things wrong with that project that really held it back from being great. The idea of Kickstarter is really neat, and I think that a lot of people want to just help out. They want to be involved in something new, get in on the ground floor, so to speak. Even though the backers are not
investing in the company, they still have this desire to be involved. The all-or-nothing funding was the one thing that really convinced us to go with them over the other crowd-funding sites like indiegogo.com.

SHANNON: In what stage of development is the ClockOS?

ADAM: Unfortunately, this project had to be retired as the manufacturing cost was just way too high. The machine shop that originally quoted the aluminum for us came back after the project ended with a price that was three times as high. We then had to scramble to  find a new shop and what we saved in money, we sacrificed in quality. We spent many weekends reworking the machined parts, hand polishing and surface prepping each one to a show quality finish. If you added our time to the cost of the ClockOS project (which any good business owners should) we would have lost money on the ClockOS project. We learned from our first project and took it to the BlueTube amplifier to make sure it was a success. It worked.

Photo 2: BlueTube Audio’s new vacuum tube amplifer comes with two handcrafted wooden speakers.

SHANNON: Share some details about your company, BlueTube Audio. What made you and Ben go into business together?

ADAM: BlueTube Audio’s niche is “functioning art.” We want to design products that are art pieces but have function in modern society. Our new project is the BlueTube Audio vacuum tube amplifier. As for our partnership, we were already working together and, in my opinion, we make a great team. We are brothers so we do have our battles, they are usually small though, and we always work through them.

SHANNON: Describe the BlueTube Audio vacuum tube amplifier and its current status.

Photo 3: The back of the BlueTube Audio amplifier is clearly labeled for easy use.

ADAM: We decide to put the amplifier on Kickstarter as it really is a good platform for raising funds for your initial production run. We needed to have custom sheet metal plates punched, powder coated, and silkscreened for the back panels. The front panels are made of brushed stainless steel and require specialized machinery to punch and cut them. The internal chassis is really a marvel of sheet metal bending that I designed, and I am pretty shocked the sheet metal shop said they could bend them.

We have also three separate PCBs in the unit. The main board is populated with the tube sockets, the capacitors, the resistors, and the other fun components that are required for a vacuum tube amplifier. The secondary PCB has all the inputs and DC voltage circuitry on it. This board also has the USB port attached with smart charger circuitry.

Photo 4: The amplifier’s power button emits a soft blue glow when the device is on.

The circuitry automatically detects the proper voltage and current for your USB device, whether it’s an Samsung Galaxy or an iPad, we can give the device all the power it wants. This secondary PCB also has all the Bluetooth circuitry attached to it. The third board is a small one, but it is connected to the input selector switch and distributes the input signal to the amplifier and then out to your speakers.

All these things require quantity orders that we would not have been able to fund without the Kickstarter program. Now that we have the start-up capital, we can order more parts than we need and actually have inventory on the shelves—about 10 times as much inventory in some cases. Currently, production of the first units is in full swing, and we are constantly ordering parts.

SHANNON: The amplifier’s old-world look camouflages some very modern audio electronics. Why choose this combination?

Photo 5: The amplifier’s vacuum tubes provide the modern-day amplifier with some old-world charm.

ADAM: Because it looks awesome and sounds great! I love the look of the old-time tombstone radios and the handcrafted woodwork. The warm glow of the vacuum tubes. The reflection of the glass and metal. We don’t put plastic on our units because plastic looks cheap. Ben is the woodworker, and he did an amazing job handcrafting these units.

As for the new world technology, well, we don’t really want to sacrifice our convenience either. Why not have both? Great sound and the convenience of Bluetooth.

SHANNON: Do you have any advice for audioXpress readers who are thinking of building their own sound systems?

ADAM: Be careful when working with tube amplifiers. The capacitors can take hours to fully discharge and even when unplugged they can give you quite a jolt.  Also, don’t be afraid to experiment.

SHANNON: Are you planning any other speaker-related projects?

ADAM: Yes, Bluetooth and stereo. That’s all that I can say right now.

SHANNON: Where do you see the audio industry 10 years from now?

ADAM: Much as it is now; however, with the shift to digital in the last few years, there has been some sacrifice of quality. I foresee people crying for better quality. Many people, including myself, love the convenience of having their entire music library in their pocket. But I’ve noticed that I don’t buy albums like I used to. I have the shuffle bug or the skip bug and I don’t listen to a whole album through and through like I used to. I guess this isn’t really a prediction just a complaint of something that I find missing. I miss the collection of a music library. I miss sitting down and listening to an entire album. I miss the sound of good music and the music sounding good. We’re seeing a shift to better things. I just can’t say where we will end. aX

Figure 1: The 2008 THX US Patent 7,433,483 for a slot-loaded speaker is at the center of a lawsuit THX filed against Apple.

THX filed a lawsuit against Apple Corp. in US District Court, Northern District of California, San Jose, CA, on March 14, 2013, alleging that Apple is using patented THX speaker technology in select iOS mobile devices and in iMac PCs. The patent in question is a 2008 THX US Patent 7,433,483 for a slot-loaded speaker that can boost sound output by controlling directivity (see Figure 1). The patent specifically describes a woofer whose output fires through a narrow slot resulting in a wide horizontal dispersion angle and a narrow vertical dispersion angle. It should be noted that a narrow vertical dispersion pattern is part of the certification standard applied to THX-certified home theater speakers. The configuration described in the patent is alleged to have been incorporated into the Apple iPad, the iMac, the iPhone 4, and other select Apple products. THX maintains that the infringement caused monetary damage and irreparable harm to THX. Apple’s last day to meet and confer with THX counsel and the court over initial disclosure, an early settlement, and other stipulations is May 14, 2013. The deadline for initial disclosures is June 7, 2013. The initial case management conference is scheduled for June 14, 2013.

Quadrant Hires Former Thiel Execs

Quadrant Solutions, a supplier of permanent magnets and magnetic assemblies, has appointed former Thiel Audio executives Kathy Gornik and Dawn Cloyd to identify additional opportunities for the company in the consumer electronics industry. Kathy Gornik co-founded Thiel Audio, a high-performance loudspeaker manufacturer based in Lexington, KY. Gornik was partially responsible for Thiel’s company vision, direction, policies, and marketing strategy, garnering numerous business and industry awards. Gornik also had a leadership role in the electronics industry, serving on an array of boards and committees for the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) from 1995 to present. Gornik sold Thiel in November, 2012. Cloyd worked with Gornik at Thiel for more than 12 years. They left after the company was sold. Quadrant is a US-based company with more than 20 years in the magnet industry, specializing in magnetic materials and magnetic assemblies worldwide.

AES Call for Papers

The 135th Audio Engineering Society (AES) Convention will be held October 17–20, 2013 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York, NY. A call for papers and engineering briefs has been issued. Authors may submit proposals in three categories:

Complete-manuscript, peer-reviewed convention papers (submit at www.aes.org/135th_authors)

Abstract précis-reviewed convention papers (submit at www.aes.org/135th_authors)

Synopsis-reviewed engineering briefs (submit at www.aes.org/135th_ebriefs)

Submissions for the first two categories must be electronically submitted by May 16, 2013. For more information, visit www.aes.org.

Triad Offers New Loudspeaker System

Photo 1: The CR-2 speaker system includes a 15” woofer, two 8” midranges, and a proprietary tweeter.

Custom loudspeaker manufacturer Triad Speakers has released its new Cinema Reference loudspeaker system for larger screening rooms and dedicated home theaters. The CR-2 includes a 15” woofer, two 8” midranges, and a proprietary horn-loaded air-motion transformer tweeter—all sourced from premium European professional driver manufacturers (see Photo 1). It is the company’s loudest loudspeaker to date, exceeding 120 dB at 1 m.

New for Triad is CR-2’s diffraction control technology (DCT) baffle design. The curved design minimizes diffraction and resonances, acts as an acoustic diffuser, and can be an on-wall or freestanding speaker. At 46” (H) × 31” (W) × 10” (D), the CR-2 fits behind an acoustically transparent film screen or an 11” deep stretched-fabric wall. It can be wall mounted with up to 12° of toe-in adjustment or used as a freestanding product with the optional floor mount. Finishes include flat black, real wood veneer, and custom colors. The CR-2 costs $15,000. Availability is planned for spring 2013. VC

Photo 1: The CR-2 speaker system includes a 15” woofer, two 8” midranges, and a proprietary tweeter

Edward T. Dell, Jr. (1923-2013)

Edward T. Dell, Jr.
1923-2013

When Edward T. Dell, Jr., founder and former Audio Amateur publisher, passed away in February, editors at audioXpress asked themselves this question: How do you celebrate the life of a man who single-handedly did more to foster the audio construction hobby than anyone else?

We asked longtime contributors to submit essays about Dell, whose many publishing achievements included making audioXpress the go-to audio technology authority before he sold his company’s assets—which included audioXpress and Voice Coil magazines—to the Elektor publishing group in 2011.

Ed Dell published the first edition of The Audio Amateur in 1970. The magazine catered to audio construction hobbyists.

Here we share reflections on the man who, shortly before his retirement at 88, summarized for interviewer Jan Didden the passion that fueled a long publishing career dedicated to DIY audio: “I wonder how things work. That curiosity has been the basis of most of what I did in my life.”

Dell’s many magazines have significantly furthered the art of audio.

If you would like to share your comments about Ed’s legacy with audioXpress readers online, please visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AudioAmateur.

Essays from friends of Ed Dell:

Nelson Pass

Richard Honeycutt

Chuck Hansen

Gary Galo

Jan Didden

Vance Dickason

Joseph D’Appolito

Here is a simple schematic for the Zen amplifier, which Ed Dell published in Audio Amateur to encourage beginning DIYers with a project that presented “Class-A performance” with minimal hurdles.

Suppose you could say that if Ed Dell had not been around for the past 40 years, the audio DIY community would have had to create him. I doubt anyone else could have done better.

With Audio Amateur magazine, Ed picked up the slack from the decline of kit companies such as Heathkit and Dynaco and kept the DIY enterprise alive and healthy well into the Internet age. For a long time, his audio magazines were almost all there was, and much of the resurgence of ordinary people’s interest in audio electronics is owed to his efforts.

I started writing for Audio Amateur by accident in 1972, and over 40 years produced about 20 articles for the magazine, most of my best stuff. I never met Ed in person, but I can tell you he was a pleasure to work with.

I was asked to include comments and an image or two with this piece, and for sentimental reasons, I chose a simple version of the schematic for the “Zen amplifier” of 1994, which championed the notion of minimalism in amplifier design.

While the idea was met with some derision in audio circles, the intent was to encourage beginning DIYers to get past the intimidation of a first project with something that presented “Class-A performance” with minimal hurdles. I think that was the key thing, and later versions became even simpler (or more complicated) as appropriate to beginners’ needs.

Over the years, this amplifier and its variations published in Audio Amateur have been built by thousands of amateurs. It lives on today in the form of the “Amp Camp” design used in one-day gatherings in northern California and Europe, where a small group of newcomers build their own power amplifiers in one day.

So I guess it was a good idea, and Ed delivered it to you. He made the world much richer by his efforts, and I feel certain that this is all he would have wanted.

—Nelson Pass, who specializes in amplifiers, has been deeply involved in the DIY community since 1973 and has published more than 50 pieces aimed at construction by hobbyists, including the popular single-stage Zen series amplifier.

On February 25, the audio world lost a great visionary and leader, Edward T. Dell, Jr. I first became acquainted with Ed soon after I graduated from college in 1970. A longtime electronics/speaker/audio hobbyist, I frequently bought parts to feed my habit from McGee Radio in Kansas City, MO. At one point, the parts began arriving with a free magazine: The Audio Amateur. I read and thoroughly enjoyed the magazine, and found that it was a quarterly publication created by someone named Ed Dell from New Hampshire.

At that time, I worked for Western Electric as a writer of technical documents for telephone-system engineering. I also wrote in my spare time, my first effort being an article that was accepted for publication by Audio magazine, but then never actually published. I subsequently wrote a piece on the acoustics of wood for guitar making and it was published. My acquaintance with The Audio Amateur led to my third article―this one a tutorial on microphones―which was published in The Audio Amateur in 1972 or 1973 (I have the magazine, but it says 1972, Issue 4, on the front, and the editorial and copyright date indicate 1973.)

Never having understood the concept of “enough things to do,” I had opened Ye Musick Shoppe, a small musical instrument shop, and my wife and I published a newsletter, Ye Musepaper, as a promotional piece for the shop. We mentioned this in correspondence with Ed, and he asked for a copy, since both our newsletter and TAA were created on typewriters and hand-justified. Ed was almost as interested in the process of publication as in the subjects of the articles. Perhaps that is why he was so successful in fostering interest in audio through his expertly crafted magazines.

A self-described dilettante, Ed was more of a hobbyist than what is usually called an audiophile in today’s jargon. Although quite interested in the classic audio electronics and speakers, he was passionate about building audio equipment. He once wrote an editorial discussing the importance of hobbies, particularly electronics hobbies, for our national technological competence and even national security. During my third career―this one as a college electronics instructor―his point was clearly driven home for me. My all-time-best two students entered the electronics engineering technology program after having been hobbyists for years: one, a designer/builder/modifier of guitar amplifiers, and the other, an Extra Class ham radio operator. Other students who were equally gifted intellectually and academically never seemed to have the “feel” for electronics that these two longtime hobbyists had.

TAA included articles on all phases of audio including amplifiers, preamps, test equipment, speakers, and microphones. In the late 1970s, Ed noticed a substantial interest in building speakers, and publication of Speaker Builder magazine began. This periodical was published eight times per year, and became quite popular. Another category of interest appeared in The Audio Amateur, culminating in the 1988 introduction of Glass Audio, a magazine devoted to audio equipment using vacuum tubes. Interestingly, within the first few years of Speaker Builder’s publication, a reader survey showed that audio professionals made up a large proportion of the readership. Ultimately, this realization led to two consequences. The first was the 1987 introduction of Voice Coil, a newsletter for speaker professionals. Ed secured the services of prominent speaker-consultant Vance Dickason as editor. Beginning as a simple newsletter, VC blossomed into the leading magazine worldwide for speaker professionals. The second outcome of finding out how many subscribers to The Audio Amateur and Speaker Builder were professionals was a name change from The Audio Amateur to Audio Electronics, which took place in 2000.

Seeing a need for a single source of supplier information in the speaker and vacuum tube industries, Ed began an annual and a biannual publication: the Loudspeaker Industry Sourcebook, and the World Tube Directory.

The success of Voice Coil  led to the introduction of Multimedia Manufacturer in 2003. Then, after decades of expanding its offerings, Ed’s company, Audio Amateur,  consolidated some magazines. Audio Electronics, Speaker Builder, and Glass Audio became audioXpress. Publication of Multimedia Manufacturer ceased. Voice Coil  continues to be the premier periodical for speaker professionals.

In 2011, at the age of 88, Ed Dell sold Audio Amateur to Elektor International Media, which continues to publish audioXpress and Voice Coil, as well as Circuit Cellar, a monthly magazine (print and digital) covering the topics of embedded hardware, embedded software, electrical engineering, and computer applications.

Along with his magazine publications, Ed Dell also promoted the hobby and profession of audio by publishing books such as Vance Dickason’s Loudspeaker Design Cookbook and by maintaining, at various times, a mail-order and online store selling kits, books, test equipment, design and testing software, and specialized components for audio.

In addition to providing continuing education for many longtime audio aficionados, Ed Dell left a lifetime legacy to developing audio enthusiasts and up-and-coming professionals that cannot be overstated. That legacy lives on, but Ed will be sorely missed.

—Richard Honeycutt, an engineer, teacher, audio enthusiast, and audioXpress columnist, is a consultant in acoustics and electroacoustics.

I first got in touch with Ed Dell in 1997 to propose a preamp construction article based on the HeadRoom headphone amp module. Not only did he graciously accept an article from a perfect stranger, he came down to visit me a few months later. (His son Chad teaches at the nearby Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ, and it turned out Chad was the faculty adviser for my niece’s future husband.)

My article appeared in the June 1997 issue of Audio Electronics. Ed invited me to the AES convention in New York City that fall.

Thus began my long association with Ed Dell and Audio Amateur, leading to almost 250 more articles, reviews, test reports, and “New Chips on the Block” columns in the various TAA publications. Through Ed, I have become friends with many of the true experts in the audio field, for which I am very grateful.

Ed was one of the most gracious people I ever met. My wife, Kathy, always said he had a very calming voice, and he was genuinely interested in everything you had to say.

 ―Chuck Hansen, frequent contributor to Audio Amateur publications