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Designer Hall of Fame

There are many great designers out there, and especially in the lore from the golden age, but I'm not to familiar with them. I thought it might be interesting to discuss some of the great designers for engineering skill and knowledge, business integrity, and ultimatley quality of their products. My short list a "hall of fame" if you will of designers working today are:

Nelson Pass, Pass Labs
Charles Hansen, Ayre
Roger Modjeski, Music Reference
Ken Stevens, Convergent Audio Technolgy (CAT)
Kevin Hayes, VAC

and how could I leave Jeff Rowland off? Well it is a short list. Who would you nominate?
pubul57
pubul57 OP
3,712 posts
 
Dr. Floyd Toole at the National Research Council his contributions in the use of measurements in the design of equipment; making the work of many other designers better (3M).
soundlock
101 posts
 

Chadnliz: Just spoke to a very close friend of Joe Grado a few minutes ago (10:30 PM, 3-31-08) and he advised me that Joe Grado was very much alive and well and getting ready soon to have his 85th birthday. Just thought you and the rest of the audiophile world would like to know. Warmest regards.
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
I thought I read the original Grado had passed and siblings were passed the torch...guess I am mistaken and apologize for my error.
pubul57 OP
3,712 posts
 
Speaking of cartridges, whoever designed the Shure V15 should be considered for the longevity and dominance of this cartridge.
pubul57 OP
3,712 posts
 
Now that I have heard the Atma-sphere OTLs, I have to put Ralph Karsten's up in the top ranks. Not an amp for everyone, but if you can use and OTL with your speakers, pretty darn impressive. The Hall of Fame for taking a basicly wonderful sounding approach to amplifiers and engineering them so that they are extremely reliabable.
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