Many years ago I subscribed to his newsletter and admired his sensible approach to component design. But for some reason I never owned a AVA product. Still, sad to hear of his passing.
Frank is gone. AVA lives on!
A very sad day:
We are saddened to announce that after a short illness, our founder, Frank Van Alstine, died on Wednesday, January 29th. Frank had been an innovator in the audio industry for over 57 years. Always bringing a “no nonsense approach” to the products he offered, satisfying his passion for creating high quality products with high value was always his primary goal. His greatest joy in business was from the happy letters and feedback he received from his customers.
At the time of his death, Frank had been transitioning toward full retirement. His staff has been skillfully managing the business for the last few years. Daily operations, manufacturing, engineering and product development, and service on AVA products continue without pause.
Many of Frank’s staff have worked with him for decades. We started as his customers and were drawn to his passion for audio. We were audiophiles, and we became his friends. He will be greatly missed!
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in the late 80s, we were two or three months into an extended stay in Rochester, MN as the docs from Mayo clinic desperately tried and ultimately failed to keep our six-year-old son alive. Needing a break one day, I drove down to Burnsville to what I assumed would be a shop of some sort. After driving by Frank’s home a few times I finally called and was invited into his basement whre AVA lived. I spent the afternoon in the comfort of Frank’s generosity while bathed in glorious music from his modest system. Yes, I bought stuff from him. |
@wideload Did you also snuggle with his cat? Frank always had a cat hanging around the house. Two of us from work were in Minny one week and we stopped in to visit Frank and company. He was of course playing Salk speakers in the shop. I wish I could find the photo of Frank sitting at the counter in our house in Michigan eating a piece of pie and he requested a glass of milk to wash it down while he chatted with my wife. We were having a large home theater group GTG that day and he was travelling along with Jim Salk who lived about an hour away. Frank was a great guy and incredibly knowledgeable as folks above pointed out. He really knew his shiite but he was also very opinionated about circuits he may have poo-poo'd along the way. It was always great to hear him zero in on what worked and what hadn't in his journey. Colorful insights from the professor. RIP Frank!!
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