So Long, Clark Johnsen

Another writer of audio and music passion has left us. Clark Johnsen was one-of-kind. Eccentric, highly opinionated (with emphasis), and not one bit afraid to try whatever was available to increase the pleasure reproduced music could muster.

Not having met him previously, Clark made a visit to my home one evening carrying in a duffel bag as he made his entrance, greeting all as if he had known everyone all along. Having no idea what was in store for me, all kinds of cables, tweaks, and paraphernalia spilled out of his bag, some of which looked as if they could be hash pipes stuck inline with the cables. It was a memorable evening, to say the least.

Later when I was writing for the same magazine, Clark and I differed vigorously on whether there was any improvement in sound on CD's treated with a gold metal dot in a small plastic SIM card-type case. This device, having metaphysical properties from a bloke named Geoff, was limited to ten uses before somehow shutting itself down if another quarter wasn't inserted. Clark and I were polar opposites on our opinion of it. During dinner at one of the first Rocket Mountain Audio Fests, I slipped this magic dot, along with a nice tip, to the waitress to have her serve it to him on a desert plate once dinner was over. I however, did not have the pleasure of seeing this play out as the waitress told me she was too embarrassed to pull it off.

Be well in eternity, Clark. You are now in absolute phase.