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Charley Hansen (Ayre) Passed Away

Just got this email from Ayre.  So sad:

With heavy hearts, we regret to inform you that Charles Hansen, founder of Ayre Acoustics, has passed away on November 28th, 2017. Those who knew Charley knew that he was a passionate man who always stood up for what he believed to be right. His family knew him as a loving and dedicated father of his two children. With the passing of Charley, the world has lost one of the most creative and innovative minds in the audio industry and we have lost a good friend.
 
While we can never replace Charley, his spirit lives on in the team at Ayre. We are dedicated to continuing his mission of creating and manufacturing the best sounding audio equipment in the world. Most importantly, we will be there for our friends, partners, and customers who have supported us over the years. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at any time.

We wish you all the best over the holidays, and please play an album for Charley sometime.
cedargrover
trelja
3,223 posts
 
May he rest in peace.

Agree with you, Dave on the recent AA posts.  Checked them out over the past few weeks, and he was as active as ever.  Sad news, indeed
fsonicsmith's avatar
fsonicsmith
943 posts
 
This is gut wrenching to me. As many of us knew, Charley suffered a spinal injury in a bicycling crash many years ago and was wheelchair bound. Stereophile did a feature piece about Charley about three years ago and he certainly looked healthy when he was photographed then. I loved every second of his standing-his-ground on MQA and his expose' of names of industry veterans who had committed dubious acts of stealing designs from others and taking the credit and any number of other subjects. That said, the sudden frequency of his posting did have me concerned that something might be going on and now I am left wondering if illness was not a part of that "heightened contentiousness". The level of it grew over on AA's "Critic's Corner" to the point that JA openly questioned if he should go forward with a planned review of an Ayre product so I am going to assume JA was totally unaware of any health issue. I will say it again-gut wrenching. I wish I could have had the pleasure of meeting him. 
jond's avatar
jond
5,778 posts
 
That is such sad news what a talented and passionate designer! May he RIP and best wishes to his family and his family at Ayre.
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,911 posts
 
a man of true and deep principle
he will be missed
there is no negative feedback in heaven, so he shall be hailed there also as a visionary
i certainly held his work in high regard and owned some of his reference and then R-Twenty gear over the years.
peace and grace is my prayer for his family and the extended family at Ayre but also for the dealers AND his many collaborators in industry -I first heard MXR’ s and what they are capable of at Richard Vandersteens house so my heart hurts for those who knew him on a deep and intensely collaborative level as well.

RIP Charley
cedargrover OP
302 posts
 
"There is no negative feedback in heaven" -- great line and fitting tribute to someone (only one?) I put in the same league as Richard Vandersteen.
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