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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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grislybutter
3,325 posts
 

oh boy, truly a legend from one of the World's audio hubs. I hope AVA will continue to thrive. 

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,899 posts
 

 

Frank was a no-nonsense, "traditional" engineer who didn't go for questionable hi-fi tweeks. Though Bill Johnson was considered "the" tube amp designer of the 1970's (and beyond), Frank studied the ARC SP-3 pre-amp and came up with fixes for the weaknesses in it's design (including it's inaccurate RIAA phono compensation curve). His redesign of the Dynaco PAS pre-amp put more expensive pre-amps to shame (I owned both an SP-3 and a PAS3).

 

slaw's avatar
slaw
21,967 posts
 

RIP

pryso
1,944 posts
 

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.

shtinkydog
705 posts
 

Short story here.  About 2 or 3 years ago, I emailed 3 different pre-amp manufacturers with questions about their offerings.   Of the 3, he was the only one who replied, and almost immediately.  He got my business.  RIP Frank.  

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