Audio Science Innovators

[ng411s4]

THAT Corp certainly make some very nice and useful devices.

 

[DChenery]

The development and commercialization of the "Talkies". Lee de Forest was awarded several patents that would lead to the first optical sound on film technology.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I see them as no different than Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, not inventing, but identifying and applying. Their background (Theta, Sumo) combined with their storytelling somehow allowed the highly subjective audiophile groups to 1) start to accept that SOTA didn’t have to cost 6 figures, and 2) that internet direct audio companies were legitimate and could make high quality products.

But they actually didn't make sota gear it wasn't even very good. Meaning they sold that story, but their products weren't high quality at all. Their customers didn't get what their story promised. They only got the psychological comfort.

 

[dfuller]

THAT Corp certainly make some very nice and useful devices.

Yes, David Blackmer was quite the engineer (THAT is descended from dbx, which Blackmer founded).

 

[Blujackaal]

Don willson who came up with the idea of the Etymotic ER4, also IEMs in general.

 

[Kouioui]

Can't leave the ladies out of this fellows as inventor and Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr's frequency-hopping spread spectrum technique developed in the 1940s for weapons systems is used in Bluetooth and legacy WiFi so many of us depend on for audio and modern life in general. I'm sure there are many others not as famous I'm forgetting, so let's find more.

 

[ripvw]

Can't leave the ladies out of this fellows as inventor and Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr's frequency-hopping spread spectrum technique developed in the 1940s...

 

[mhardy6647]

Yes, David Blackmer was quite the engineer (THAT is descended from dbx, which Blackmer founded).

[italics added]

 

[patate91]

Not "all", Toole and Olive (and Amir) are recent additions to this cannon. We could also probably add Bruno Putzeys (http://www.brunoputzeys.be) - they are all alive and kicking!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/dictionary.cambridge.org/fr/amp/anglais/innovation

 

[solderdude]

perhaps folks like @Ethan Winer should be in the list ?
He is not really an innovator though.
Rob Watts
Thorsten Loesch
Or are these more designers ... ?

 

[MattHooper]

How come no one has yet mentioned the men of Shun Mook, who taught everyone about the special vibrating powers of ebony? Changed the game!

 

[Matias]

I see them as no different than Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, not inventing, but identifying and applying. Their background (Theta, Sumo) combined with their storytelling somehow allowed the highly subjective audiophile groups to 1) start to accept that SOTA didn’t have to cost 6 figures, and 2) that internet direct audio companies were legitimate and could make high quality products.

I don't know, to me those are marketing achievements, not really science achievements. Maybe if one of their proprietary new circuits was something extraordinary and so much better than the competition, but I have not yet seen anything like that yet.

We could also probably add Bruno Putzeys (http://www.brunoputzeys.be)

Now, in my opinion, Bruno's contribution to class D is something else. He may not have invented it, but the amount of refinements he discovered himself leading to state of the art performance, while still costing a few hundred dollars per module... Now this is very significant.

 

[patate91]

I don't know, to me those are marketing achievements, not really science achievements. Maybe if one of their proprietary new circuits were something extraordinary and so much better than the competition, but I have not yet seen anything like that yet.

I don't know for Steve Jobs but Elon Musk doesn't create and don't do science. He's paying people to do that. He takes decisions (IMO finance related)

 

[Matias]

I don't know for Steve Jobs but Elon Musk doesn't create and don't do science. He's paying people to do that. He takes decisions (IMO finance related)

Both are very good examples of brilliant market visionaries in their fields. Still I would not call them "science innovators".

 

[scott wurcer]

Yes, David Blackmer was quite the engineer (THAT is descended from dbx, which Blackmer founded).

I knew Dave and his son (who is responsible for Earthworks mics and pre-amps). I mentioned THAT mainly for their audio IC's which came after the split, both Daves deserve a mention on their own as does Henry Kloss another 1960's Boston/Cambridge pioneer.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I knew Dave and his son (who is responsible for Earthworks mics and pre-amps). I mentioned THAT mainly for their audio IC's which came after the split, both Daves deserve a mention on their own as does Henry Kloss another 1960's Boston/Cambridge pioneer.

I do love my Earthworks microphones. Wished I had some of the EW preamps, but don't. Claimed SINAD of -120 db.

 

[dfuller]

The development and commercialization of the "Talkies". Lee de Forest was awarded several patents that would lead to the first optical sound on film technology.

He also invented the triode, which made (relatively) high quality amplification possible in the first place.

 

[mhardy6647]

He also invented the triode, which made (relatively) high quality amplification possible in the first place.

Kind of a big deal -- even if one is more of a solid state kind of hominid.

 

[knobtwiddler]

Few people alive today have done more to debunk audio BS than Douglas Self (mentored by none other than Baxandall). If you digest the theory in his books you can make equipment that's as good or better than 99% of what's out there.

 

[Cbdb2]

Nikola Tesla

Why? You know he didn't believe in EM waves or any of Maxwells theories? People give him more credit than he deserves.