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Most innovative manufacturer / person in HiFi in your country

DanielT

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Seen from a historical perspective. Company and or person. What is your suggestion? Feel free to motivate.

It can be a person or company that is well known globally, but it can also be a company or person from your country that is perhaps best known within your country's borders. It would be interesting to read about.:)

Edit:
From Sweden it is probably Stig Carlsson. Designer and manufacturer of speakers. Active from the 50s from until his death in the 90s. Sweden's best-selling speaker of all time was the OA 5 type 2. Most people who like Hifi in Sweden have probably listened to it. At present, with today's sound ideal, it does not measure up, but then in the 70's. Incredibly popular. Here Troels tries a couple:

http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/sonab.htm

Stig Carlsson Born: June 14, 1925 Died: March 8, 1997 Education: KTH Royal Institute of Technology The organization was founded: Sonab

https://teenage.engineering/products/od-11/carlssonstory

Edit :
Do not pay too much attention to Troels measurements of that OA 5 type 2 speaker.
A Phlips 9710 that has been mounted like that for around 50 years has in all probability lost much of its x-max and probably distorts the sound a lot
 
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DanielT

DanielT

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Edison, there you can talk about giant.:)

John Dunlavy and Jim Fosgate. There are probably those from the USA who agree with you .... or want to highlight someone/some others.:)
 
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anmpr1

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You're talking the early days of hi-fi? In the US, from a strictly consumer hi-fi perspective, I'd nominate Dave Hafler on the low to mid end, possibly Frank McIntosh/Saul Marantz on the high. Of course with those men it wasn't just their work, but more importantly the men they chose to work with, such as Ed Laurent, Erno Borbely, Jim Bongiorno, Gordon Gow, Richard Modafferi, Sid Smith, Dick Sequerra et al.

That was electronics. On the loudspeaker end I'd certainly list Paul Klipsch and Ed Villchur. Possibly the hapless Jim Lansing-- I don't know about his standing in the hierarchy.

If I was British I'd list Peter Walker.
 
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DanielT

DanielT

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I thought mostly from a historical perspective. It can be early days of hi-fi or later.I'm curious (perhaps also others) about the development within Hifi. Great landmarks, inventions, models, constructions and so on.:)

Edit:
Some I did not know of those you mentioned. Wikipedia may help.

What do you mean by "hapless Jim Lansing" ... Aha, ran a Wikipedia. Sad, not even 50 years and he took his own life. Imagine if he only knew how beloved his speakers became.
 
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anmpr1

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What do you mean by "hapless Jim Lansing" ... Aha, ran a Wikipedia. Sad, not even 50 years and he took his own life. Imagine if he only knew how beloved his speakers became.
Jim was a talent, and could evidently motivate, in spite of his own lack of motivation, and lack of a general business sensibility. In the early days of hi-fi it was not uncommon for audiophiles to purchase JBL components and build cabinets. It was an expensive hobby, but you only needed one speaker, since everything was monophonic. Really, in the early days of hi-fi, unless you had a lot of money, building it yourself was the way to go. That's why David Hafler (and others like HH Scott) were important. They gave you 9/10ths of whatever McIntosh and Marantz were offering, for half the dollars.
 

Kal Rubinson

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Really, in the early days of hi-fi, unless you had a lot of money, building it yourself was the way to go.
Yes, in fact, in the very early days, you had no choice regardless of your budget. If you could not DIY, you commissioned someone to do it for you. Empty speaker and equipment cabinets were available along with custom cabinetry. My first real speaker had a 12" GE woofer and a 3" RCA tweeter with a network I designed and assembled myself. The cabinet was a floor-standing bass reflex which I bought, unfinished, from River Edge. I was fortunate to have a cousin who finished it for me in satin mahogany.
 

Ron Texas

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Alexander Graham Bell
 
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DanielT

DanielT

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Yes, in fact, in the very early days, you had no choice regardless of your budget. If you could not DIY, you commissioned someone to do it for you. Empty speaker and equipment cabinets were available along with custom cabinetry. My first real speaker had a 12" GE woofer and a 3" RCA tweeter with a network I designed and assembled myself. The cabinet was a floor-standing bass reflex which I bought, unfinished, from River Edge. I was fortunate to have a cousin who finished it for me in satin mahogany.
That was interesting.:)

I understand that the interest or maybe more importantly the need for DIY in Hifi has dropped due to the fact that you now can buy ready-made products of high quality at a reasonable price BUT at the same time for those who have DIY as a hobby, there has been an incredible development in recent decades . Computer and internet. There are many calculation programs for speaker design for example. Programs that any DIY can take part in. Plus all these forums online where information is shared and tips regarding DIY in Hifi.

Nowadays, it's probably most DIY for fun not DIY because it's more or less the only way to get decent sound for sensible money.

Edit:
Even with all the data, software and internet to build a really good speaker, apart from building a well-proven DIY kit, requires a lot of knowledge and skills. It's not like you just press a button on the computer and voilà out comes a finished drawing. We are not there .... yet
 
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Cbdb2

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Thomas Edison.

No.

"Though the light bulb, the phonograph and moving pictures are touted as Edison's most important inventions, other people were already working on similar technologies, said Leonard DeGraaf, an archivist at Thomas Edison National Historical Park in New Jersey, and the author of "Edison and the Rise of Innovation" (Signature Press, 2013).

"If Edison hadn't invented those things, other people would have," DeGraaf told Live Science.

In a shortsighted move, Edison dismissed Tesla's "impractical" idea of an alternating-current (AC) system of electric power transmission, instead promoting his simpler, but less efficient, direct-current (DC) system.

Teslas the man.
 

Cbdb2

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Jagdish Chandra Bose (not the speaker maker). Had to add his name because almost no one has heard of him.

"Bose was among the pioneers of research in radio technology and demonstrated, for the first time ever, wireless communication using radio waves, almost two years before Italian physicist Guglielmo Marconi, who is credited for developing the first proper system of radio communication in 1897.

Marconi is credited with the development of radio technology because Bose had an aversion to patenting. The latter’s scientific contribution was used by Marconi to send the first transatlantic radio signal in 1901."
 

Tangband

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Peter Snell ( Snell Acoustics, USA )
Kevin Voeks ( Revel, USA )
Ilpo Martikainen ( Genelec, Finland )

I dont think Sweden has outstanding constructors , that can compare with those .
 
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sergeauckland

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For Innovation, Peter Walker and Peter Baxendall
For bullshit, (or if you prefer, sow's ear into silk purse) Ivor Tiefenbrun
For sensible, no nonsense designs, John Linsley Hood and Doug Self
For wasted opportunities, The Ferrograph Company

S
 

Doodski

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Ian Paisley the engineer that designed the Paisley Research brand, Energy, Sound Dynamics, Image and Mirage, was Audio Products International (API) head of engineering, VP Engineering for Klipsch and whom I believe participated in the NRC research project with Dr Toole and generally was a straight shooting guy. I met him in Vegas at the CES show when we all attended a get-together in his swanky suite at the Mirage. I was the top salesperson for Energy in Canada that year and was supplied with a gratis trip to the Vegas CES paid for by API. He was a busy person for sure and did not mess about from what I saw.
 

shal

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Hi,

From France, the ASR (science) point of view will be carried by Georges Cabasse (RIP : died at 91 years in 2019)

Measurement . for example : anechoidale room in 1964 (9.5m x6.4m)
Enslavement (not the good english word perhaps) : a microphone listen and correct the amplifier to have to right sound (1970 years...)

Good efficiency and good power handling is always on his speakers .

His personal masterwork : the Atlantis.
atlantis1992_6.jpg


Some measurement :
cabasse-atlantis-nrds171-1093-4.jpg
 

q3cpma

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Hi,

From France, the ASR (science) point of view will be carried by Georges Cabasse (RIP : died at 91 years in 2019)

Measurement . for example : anechoidale room in 1964 (9.5m x6.4m)
Enslavement (not the good english word perhaps) : a microphone listen and correct the amplifier to have to right sound (1970 years...)

Good efficiency and good power handling is always on his speakers .

His personal masterwork : the Atlantis.
atlantis1992_6.jpg


Some measurement :
cabasse-atlantis-nrds171-1093-4.jpg
Quite impressive!
 

vco1

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Philips. Inventors (a.o.) of the compact cassette (invented by Lou Ottens), Video 2000 (the technologically superior video system that never made it big), the digital compact cassette (DCC), and last but not least the compact disc (together with Sony).
 
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DanielT

DanielT

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Ian Paisley the engineer that designed the Paisley Research brand, Energy, Sound Dynamics, Image and Mirage, was Audio Products International (API) head of engineering, VP Engineering for Klipsch and whom I believe participated in the NRC research project with Dr Toole and generally was a straight shooting guy. I met him in Vegas at the CES show when we all attended a get-together in his swanky suite at the Mirage. I was the top salesperson for Energy in Canada that year and was supplied with a gratis trip to the Vegas CES paid for by API. He was a busy person for sure and did not mess about from what I saw.
Canada, aha then maybe you have a little more information about these speaker manufacturer, Pro Linear?
True to my habit of buying at a flea market, I fixed these Pro Linear last year for basically no money at all, see picture. Refoam was needed. Gave up that project. But that's a different story.These old speakers are quite common here on the west coast.

There was probably an enthusiastic very active Hifi retailer that ravaged the sound market in the ... 70s-80s, type .. Have not seen them, the older Pro Linear, anywhere else in Sweden.

If they were something to have , any good? I do not know because they were not fully functional.
 

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Doodski

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Canada, aha then maybe you have a little more information about these speaker manufacturer, Pro Linear?
True to my habit of buying at a flea market, I fixed these Pro Linear last year for basically no money at all, see picture. Refoam was needed. Gave up that project. But that's a different story.These old speakers are quite common here on the west coast.

There was probably an enthusiastic very active hi-fi retailer that ravaged the sound market in the ... 70s-80s, type .. Have not seen them, the older Pro Linear, anywhere else in Sweden.

I do not know if they are good because they were not fully functional.
Those look ancient (Like from the early 80s or maybe at the latest the early 90s) from the look of the tweeters and mids they used. I remember the name Pro Linear but can't place ever using one. I do know that they where retailed by a major chain in Canada but I never heard them or saw them myself. There where Canadian speaker manufacturers that made good stuff and then some would offer low end lines but would not advertise them as their own. Like a retailer could order the speakers and have a exclusive on the name and nobody else sold them. I think Pro Linear is one of those types of speaker lines. Like a house name brand for a retailer.
 

Ralph_Cramden

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Edgar Villchur invented the acoustic suspension speaker, the dome tweeter and completely reinvented the turntable. Can’t think of anyone here who can top him.
 
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