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#1
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
He invented the acoustic suspension speaker. His obit in the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/bu...vator-dies-at- 94.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries |
#2
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
"Jason Warren" wrote in message ... He invented the acoustic suspension speaker. His obit in the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/bu...vator-dies-at- 94.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries Edgar Villchur died this morning in his sleep in Woodstock NY. He was 94. (Pls forward this as appropriate.) Memorial service this Sunday in Woodstock; I will be attending w/ Roy A. Edgar Villchur, 1917-2011 Edgar Villchur died in his Woodstock home on Monday, October 17, 2011, at the age of 94. He was an inventor, educator, and writer. His 1954 invention of the acoustic suspension loudspeaker revolutionized the field of high-fidelity equipment, providing better bass response than was previously possible, at the same time radically reducing the size of the cabinet. He received a patent for that invention as well as for the dome tweeter, which greatly improved the ability of loudspeakers to reproduce accurate high-end sounds. His AR-3 speaker is on display in the Smithsonian Institute's Information Age Exhibit in Washington DC. Acoustic Research (AR), of which he was president from 1952 to 1967, manufactured high-fidelity loudspeakers, turntables, and other stereo components of his design. After leaving AR, he went into hearing aid research and developed the multichannel compression hearing aid, whose basic design has become the industry standard for hearing aids. Villchur received his master's degree from City College in art history, and was headed for a career as a scenic designer. World War II changed those plans, and he was trained in maintenance and repair of radios, radar, and other equipment. He was stationed in New Guinea, where he rose to the rank of captain and was in charge of the electronic equipment for his Army squadron. Later, he served in the Philippines and on Okinawa. After the war, he opened a shop in Greenwich Village where he repaired radios and built custom home high fidelity sets. He continued to educate himself in the area of audio engineering, taking night courses in mathematics and engineering. After submitting an article to Audio Engineering magazine (later renamed Audio), he was asked to write a regular column. He also taught a course in his special area of interest, Reproduction of Sound, at the night school at New York University. He wrote three books and over one hundred and fifty articles on acoustics and sound reproduction, including two articles written at the age of ninety. Although he considered himself a scientist and a researcher, he was very successful as a businessman. As president of AR, Villchur was known for progressive employment practices and innovative advertising techniques. AR used equal opportunity employment practices, and employees received health insurance and profit sharing-benefits which were highly unusual in any but the largest firms in the 1950s and 1960s. The company was also known for its liberal repair policies, fixing most products for free no matter how old they were, and in general providing excellent customer service. AR's advertising was distinct from the sensationalistic ads of its competitors, instead concentrating on technical information, reviews by impartial critics, and endorsements from well-known musicians and other personalities who actually used Acoustic Research components. In 1967, Villchur sold AR to Teledyne, and went back to working as a researcher. He chose the field of hearing aids, since he felt that there was considerable room for improvement in these devices. He spent several years investigating the problem in his home laboratory in Woodstock NY. By 1973, he had come up with multichannel compression, a revolutionary concept in hearing aid design. Rather than apply for a patent, he decided to publish his findings and make them available to anyone who wanted to use them. Resound, a hearing aid company in California, worked with Villchur to produce a compression hearing aid. Over the next two decades, Villchur's design became the industry standard for hearing aids. Villchur lived in Woodstock from 1952 until his death. Music and art were very important to him, and he served on the boards of Maverick Concerts and of the Woodstock Artists' Association for many years. He was a friend, advisor, and benefactor to countless organizations and individuals in the community. He is survived by his wife, Rosemary (Romy) Villchur, to whom he had been married for sixty-six years; his son, Mark Villchur of Boston; his daughter, Miriam Villchur Berg, of Woodstock; and many devoted friends who considered themselves, and were considered by him, members of his family. For more information, see the Wikipedia article "Edgar Villchur" and its accompanying bibliography and links, as well as his personal website, edgarvillchur.com. He was a great philanthropist, and supported many local organizations, including Family of Woodstock, The Woodstock Emergency Rescue Squad, the Woodstock Fire Department, the Woodstock Library, Maverick Concerts, and the Woodstock Artists Association and Museum. Donations in his name can be made to any of those organizations. |
#3
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
Thank you for reproducing this.
But with what degree of fidelity? It's fair to say that Edgar Villchur had far more-profound "real" influence than Steve Jobs ever had. He actually contributed something original. The article doesn't mention the live-versus-recorded experiments, which someone really ought to repeat. Among other things, I'd like to know exactly why people were so easily fooled. |
#4
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
William Sommerwerck wrote:
Thank you for reproducing this. But with what degree of fidelity? It's fair to say that Edgar Villchur had far more-profound "real" influence than Steve Jobs ever had. He actually contributed something original. Your bias against Jobs is obivous enough that I canot take you seriously in any discussion that might include his name. The article doesn't mention the live-versus-recorded experiments, which someone really ought to repeat. Among other things, I'd like to know exactly why people were so easily fooled. Because we are programmed to be amazed and bamboozled by "the new" and lacking preparatory instruction in what to listen for we blow it. -- shut up and play your guitar * http://hankalrich.com/ http://www.youtube.com/walkinaymusic http://www.sonicbids.com/HankandShaidri |
#5
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
"hank alrich" wrote in message
... William Sommerwerck wrote: It's fair to say that Edgar Villchur had far more-profound "real" influence than Steve Jobs ever had. He actually contributed something original. Your bias against Jobs is obivous enough that I canot take you seriously in any discussion that might include his name. I'm not at all biased against Steve Jobs. It's rather that I see him for what he was. I do not grovel. Jobs was no genius. It's that everyone else is foolish. He recognized the need for a great "user experience", something that no one else in the computer industry has truly taken to heart. If Steve Jobs really HAD "changed things", everybody else would think the same way. They don't. The article doesn't mention the live-versus-recorded experiments, which someone really ought to repeat. Among other things, I'd like to know exactly why people were so easily fooled. Because we are programmed to be amazed and bamboozled by "the new" and lacking preparatory instruction in what to listen for we blow it. Not so in this context. The issue is why people couldn't tell the difference between live and recorded. This failure dates back to Edison's "tone tests", in which people couldn't distinguish between a live singer and an acoustic recording of same! (The answer is probably that the hall acoustics masked the differences.) |
#6
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
William Sommerwerck wrote:
"hank alrich" wrote in message ... William Sommerwerck wrote: It's fair to say that Edgar Villchur had far more-profound "real" influence than Steve Jobs ever had. He actually contributed something original. Your bias against Jobs is obivous enough that I canot take you seriously in any discussion that might include his name. I'm not at all biased against Steve Jobs. It's rather that I see him for what he was. I do not grovel. Jobs was no genius. It's that everyone else is foolish. He recognized the need for a great "user experience", something that no one else in the computer industry has truly taken to heart. If Steve Jobs really HAD "changed things", everybody else would think the same way. They don't. Hence, the market cap of his company, versus those who "don't think the same way". A good user experience is comparable to a good playback system for those who care about such things. It's not abotu the gadget(s), at least for those who actually are into the music, it's about the experience. The article doesn't mention the live-versus-recorded experiments, which someone really ought to repeat. Among other things, I'd like to know exactly why people were so easily fooled. Because we are programmed to be amazed and bamboozled by "the new" and lacking preparatory instruction in what to listen for we blow it. Not so in this context. The issue is why people couldn't tell the difference between live and recorded. This failure dates back to Edison's "tone tests", in which people couldn't distinguish between a live singer and an acoustic recording of same! (The answer is probably that the hall acoustics masked the differences.) And that lacking experience with the new phenomena, i.e., being untrained, perception can fool us. -- shut up and play your guitar * http://hankalrich.com/ http://www.youtube.com/walkinaymusic http://www.sonicbids.com/HankandShaidri |
#7
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
"William Sommerwerck" wrote in message ... Thank you for reproducing this. But with what degree of fidelity? It's fair to say that Edgar Villchur had far more-profound "real" influence than Steve Jobs ever had. He actually contributed something original. The article doesn't mention the live-versus-recorded experiments, which someone really ought to repeat. Among other things, I'd like to know exactly why people were so easily fooled. If you had more experience with live sound William, you'd know. I've been flogging live sound pretty intensively for over a decade, and I know. The short answer is that there's a giant gap between evaluating sound quality in a live context in a concert hall as opposed to listening with earphones, or a high resolution system in a fairly well-padded relatively small listening room. The strongest effect is that every live performance or simulation of it by definition happens only once. A lot of the precision that we demand from recordings comes from the fact that we can listen to them as many times as we want. Repetition is the key to learning about small details and subtle changes. |
#8
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
"William Sommerwerck" wrote in message ... Jobs was no genius. I would like to know your qualifications for making that claim. |
#9
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
... "William Sommerwerck" wrote in message ... It's fair to say that Edgar Villchur had far more-profound "real" influence than Steve Jobs ever had. He actually contributed something original. The article doesn't mention the live-versus-recorded experiments, which someone really ought to repeat. Among other things, I'd like to know exactly why people were so easily fooled. If you had more experience with live sound William, you'd know. I've been flogging live sound pretty intensively for over a decade, and I know. The short answer is that there's a giant gap between evaluating sound quality in a live context in a concert hall as opposed to listening with earphones, or a high resolution system in a fairly well-padded relatively small listening room. The strongest effect is that every live performance or simulation of it by definition happens only once. A lot of the precision that we demand from recordings comes from the fact that we can listen to them as many times as we want. Repetition is the key to learning about small details and subtle changes. Given the state of the recording and playback art in the late 60s, the differences between live and recorded sound were gross. Hearing the difference should not have depended on "learning about small details and subtle changes". The "correct" answer is probably that the hall acoustics masked the differences -- not that people didn't have the experience needed to make the judgment. |
#10
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
... "William Sommerwerck" wrote in message ... Jobs was no genius. I would like to know your qualifications for making that claim. Another groveler at the altar of Jobs, eh? Common sense, Arny. "Genius" has the same root as "generate". What new or original thing did Steve Jobs ever come up with? Nothing. Indeed, Jobs' greatest "contribution" might turn out to be destroying the "personal computer" revolution he started with the Apple ][. The Macintosh is hardly my idea of a "personal" computer. |
#11
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
William Sommerwerck wrote:
"Arny Krueger" wrote in message ... "William Sommerwerck" wrote in message ... Jobs was no genius. I would like to know your qualifications for making that claim. Another groveler at the altar of Jobs, eh? Bill, you could hardly say something funnier than that to Arny, of all people! Common sense, Arny. "Genius" has the same root as "generate". What new or original thing did Steve Jobs ever come up with? Nothing. Indeed, Jobs' greatest "contribution" might turn out to be destroying the "personal computer" revolution he started with the Apple ][. The Macintosh is hardly my idea of a "personal" computer. It is, however, my own idea of a personal computer, thanks very much. So, how have you impressed the world with yoru view of what is a personal computer? Wy the need to take digs at someone who has succeeded in delivering a tool that at least a few million folks consider their personal computer? What's the point? -- shut up and play your guitar * http://hankalrich.com/ http://www.youtube.com/walkinaymusic http://www.sonicbids.com/HankandShaidri |
#12
Posted to rec.audio.pro
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
William Sommerwerck wrote:
"Arny Krueger" wrote in message ... "William Sommerwerck" wrote in message ... It's fair to say that Edgar Villchur had far more-profound "real" influence than Steve Jobs ever had. He actually contributed something original. The article doesn't mention the live-versus-recorded experiments, which someone really ought to repeat. Among other things, I'd like to know exactly why people were so easily fooled. If you had more experience with live sound William, you'd know. I've been flogging live sound pretty intensively for over a decade, and I know. The short answer is that there's a giant gap between evaluating sound quality in a live context in a concert hall as opposed to listening with earphones, or a high resolution system in a fairly well-padded relatively small listening room. The strongest effect is that every live performance or simulation of it by definition happens only once. A lot of the precision that we demand from recordings comes from the fact that we can listen to them as many times as we want. Repetition is the key to learning about small details and subtle changes. Given the state of the recording and playback art in the late 60s, the differences between live and recorded sound were gross. Hearing the difference should not have depended on "learning about small details and subtle changes". Hindsight and hindhearing are gtenerally better informed than first-round on-the-spot versions of the same. The "correct" answer is probably that the hall acoustics masked the differences -- not that people didn't have the experience needed to make the judgment. Hall acoustics would certainly have been _at least one factor_, among many others that could be considered, such as lack of experience with the very experience undertaken. We are easily fooled when we are ignorant of details. This is the small print in the aural human contract -- shut up and play your guitar * http://hankalrich.com/ http://www.youtube.com/walkinaymusic http://www.sonicbids.com/HankandShaidri |
#13
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
"hank alrich" wrote in message
... William Sommerwerck wrote: Indeed, Jobs' greatest "contribution" might turn out to be destroying the "personal computer" revolution he started with the Apple ][. The Macintosh is hardly my idea of a "personal" computer. It is, however, my own idea of a personal computer, thanks very much. So, how have you impressed the world with yoru view of what is a personal computer? Wy the need to take digs at someone who has succeeded in delivering a tool that at least a few million folks consider their personal computer? What's the point? In my view, the Apple is too much a closed system to be a true "personal" computer. Perhaps I'm being unfair, as USB largely eliminates the need for expansion slots, but I really prefer a computer I'm free to rip into and configure as I choose. I might add that "the computer for the rest of us" slogan carries the implicit judgement of "you're too stupid to use a PC". The success of the Macintosh was partly due to convincing people it was easy to use, thus removing their fear. On a certain level, I resent using a machine whose existence implies I'm not smart enough to operate anything else. |
#14
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
William Sommerwerck wrote:
The article doesn't mention the live-versus-recorded experiments, which someone really ought to repeat. Among other things, I'd like to know exactly why people were so easily fooled. Everybody, including myself, was astonished to find that it was impossible to distinguish between my own voice and Mr. Edison's recreation of it." -- Anna Case, Metropolitan Opera soprano, 1915 I have seen them repeated, and people are easily fooled because in fact people are very easily fooled. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
#15
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
"Soundhaspriority" wrote in message
... "William Sommerwerck" wrote in message ... In my view, the Apple is too much a closed system to be a true "personal" computer. Perhaps I'm being unfair, as USB largely eliminates the need for expansion slots, but I really prefer a computer I'm free to rip into and configure as I choose. Apple recently introduced a new interface, Intel's Thunderbolt standard, that makes their Pro laptops more expandable than any other laptops. It's a dual 10 gigabit/second ( 20 gigabits total ) bus, via one innocent little connector on the side of the laptop. For the first time, you can have full speed external video/display. It's like having a big bulky box that you can take apart and customize, except it isn't a bus. Read about it he http://www.apple.com/thunderbolt/ Isn't that nice, William? Ooooo, I can feel the chills running up and down my spine... The existance of an interface doesn't mean they'll be peripherals that take full advantage of it. |
#16
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
William Sommerwerck wrote:
"Soundhaspriority" wrote in message ... "William Sommerwerck" wrote in message ... In my view, the Apple is too much a closed system to be a true "personal" computer. Perhaps I'm being unfair, as USB largely eliminates the need for expansion slots, but I really prefer a computer I'm free to rip into and configure as I choose. Apple recently introduced a new interface, Intel's Thunderbolt standard, that makes their Pro laptops more expandable than any other laptops. It's a dual 10 gigabit/second ( 20 gigabits total ) bus, via one innocent little connector on the side of the laptop. For the first time, you can have full speed external video/display. It's like having a big bulky box that you can take apart and customize, except it isn't a bus. Read about it he http://www.apple.com/thunderbolt/ Isn't that nice, William? Ooooo, I can feel the chills running up and down my spine... The existance of an interface doesn't mean they'll be peripherals that take full advantage of it. The offering of grapes doesn't always imply that they're sour. -- shut up and play your guitar * http://hankalrich.com/ http://www.youtube.com/walkinaymusic http://www.sonicbids.com/HankandShaidri |
#17
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
"hank alrich" wrote in message
... William Sommerwerck wrote: The existance of an interface doesn't mean they'll be peripherals that take full advantage of it. The offering of grapes doesn't always imply that they're sour. No, but a high-speed interface is not the same thing as being able to "pop the lid" and plug a card into the main buss. |
#18
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
William Sommerwerck wrote:
"hank alrich" wrote in message ... William Sommerwerck wrote: The existance of an interface doesn't mean they'll be peripherals that take full advantage of it. The offering of grapes doesn't always imply that they're sour. No, but a high-speed interface is not the same thing as being able to "pop the lid" and plug a card into the main buss. No, the card goes into the outboard chassis. Like PT TDM, etc. -- shut up and play your guitar * http://hankalrich.com/ http://www.youtube.com/walkinaymusic http://www.sonicbids.com/HankandShaidri |
#19
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
One of the least classy hijacking of obit threads I've seen, William.
I came in to learn more about Villchur and ended up learning about you., Anyway, thanks Arny for posting that. He's one of those people where I was familiar with the end results of his work but knew nothing about the person behind them. I've always been fascinated by people like him (and Raymond Kurzweil) who were more interested in solving things than necessarily the audio stuff they were known for, and ended up doing such incredible work for those with sensory impairments as a result. It's one thing to create a hearing aid design and another for it to become the standard. And he was one of those progressive thinkers who walked the walk with how he ran his companies. What an incredible man. |
#20
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Edgar M. Villchur, a Hi-Fi Innovator, Is Dead at 94
"vdubreeze" wrote in message
... One of the least classy hijacking of obit threads I've seen, William. I came in to learn more about Villchur and ended up learning about you. I didn't change the subject (that I recall). |
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