March 2011

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LFD PA0 power amp, used, in excellent condition. Please email for details. hp@no-alibi.demon.co.uk

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Jez Nelson presents a concert by saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock's Anti House. Click HERE

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Okay, so far - so good. And now, welcome back to the second half of the interview with Howard Popeck about  

The amplifier designer hall of fame

Please click HERE for part #1

Hmm. Okay

So anyway, a little while later were ushered into the listening room and were confronted by man-sized monoliths we later came to know as the Apogee, from Apogee. And a pair of the previously mechanically buzzing power amps, powered up with the preamp at max – without a source playing – and mechanically silent. Seeing Bob working in the field over the years I wasn’t surprised. Berlin was stunned, and then immediately switched to his poker face and that was that. Good enough?

Good enough. So Mr. Stuart joins the list?

 Sure does. In my book, he tops the list.

Now then, Dr Bews of LFD. What about him?

Probably another audio genius. A different type of genius. I know very little about him even though I’m his most successful retailer. Richard’s a closed book. We’ve never socialised. That's not his thing at all. Not even a little bit. But it's not for nothing that the late Mr. Robertson-Aikman (of SME) chose him when overseeing the design of their turntables. He selected Richard to build a totally without compromise battery-power phono stage for the R&D dept.

Ooo – tell me more!

SME had the pick of the world’s designers crawling over each others backs to be associated with this project. Without fuss, calmly and politely Richard won the race. Nuff said. He’s on the list. So in solid-state terms that’s 3 in the hall of fame. Meanwhile I don’t know any more by direct association. I know of a few by reputation. Would that be of interest?

Oh yes indeed.

Okay then, lets start at the top – sort of. In the late 1970s Levinson was represented by Harman in the UK and for one reason or another a pallet load was sitting in a shed in Slough. Bob Stuart was invited to get involved and bizarrely was considering being the distributor for the brand. Being Meridian’s #1 retailer I was asked to consider the proposition. So I tagged along. To cut a long story short, I tried a pair of ML6a mono preamps and the single-chassis version – the ML7 at home.

The memory still haunts me. Really. No exaggeration. To the best of my recollection from that day to this I have never heard a preamp make such a positive impression so quickly in each and every combination of ancillaries I used. Nothing. Not even close. And the point is that these two ML products – and more for all I know – were John Curl’s design. (editors note: 4/3/11 A pair of ML6a preamps sold on eBay for £4,975.54)

In all the time I knew Bob (long pause and a introspective look on HP’s face) incidentally that relationship turned pear-shaped after the intervention of the aforementioned Mr. Berlin, which is a tale I’ll keep secret into my grave, Bob never other than once acknowledged the existence of other audio designers let alone praise them. But after the shattering realization that these particular Levinson products had set a musical credibility benchmark that the then Meridian could only look at from a distance he did opine that John Curl was surely the ultimate designers’ designer. And yes, Bob did all those years back describe Mr. Curl as a genius.

More?

More! Well, I never met Julian Verreker. Because of my public loathing for the Linn ‘culture’ he and I would never have seen eye to eye. It wasn’t to be. However he was a self-taught designer. That’s gotta mean something, right? I took a few of the ammunition-box NAP 250s in exchange for the mighty Meridian 107 power amps and against Krell and so on. Frankly I really liked the sound of those 250s. I really did. And I had a few NAITs traded in too. That first NAIT design was a cracker. Really was. So yes Prendergast is a sort of design-hero for me.

Prendergast?

Yup. That was one of his two middle names. Charles was the other. Prendergast designed boats. The Windex I believe. You gotta admire someone who had the vision to kick the UK audio industry hard in the arse and yet was happier – apparently – sailing.

Which leads us neatly to Linn.

Does it?

Doesn’t it?

(HP’s tone hardens noticeably) If I have any respect for that Company, and it is both slight and narrow it most certainly isn’t for any of their amplification.

Strip away the veneer of the ‘culture’ and what do you have? In my view, zilch. Take away the apparent brand value and the deluded flat-earthers and examine the amplification’s sound. Now tell me honestly – is there anything there to get excited about?

Not sure.

Let’s leave it at that. In my humble opinion there is nothing about Linn’s amplification designs that merit any consideration of them entering the hero amplifier designer lists. Okay, now what?

We might be coming to an end. The end. An end. Are we?

Let’s see. There are some unsung UK amp designers who are not necessarily worthy of hero status but did a damn fine job, usually against unremitting hassle. Is that worth discussing do you think?

Sure is.

So no, we aren't coming to the end. Not yet. (long pause) Okay. I used to sell the Albarry monoblocs. Damn fine sound. Clever designer. Still sounds good today. Not a hero as such but worthy of an honourable mention. Then whoever designed the A&R A60. A truly great product. In its way a classic. Did they ever build anything that sounded better? Nope!

Then there’s that Myst TMA3 amp. Very fine sound. Their designer or designers knew their stuff. Sadly neglected by a UK press that should have known better ... and ... sadly didn’t.

Rega?

Don’t know enough about their amps to comment. Damn clever company it seems to me. Very shrewd. Probably the shrewdest. Does Gandy ever smile though? Who else?

Quad?

Oh yes. Gotta be worth a mention here. I loved what the 306 did. Clearly not enough of the public thought likewise though. The functionality of the Mk2 44 preamp was up there with the cleverness of Meridian. Sounded pretty good too. Dreadful styling. Not surprising given that Allen Boothroyd is in a class of his own.

Can we sidetrack to discuss the work of Allen Boothroyd?

No I don’t think so. We’d be shifting focus. We’re discussing hero designers of the sound of amps are we not? (HP strikes a grin. Possibly menacing, or his idea of humour – which might be the same thing)

Okay, let’s draw towards a close through a different perspective shall we?

No. Shan’t!

Oh go on.

Only kidding! (Howard pauses for thought) Well . . . on the rare occasions I came up against Orelle designs I was very impressed by the look and the feel and . . . the sound. I’d happily own their gear today if I could get hold of any. Their designer was Chris Bryant. The same guy that writes for Hi-Fi Critic. Do you know him?

Not personally. Only by reputation.

Hmm. Okay. Given my limited exposure to their gear, or his designs if you prefer, my impression is that he’s a world-class preamp designer. That’s no mean feat. Dr Bews told me that building a decent power amp is child’s play compared to a decent preamp. Antony Michaelson told me the same. So did Bob Stuart years ago.

So where does that place Mr. Bryant?

(Lengthy pause) I guess not quite a hero but certainly above all the pseudo-heroes our industry generates. So he sits in a band in between and just below the highest
.
Audiolab?

What about 'em?

Err . . . 

Okay, only kidding. Terrific value is what I’d say. Their original Q preamp particularly impressed me. Good designers there.

Townshend?

Pete or Max?

Max.

Ah ha. Well . . . yes he is a kinda hero. He ploughs his own furrow so to speak. He talks a good talk and he’s created a series of very fine sounding complete systems. My guess, and it is only a guess is that he is a visionary in the sense we discussed earlier and like a few others has enough nous to get clever support design engineers to work on the amps. He’s put up with so much shit from the audiophile press it’s hard to believe.

Polarised opinions then?

Certainly. Hardly anyone in the industry is indifferent to him.

Love him or hate him?

Me? I love him. Simple as that.

Way back earlier today you made a reference to Makita power tools. What was that about?

This might seem a bit obscure, but I think you’ll understand what I’m driving at. I bought the drill in order to drill a hole.

The analogy for me being that I use audio equipment to play music. No problem there either.

However …. you buy the drill, or the car or the camera or the toothbrush and you never get to know the designer. It’s irrelevant to that buying experience. If I knew the identity of Makita’s senior designer would it enable me to drill are more precise hole?

No, obviously

Fine. Okay. Good. If I knew the identity of the Makita designer would my user experience of drilling that hole be more enriching, more satisfying, more credible?

Yeah okay but . . .

Hang on. I’m not done yet. Let’s consider the truly great Japanese audio makers; Accuphase and Luxman for example. True state-of-the art gear and without any indication of the designer, or the team leader’s identity. Same with Nagra.

These truly self-confident makers who have no need for bullshit and corporate ego just prefer designer anonymity. It seems to me that baring a few notable exceptions, UK audio makers seem to need the cult of personality to give them credibility. And gawd bless 'em, the buying public and many audio writers lick it up as fast as its poured out.

Is this something to do with the Japanese and Swiss corporate culture rather than the size of the maker?

Yes I very much believe this. Not sure about the Swiss. But when I was involved in product design in the telecoms business we were supplied with magnificent components from Japan, Taiwan and Korea. Take Alps for example. It was irrelevant to me and to the maker and all of the wholesalers in between that their tape drives were designed by Mr. Suk My-wok or whatever. It’s an irrelevance. The entire team share the credit. Ideas are perceived as team ideas not individual ideas. But in our industry . . . ah, our industry . . .

Okay but way back in this interview you spoke with passion about Bob Stuart designs, Tim DP, Dr Bews and John Curl. Are you saying that you are immune from the effects of the audio designer as hero cult?

Am I saying that? Err … sadly no.

Would I buy a design just because it had John Curl’s name on it, Bob Stuart, Richard Bews and so on? Yes I certainly would. Have done and will continue to do so.

Does this mean I’m a hypocrite? Possibly, yes.

Of course I’m being irrational . . . well only partly though yes but the plain fact is that I have argued for objectivity and yet I am susceptible to subjectivity. And that’s who I am. Am I comfortable with this? Well no, not entirely.

So where does that leave you?

Hmm. (Long pause) I understand the cult of hero designers because I’m slightly caught up in it myself. On the other hand my rational side objects to this in both myself and others. But that’s the way it is.

Before we wrap up on this can we return to Antony Michaelson and Musical Fidelity.

Certainly!

Okay, we’ve established earlier in the interview that he is a hero in your view because in essence everything he has been because of his efforts and no external helping hands. Am I correct?

Yes. That’s pretty much it. But somehow I guess there’s more to be said. Although Antony Michaelson sure does polarize opinions, and he’s certainly polarized mine on a number of occasions I say without embarrassment that he is a hero of mine. Not necessarily in the design sense as discussed throughout this interview. But a hero nonetheless for a whole range of reasons that are either confidential or beyond the scope of this piece – or both. But I’ll reveal a few of my thoughts as to why, not being the sole designer in his empire, he is in a unique way ... in my experience ... an amplifier designer-hero.

First, going way back before MF he was one of the founding pair of TVA Michaelson and Austin. I truly believe that they not only single-handedly revived interest in valve amplification in the UK but paved the way for ARC, Conrad Johnson, Bill Beard and so on.

In the greater world this is totally insignificant but given the stranglehold that the flat-earth storm-troopers had on most of the audiophile media, he swum against the tide. In it’s own way a very brave thing to do. Foolhardy some would say, but he did it. Big points for that.

And . . .?

Look at MF. As I understand it they have in 25 years produced I believe around 500 models and have global sales of over 560,000 units. He started in his garage. Literally. I was there. The story is true. And on top of this he and his family still own 100% of the Company, from what he told me last time we discussed it. That in itself is remarkable because at face value there has been no institutional funding. If I’m correct, that’s impressive. Bloody impressive.

Some of their amplification designs are radical and for good reasons, Take the original A1 Class A integrated. It wasn’t without issues such as cooling but it perfectly fitted a niche. He spotted the niche and filled it. Classic text-book business practice. Absurdly over-engineered KW amplification leading to arguably one of the most musically credible muscle power amps of all time – the KW-750. And that’s the tip of the MF iceberg.

I guess that pretty indicative of a great company. In my book anyway.

But you don’t stock their products?

No way.

Good reason is there?

Good enough! Friendship, albeit intermittent friendship and business don’t mix. Bob Stuart and I haven’t spoken in years. There’s another example for you. Meanwhile my LFD business is booming and Dr Bews and I are only recently on first name terms. That’s the other side and it works. Right then, are we done now?

Pretty much

I’ve enjoyed this.

Well look, I’ve got this idea.

(expletive deleted!)

Can we repeat this for hall of fame speaker makers?

Yes

CD makers?

No. I’ve got nothing worthwhile to say ‘cos I don’t know any hero CD designers.

Turntables?

Yes, I’ll go for that

That’s it then. Thank you.

And thank you too!