Signals & Noise (Letters to Editor) (Aug. 1994)

More Reflections on Mr. Hi-Fi

Dear Editor:

I read of Leonard Feldman's death with great sadness. I met him on two different occasions in Washington and heard him speak with great passion on audio and video topics. His passion mirrored my own.

I first met him at Audio Associates in 1986, at a seminar he gave on digital audio.

After lecturing and answering questions, he reached into his jacket pocket with a twinkle in his eye and produced what looked like a miniature video cassette. It was a DAT and pretty much took everyone by surprise since DAT was not on the front burner of the audio world at that time. Len was genuinely excited about the prospect of a new digital tape technology.

When it was time for the door prize, lo and behold, my name was called out, and I went up to receive my prize and shook Len's hand. It was a very enjoyable evening.

The second, and last time, I saw Len Feldman was at an audio show in a hotel in the Tysons Corner area of Virginia. The show was wonderful, but what really took the cake was the debate and discussion be tween various speaker manufacturers, mediated by Len. He was a great speaker who could really hold an audience's attention. He loved audio and it showed. I will miss him and his lectures. Len, may you live, forever in "Audio Heaven." We will never forget you.

-Claude A. Whiting, Centreville, Va.

Dear Editor:

I have always admired Leonard Feldman. My admiration only increased when he testified to Congress about the shortcomings of the CBS "notch" encoding technique for records. That took guts, especially since he was writing for Audio when it was owned by CBS.

I also admired the way he kept up on advances in technology and learned the nuances in such great depth. He was able to explain them in a way that was always very easy to understand.

Anyone who writes well soon realizes how difficult it is. To maintain a high level of integrity, honesty, and technical precision the way he did is truly amazing. I have read many technical articles in my life and have learned to interpret what is said and, even more important, what is not said.

When I read Leonard Feldman's writing, I didn't strain to find out what I wanted to know. His writing was obviously not in tended to be flashy or controversial, but to convey information. Most writers don't realize the constraints of editorial space limitations and therefore will never completely realize how much information he was able to pack into so few words. I thank him for the wealth of information that I took from his writings.

-Ed Long, Oakland, Cal.

Editor's Note: Mr. Long is a Contributing Editor to Audio.

Dear Editor:

I just heard, from Ken Pohlmann, the sad news of Len Feldman's recent death. It is a true loss to your fine publication and the fraternity of audio journalists.

I first met Len while I was at Clarion and came to appreciate his expertise and perspective. But most significantly, he gained my respect for the wonderful way in which he conducted himself.

The last time I saw him was the summer of 1989, when he represented Audio at the Lexus LS400 long-lead press conference held for audio publications. I felt a great deal of pride for the job we had done with the Nakamichi and Pioneer audio systems when Len paid his very high complements.

Best wishes for your magazine. It is an interesting and valuable reference on all aspects of "enthusiast-level" audio. Also, we were very pleased with Ivan Berger's "Roadsigns" column (February 1994) on the new Lexus GS 300.

-Fred M. Deutsch; Audio & Electronics Planning Mgr./Toyota, Torrance, Cal.

Ageless and Priceless "Reality Lessens"

Dear Editor:

I just read Edward Tatnall Canby's "Audio ETC" (December 1993) and want to share a couple of thoughts. In 1957 when I was a student newly bitten by the audio bug, I opened a hi-fi store that I operated part time while in graduate school. It was the only hi-fi shop within a hundred mile radius of our town in the Missouri Ozarks.

At one point I wrote a letter to Mr. Canby who I imagined as an ancient, wizened Audio Master. I probably sought his opinion on the purity of my Marantz Model 9 amplifiers; whether I should get a second Capps condenser microphone to make stereo recordings on the Concertone tape recorder; did he think the new AR speakers beat the Bozaks; the Scott tuner, etc. I am embarrassed to remember the beseeching tone of all this but it was true.

Mr. Canby graciously answered my letter with no less than two pages of handwritten comments addressing my many questions.

I was honored and re-read the letter many times. It was saved in an old trunk in the basement until destroyed by water from a leaking faucet some 10 years ago. The letter is gone but I remember Mr. Canby's closing comment exactly: "Each man must search for his Holy Grail; for some of us, High Fidelity provides a vulgar substitute." You see, Mr. Canby was giving "Reality Lessens" back in 1957 too! It is marvelous that he continues to produce articles that inform, entertain, and instruct. And how is it that I have progressed from a callow youth to the edge of old farthood and Edward Tatnall Canby has apparently not aged?

-Charless W. Fowlkes; Bozeman, Mont.

Coverlines or Coverlies?

Dear Editor:

On the cover of the December, 1993 issue, it says in quotes, "I'd sell my Mercedes to buy Quicksilver's M135 tube amp." Bascom H. King did not say that.

A fellow reviewer said (as a suggestion to Mr. King) and I am taking the quote from page 64, "'Sell the Mercedes and the wife's mink coat...: go out and buy yourself a pair of M135s, forget about amplifiers, and simply enjoy the music." Mr. Pitts, the quote you printed on the cover is not true. Besides, your editorial philosophy has been that all amps sound the same, or else so much alike that no one can pass a double blind listening test.

Not only have you been printing false information, but now you are printing untruths on the cover. What next? (You have my permission to print this letter if you have the courage.)

-Tony Mauldin; Lewisville, Tex.

The Editor-in-Chief replies: Ever hear the phrase “close enough for government work”?

( Audio magazine, 08/1994)

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