Arnie Nudell: True pioneer of High End Audio has passed...RIP
txcoastal1
Posts: 13,318
Arnie Nudell, has passed away from complications of pneumonia. The family laid him to rest on Monday, November 20, 2017.
https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?u=bd5baa3af039b1bce8455f635&id=ed91e3e3bd
https://www.stereophile.com/content/arnie-nudell-infinity-genesis
https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?u=bd5baa3af039b1bce8455f635&id=ed91e3e3bd
https://www.stereophile.com/content/arnie-nudell-infinity-genesis
2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
Comments
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Yup, he WAS one of the top speaker designers and sub "servo" designers.
I think him and his buddies were like Matthew Polk and his buddie. Just on a different but equal playing field in certain ways.
Garage designers, Visionaries and dream followers and who MADE their dreams come true.
I just read about him in your link. Definitely a great and top speaker designer in our lifetime.
What a life he had !
His passing is a loss to the audio world for sure.
R.I.P. Mr. Nudell..Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them. -
I'd love to find a set of these at a yard sale ! What a design but there is that $70K set he helped design too.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/INFINITY-IRS-BETA-SPEAKERS-PAIR-ORIGINAL-PRISTINE-FLAWLESS-S-Ns-G001551-54/263318947143?hash=item3d4f084547:g:~Y8AAOSwPc9W0mqvMost people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them. -
That is certainly sad news. He was directly responsible for me getting interested in perfectionist audio. I met him first when the Baltimore audio shop I worked for decided they wanted to sell Infinity speakers in the very early '70's. Arnie flew in from Chatsworth, CA. to check us out. Myself and two other friends, who would later become my partners in an audio shop in Silver Spring, took Arnie out for a tour of the city. His suggestions on what would really make his speakers sound their best led us to discover Audio Research and the trail for better sound began. Decca cartridges, Rabco tonearms and modifications to Dynaco ST70s and PAS3X all were from him. He later hosted our fledgling company at the CES, then held in Chicago, and introduced us to J. Gordon Holt, Saul Marantz, Lincoln Walsh, Rudy Bozak and Bill Johnson.
Everyone who derives enjoyment from their audio systems owes a nod to Arnie "Noodle" and the other pioneers.
I'm still trying to find the particular amp he suggested was the best. -
Bob Carver was hugely influenced by Arnie as well...
Nudell: “The ideal speaker would be a line-source dipole because of the way it interacts with the room. A line source—if it's narrow enough—has very wide horizontal dispersion, which is exactly what you want, but has no vertical dispersion whatsoever. So it comes out like a sheet of sound at every frequency. And of course there are no floor or ceiling bounces, which are some of the most severe problems in direct-radiating loudspeakers. The first floor-bounce kills the midbass, the ceiling kills some of the ambience in the room. And when you add the first side-wall bounce, all of a sudden you're hearing a muddying combination of the room and the loudspeaker.”
Bob did exactly this with his newest speaker.
Mr. Nudell was simply the best, far ahead of his time, and everybody even remotely interested in high performance audio has been touched by his work.
Rest In Peace sir, and thanks.The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
Wow...That folks is a TRUE loss...He left a legacy though..no doubt about that..RIP....
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There's a Polk connection with him. The Polk built Eosone speakers were designed by him.
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KennethSwauger wrote: »There's a Polk connection with him. The Polk built Eosone speakers were designed by him.
Yea..I have a pair of those RSF 600's that I got cheap and hook up sometimes..still sound pretty dang good too...Anyway,I think Arnie was the spawn of extraterrestrials...that is the only thing that could explain his genius... -
KennethSwauger wrote: »There's a Polk connection with him. The Polk built Eosone speakers were designed by him.
Far out who knew. Ken you are a wealth of valuable information. -
When I met Saul Marantz I must have looked pretty awestruck he saw the expression on my face and smiled and was the kindest person. Just couldn't have been nicer, a total gentle person. He was helping Jon Dahlquist introduce his speakers, certainly a good introduction.
If the Eosone speakers were carefully matched to associated electronics and setup properly I imagine they would sound terrific. They reminded me of early Infinity speakers, like the POS1.
Any body remember the Infinity 1001 or 2000A (which I bought as an accommodation from Infinity)? My two partners had more money so they each bought the legendary Servo Static speakers. I was using a Marantz 8B at that time. -
Those 600's have a kind of flexible foam/rubber used on the driver surrounds..not the butyl rubber that my 10b's have...still as old as they are,they seem to be holding up well enough..I drive them with a variety of amps....and they do sound pretty decent..I read somewhere where Arnie incorporated some of the Genesis technology into them..what that was,I can't tell you as those two systems are as different as night and day..
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Very interesting hearing the interconnected/related stories.
I like Mr. Nudell's way of thinking:
"it would also bring together two dissimilar segments of our industry. It's a crazy fight we have. We have the logical positivists who say measurements are the only things that matter, and if you can hear stuff you can't measure, then it's a bunch of **** baloney. The other segment—which is most of us in the High End—knows things sound differently, and we all hear the same differences, but we don't understand why there are those differences. It would be nice to bring the two camps together. There's no doubt we know more now than we did then about certain things. But do we know more about amplifiers? I don't think we do.
Sal Palooza -
We're all indebted to his genius. RIPPolitical Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Great stories and info KenS....TFS2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a -
Got so caught up in the stories i nearly forgot
RIP Mr. Arnie Nudell a true audio genius -
Loved the Stereophile interview!txcoastal1 wrote: »Arnie Nudell, has passed away from complications of pneumonia. The family laid him to rest on Monday, November 20, 2017.
https://us2.campaign-archive.com/?u=bd5baa3af039b1bce8455f635&id=ed91e3e3bd
https://www.stereophile.com/content/arnie-nudell-infinity-genesis
Samsung 60" UN60ES6100 LED, Outlaw Audio 976 Pre/Pro Samsung BDP, Amazon Firestick, Phillips CD Changer Canare 14 ga - LCR tweeters inside*; Ctr Ch outside BJC 10 ga: LCR mids “Foamed & Plugged**”, inside* & out
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*soldered **Rob the Man (Xschop) LR: Tri-amped RTi A7 w/Rotels. Woofers - 980BX; Tweets & Mids - 981, connected w/Monoprice Premiere ICs
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