Darqueknight/ Ray Smith has passed away

VR3 · July 27

I am sorry to say that has been confirmed.

Will update

pitdogg2 · July 27

Holy 😯😯😯 shiite
😥😥😫

skipshot12 · July 27

Oh dang it

treitz3 · July 27

RIP to one of the Polk old school greats. He was loved by many. My sincerest condolences go to his family and friends.

Sad news, indeed.

Tom

daddyjt · July 27

Damn. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen more thorough write-ups on gear, as the treads I read from him.

RIP Sir - you will be missed…

Conradicles · July 27

Wow what a loss. RIP

Gardenstater · July 27

Wow bummer. Sad day

ESavinon · July 27

RIP.

SCompRacer · July 27

Sad, RIP. I remember meeting him in person at Polk HQ many years ago and enjoyed reading his highly detailed mods and posts.

JayCee · July 27

Oh no! Wow, I reached out, yesterday, via email. Did not expect this. Sad, sad, sad day! Met him at Polkfest '12. During the HQ tour he was close by and taking pictures. https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/comment/1817587/#Comment_1817587
At that point, didn't know who he was.

Following day, spent couch time with him in Stu's living room listening to the 705's. I'd brought a CD and he wanted to know about one of the songs. (Harry Connick Jr, Joe Slam and the Spaceship). Through the years, coincidentally, found myself on other audio sites furthering my quest for great sound...only to virtually run into him.

Don't know anything about his family...but if they see this...heartfelt condolences. Truly one of the greatest Polkies.

RIP, Raife (aka, Ray).

Picture of Ray and the personalized UltraFocus 8000 headphones he was awarded....from Polkfest '12. He was named "Polkie of the Year".

SIHAB · July 27

What. RIP

pitdogg2 · July 27

Absolutely one of the Polk greats. He did so much for this community out of his love for stupendous audio.
Please accept my sincerest condolences to his family and friends.
Raife helped many here in their own audio journey, without Raife many of the SDA improvements would not have been documented as well as they were, Thank you sir for your time and expertise in your dedication to fine audio.
R.I.P. my audio friend.
❤️❤️❤️

pearsall001 · July 27

So sad to hear. I really enjoyed his in depth reviews!. Ray will surely be missed. R.I.P. Ray.

schwarcw · July 27

Ugh! So sad! Raife was special and will be missed! I took the picture JayCee posted, it haunted me to see that pic. Legendary Polkie! RIP!

Hermitism · July 27

Terrible loss for CP! A legend in audio/video reviews and movie spoilers.

machone · July 27

Such a loss!
RIP

F1nut · July 27

Sad news indeed. I always enjoyed the time spent with Ray and the many phone conversations we had over the years.

Some know, so for those that don't. Ray had not one, but two PhDs. Outside of his devotion to the perfection of audio he spent his time as a professor and ran his own business. To say Ray was meticulous at everything would be a huge understatement.

I am, like many here, grateful for everything Ray has shared in this hobby we call audio. I'm also honored to have called him a friend.

Perhaps you'll have the time now to be more serious about audio. R.I.P.

GlennDog · July 27

a Sad Day, for sure . . . a Huge loss . . RIP Ray

motorstereo · July 27

This is terrible news. RIP Ray.

Toolfan66 · July 27

Very sad news, I was having bad feelings this might be the case. I enjoyed the dealings, and talks we had during my time here, it’s been a while since I last talked to him. Terrible news.

R.I.P. Ray..

simm · July 27

So sorry to read this. I learned a lot from his posts and system builds.

HzTweaker · July 27

My sincerest condolences go to his family and friends.

I'll miss reading new posts from Ray.

R.I.P

audioluvr · July 27

RIP Ray.

txcoastal1 · July 27

My condolences to family and friends.
I do miss his meticulous precision both in his work, reviews, and explanations.

He was a class act

mhardy6647 · July 27

oh, no!
Very sad news.

VR3 · July 27

I wasn't sure if the family member I spoke with would post or not, but he gave me the ok to give more information during the call earlier.

Ray was diagnosed with prostate cancer a year ago and it was found too late to treat.

He said a lot of folks had reached out to him on EBay if he was Ray but didn't want to go into details on there. The bulk of his equipment was shipped to TMR Audio to be sold but several pieces are still with him and or in storage.

He also mentioned his sister was looking to arrange a scholarship in his honor and they may touch base here to the community in regards to this.

pitdogg2 · July 27

Sad to hear, thanks Trey for the update.
He most certainly had stellar gear!

PSOVLSK · July 27

Sad, sad news. I didn’t have the privilege or honor of knowing him outside of his posts on CP, but what a great impression he made here. Knowledge that was second to none and such in-depth, well written reviews, etc. His responses always seemed so well thought out and were always so well articulated. He came across as such a good, levelheaded, and brilliant guy. Condolences to any family members who may see this and to those of you who knew him as a friend.

Dr_Wu · July 27

Really bummed out to hear this. As much as Ray knew about Polk and audio, it was nothing compared to how generous and supportive he was in sharing his experiences with anyone who took the time to ask. I was a total stranger to the man, and he guided me like I was a brother or son. I owe him a huge debt of gratitude. Sincerest condolences to his family and friends.

Tony M · July 27

R.I.P. Ray.

Thanks for taking the time to help us all here at this Polk Audio Forum.

Toolfan66 · July 28

Sad to see this..

Darqueknight/ Ray Smith has passed away

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