musiclover22

I remember the AR Demonstration Room but was too young (14 to 16) to afford anything in there. It is noteworthy and laudable that AR opened the Demo Room to create a quiet haven in Grand Central Station and not to sell stuff (although it did generate an awareness of their products.)

Tom, Many years have passed but I remember you from your shop, Woofer and Tweeter, in Carrboro, NC. I was a student at UNC in Chapel Hill from 1974 to 1979. I cannot say I was a great customer; I was a poor student back then. But I do remember and appreciate your willingness to talk to me and explain and demonstrate products, since I was a hi-fi "newbie." Your enthusiasm must have rubbed off on me, since I have mainatained an interest in hi-fi for the 40 years or so that have passed since then. (I have to say, however, that my real interest is music and the equipment is a means to an end.) I do remember listening to some AR speakers in your shop and I remember your love for the marque. I have found that AR speakers and their progeny bring me closer to the music in a way that their west coast counterparts do not. They can easily hold their own with the European (British, French, Danish, etc.) speakers that are in vogue today. I recently bought a pair of NHT speakers and am aware of their connection to the AR lineage. This sparked an interest in the history of the company and, lo and behold, I came across your name, which I remembered instantly. I am excited that you are writing a book about AR and hope to read it when it comes out. My suggestions are not to make it overly long or technical. I recoil at the multivolume idea suggested above. I think I would also talk about what a compassionate man Edgar Villchur was to treat his employees the way he did. How did his own love of music motivate his desire for better sound and how did his inventions change the way we listen to music? This can be best accomplished by interviewing folks such as your former customers and those that frequented the AR demo room in Grand Central Station as mentioned above (which I have been to a few times but was too young to really know what was going on.) This is a good opportunity for oral history (sorry, my undergrad degree from UNC was in history.) Anyway, these are just a few ideas off the top of my head. I am sure that with your interest, knowlege, and motivation, the finished product will be great and I look forward to reading it. Happy writing and listening.

The 901 was a deeply flawed speaker but it at least it was an honest attempt to produce high fidelity sound. This just ratifies the mass market direction that Bose has been going in for the last few decades.