Harmonic Audio Power  -  Creative DIY music ideas

    Through artistic use of both old and new components, Harmonic Audio encourages you to expand your musical enjoyment beyond the black box.  

• I am drawn to fine craftsmanship, artistic presentation, and quality sound reproduction.
• Some older products demonstrate this balance, and are candidates for preservation or restoration. These delight our senses on many levels, and are like a dear friend.
• Most consumer audio gear, presents great opportunity for modification.
  • Many pieces of older gear have beautiful cabinets but dated electronics.  
  • Many modern products have quality electronics but cheap cabinets. 
  • Many products both old and new have finely crafted quality electronics, but hide them from view. Why not show off this fine work?
• By combining recycled parts and new components, I hope to present some very unique audio pieces that fulfill my objectives.
• Above all, I hope to have some fun and share my joy for quality artistic audio.

Some Background:
    I was interested in electronics at a very young age, building radios and all manner of kits.  Of course I had my '50 electronic projects' board from Radio Shack, and was a regular in the store.  Growing up in the Seattle area, there were many major electronic supply houses and some great surplus places nearby, to feed my imagination.  I had my first oscilloscope when I was 12.  A vintage tube era Techtronics unit that is still working!
    I worked in the electronics industry for many years at the assembly end of things.  Working for several different companies gave me a chance to learn first hand the construction of industrial, medical, military, NASA, and commercial designs. 
    My interest in audio was focused on speaker building, culminating with the construction of 'K-horns' modeled after the Paul Klipsch, corner loaded, all horn system.  This was sold in various kit forms through Speakerlab in Seattle.  I chose the raw parts with drawings version, which was a major undertaking of compound angle cuts to a stack of plywood!  These represent my 'reference' speakers.  I know that some people like to point out the total lack of phase coherency in this design, but the efficiency and dynamic range is awesome.

Current Events:
    I find myself drawn into audio over and over again by the explosion of new technology, and the merge with old technology.  It is represented best by the 'high tech' tube amps being sold at the high end (read high price).  When I first saw an ad for a multi-thousand-dollar tube amp, I had to laugh.  Can you imagine anyone would be so foolish to spend that kind of money on a circuit with only a hand full of active components!?  But there it is, in bold full page ads and glowing reviews in top magazines.  
    While I am wary of the enormous B---S--- factor and hype in audio (it has always been there) I can appreciate the draw of these new offerings.  Perhaps in the end I am envious of those who have so much money they can be a fool, and gain prestige in the process.  When it comes to the senses, it is all about personal taste. As in all art forms, the wealthy and the eccentric enable designers and artists alike to push the envelope.  Without this stratosphere High-End, we would indeed have a dull world! 
    At the other end, well near it anyway, is the proliferation of the glorified 'Boom Box', now trending toward the 'Mini Stereo'. They have grown into the mainstream home stereo for many families who find the full scale stereo too costly, or too awkward to place in their living room.  While they may be a collectable one day, most represent to me a failure in both artistic looks and quality sound..

    Now if you could just put those speakers in a real cabinet with a proper crossover, give it a proper power supply, and upgrade some details....  

Ahhh my little MP3 friend! I know, the audio quality is in theory just awful but they can replace what was once a tuner, pre-amp, record player, and album collection. All they need is a proper power amplifier and some decent speakers, and lo and behold they sound perfectly respectable in many environments such as while I am doing my glass blowing work. At such times I have significant background noise and love to have some tunes playing. The total convenience of having the audio controls all there at the bench in a small simple package is to me a good thing.