Phil Jones, the loudspeaker designer who pioneered the resurgence of metal-cone woofers with first Acoustic Energy in the UK, then Boston Acoustics' Lynnfield series, and finally his own company, Platinum Audio, is no longer with Platinum.

Platinum speakers have been favorably reviewed in Stereophile by both Sam Tellig and myself; they had gotten an excellent reputation for producing excellent bass performance from relatively small enclosures. Phil's plans were unclear at the time of writing, but he intends to remain in the loudspeaker business. He can be contacted by fax at (603) 437-3986, or at airpulse@msn.com .

Phil's humongous "Air Pulse," a multi-way horn-loaded speaker that physically and acoustically dominated Platinum's hotel room at the 1997 Winter Consumer Electronics Show, has apparently won a 1997 "Golden Sound Award" in Japan. However, I guess we will not now see and hear the ultimate in bass-guitar speakers that Phil had supposedly been working on for Platinum.