News

The new year ushered in several significant personnel changes for the audio industry.

On January 21, Snell Acoustics announced the appointment of Dr. Joseph D'Appolito as chief engineer. He assumes the technical helm at the Haverhill, MA–based loudspeaker manufacturer at "a time of intense development," according to Snell, which is pushing product development in high-resolution two-channel and multichannel systems as well as in the custom installation arena.

Only the fourth head of the company’s technical division in its 25-year history—founder Peter Snell was the first— D'Appolito replaces David L. Smith, who recently left Snell to pursue other opportunities. Smith’s predecessor was Kevin Voecks, now chief engineer for Revel.

D'Appolito holds BEE, SMEE, EE, and PhD degrees in electrical engineering from Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Massachusetts. His name is synonymous with the "D'Appolito Configuration" (or "D’Appolito Array," as it is sometimes called), a popular loudspeaker design used by speaker manufacturers worldwide. The technique vertically sandwiches a tweeter between two midrange drivers—midrange on top, tweeter in the middle, midrange on the bottom—so that, in combination with the crossover phase response, the tweeter's output is directed primarily at listeners in the horizontal plane, minimizing reflections with the floor and ceiling. The result is increased clarity and a broader "sweet spot."

D’Appolito has designed more than 80 loudspeaker systems and related audio engineering projects, including the ARIA 5 Point Source Speaker for Focal in France; the Signature and Reference Series Home Theater systems for HECO/Recoton, GmbH; and the high-performance Compass Dancer Series for Usher Audio Technology. He also designed a pair of affordable precision microphones, "Mitey Mike" and "Mitey Mike II," for loudspeaker testing and performance and recording applications, and has published many articles and books on speaker technology.

"I’m especially pleased to be working with Snell at this time," D’Appolito said. "We have a strong, diverse line of products and an experienced team of engineers, craftsmen and women, and sales professionals committed to building on Snell’s recent successes."

Andy Regan, former vice president of sales for Meridian America, left that company at the end of November and struck out on his own, forming the Regan Consulting Design Group based in the Atlanta suburban town of Peachtree City, GA. A veteran of the high-end industry, Regan said his new company’s main thrust is to provide "consultation to the industry’s smaller companies" and to "help salespeople interpret technology for their customers."

Regan came into the business at a time when it was populated almost entirely by music enthusiasts. He observed that many of the younger salespeople on the floor today came into the business with a strong background in computers, but without the love of music characteristic of their older colleagues. One of his goals is to help "specialty dealers re-instill passion among their salespeople," he said in a phone interview, as well as to help them rediscover the lost art of the follow-up—calling old customers and chatting them up about new products. He said that one problem plaguing overworked dealers is that they don’t have time to stay in contact with their customers, and many of them suffer from shifting loyalties because of it. "Let’s face it, specialty dealers can’t compete with Best Buy and Circuit City on the price of a Denon receiver. What they can offer is personalized service and expertise not available from mass marketers," he mentioned. "Today, you have to be a businessman with a hobbyist’s enthusiasm."

Regan was the organizer of the popular and successful Music & Film Seminars at the PARA and Home Entertainment shows. With Meridian, he set up high-resolution home-theater demonstrations at such unlikely locations as the Sundance Film Festival. Now on his own, he is promoting similar cooperative ventures involving multiple manufacturers.

He’s also helping dealers learn how to get their home-theater customers on the audio upgrade path. "For most folks, 5.1 surround is the best audio they have ever heard," he noted. "Dealers can leverage that to bring their customers an elevated listening experience. The high end will always be a business of subtle differences—for the discerning individual those differences will always be important."

Former Threshold Audio president Chris English has left that company to join Ensemble Audio/Video, an upscale retailer in Nashua, NH, a commuter suburb of Boston. Threshold is now part of Houston-based Nova Audio, which had several new Threshold amplifiers on display at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). English still has a financial stake in the company, but will no longer be involved in its day-to-day operations, he said. "The partners at Nova Audio—Kevin Lee, David Lee, and Billy Curtis—are capable and competent and the company is very well positioned," he mentioned. "I felt that I had basically done everything I had to do there." His departure was amicable, he said.

In his new consulting position, English is helping Ensemble to "integrate high quality two-channel and multichannel audio into a custom install retail environment." Ensemble is one of the oldest specialty dealers in the US, he noted, with its business spread about 80%–20% between custom installation and retail, respectively. One of his goals, like Andy Regan’s, is to re-instill a passion for music among salespeople. He is developing the company’s relationships with manufacturers and is also involved in residential custom designs. The variety of duties suits him perfectly, he noted. Ensemble carries McIntosh, Anthem, Conrad-Johnson, Bryston, Paradigm, Rotel, Adcom, and Pioneer—and will soon carry Threshold as well. One degree of separation: Andy Regan hired English into the original Threshold organization, something mentioned by both of them in brief phone interviews. Audioland is a small village, indeed.

Other news: On January 3 Mark Friedman, long-time senior vice president at Onkyo USA, announced his resignation. Friedman said he was leaving to reinvigorate the rep firm he started eight years ago, and to spend more time with his family. "I've devoted almost half my working life to Onkyo," he said, "This was is a very tough decision for me." Onkyo and Integra experienced several years of strong growth thanks to Friedman, said Onkyo USA President Kevin Miyagi. "We appreciate Mark's efforts and wish him well." Friedman worked for Onkyo between 1979 and 1989, and held his recent position since 1999.

Name change for a Legend: On January 21, Berkeley, CA–based Legend Audio Design issued a press release stating that the company will henceforth be known as Von Gaylord Audio. "All product models and company ownership are to remain unchanged," the announcement stated, emphasizing that it is "not in any way affiliated with Legend Audio of Southern California." More information is available from press contact Necole Chu.