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Sidney Smith, revered audio engineer and a founding father of the modern audio industry, passed away on October 25, 2000 after a battle with cancer. He was 77. Sid, a family man, left a loving wife, Marilyn, three caring daughters, Jennie, Pattie, and Laura, and two grandchildren.

We have received the sad news that loudspeaker maven Siegfried Linkwitz, co-inventor of the innovative Linkwitz-Riley crossover network, has died. He had been suffering from prostate cancer for some years and had been receiving hospice care at his home.

At AXPONA 2026, Ken Micallef speaks with Sierra Sound co-founder Michael Fajen (in the foreground) and Aesthetix sales and marketing specialist Brent Hefley (in the reflection) about the gear shown in the Sierra Sound room, including the AMG Viella turntable with 12JT Turbo tonearm, Aesthetix Rhea Signature phono stage, and Aesthetix Dione amplifier. Plus: we get to visit "The Tonearm Garden."

Friday, May 11, at 5pm: Sight + Sound (Studioplex, G8, 659 Auburn Avenue, Old Fourth Ward, Atlanta, GA) hosts its grand opening as both a contemporary art gallery and high-end audio equipment retailer. The gallery will showcase artwork from local artists while exhibiting gear from T+A, Nordost, and Elipson.

Ola Björling speaks with Silent Pound's Audrius Balciunas at High End Vienna 2026 about the company's Bloom speakers, as well as what their plans are for a potential new speaker coming in the fall.

The invitation looked intriguing: "We are happy to welcome you to The Netherlands in September for the offical introduction of the Siltech Pantheon Loudspeaker." Siltechwww.siltechcables.com">Siltech; introducing a loudspeaker? I was well familiar with the Dutch company, celebrating its 25^th anniversary next year, as a cable manufacturer. Indeed, some of the first high-end cables I had found to sound better than what I had been used to were Siltechs, back in the mid-1980s. Paul Bolin had been impressed by his auditioning">http://www.stereophile.com/cables/1004siltech">auditioning of more recent G5 models in 2004. And Siltech's founder, Edwin van der Kley, is married to the irrepressible Gabi van der Kley, principal of Crystal Cable with whom I had had a rather intense breakfast meeting with during last May's Home">http://blog.stereophile.com/he2007">Home Entertainment 2007. (All conversations with Gabi are intense.) But loudspeakers?

Almost every audiophile, whether hobbyist or professional, has taken a stab at building loudspeakers. Combine the fundamentals of cabinetmaking with some basic electronic theory, connect a few good drivers to a well-designed crossover network, and you're on your way to pretty good sound. And now, with widely available resources like crossover design software and high-quality prefabricated cabinets, the task is easier than it's ever been.