Don Garber of Fi has passed

[Redboy]

Sad news this morning when I learned that Don Garber, one of the great tube amp artists of our modern times, has passed. He died at home a few days ago.

Don was best known in our audiophile community for his part in the "SET amp renaissance" of the 90s, and his contributions to Sound Practices back then. He also built bespoke, single-ended tube amplifiers under his brand Fi. The most recognizable of his creations is probably the Fi X amplifier...

Jeff Day called him "An American Master"

Michael Lavorgna wrote a great article about the man and his craft a few years back - it's well worth a few minutes of your time today.

The few times that I interacted with Don were via email; he was very gracious and encouraging to a rookie builder like me. I wish I could have met him in person.

RIP, Don - you will be missed!

 

[WhiteSE]

RIP Don.....He designed and built great stuff....

 

[Mister Pig]

A somber moment indeed. Lost one of the brightest beacons of the SET world. Makes me remember that George Wright has passed more years ago than I care to admit. And Dr Bruce Edgar. This is one more loss that is hard to take.

Regards
Mister Pig

 

[Dave_1962]

RIP Mr. Garber

 

[SPL db]

Another sad day... RIP

 

[onemug]

RIP Don.

I owned his 2a3 monos for years...superb amps.

Back in the early 2000's, I had the pleasure of speaking to Don a few times on the phone. He impressed me right away. My favorite memory of him was when I told him how much I loved 300b and 2a3 amps compared to the KT88's that were my previous amps and he said KT88's were "sonic dishwashers". It was with humor of course as he had a lot of class.

To this day, the system I like the most has a 300b and 2a3 at it's core. I will be listening to it tonight and imagining Don saying, "See, I told you".

 

[VinylRob]

So very sad to read of our loss of Don Garber. What a gentleman nonconformist! Love those magical fi 2A3 mono blocks!

 

[Nara]

Sad news this morning when I learned that Don Garber, one of the great tube amp artists of our modern times, has passed. He died at home a few days ago.

Don was best known in our audiophile community for his part in the "SET amp renaissance" of the 90s, and his contributions to Sound Practices back then. He also built bespoke, single-ended tube amplifiers under his brand Fi. The most recognizable of his creations is probably the Fi X amplifier...

Jeff Day called him "An American Master"

Michael Lavorgna wrote a great article about the man and his craft a few years back - it's well worth a few minutes of your time today.

The few times that I interacted with Don were via email; he was very gracious and encouraging to a rookie builder like me. I wish I could have met him in person.

RIP, Don - you will be missed!

Thanks for compiling these blogs, Redboy.

Sad news this morning when I learned that Don Garber, one of the great tube amp artists of our modern times, has passed. He died at home a few days ago.

Don was best known in our audiophile community for his part in the "SET amp renaissance" of the 90s, and his contributions to Sound Practices back then. He also built bespoke, single-ended tube amplifiers under his brand Fi. The most recognizable of his creations is probably the Fi X amplifier...

Jeff Day called him "An American Master"

Michael Lavorgna wrote a great article about the man and his craft a few years back - it's well worth a few minutes of your time today.

The few times that I interacted with Don were via email; he was very gracious and encouraging to a rookie builder like me. I wish I could have met him in person.

RIP, Don - you will be missed!

Thank you for posting these links, Redboy, and for the kind words about my father. He was a perfectionist and craftsman who only turned his attention to audio in his mid-50's. It's heartwarming at this time to see the respect he commanded in what became his chosen field. – Don's daughter

 

[stoutblock]

Loss of an audio legend.