How a McIntosh dealer brought classical music to Austin Texas

[pmsummer]

Following is a long and boring story about the founding of KMFA-FM in Austin Texas (listener-supported classical). I spent my undergraduate years in Austin in the late 1960s/mid-1970s, so I recall much of this story. But one thing I never knew...

KMFA replaced a station named KHFI-FM, which couldn't make a go of it as a commercial classical station (it changed formats to Pop to stay alive). What I didn't know was that KHFI stood for K-High Fidelity Incorporated, which was the McIntosh dealer in Austin that I traded with (and attended a few McClinics/Cocktail Parties at). High Fidelity, Inc. founded Austin's first FM station to bring classical music to the airwaves in Central Texas.

The KMFA story.

Kinda cool, and if you read the story, boy do I ever have strong memories of Leonard Masters!

 

[WhiteSE]

That is a cool story!! Thanks for sharing!

 

[thunderroad]

Great story! Thanks for posting the link.

I have similar memories of our, at one time, two classical stations here in the Bay Area: KDFC, which is still around, and KKHI, which now belongs to the ages.

We're going thought similar struggles now with KDFC to what KHFA went though then, as KDFC just got booted off its great transmitter and frequency, by its $$$ driven owner and is just making the transition to public-owned. Unfortunately, their new transmitting facilities doesn't have the same power or coverage as the old facility, so the struggle is continuing.

It's a bummer, but classical music is struggling everywhere, so I guess we shouldn't be surprised.

Thanks again for posting the link and the story!

 

[jchouston]

Funny, I'm sitting in a deposition in on Congress Street in Austin right now.

I would MUCH RATHER be listening to classical music on a McIntosh system instead.