More Data, Less Wank. A Eulogy for Zilch.
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Gudstufshevy
Art
After following his posts on several projects, I was motivated to join AK. The man somehow seemed to be everywhere at once. He had a way of bringing you into the fold. I never met him, but he took the time to answer my questions, and provided links to related reading. I know of no other anywhere that had so much to share, that was so eager to share it.
To say he was a rare individual is a gross understatement. In my opinion he was truly unique in the world. It's a tribute to the character of the man, that so many here and elsewhere on the net are paying their respects.
As painfull as the loss is to the community at large, I can only imagine the loss of his close friends and family.
R.I.P. Zilch, thanks for all the data!
To say he was a rare individual is a gross understatement. In my opinion he was truly unique in the world. It's a tribute to the character of the man, that so many here and elsewhere on the net are paying their respects.
As painfull as the loss is to the community at large, I can only imagine the loss of his close friends and family.
R.I.P. Zilch, thanks for all the data!
Fast_Eddie
Upper-middle fi
Oh no. I'm so sorry to hear that. Quite a loss for our community.
Fast_Eddie
Upper-middle fi
I had no idea. Why doesn't any of this surprise me? Really neat. Wish I could have met him.
juniorJBL
SUB 1500 :)
Thanks for that statement.
Evan would talk about the JBL LE14h-1 as a world class woofer. Instead I would consider Evan a world class man!!:thmbsp:
skywave-rider
Slumming in Akihabara
It's not oftentimes that someone with the combination of intelligence, passion and a generous nature comes along, in any field. Especially someone with genuinely good teaching ability, to boot.
Even us people who have been doing "this speaker thing" for a long time, learned considerable information from Evan. And even if nothing else, his insistence that you think for yourself, gather your own data, and make conclusions based on that data, makes us all better critical thinkers... and ultimately, better at what we do.
To think of him gone... just damn.
Regards,
Gordon.
Even us people who have been doing "this speaker thing" for a long time, learned considerable information from Evan. And even if nothing else, his insistence that you think for yourself, gather your own data, and make conclusions based on that data, makes us all better critical thinkers... and ultimately, better at what we do.
To think of him gone... just damn.
Regards,
Gordon.
Giskard
Member
Very cool! Thank you for posting this. I enjoyed reading it.
Thank you Chris and Widget for being there for Evan.
It is now evident that the audio community was his family and he very much enjoyed the dynamic interaction. He had a voracious appetite for knowledge. He rigorously applied himself to this hobby and the end result is a very positive impact on alot of greatful people.
I'm not real sure at what point he came up with the "more data, less wank" thing. I think it's funny actually. I know exactly where his little "tin before crimping" thing came from.
He was a character that's for sure. I hope that webpage of his finally gets made.
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AnalogDigit
Realistic fan.
I'm shocked and saddened of his passing. R.I.P. Zilch.
srbliss
Active Member
View of the bay from ZilchLabs
You are sooo correct about that view. $1,000,000 view (probably more now since houses skyrocketed in value of the last 30 years in this area) of the whole bay area. His house is about a mile at most from the bay and on top of a hill. It was a real treat driving with him when we headed over to the JBL guy that re-coned my woofers. He pointed out where his business used to be located and pointed out many points of interest. I was totally new to the area so this was fun.
You are sooo correct about that view. $1,000,000 view (probably more now since houses skyrocketed in value of the last 30 years in this area) of the whole bay area. His house is about a mile at most from the bay and on top of a hill. It was a real treat driving with him when we headed over to the JBL guy that re-coned my woofers. He pointed out where his business used to be located and pointed out many points of interest. I was totally new to the area so this was fun.
srbliss
Active Member
Where 'less wank' came from
Here is a clue - he liked call people that irritated him 'insert expletive' wanker! I imagine it took a lot to earn that designation from him.:nono:
Here is a clue - he liked call people that irritated him 'insert expletive' wanker! I imagine it took a lot to earn that designation from him.:nono:
srbliss
Active Member
Mission statement
Someone requested the ZilchLabs.com
Here it is - it was also the last PM I received from Evan (Dec 21) I think he sent it out to many people.
ZilchLab.com -- Mission Statement:
With the pioneering work of Smith, Keele, and Eargle in 1980 [citation], the era of the modern constant-directivity 2-way loudspeaker began. For many long-term afficionados of 2-way designs (the legacy is long), their JBL 4430 comprised a genuine "Eureka!" listening experience. The product was in production for over 20 years, and grew to become the industry standard Studio Monitor, and also well-appreciated for use at home.
Zilch was a fan, and upon retirement after a lifetime of multiple successful careers in alternative fields, reverted to his own interests in the art of loudspeaker design as avocation with his own breed unprecedented passion, documenting the early stages of his investigations on Lansing Heritage Forum , where this work is available for perusal by readers [Quick and Dirty citation]. During this period, under the expert tutelage of other LHF members more experience in the art, Zilch's unique understanding and appreciation of 4430 design may be observed expanding, culminating in a "Formula" derivitave of experimental builds during this period.
Ultimately, Zilch move from LHF to internet audio forum AudioKarma to expand application of the concepts he had learned to into non-JBL (but still JBL-derivative) formats, and there, in counsultation with other members having similar interests, developed EconoWave to enable loudspeaker builders to engage in similar pursuits upon a low cost platform. Over the course of the past three years, Zilch's work has grown into an open-format loudspeaker-building phenomenon of considerable scale, with hundreds of systems built by others and well-apprecitated by them worldwide, and in his own right, Zilch, concurrently, into a designer of considerable reknown. This work is documented on AudioKarma (citation], and more recently, on Parts Express's Tech Talk forum [citation] for all to review in full relief.
With the launch of Zilch's own ZilchLab.com website, the available acess to his work, and new resources for others interested in this work steps up to new levels. Enjoy the site, and the ever-expanding level of new work presented here....
__________________
"More data ... less wank ...
In relentless pursuit of truth, enlightenment, and the AudioKarma way...."
Someone requested the ZilchLabs.com
Here it is - it was also the last PM I received from Evan (Dec 21) I think he sent it out to many people.
ZilchLab.com -- Mission Statement:
With the pioneering work of Smith, Keele, and Eargle in 1980 [citation], the era of the modern constant-directivity 2-way loudspeaker began. For many long-term afficionados of 2-way designs (the legacy is long), their JBL 4430 comprised a genuine "Eureka!" listening experience. The product was in production for over 20 years, and grew to become the industry standard Studio Monitor, and also well-appreciated for use at home.
Zilch was a fan, and upon retirement after a lifetime of multiple successful careers in alternative fields, reverted to his own interests in the art of loudspeaker design as avocation with his own breed unprecedented passion, documenting the early stages of his investigations on Lansing Heritage Forum , where this work is available for perusal by readers [Quick and Dirty citation]. During this period, under the expert tutelage of other LHF members more experience in the art, Zilch's unique understanding and appreciation of 4430 design may be observed expanding, culminating in a "Formula" derivitave of experimental builds during this period.
Ultimately, Zilch move from LHF to internet audio forum AudioKarma to expand application of the concepts he had learned to into non-JBL (but still JBL-derivative) formats, and there, in counsultation with other members having similar interests, developed EconoWave to enable loudspeaker builders to engage in similar pursuits upon a low cost platform. Over the course of the past three years, Zilch's work has grown into an open-format loudspeaker-building phenomenon of considerable scale, with hundreds of systems built by others and well-apprecitated by them worldwide, and in his own right, Zilch, concurrently, into a designer of considerable reknown. This work is documented on AudioKarma (citation], and more recently, on Parts Express's Tech Talk forum [citation] for all to review in full relief.
With the launch of Zilch's own ZilchLab.com website, the available acess to his work, and new resources for others interested in this work steps up to new levels. Enjoy the site, and the ever-expanding level of new work presented here....
__________________
"More data ... less wank ...
In relentless pursuit of truth, enlightenment, and the AudioKarma way...."
Giskard
Member
I'm pretty sure it's a wee bit deeper than that... I think Gordon nailed it. :thmbsp:
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