Author Topic: The RIPCO thread  (Read 1726 times)

Offline dflee

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The RIPCO thread
« on: January 04, 2022, 09:41:32 AM »
Thinking of PI and thought:
What other companies are no longer with us that we have either equipment or fond memories of?

Don
"Enjoy pleasure, not because it is fleeting, but because it exists at all." Sacrament, Clive Barker.

Offline toobluvr

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Spkrs: Sunny Cable Tech, Reynaud, Zu, Klipsch, Gallo subs, Wharfedale
TT1: Townshend Rock 3/OL Silver Mk3A
TT2: OL Aurora/OL Encounter Mk3C
Carts: Soundsmith Zephyr,  Music Maker 3, Dynavector xx2-Mk2, Shelter 501
complete: see Sunnydaze system on AC

Offline James Edward

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Re: The RIPCO thread
« Reply #2 on: January 04, 2022, 02:27:25 PM »
Juicy Music by Mark Deneen.    Great gear, reasonable prices.   I still use his Blueberry Xtreme preamp and Tercel phono stage.  :thumb:

https://www.google.com/search?q=juicy+music+mark+deneen&rlz=1C1CHZL_enUS813US813&sxsrf=AOaemvK3P-fY15nyQIiU0HTXW-Jm97bZPw%3A1641320833439&ei=gZHUYbOiGs3j_AbesJzICg&ved=0ahUKEwjz5vTJ3Jj1AhXNMd8KHV4YB6kQ4dUDCA4&uact=5&oq=juicy+music+mark+deneen&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAM6BwgAEEcQsAM6BwgAELADEEM6CgguEMgDELADEEM6BAgAEEM6BQguEIAEOgUIABCABDoGCAAQFhAeOgUIIRCgAToFCCEQqwI6CAghEBYQHRAeSgQIQRgASgQIRhgAUJwHWMweYNIjaAFwAngAgAF8iAHlCJIBAzguNJgBAKABAcgBDMABAQ&sclient=gws-wiz
Ah… I wish I had not sold mine. The Blueberry Extreme kicked ass- I still remember it sounding as if everything played through it was sped up just a hair. PRAT doesn’t even begin to explain it. I had the walnut case too. Toobluvr you’re killing me right now.
Luxman L- 590 AX MK2
Esoteric K-07X
Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Esprit SB
Audience Au24SE
PI Cat6
Spatial Audio M3 Turbo S
Stereo Hsu ULS-15 Mk2
Supra Classic 6.0

Offline ejk

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Re: The RIPCO thread
« Reply #3 on: January 04, 2022, 05:13:50 PM »
SP Technolgy.
Aric Audio Super 6SN7 Line, Orchard Audio Starkrimson Ultra, Quicksilver Mid Monos, Lumin U2 Mini, Denafrips Pontus II 12th-1,Denafrips Iris DDC, Spatial Audio M3 Saphire, Hapa Audio Interconnects, TWL power cords, TWL speaker cables, Wireworld USB, i2s.

Offline Nick B

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Re: The RIPCO thread
« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2022, 05:33:20 PM »
SP Technolgy.

Yes, SP Tech and Bob Smith. Had his Timepiece 3.0s for quite a while. A really nice speaker  :thumb:
Orchard Starkrimson Ultra amp
Supratek Chardonnay preamp
JMR Voce Grande speakers
Border Patrol SEi dac
Holo Red streamer
Hapa Aero digital coax
WyWires Silver cables
TWL Digital American II p cord
Audio Envy p cords
Roon, Tidal, Qobuz
PI Audio UberBUSS

Offline James Edward

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Re: The RIPCO thread
« Reply #5 on: January 04, 2022, 05:53:06 PM »
Oh, and ADS speakers. Late 70’s until 1996- finally found a speaker I liked as much or better- PSB Stratus Golds.
Luxman L- 590 AX MK2
Esoteric K-07X
Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Esprit SB
Audience Au24SE
PI Cat6
Spatial Audio M3 Turbo S
Stereo Hsu ULS-15 Mk2
Supra Classic 6.0

Offline toobluvr

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Re: The RIPCO thread
« Reply #6 on: January 04, 2022, 06:05:50 PM »
Meadowlark Audio run by Pat McGinty in Watertown NY.  Fond memories of my Heron i's.  Great speakers!
Spkrs: Sunny Cable Tech, Reynaud, Zu, Klipsch, Gallo subs, Wharfedale
TT1: Townshend Rock 3/OL Silver Mk3A
TT2: OL Aurora/OL Encounter Mk3C
Carts: Soundsmith Zephyr,  Music Maker 3, Dynavector xx2-Mk2, Shelter 501
complete: see Sunnydaze system on AC

Offline Jack

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Re: The RIPCO thread
« Reply #7 on: January 04, 2022, 06:17:49 PM »
Pat's been back in business as Meadowlark Audio again for several years.  All of the speakers in his current lineup are active.
JVC QL-Y7 w/ Denon DL-301 Mk II
Vista Phono II
Jays Audio CDT3 Mk III
Supratek Cabernet
Kinki Studio EX-B7's
Holo Audio May KTE
Auralic Aries G1
Verity Otello
(2) Rythmik F12SE
TWL PC's
Audio Envy IC, PC, SC
Inakustik USB, I2S
PSA Stellar P3
Uberbuss

Offline tmazz

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Re: The RIPCO thread
« Reply #8 on: January 04, 2022, 08:59:58 PM »
Thiel.

Not long after Jim passed away I was talking to one of his tech support folks who told me Jim knew he was ill for quite a while and spent his last few years developing new products and training  people within the company. He said that they had enough tested and prototyped designs to keep the company going with new models for close to ten years. But the the company got sold and within a year the new owners took the speakers in a completely different direction and all of Jim's work got trashed. The only thing that was left of Jim's legacy there was the name, they even redesigned the logo.

Sad.

But I guess there is Karma in this world because the new company went down the tubes in a very short period of time.
Remember, it's all about the music........

• Nola Boxers
• Sunfire True SW Super Jr (2)
• McIntosh MC 275
• ARC SP-9
• VPI HW-19 Mk IV/SDS/SME IV/Soundsmith Carmen Mk II ES
• Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 DAC/Rasp Pi Roon Endpoint
• DigiBuss/TWL PC&USB/MIT Cables

Offline Nick B

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Re: The RIPCO thread
« Reply #9 on: January 04, 2022, 09:43:28 PM »
Thiel.

Not long after Jim passed away I was talking to one of his tech support folks who told me Jim knew he was ill for quite a while and spent his last few years developing new products and training  people within the company. He said that they had enough tested and prototyped designs to keep the company going with new models for close to ten years. But the the company got sold and within a year the new owners took the speakers in a completely different direction and all of Jim's work got trashed. The only thing that was left of Jim's legacy there was the name, they even redesigned the logo.

Sad.

But I guess there is Karma in this world because the new company went down the tubes in a very short period of time.

Thiel is such a well-known and respected name, I’m saddened to hear that story.
Orchard Starkrimson Ultra amp
Supratek Chardonnay preamp
JMR Voce Grande speakers
Border Patrol SEi dac
Holo Red streamer
Hapa Aero digital coax
WyWires Silver cables
TWL Digital American II p cord
Audio Envy p cords
Roon, Tidal, Qobuz
PI Audio UberBUSS

Offline jimbones

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Re: The RIPCO thread
« Reply #10 on: January 05, 2022, 08:17:51 AM »
Anytime a small company gets sold to an investment group it is bad. ALWAYS BAD. Look at Harman group, look at Audio Research....
Rogue RP7 Pre, Art Audio Vinyl Reference Phono,CJ Premier 12 Pwr, VPI Classic II/Dynavector 20X2L, Roon Rock, Auralic Vega DAC, Emotiva ERC-3, MIT, TWL, WireWorld, Wywires, Shunyata

Offline tmazz

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Re: The RIPCO thread
« Reply #11 on: January 05, 2022, 01:26:40 PM »
Unfortunately, this has been a pretty common thread in the history of High end audio companies. More time than not the companies were founded by guys who were audiophiles first an businessmen second. The did things with an eye towards advancing the state of the art or at least getting the best performance possible at a given price point. The driving force of the company was the founders passion for audio and usually sound took precedence over profits. Not that they didn't care about making a profit, they would have to to stay in business, but the maximization of SQ was more important to them than the maximization of profit. But as we have seen time and time again, the audio passion does not always pass down from generation to generation and quite often the founders ended up in situations where their kids had no desire to take over the company so it was sold off to an outside concern. Unfortunately when the company is sold to someone who is not an audio nut the passion leaves the business and the new owners primary concern is how do I get this thing I just bought put the most profit in my pocket. They don't look at the company as having any purpose other than been an ATM machine for the investors. And this is not a situation unique to Audio, I have a friend who has worked  for a major metropolitan newspaper for the past 30 years. When he started the paper was still owned by the family that founded it in the 1940s. Since then it has gone through several corporate takeovers and mergers and with each one the importance of the news has more and more taken a back seat the the cashflow. To the point where the editorial staff has been forced to kill stories that upper management felt might make one of their large advertisers look bad.

American capitalism at it's finest. Greed is good and the $ rules all.   :roll:
Remember, it's all about the music........

• Nola Boxers
• Sunfire True SW Super Jr (2)
• McIntosh MC 275
• ARC SP-9
• VPI HW-19 Mk IV/SDS/SME IV/Soundsmith Carmen Mk II ES
• Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 DAC/Rasp Pi Roon Endpoint
• DigiBuss/TWL PC&USB/MIT Cables

Offline steve

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Re: The RIPCO thread
« Reply #12 on: January 11, 2022, 10:31:11 PM »
"Unfortunately, this has been a pretty common thread in the history of High end audio companies. Not that they didn't care about making a profit, they would have to stay in business, but the maximization of SQ was more important to them than the maximization of profit."

Amen to that. Imo, sound quality is the most important characteristic of true music lovers.

steve
« Last Edit: January 12, 2022, 04:51:54 PM by steve »
Steve Sammet (Owner, Electron Eng, SAS Audio Labs, Ret)
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SAS Test Phono Stage
Acutex 320 STR Mov Iron Cart
SAS 11A Perfect Tube Preamp
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