HiFi Subjectivist ¦ Audio Forum ¦ NVA User Group

Quarknosis wrote: ↑Fri May 31, 2019 11:34 am Having been unable to attend the funeral, hopefully following my PM to him, Savvy was able to pass on my condolences. If not I hope Nadia is encouraged and comforted by the messages of support.

My only contact with Richard was through the forum and via a few phone calls when I had a some issues with the kit. Richard was always extremely helpful and pleasant over the phone although one conversation did illicit an expletive over his frustration with someone else but within seconds he was over it and back on our discussion.

I recently had a problem with the in my AP70SA I PM'd Richard to ask about returning the amp to have it checked over and he immediately identified the problem from my description of the fault, he suggested that I opened the amp and if it was possible for me to repair it myself he was happy for me to do so. If not I could send it back for repair. Fortunately it was a simple job which saved me quite a bit of time and money. With hindsight this might have been due to Richard's illness but it did have the effect of making me feel that I was a valued and trusted NVA customer.

I look forward to his legacy being continued by those who have been helping him with kit building recently and will miss him on the forum.

I know only too well the AP20 sagas - cough - (not *all* my fault over it all I swear, but I was a very handy scapegoat at the time and I did try to make amends financially to him after for this). I can only apologise for the inconvenience you went through back then.

wish I had something eloquent to say. terrible news

RIP Doc

The first time I spoke to Richard was to ask him whether he thought I should try his amps first, or his speakers. On telling him that I had a Sugden amp and Harbeth speakers, he said “I have a soft spot for the Sugden, but the Harbeths should go on the bonfire. Then, after a brief pause, he added “on second thoughts, don't bother, they will just suck the life out of the bloody bonfire”. I bought a pair of Cubes but kept the Harbeths for the meantime. Several months later I had a speaker bake-off at my place. One of the attendees said that the Harbeths were sucking the life out of the music...

...and that is my 'hi-fi story' with Richard. Whether at bake-offs, at his workshop, at shows, or at home, he worked out in moments what it took me hours, days or months to realise. He did this with genuinely 'golden ears' for the sound and, more importantly, for the music, and he did so with selfless honesty. If he thought that someone else's bit of kit was better than his, he said so without qualification or excuse. If he thought that a DAC you could buy for £5 was better than anything he could make and sell for £200, he told you to buy the £5 DAC.

He enriched the world, he gave more than he took. He was a true pioneer; brilliantly unreasonable and reliably intolerant. Progress relies on such people. Those who do not realise this are, of course, stoooooooooooooopid eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeediots! In a market that contains more opportunistic shysters than enough, Richard was often the antidote.

Well played, you wonderful, grumpy old git...RIP

Truly saddened by this news and my thoughts and condolences go out to Nadia and Richard's family and friends. I had the pleasure of Richard's company for the afternoon a while back here at home to listen to some NVA kit, Phono 1 and 2 being the main reason. It caused a bit of a laugh when we realised the phono stages were set up for MC and I had an Ortofon 2M Black cartridge, MM of course. Still, we listened to the amps, had a great chat and scoffed fish and chips. R.I.P. Doc.

My condolences to Nadia.

I met Richard a couple of times (first time a little nervous because of his forum persona) and each time he was an entertaining, charming and thoughtful host.
A great loss to the HiFi (I prefer "music reproduction") industry. RIP.

_D_S_J_R_ wrote: ↑Fri May 31, 2019 12:11 pm

Quarknosis wrote: ↑Fri May 31, 2019 11:34 am Having been unable to attend the funeral, hopefully following my PM to him, Savvy was able to pass on my condolences. If not I hope Nadia is encouraged and comforted by the messages of support.

My only contact with Richard was through the forum and via a few phone calls when I had a some issues with the kit. Richard was always extremely helpful and pleasant over the phone although one conversation did illicit an expletive over his frustration with someone else but within seconds he was over it and back on our discussion.

I recently had a problem with the in my AP70SA I PM'd Richard to ask about returning the amp to have it checked over and he immediately identified the problem from my description of the fault, he suggested that I opened the amp and if it was possible for me to repair it myself he was happy for me to do so. If not I could send it back for repair. Fortunately it was a simple job which saved me quite a bit of time and money. With hindsight this might have been due to Richard's illness but it did have the effect of making me feel that I was a valued and trusted NVA customer.

I look forward to his legacy being continued by those who have been helping him with kit building recently and will miss him on the forum.

I know only too well the AP20 sagas - cough - (not *all* my fault over it all I swear, but I was a very handy scapegoat at the time and I did try to make amends financially to him after for this). I can only apologise for the inconvenience you went through back then.

No apology needed Dave, your efforts to get the amp sorted were greatly appreciated and helped me on the early part of my NVA journey, so thank you.

Richard always had time for DIY Hi-Fi enthusiasts like me and actively encouraged simplicity of design. I learned more about how hi-fi related to music in the few years I knew him than in twenty years of messing about with electronics and speakers. He actively encouraged my son Anthony to keep building and modifying turntables and commissioned a design from him for a Goldring G99 plinth.

When he came up to Yorkshire to collect it, he entertained us for hours with his irreverent tales of the industry.
Out of the blue one day, he offered me some NVA amp boards at cost and helped me to build my own transistor amplifier, knowing that I was on a strict budget and couldn’t afford much. He was generous with his advice and let me know pretty quickly if I was overcomplicating things.

Although I only knew Richard personally for a couple of years, he made a lasting impression on both me and my son.
A sad loss indeed.

There is also a thread at The WAM

https://hifiwigwam.com/forum/topic/1340 ... nt-2398328

A sad loss indeed

RIP

Quarknosis wrote: ↑Fri May 31, 2019 12:33 pm
No apology needed Dave, your efforts to get the amp sorted were greatly appreciated and helped me on the early part of my NVA journey, so thank you.

Thanks for that - it's all a learning curve when all's said and done - that damned Bison Kit has a lot to answer for, that and damned superglue - it gets everywhere and I have ruined clothes to prove it ("GOOD!!!" said RD at the time )

I can't really add anything to what's been said and in a way, I've been too close to manufacturing things for him over the last five years - and have loved doing it despite the distance. The sheer joy of connecting up a freshly constructed amp or preamp and playing music through it for the first time is palpable and something some of you kit builders (and Nick & Colin of course as fellow manufacturers) will know only too well.

I've seen both sides of Richard - face to face - and when he was displeased it was a sight and sound to behold. It'd soon blow over though and the genuine smiles would quickly return with never any artifice, which is something I always appreciated. I confirm that although not shown so much online, he could definitely be kind, thoughtful and generous, although he was always guarded with his trust. I didn't agree with everything he said, but I thought we had interesting and gainful discussions about it all, over a cuppa and a bagel kindly provided and freshly filled by Nadia :D

At the moment, I'm thinking of his long suffering and eternally tolerant wife, whom he adored I thought.

Lastly, I do hope NVA can continue - it's too damned good to fade away.

D