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Kenneth L. Kantor |
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Kenneth L. Kantor is an audio designer and businessman who co-founded the Now Hear This (NHT) speaker company.
Psychoacoustics (the human perception of sound) were of particular interest to Kantor, and this became the underpinnings of much of the design work he has done for several companies.
After graduating from MIT with degrees Electrical Engineering and Media Technology, Kantor joined NAD in London. After this, he returned to the U.S. to head up the Research Department at Teledyne Acoustic Research and began a long career in audio, loudspeakers and acoustics. In 1986 Kantor co-founded and became executive vice president of Now Hear This (NHT), a successful speaker company, based on "Focused Image Geometry", a fundamental new psycho-acoustic technology. He played a key role in formulation of the business, marketing and product development efforts. Other designs include the SuperZero, the first affordable, high end bookshelf speaker according to Stereophile ; [1] the industry's first complete, matched home theater system; and a patent for in-ceiling loudspeakers that dramatically improved off-axis frequency response. In 1990 NHT was sold to International Jensen, where Kantor was promoted to Vice President of Technology. [ citation needed ]
Kantor co-founded Tympany Corporation and founded ZT Amplifiers, a musical instrument amplifier company. ZT uses proprietary DSP and amplifier technologies in a product line it imports from China.[ citation needed ]
An audiophile is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction. An audiophile seeks to reproduce recorded music to achieve high sound quality, typically inside closed headphones, in-ear monitors, open headphones in a quiet listening space, or stereo speakers in a room with good acoustics.
Bose Corporation is an American manufacturing company that predominantly sells audio equipment. The company was established by Amar Bose in 1964 and is based in Framingham, Massachusetts. It is best known for its home audio systems and speakers, noise cancelling headphones, professional audio products and automobile sound systems. Bose has a reputation for being particularly protective of its patents, trademarks, and brands.
Electrocompaniet is a Norwegian manufacturer of high-end audio products. Their philosophy of the perfect sound has been controversial over their 40 years of history. They base their ideal sound not on technical measurements and theory but rather on getting a sound most true to the live listening experience. Their amplifiers have been used in several Recording Studios, including Michael Jackson and Abbey Road Studios.
Marantz is a company that develops and sells high-end audio products. The company was founded in New York, but is now based in California.
PS Audio is an American company specializing in high-fidelity audio components equipment for audiophiles and the sound recording industry. It currently produces audio amplifiers, preamplifiers, power related products, digital-to-analog converters, streaming audio, music management software and cables.
Line 6 is a musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturer, best known as a pioneer in digital amplifier modeling. Their product lines include electric and acoustic guitars, basses, guitar and bass amplifiers, effects units, USB audio interfaces and guitar/bass wireless systems. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Calabasas, California.
Naim Audio is a British hi-fi manufacturer based in Wiltshire, United Kingdom.
A headphone amplifier is a low-powered audio amplifier designed particularly to drive headphones worn on or in the ears, instead of loudspeakers in speaker enclosures. Most commonly, headphone amplifiers are found embedded in electronic devices that have a headphone jack, such as integrated amplifiers, portable music players, and televisions. However, standalone units are used, especially in audiophile markets and in professional audio applications, such as music studios. Headphone amplifiers are available in consumer-grade models used by hi-fi enthusiasts and audiophiles and professional audio models, which are used in recording studios.
Bowers & Wilkins, commonly known as B&W, is a British company that produces consumer and professional loudspeakers and headphones.
QUAD Electroacoustics is a British manufacturer of hi-fi equipment, based Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. QUAD is part of the IAG Group, with corporate headquarters located in Shenzhen, China.
NAD Electronics is a brand name of an electronics firm whose products include home hi-fi amplifiers and related components. NAD is an abbreviation for New Acoustic Dimension.
Acoustic Research was a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company that manufactured high-end audio equipment. The brand is now owned by VOXX. Acoustic Research was known for the AR-3 series of speaker systems, which used the 12 in (300 mm) acoustic suspension woofer of the AR-1 with newly designed dome mid-range speaker and high-frequency drivers. AR's line of acoustic suspension speakers were the first loudspeakers with relatively flat response, extended bass, wide dispersion, small size, and reasonable cost. The AR Turntable remains a highly sought vinyl record player.
NHT Loudspeakers, often colloquially referred to as NHT Audio, is an American loudspeaker and audio component company based in Benicia, California. The company was founded by Chris Byrne and Ken Kantor in December 1986.
Nelson Pass is a designer of audio amplifiers. Pass is vocal that listening tests remain valuable and that electrical measurements alone do not fully characterize the sound of an amplifier. Pass holds at least seven U.S. patents related to audio circuits.
Rogers is a British brand name of Rogers International Ltd, a subsidiary of Wo Kee Hong Holdings Ltd, a company based in Hong Kong that produces a variety of audio electronic products.
TC Electronic is a Danish audio equipment company that designs and imports guitar effects, bass amplification, computer audio interfaces, audio plug-in software, live sound equalisers, studio and post-production equipment, studio effect processors, and broadcast loudness processors and meters. In August 2015, the company was purchased by Music Group, a holding company chaired by Uli Behringer.
KEF is a British company specialising in the design and production of a range of high-end audio products, including HiFi speakers, subwoofers, architecture speakers, wireless speakers, and headphones. It was founded in Maidstone, Kent in 1961 by a BBC engineer Raymond Cooke OBE (1925–1995).
Acapella Audio Arts is a German manufacturer of loudspeakers, and one of the oldest hi-fi manufactures in Germany. Acapella Audio was founded by Alfred Rudolph and Herman Winters in 1978 in Duisburg, Germany. Acapella is famous for its heavy horn-loaded speakers that are able to reproduce the whole audible sound spectrum. Other signature characteristic for the products of the company is the widely utilized plasma tweeter technology.
RCF S.p.A. is a widely recognized Italian manufacturer of high performance audio products including power amplifiers, loudspeakers, digital mixers and digital signal processors (DSP).
Fulcrum Acoustic is an American manufacturer of professional loudspeakers, including permanent-installation loudspeakers, portable loudspeakers, subwoofers, line arrays, stage monitors, and studio reference monitors. Their research and development offices and production facilities are located in Whitinsville, Massachusetts while their administrative offices are in Rochester, NY. Fulcrum Acoustic products are sold through an international distribution network and are deployed in houses of worship, sports venues, hospitality venues, concert halls, music festivals, theaters, and nightclubs.