It's with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my long term friend, forum member and speaker builder John Busch. John passed away last night, July 3rd. It took a kidney infection, two brain tumors and COVID to finally take him down. John was a tough old farm boy from Iowa, who had worked for Heathkit, brokered sales of large aircraft, ran a wholesale filtration company and loved his bourbon.
John and I met on the Parts Express tech forum almost 20 years ago and became fast friends, working on countless Open Baffle and other speaker projects and attending many audio shows together, such as LSAF and RMAF. John had an uncanny sense of hearing, in level, tone color and in frequency. He also had a vast knowledge of drivers, and loved sharing his knowledge of them. That allowed him to build some amazing speakers. I've never met anyone who built better passive crossovers. He taught me a lot.
John's legacy is his open baffle designs, often quirky, usually huge, but always great sounding. He was a prolific speaker designer and builder, all for his own amusement. To see a little of his work in a simple, easy to build form, have a look at this thread: https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/fast-fun-inexpensive-ob-project.110583/
John and I met on the Parts Express tech forum almost 20 years ago and became fast friends, working on countless Open Baffle and other speaker projects and attending many audio shows together, such as LSAF and RMAF. John had an uncanny sense of hearing, in level, tone color and in frequency. He also had a vast knowledge of drivers, and loved sharing his knowledge of them. That allowed him to build some amazing speakers. I've never met anyone who built better passive crossovers. He taught me a lot.
John's legacy is his open baffle designs, often quirky, usually huge, but always great sounding. He was a prolific speaker designer and builder, all for his own amusement. To see a little of his work in a simple, easy to build form, have a look at this thread: https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/fast-fun-inexpensive-ob-project.110583/
I am at a total loss for words. He answered my questions (even my crazy ones!) and it's with gratitude for his Manzanita thread that my family and I get to enjoy the speakers that you and John have supported all these years. I will miss seeing his latest input on the thread. A friend of mine heard his speakers at LSAF. My friend has heard quite a few, and told me about John's speakers and the Manzanita thread. My one regret is that I had hoped to meet him in person and thank him. RIP, John, and thank you so much for sharing with the community.
RIP John.
Nice man. He really went out of his way to teach folks the art of speaker building at the Lone Star Fest over the years. One of the regulars said he'd come to the show every year just to get a chance to sit and talk with John. Said he learned more talking to John for an hour or two than he did the entire rest of the year.
It was sometime around 2008 when he showed up with a pair of Altec coax drivers in open baffle. Up until that day I'd never heard an Altec sound that good and distinctly remember it reproduced a trumpet better than anything else I'd ever heard. John was a crossover guru.
It was nice being able to spend time with him every year.
Nice man. He really went out of his way to teach folks the art of speaker building at the Lone Star Fest over the years. One of the regulars said he'd come to the show every year just to get a chance to sit and talk with John. Said he learned more talking to John for an hour or two than he did the entire rest of the year.
It was sometime around 2008 when he showed up with a pair of Altec coax drivers in open baffle. Up until that day I'd never heard an Altec sound that good and distinctly remember it reproduced a trumpet better than anything else I'd ever heard. John was a crossover guru.
It was nice being able to spend time with him every year.
We came back to LSAF a few years late with those and I had my own exhibit room with those Altec run but a 300B SET amp. They sounded great!
Along with @barryso I met John at either the last Great Plains Audio Fest or the first Lone Star Audio Fest, and, like Barry, was blown away by the Altec 605As in open baffles along with a pair of 18" woofers (in the same baffles). That started me on my journey, and I have been using my version, more or less the same, since 2010. Current crossovers are virtually the same as developed by John and Pano used when they both had those speakers at a later LSAF.
I last saw John around 2011 or 2012 in California before he moved to Texas, and always wanted to have more of those conversations. John played a large role in my coming to understand what I wanted in audio, something that some audiophiles never achieve. My gratitude for the gifts provided by John to me and so many others will always be with me.
I last saw John around 2011 or 2012 in California before he moved to Texas, and always wanted to have more of those conversations. John played a large role in my coming to understand what I wanted in audio, something that some audiophiles never achieve. My gratitude for the gifts provided by John to me and so many others will always be with me.
Oh, wow, that is sad news. John got me interested in open baffle speakers back around 2009 or 2010. He brought a couple different pairs to DIY audio events I attended or ran in CA back when he lived in the area. He was always great to chat with. I will miss his spirit, and contributions here in the forum. RIP
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I met John at the last GPAF if I remember correctly. I always enjoyed sitting in his room while he schooled me on OB design. We emailed a bit as well when I needed to pick his brain. His room at LSAF was always the one I would gravitate to and hang out at. He was such a knowledgeable and gracious guy and will be very missed.
I may be out of touch with reality and disrespectful with the topic , but that picture looks like one more statement for the need of a second woofer in open baffle designs. Never heard a double woofer OB yet, but that makes me wonder if this is actually a true requirement In OB.I might have to look for confirmations in other topics though...
