About the Author
Richard Schmetterer
Undeniably, I was a lucky young boy, growing up in a household filled with music. After a days work, my father would listen to his large vinyl music collection. It was filled with all the great symphonies, baroque, opera,easy listening and of course, jazz. In addition, all this great music was played thru audiophile electronics that included Hartley speakers.
This was the beginning. It was where I would later find my passion and my life’s work! I didn’t know it but one day I would be at the helm of the very same company that made the equipment that he was so passionate about. His passion became my passion and here I am today running Hartley Loudspeakers.
I started writing this book in Key West, Florida where I hoped toassimilate some creativeness while visiting Hemingway’s home. I did receive some positive vibes from the some 50 cats that live there – mostly descendants from Papa’s original ones. I have written this book to describe a tradition of hand-crafting fine instruments for sound reproduction passed down over many years. In fact, almost 90 years.
You will read about the special people that spent their life work using uncompromising standards in the pursuit of making perfect loudspeakers and other related equipment. Along the way you will read about some of the many interesting projects during this journey. It is also interesting to note that these instruments are often passed down from one generation to another and are sought by collectors and aficionados the world over.
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