Musical background:

It all began with playing the French horn. For 6 years I grew in ability and experience. My quintet won a superior rating at the U of M and I was very happy. I loved playing music but quickly came to the realization that there are a great many good musicians who never really make it to the big time. My shmoozing ability sucked and I knew no one in the business. Nuts. I'd have to work for a living! I have played most of the brass section while I did arranging and transcription for a brass quintet many years ago. I can still play the trumpet and decently sight read music. I play at the piano and a mean air pipe organ! I generally have the sheet music to pieces that really turn my crank (J.S. Bach, Buxtehude ensemble and keyboard, Cantatas etc.). I try to regularly attend live concerts to keep my ears attuned to reality. My music collection has about 600 CD's mostly Baroque but also some classical masters. My policy is to find the best recording available and then clean house on the rest which has led me to buying more than 1800 CD's so far.

I built my first loudspeaker when I was 13. Being a decent musician meant I was critically listening to music. So I listened to some of the best stereos available in the stores. Ouch! It sounded awesome but required mortgaging a house to pay for it. So reality hit me square on the forehead. The products I liked were too expensive to buy on a beer budget and that if someone else figured out how to make this stuff so could I. The librarians of the NRC and me became very good friends. I have binders full of photo copies of all the seminal articles on building loudspeakers, amplifiers and the like. The little hamster that runs my brain has been doing laps on the little wheel for almost twenty years. Sound, glorious music, that is not going to break the piggy bank has been the goal to reach. I got to audio heaven a while ago. I even share the experience from time to time. Some people take a leap of faith and try some of my products. To date I have designs in the audio chain from electronics to loudspeakers and even custom loudspeaker driver systems. Over the years I learned to be both a Cabinet Maker by training and an Electrical engineer QBE through sheer desire.

What I enjoy listening to:

I look to music to bring greater enjoyment to my life. It can make my day to listen to something that makes me smile in admiration of the ability of mankind to make inanimate objects evoke such moving noises. My own ideal in sound is to get as close to being there as is possible. It means very clean reproduction and realistic timbres in instruments and voices. My ideal as far as reproduction of the music by the people is simple. It must move me. To be involved; my attention grasped, and captivated. If a piece requires great intimacy and delicacy and really pulls it off I enjoy it. Lute music can create that effect if the artist and the recording are good. A good choir or brass ensemble can be inspiring raise your spirits even. When a disc is really good you get the hairs raising on the back of your neck. For the musical instruments that I am well familiar with I am ruthless. Their reproduction both technically and artistically must be done right. I try to keep what is best in my collection. Sometimes that means keeping more than one copy of a recording. As an example I have 6 different versions of the 3rd symphony by Saint Saens, 5 versions of Bach's complete organ music, 5 of Buxtehude's. They all have something important to offer. To get the most out of a recording I expect to be able to produce it at the volumes generated at the concert. For some pieces it is an easy matter. A large pipe organ is not. But my stereo must have the aplomb to go loud and proud when requested. Mini monitors need not apply!!

Mark Wm. Kravchenko