Tír Na HiFi

A great writer, a trusted critic. He'll be missed.



The hi-fi world has lost a giant, and we at Stereophile have lost a brother.
Art Dudley passed peacefully this morning around 4am after a short illness. The cause was metastatic cancer.


https://www.stereophile.com/content/art ... gkcwqu5QqQ

He was a great writer , sadly missed.

One of my favourites. Rest in Peace Art......

I remember him arriving at Stereophile, though I can't believe how long ago that was! His pieces seemed like a breath of fresh air and escaped from the usual parameters. I can remember a review where he listed dust bunnies and abandoned cat toys under "Room Treatments". But in recent years his obsessions with Shindo amplifiers (never seen or heard one!) and idler-wheel turntables meant that I found his pieces less rewarding and often didn't bother with them. But at his best, inspiring!

A well-known personality in this space, really. I'm sad to read this.

A Poignant tribute by Steve Guttenberg on YT.
RIP.

For several years I had a sub to stereophile and always found his articles interesting. He had a good series on quads too that were always interesting. I really loved his home concerts thing that he did, it always stuck in my mind that that was something I would love to do someday.

I had a sub my self for a long time but inadvertently let it lapse. I occasionally get out the old ones and reread them! It's not as if I'll ever hear, never mind own, 95% of the gear in the magazine! The dip in turntable coverage and rise in DACs is noticeable but no doubt has swung the other way by now...

But I digress... great writers, such as Art, will engage a reader even if they have no interest in hifi. Like Con Houlihan on sport, or Nigel Slater on food. What were the home concerts Fran?

I have subscribed to Stereophile since 1995 and Art's passing has really saddened me. I saw him at Munich High End a couple of years ago. He had a unique style of writing which drew you in even if the equipment he favoured didn't always do it for you. I particularly liked one of his recent pieces on a visit to Peter Lederman of Soundsmith in upstate New York. His recent review of the newly introduced SME Garrard 301 was also very instructive. We haven't even passed the first quarter of 2020 and it already is an annus horribilis. John Prine's recent death was a real body blow. Ironically, I received my April 2020 edition of Stereophile today in which Art reviews the Jadis Orchestra Black Integrated amplifier in addition to his regular 'Listening' column and the recently introduced 'Revinylization' review of vinyl reissues. I certainly will miss Art's eloquent writing and his beautifully constructed prose on our audio obsession. RIP, Art!

Ivor wrote: ↑Thu Apr 16, 2020 11:33 am . What were the home concerts Fran?

Unless I'm mistaken he had a thing going where he would host musicians that he personally liked in his home and sell tickets. Think of having some smaller scale but fab musicians stay over and pay a small concert for 50-80 people. Just sold tickets to cover the few bob for the musician. Often these were bluegrass etc which I think he was into.