as my memory, permit, I’ll add to this story of a young man’s dream come true … and the twists of fate and destiny that none of us can
school, audio was my main hobby. I had already built several loudspeaker systems and a few different preamps and stereo power amps,
just hobby enthusiasm.
It was after the factory shift had gone home as Rudy Bozak and I walked through the quiet speaker shop. He was interviewing me for a
education, but he didn’t seem to be very interested in that. He wanted to know about everything I had done on my own. He explained to
been his only hobby as well. We walked the darkened shop, stopping here and there while he would sporadically pick up a loudspeaker
of myself having not missed a beat during our little walk-through Q & A session. On his desk sat an “N-10102” crossover. It was a
Bozak method of building and upgrading your own system. He slid it across the desk and asked if I knew what it was. I saw the two
octave.” A big smile came over his face as he proceeded to describe the flexibility of the device. We parted that evening with a
summer shutdown, the first week of August.
My first day at work for the (then) R.T. Bozak Mfg. Co. was to assemble a prototype product for the newly established commercial line of
speaker assembly shop, the machine shop where the magnets were fabricated, the furniture shop which was massive and completely
was assigned to the lab with a gentleman who, at that time was the resident chief engineer. We spent the next several weeks running
specialization. There was the obligatory acoustics area with anechoic chamber and racks of test equipment, the electronics area for
“ESR” of capacitors. There was a well-stocked chemistry lab and a small mechanical workshop. One of the most intriguing areas for me
density, measured voice coil temperatures during over drive conditions with a thermocouple, examined our own cold drawn ribbon wire
required for system design prior to the standardization of the universally accepted Thiele-Small parameters.
Having never worked in a “real” industrial lab, I was learning a lot. It was about this time I was starting college. Since I had a full time day
schedule only for the young. One thing that I remember well is how I knew my way around the college lab, having been with Bozak for
that the chief engineer had been let go. When Rudy arrived, he explained the conditions of that particular separation and told me that,
But at the same time, somewhat bewildered as to my future. Could I handle this? My immediate supervisor was one of the giants of the
Bozak, I met some of his cronies; Paul Klipsch, Joe Grado, Saul Marantz, many of the McIntosh Labs clan, the Stanton and Pickering
escape my memory. I must tell you that sitting in the hotel lounge with Mssrs. Bozak, Marantz, and Klipsch was a memory I shall never
The World's Fair
One morning Rudy came to me and asked me to travel to Brewster, New York and pick up some plans. When I returned to the office, he
notably, the Vatican Pavilion. My first assignment was to help him develop a ceiling mounted loudspeaker that would provide a full
were dealing with 8 or 9 of the 10 audio octaves, and knowing the physics of dealing with wavelengths from 30 feet to fractions of an
the CM-109-2 was born.
I just had my first lesson in physical acoustics and the nature of reflected sound. Another lesson he unwittingly taught me was that “the
and racks for the Vatican Pavilion. We used McIntosh amplifiers, Altec mixers and several hundred feet of interconnect patch panel
nightmare-in-the-works. But the angels were with me … errr us – the NYWF ’64 was a great success for Bozak.
Lots-o-R&D
Over the next 2 years, we took on many special projects. Rudy loved to experiment and put our brains through some serious exercises.
by taxpayer’s money, since these were usually governmental requests.
One of the more challenging was the requirement for an ultra sonic radial compression horn driver that was flat (+0/-6 dB) from 10 kHz
microphone that was flat out there for our R&D program. Each voice coil, of 40 gauge aluminum wire, was hand wound by me in the lab. It
highway noise gave false readings at the receiving transducer. It was a futile plan as Rudy anticipated, but business is business. It’s
found that by sweeping through various frequencies, up there in that ultra sonic octave, that I could variously make the subject fly very
was shrouded in secret veil so I can only imagine the other uses. It turned out to be a 12-inch aluminum cone epoxied to a 3-inch voice
were either anodized aluminum, plated steel, or stainless steel. The center net (spider) and edge suspension (surround) were bakelite
compliance-to-mass ratio was very high and on a half-space baffle it was fairly flat from 90 Hz down to below 30 Hz. Of course, under
coil. Picture an ice cream cone sticking out of a speaker basket. The apex of this cone has a small platen to which various miniature
predetermined G-forces. Again, I don’t know much about the end user … it was Uncle Sam again.
Vietnam Interruption
Speaking of which, President Johnson’s Vietnam situation was escalating and at the age of 20, I had the draft breathing down my neck. I
Signal Corps and Air Defense Command under NORAD and CONAD. The third year I decided to volunteer for Vietnam rather than take pot
just in time for the Tet Offensive. All during that time I corresponded with Rudy, his wife Lillian, and a few of the office folks. It was nice
Back Home: Chief Engineer
Upon my discharge in the summer of 1968, I visited the factory at 587 Connecticut Avenue in South Norwalk, Connecticut. Rudy
“Bozak, Inc.” But other things had changed, too. In my absence there had been a couple of other chief engineers, none of which were
line of mixers, power amplifiers, and integrated units.
Eventually we built another department for electronics assembly and testing and CM Labs was phased out of the picture. From there we
50, 80, 120, and 150 watt versions, then later in stereo configurations. One product that we never dreamed would become so popular,
silver and black panel designs. The engineering was all so matter-of-fact, since the technology already existed in previous products,
The Thumper
Sometime around 1970, a well known American car maker called us looking for a transducer that was reasonably flat from 20 Hz to 20 kHz
rattle). They would roll the vehicle on to a net of aircraft cable with the speaker below it, facing up. Then they’d subject the car to
would probably meet their spec and measured +/- 4 dB from 11 Hz to about 19 kHz. This was Rudy’s famous 8-woofer “Thumper” (called
and a more robust B-200y array. They immediately ordered two of them. Rudy cautioned the chief engineer of the testing facility that high
of acousto-physiology that they should understand. He cautioned that when the Thumper was in use, no one should be allowed in the
time. His muscles were definitely affected by the high energy audio. Luckily it wasn’t his heart muscle, but rather his bowel muscles. The
Quiet!
Chambers! If you have never been in a true anechoic chamber, then you have never heard “quiet.” For some people, it can be a bit
18’ x 12’ as I recall. It was a room within a room with a 3” barrier of air between. The wedges were 3-foot thick fiberglass. The room was
One BIG speaker!
Right next to my lab desk was a speaker that would never see the inside of our new chamber. It was just too big and heavy to get up the
speakers always released a little extra serotonin in my head—this was no exception. That behemoth was actually a 450-pound
a 30” basket mounting the 27” cone. The voice coil was 8” diameter, as I recall. That speaker was delivered just days before. My
that thing, and I could see why. We did play it once. I forget the DC power supply requirements, but it was high voltage and considerable
it blasted out “Muskrat Ramble” from an LP I had on my desk. Hi Fi? Nope. Loud? Yup. That was fun. Every time I mentioned that
My Favorite Cabinet Design
The early 1970s were a very busy time. In 1968 and 1969, I designed the Mediterranean line of furniture. I was quite proud of that and
produced), Italian Provincial, French Provincial, Century, Modern, Moorish, and Urban, which all were professionally designed. I cannot
But I did get to document all the bits and pieces of those earlier styles, on the drafting table. Most of my creative contributions to them
configurations.
We finally got into ROCK 'n' ROLL
Somewhere along the way, my never-ending needling caused Rudy to give in to my rantings and allow us to design products for the
every show, demo, and exposition we ever did involved the playing of classical music – concert music. 'It's the distinguished thing to
get to demo jazz and some mild-ish rock. This immediately led me, with free reins, and Rudy's personal blessing, to scurry to the drafting
very happy that he was so pleased with the new product.
Two Giants
It was sometime in the mid-70s when Saul Marantz joined us as a consultant. Saul and I became quite good friends. Saul was not an
day from his home in Queens New York. I really can’t tell you his resume at Bozak except for his guidance and advice in many of the
Can you Dance?
With the increased interest in club activity and the threat of early disco we designed the still famous CMA-10-2DL and the CMA-6-2S.
course the venerable B-302A, B-4000A, and B310A (and ‘B’), B-410, and B-4005 remained in various configurations and furniture styles.
A New Tweeter
We had been experimenting with a curvilinear tweeter diaphragm for more than a year. It was to be the model B-200Z. The conical
black latex. As a diaphragm, it was critically damped and produced a true mass-controlled response curve which resonated at about 1.8
voice coil dome became active, resonating at about 12 kHz. The problem with the potentially superior B-200Z was manufacturing a
somewhat problematic, but in time we fixed that as well. The new “Z” tweeter, as it was called, was vastly superior to discerning ears
finished. But the manufacturing change over wasn’t as fast as expected and the “Z” didn’t get (officially) released until around the end
My Own Business
But I’ve gotten ahead of myself. By the fall of 1974 the disco movement had gotten serious. I had received offers to design systems for
of products we had developed over the past 12 years, and how they were naturals for this “new disco thing.” He agreed. I told him that I,
This was a first for Bozak. I was to be a free-lance dealer with no geographical restrictions. Whatever I sold to a club got shipped to the
freely. I returned to Bozak as a full timer. Another chief engineer came and went in the meantime. I don’t know the circumstances – nor
My Job Changes (The Beginning of 'Not So Much Fun Anymore')
Since the product line now included the 900-series of home electronics, a very well rounded home speaker lineup and a very
la the disco venture. He reinstated me as Chief Engineer, but wanted me to travel and visit the reps and dealers part time. The products
venue installations of our commercial products. When I was in town, my job was to entertain visitors. We had really expanded our market
lot of work. By now, Saul Marantz had left - both gents were senior citizens anyway. Rudy had openly confessed that I, and who ever was
midnight. I had one foot on the slope … and I knew it.
Empires come and go.
Bummer!
In less than half a year, I learned that Rudy was planning on selling the business. In early 1977 I organized a committee consisting of one
raise enough money to do the buy-out. But the process lagged and our combined capital became questionable to make the buyout. In
Beginning of the End for Me
The new guys (no names) released many of the original employees, including some Bozak family, having brought their own with them,
partly as a hobby and partly to advise the new guys, He mentioned to me that he hoped they wouldn't 'screw up the place.' They kept
probably because Rudy put in a word for me. The same responsibilities held for me as before. Lots of travel, late nights, and martinis
insomnia (another story), turned me into a machine. I functioned, but not with my head and heart – it was all so mechanical. I was
supposed to be doing, designing audio stuff!
Later in 1977 I left the company and pursued a more reasonable life-style—back to consulting. My health returned to normal in short time.
Rudy Calls
Then, in about 18 months, early 1979, I received a call from the new owner asking me to return. He wanted to “freshen up” the consumer
this have gotten better.”
It didn’t.
A Real Downer
Entering the same old building that captured my heart 16 years earlier was a dismal experience. The lab, my wonderful lab, was gone. All
somewhere offshore. The test equipment outside the anechoic chamber was in disrepair .. some of it just plain missing. The new
and he was assigned as my assistant, but the corporation wasn't playing the old game .. not like Rudy did. Over the next few weeks, I
once giant of all things good and holy in the audio business had melted into a corporate money mill. It became capitalism first, Bozak
Eventually the other shoe dropped, when I was asked to do some more of the old stuff; traveling, entertaining, sales, and morphing
1979.
Caveat to other Employees
I have seen blogs of certain individuals who came after me, in those dark years after the 1977 takeover and on into the early 1980s. I
in the eye of the beholder, I suppose reality can likewise suffer subjective distortions - especially when they didn't know how it was
them tried .. they really did, and I could see that.
I certainly would not disparage any of my successors. I know that most of them—especially the technical few, under the influence of the
ability, experience, and expertise. But designing Bozak products was not something you could just step into. I certainly will not tell you
compact and bookshelf systems. There was one gentleman that I met in those last days who was very sincere and working in earnest for
fortitude and the many honest and sincere coworkers I had all those years.
I lost track of Bozak Inc. once the company moved from Norwalk, to upstate Connecticut, and then with the tooling being acquired by
It Was a Great Ride..
Well, not all stories have to end sadly, and it was not my intention to paint this one as such. The Bozak empire was just that – an empire –
not like may be just fine for someone else.
Am I bitter? No, not at all. The one thing I always remember is that nothing stays the same. Things change. I love capitalism; I think it’s
tarnished in the eyes of the purist.
So where am I now? Well, I’m a survivor. At 65 (2010), I’m still in the audio business, 47 years later, happily designing commercial audio
Thank you R.T.B, from R.W.B. -- thank you for everything you taught me Rudy -- you were the best friend a guy could ask for.
I would also like to thank all those individuals who keep the memory of 'The Very Best in Sound' alive, through all their hard work here