[ CODA : DON GARBER of Fi 1935 -2017 ]

This is an Epitaph post for Don Garber of Fi. One of the most amazing artisan audio creator, whose amplifiers brought a lot of joy to my life and music listening sessions. I never had a chance to know or meet Don, therefore there is nothing I can say except the fact that it is sad to acknowledge that audio word lost another great audio visioner  and master, after Gents like Hiroyasu Kondo or Ken Shindo are not with us anymore. Therefore I dare to link the memories of those who had a privilege and chance to know Don in person, so let their memories will help us all to not forget about an Amazing Don Garber and his unique Fi creations, which just a little minority had a luck to experience.  I am glad I have in my hands his SE amplifier and I always will be able to think about Don when listening to it. R.I.P Mr. Garber.

Don Garber, founder and sole proprietor of the influential electronics company Fi as well as a noted artist, passed away on June 4th, following a brief illness. He was 81.

Born in Virginia, Garber spent his formative years in Lititz, PA before a brief stint in the Army, during which time he was led by his love of jazz to take up the saxophone. But before long, Garber’s interest in the visual arts eclipsed whatever thoughts he had of becoming a professional musician, and he put all of his energies into painting, supporting himself with carpentry and other jobs. He remained an avid fan of jazz and early country music, and, in the early 1970s, an interest in playback gear led Garber to try his hand at building a Heathkit amplifier. That experience was, in its small way, portentous: In the early 1990s, Don Garber—then living in Brooklyn with his wife, the architect Ikuyo Tagawa—rented a storefront on Watts Street in lower Manhattan, and opened Fi, arguably the most unique hi-fi shop in history. Garber channeled his artistic sensibilities into not only the aesthetics of his retail space and the gear he sold but into the concept of the audio store-as-gallery, through which he championed the work of such designers as J.C. Morrison, Tadataka Uchida, and Noriasu Komuro.

Soon after, Garber focused on his own design work: He had a talent for creative and good-sounding circuit layouts, and he’s credited with making one of the first practical direct-coupled single-ended power amplifiers. Near the end of 1993, Garber closed the store on Watts Street, and Fi the hi-fi shop became Fi the hi-fi manufacturer. From that point forward, Garber devoted his time to building and selling amplifiers and preamplifiers—and painting. In his spare time, he enjoyed skiing, fly-fishing, and attending jazz and chamber-music recitals.

More than anyone else I’ve met, in any field of endeavor, Don marched to his own beat—yet he was also the most self-effacing audio designer I ever met. He was kind and humble and generous with his time: independent of thought though he was, Don delighted in the company of his friends and family, and the warmth and depth of his laughter were well-known.

Donald Graham Garber was predeceased by his wife, Ikuyo, in 2002. He is survived by his stepson, Pier Gugliotta, a commercial pilot; his daughter, Nara Garber, a filmmaker; and his son, Graham, a dentist. His work—paintings and amplifiers alike—lives on in a number of homes.

text : Art Dudley on Stereofile.com

https://www.stereophile.com/content/don-garber-1935-2017

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Road Tour: Fi, In Memoriam Don Garber (1935 – 2017)

Did you ever wonder what the inside of a Fi looks like? Between the sheets, so to speak? I’m not talking about capacitor types and signal path lengths, I’m talking about seeing past the parts into the heart and soul of the beast to have a look at what makes it tick. I had the good fortune along with Stephen Mejias, John DeVore and Nori Komuro to be invited over to Don Garber’s place to hear a new amplifier he’s working on and have a look in and around the place called Fi.

If you know the hi-fi products that Don Garber makes or if you’ve seen any of his ads from Sound Practices or if you are fortunate enough to own something made by Don, you’ll know he has an eye and attention for design. In general, I’d call it a distillation where the working process appears to be about removing the unnecessary rather than adding the superfluous. You won’t find any adornment for adornments sake on a product from Fi. What you will find is to my eyes some of the most exquisitely designed and cared for hi-fi products you can buy……

text : Michael Lavorna on AudioStream

Read more at https://www.audiostream.com/content/road-tour-fi#ckTTvIGBQAhUhOoF.99

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Don’s life touched many music lovers and audio enthusiasts, and he was known to many of you reading this for his tremendous contributions to North American audio culture through his fi storefront back in the old days, and later for his fi electronics that were objects of desire for music and audio enthusiasts around the world, not only for their wonderful musical performance, but also for Don’s artisanal hand-crafted quality…

text : Jeff Day

Read more at: http://jeffsplace.me/wordpress/?p=11598