RIP Steve Schell

[eso]

I'm very sorry to announce the passing of Steve Schell. He had been in declining health for several years

Steve was brilliant and had an encylopedic knowledge of audio history, theory and application.

I first met Steve around 1999 through gatherings hosted by the late Dr. Bruce Edgar. It was at Steve's that I was first treated to the incredible sound of the RCA 1428 drivers. I was fortunate to also be able to work with Steve and his partner Rich Drysdale on building the complete Cogent speaker systems.

Photos of Rich and Steve Treating my old school friend Dave Royer to the Cogent sound at Steve's house around 2016-17, Steve and Rich at RMAF 2007, and working on the full Cogent system in my old shop about 2015.

You will be missed Steve. RIP

[jbl4ever]

He will be surely missed and our condolences to his family and friends

[Horn Fanatic]

I'm very sorry to announce the passing of Steve Schell. He had been in declining health for several years Steve was brilliant and had an encylopedic knowledge of audio history, theory and application. I first met Steve around 1999 through gatherings hosted by the late Dr. Bruce Edgar. It was at Steve's that I was first treated to ti incredible sound of the RCA 1428 drivers. I was fortunate to also be able to work with Steve and his partner Rich Drysdale on building the complete Cogent speaker systems. Photos of Rich and Steve Treating my old school friend Dave Royer to the Cogent sound and Steve's house around 2016-17, Steve and Rich at RMAF 2007, and working on the full Cogent system in my old shop about 2015. You will be missed Steve. RIP It sure was hot in that house and garage, today. Steve was truly unique. A cornucopia of audio knowledge. HF

[1audiohack]

Well hell! That is truly disheartening.

Steve was one of the gentlest souls I have ever met.

Man that’s sad news indeed. :(
Barry.

[eso]

It sure was hot in that house and garage, today. Steve was truly unique. A cornucopia of audio knowledge. HF

It was hot, and I'm very ill at ease still.

From the photos I posted when I had invited David Royer (Royer Labs) over to listen to the Cogent speakers. Dave and Steve's conversation was so far above my head it was like another language but they were bot very clear where they were discussing...

eso

[srm51555]

Thanks for posting this, he was a wealth of knowledge. His posts were always a must read and he will not be forgotten because of them. Very sad news Thanks,Scott

[grumpy]

Upsetting. Our paths crossed a few times, and he was always happy to give time and share info. Was able to enjoy listening to his home system in various states of assembly/configuration, and see first hand how he rallied a community to assist with support when one of his friends passed. A rare person.

[mech986]

Well, heck, terrible news. Hopefully he didn’t suffer. Steve was such a nice person, met him at our Lansing Heritage awards. Full of passion, knowledge and insight. He will be missed.

[Earl K]

Wow, That's really sad to hear.

RIP Steve.

[spkrman57]

He gave me very sage advice about horn loading.

He will be missed by all of us.

Heaven has a horn system now!

Regards, Ron

[Mr. Widget]

I'm very sorry to announce the passing of Steve Schell. He had been in declining health for several years…
Very, very sad.
Thank you for sharing this sad news.


Widget

[Ian Mackenzie]

This is sad news.

Thank you for posting.

I recall staying at Steve’s house overnight on a trip to LA in 2007 kindly arranged by Doug and Steve.

It’s was a humbling experience listening to Steve’s explanations of various historic horn systems out on the back veranda. Unfortunately l was jet lagged and kept nodding off according to Steve. But I did have a chance to look at one of the Cogent drivers Steve was building at the time.

What struck me was Steve’s ability to articulate the history of horn systems so clearly. A brilliant historian and gifted in his ability to realise perfect reproductions of iconic horns and compression drivers.

Later in the evening we listened to Steve’s horn system with a bunch of our LA LHS members. It was truely a memorable experience.

Steve will be missed by all of us.

Ian

[Robh3606]

Sorry to hear he will be missed

RIP

Rob :(

[toddalin]

So sorry to hear this. He was such a nice guy and we got together with the group a couple times and I got to hear his wonderful tar-filled horns. A walking history book on that sort of thing.

[unga-unga]

Oh no... I know I'm not a big poster on this site but I just feel like I need to say something. I don't know if I've ever been this bothered by the passing of someone I've never met. To those who knew him personally, I'm so sorry. I'm not a big participant in this community, I just lurk and read. But... I mean my saved default preferences for advanced search are user:steve schell. I come here specifically to read Mr. schell's words. I'm really sorry everyone. I know we all go one day, but yeah. I wish I could have met him. There's so much information he shared that is absolutely extraordinary, and he had a way of spinning the narrative that was so... relaxing. In the audio world, there's nobody I look up to as much as I do Steve Schell. And I lost the chance to meet him. I'm so sorry everyone. He meant a lot to me, and I'm just some random person who read what he wrote. Its a simple thing but, you know, it brought me a lot of happiness, to read about what some engineer had in mind in 1936 or what-have-you. I don't know, this site won't ever be the same for me. Due to my personal interests, the topics on which he had wizardly level of knowledge were all the ones I wanted to learn about... Especially that historical narrative, the story of the process.

[NickH]

Sad news indeed.I never met him but I wish I had. Smart guy.

[jblwolf]

Hearing about Steve's death I'm still in shock.he definitely was a book of knowledge. Rest in peace my friend.

[anilva]

I had the opportunity to learn from countless posts on Lansing and RCA systems on this forum. Sad to hear of his demise. Rest in Peace.