[baronbeehive]

He also has an account on DIYaudio. Wonder if he is more active there.

No longer I believe. I think he had other interests so maybe he is pursuing them now.

I agree with everything you said. Assuming any of this happens, I'd hope that someone would be willing to loan me an oblivion for me to observe and reverse engineer. Schematics are good, but ideally I have an actual amp to reference to get it as close as possible to the original. Also, it's not like I'd be launching a full-scale operation. This would be a very slow process with one or two builds to see if this is feasible.



Of course. I would uphold the highest respect for his work.

It may turn out that this is too much to take on. But like I said, if this is a well-received idea and someone is willing to loan me an oblivion for starters, I'd be willing to try!

Sounds great to me. I think you would have to make clear that you were not building Ultrasonic amps.

 

[Maxx134]

I was also impressed with the way he handled the flak he received on SBxF forum by certain members. Genuine good guy and a big loss to the hobby.

R.I.P.

That may have been my fault, as I started that thread by copy-pasting from here, and they were both insulted and insanely hateful toward me, so that rubbed off. Plus you add in their extreme bias towards anything coming from California.

I would also try and contact MrCurwen and ask his permission as well. I am personally a big fan of what Tomas provided to the community, and should I see this through, I would do my best to help that legacy continue

It will be difficult to reach him.

MrCurwen, I don't know where he is now. I do know however that he wasn't interested in keeping his designs to himself in any way, on the contrary he wanted them to get out there so people could see them, and therefore he was pleased when Sonic decided to try to develop the ideas, and encouraged him.

Yes, he wanted many of us in past threads, to proceed & follow his designs, and Tomas was the only one who did that.

Because of Tomas first unit, I was totally convinced, and it broke thru all my heavy bias and past learning of design. To make a tube amp that wasn't reliant on specific parts quality. It was unbelievable at first and doing side-by-side comparisons was just hard to believe, leaving that look of disbelief on your face long after you turned it off.. Lol.

 

[baronbeehive]

That may have been my fault, as I started that thread by copy-pasting from here, and they were both insulted and insanely hateful toward me, so that rubbed off. Plus you add in their extreme bias towards anything coming from California.

Haha, like west end vs east end here. Unbelievable!

Yes, he wanted many of us in past threads, to proceed & follow his designs, and Tomas was the only one who did that.

Because of Tomas first unit, I was totally convinced, and it broke thru all my heavy bias and past learning of design. To make a tube amp that wasn't reliant on specific parts quality. It was unbelievable at first and doing side-by-side comparisons was just hard to believe, leaving that look of disbelief on your face long after you turned it off.. Lol.

Yes he was interested in airing his ideas but didn't want to implement them himself particularly.

So what do you think of the reverse engineering idea?

 

[Isaacc7]

Hey everyone, long time follower of this thread. Like everyone else here, I am shocked and saddened to hear the news of Tomas passing. He contributed so much to head-fi and will have a lasting legacy here. There were only a few messages between us, but he was always kind and answered my questions, even when it didn't involve purchasing one of his amps.

I see there's some talk of someone reverse engineering his designs. I have been building amplifiers for a couple years now, and have a small DIY thread here on head-fi. It's nowhere near as popular as others (I've been pretty low-profile), but I'd like to throw my hat in the ring for reverse-engineering one of Tomas' amps, with the possibility of building them in the future. I have reverse engineered several amps in the past, and have built several of my own custom designs.

To be absolutely clear, I don't want to step on Tomas' legacy. I will only do this if it's generally agreed as acceptable for someone else to produce his amplifiers. I would also try and contact MrCurwen and ask his permission as well. I am personally a big fan of what Tomas provided to the community, and should I see this through, I would do my best to help that legacy continue.

I would encourage you to reach out to the folks over on the DIYaudio tube forum for help reverse engineering the amps. We have a basic idea of the type of circuits that were used. If you can come up with a rough outline or schematic they are usually quite helpful in figuring out details and/or pitfalls.

 

[paradoxper]

Hey everyone, long time follower of this thread. Like everyone else here, I am shocked and saddened to hear the news of Tomas passing. He contributed so much to head-fi and will have a lasting legacy here. There were only a few messages between us, but he was always kind and answered my questions, even when it didn't involve purchasing one of his amps.

I see there's some talk of someone reverse engineering his designs. I have been building amplifiers for a couple years now, and have a small DIY thread here on head-fi. It's nowhere near as popular as others (I've been pretty low-profile), but I'd like to throw my hat in the ring for reverse-engineering one of Tomas' amps, with the possibility of building them in the future. I have reverse engineered several amps in the past, and have built several of my own custom designs.

To be absolutely clear, I don't want to step on Tomas' legacy. I will only do this if it's generally agreed as acceptable for someone else to produce his amplifiers. I would also try and contact MrCurwen and ask his permission as well. I am personally a big fan of what Tomas provided to the community, and should I see this through, I would do my best to help that legacy continue.

Do it. You have enticing builds using some interesting ideas such as damper diodes and can see the developing of your own legacy.

 

[Maxx134]

Yes he was interested in airing his ideas but didn't want to implement them himself particularly.

So what do you think of the reverse engineering idea?

The technical side was not the hard part. It was the design & mindset, of the elimination of what MrCurwen called "parasitics", and not afraid to integrate "solid state", in ways to offset any reliance or dependence on expense parts quality..

 

[carlman14]

I would encourage you to reach out to the folks over on the DIYaudio tube forum for help reverse engineering the amps. We have a basic idea of the type of circuits that were used. If you can come up with a rough outline or schematic they are usually quite helpful in figuring out details and/or pitfalls.

I'm pretty sure I can reverse engineer it, but I will definitely keep that as a resource. It shouldn't be too hard to create a schematic if I had an oblivion on-hand. I think the harder part would be making sure all the parts can be sourced easily.

Do it. You have enticing builds using some interesting ideas such as damper diodes and can see the developing of your own legacy.

This has been my main hobby/passion for the last 3 years, and I enjoy it way more than my job. Building my own legacy would be great, but I think a good use of my interests for now is offering to help make sure Tomas' work isn't lost, and see if there's traction/interest in that.

I'll have to keep my eye out for an oblivion or citadel, or try to find someone that will loan me one.

 

[baronbeehive]

I'm pretty sure I can reverse engineer it, but I will definitely keep that as a resource. It shouldn't be too hard to create a schematic if I had an oblivion on-hand. I think the harder part would be making sure all the parts can be sourced easily.

Good luck with that. I think it would be a great tribute to Sonic that his work was being carried on. It is a pity that we can't contact MrCurwen as it would have been good to have his blessing, I hope that such a tribute would meet with his approval. If he does communicate some time then maybe he would share his views on such a project as I wouldn't want to do anything that he wouldn't approve of.

All the same I can't see that there would be any restrictions on doing this. I know Sonic was protective of his work but that is understandable as he was earning from his work but that is not the same now.

What do others think? It is a difficult situation when you cannot contact all relevant parties.

 

[UntilThen]

I'm not representative of this thread but this is my view. My view is that there will be no continuation of Ultrasonic Studio amps. Tomas work hard to establish the brand. It is his legacy. Let it stay that way. It is an end of an era. Tomas implemented a lot of his own ideas. Amps such as Odyssey and Telemachus are his own ideas. The marrying of old and new school design in Telemachus is his idea. The few owners of Telemachus have heap praises on the amp. I know that there are at least 4 Telemachus on order and 1 Odyssey.

Notwithstanding, there are many customers who have made substantial deposits for their amps and have no means to recover any of that. You have my utmost sympathy and understanding.

The last week or so have been draining. I was talking to so many customers individually who all wanted to know more about Tomas's demise. Sweden police have confirmed that in writing. That to me is final. As final as it can be.

 

[triod750]

I want to add that UltraSonic Studios still is registered as an active business, part of the deceased's estate. Time will tell where this ends.
I have no opinion of what to do or not to do. This is just a piece of information.

 

[Isaacc7]

Good luck with that. I think it would be a great tribute to Sonic that his work was being carried on. It is a pity that we can't contact MrCurwen as it would have been good to have his blessing, I hope that such a tribute would meet with his approval. If he does communicate some time then maybe he would share his views on such a project as I wouldn't want to do anything that he wouldn't approve of.

All the same I can't see that there would be any restrictions on doing this. I know Sonic was protective of his work but that is understandable as he was earning from his work but that is not the same now.

What do others think? It is a difficult situation when you cannot contact all relevant parties.

I don’t see any trouble in replicating the circuits but I’d avoid any sort of “continuing legacy” etc. talk. I think an acknowledgment of where the ideas came from is good form. Whatever new amps are made won’t be Ultrasonic Studios amps and won’t have Tomas’s particular look even if they end up sounding similar. A builder shows their passion and priorities through both the sound and the physical implementation of the amp. In the end there isn’t any ethical difference between building an amp with the Oblivion circuit vs any other circuit as long as you don‘t claim to be a successor or something.

 

[carlman14]

I'm not representative of this thread but this is my view. My view is that there will be no continuation of Ultrasonic Studio amps. Tomas work hard to establish the brand. It is his legacy. Let it stay that way.

Fair enough. This is why I asked

I don’t see any trouble in replicating the circuits but I’d avoid any sort of “continuing legacy” etc. talk. I think an acknowledgment of where the ideas came from is good form. Whatever new amps are made won’t be Ultrasonic Studios amps and won’t have Tomas’s particular look even if they end up sounding similar. A builder shows their passion and priorities through both the sound and the physical implementation of the amp. In the end there isn’t any ethical difference between building an amp with the Oblivion circuit vs any other circuit as long as you don‘t claim to be a successor or something.

This. I have no intention of replacing Tomas or "continuing the legacy", and I apologize that it came off that way. I would never try to build amps under the name UltraSonic studios. That would be wrong on so many levels. Since reverse-engineering was mentioned, I was just offering to help uncover the unique designs that MrCurwen was involved with, such as Oblivion, if it's welcome. Nothing more.

 

[Zachik]

Notwithstanding, there are many customers who have made substantial deposits for their amps and have no means to recover any of that.

I am one more person who have paid IN FULL and will never see my very special amp being built.
Obviously, the personal loss to the family is on a complete different level.

 

[Contrails]

Fair enough. This is why I asked


This. I have no intention of replacing Tomas or "continuing the legacy", and I apologize that it came off that way. I would never try to build amps under the name UltraSonic studios. That would be wrong on so many levels. Since reverse-engineering was mentioned, I was just offering to help uncover the unique designs that MrCurwen was involved with, such as Oblivion, if it's welcome. Nothing more.

I for one would be interested. I think it would be a compliment to Tomas's work. The market is niche and there's already a small number of people that can build these sort of amps.

 

[UntilThen]

Fair enough. This is why I asked

You meant well. I know it. Build your own niche and brand. If it's new school you're interested in, try and get in touch with MrCurwen although he has been absent for a long time. Follow your dream and passion building amps. I wish you every success.

Sounds like a conversation I had with Sonic in the early days.