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Sad news for all of us, Duster passed away a few days ago. Duster has been a source of information for many of for several years here, especially on the cable asylum. Duster shared a deep commitment and passion for our hobby which we share. As you may have noticed Duster changed his status this year to manufacturer as he was planning a launch of his own cable line this year. He was so excited to be able to offer a new line of product that would reach a sane price point and yet deliver the goods based on his vast knowledge.
I had been in correspondence with Duster since the beginning of this year about his new product line and was going to be a small part of his team. I also got to know Duster, whose real name is Larry and he was such a nice guy. Unfortunately Duster also suffered chronic pain and was not always well which had caused some delays in his launch.
Dusters sister reached out to me and informed me of his passing earlier today.
RIP Duster, you will be missed by many. I will also place a different post on the Rocky Road as a tribute to Larry before he was Duster.
Follow Ups:
So sad to be reading this. I reached out to Duster a few times and all the help he gave me was spot on. I am enjoying a pair of cables between my preamp and power amp made by VH Audio thanks to Dusters recommendation. He will be missed by all.
"I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like the
most of us...very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad..."
Oh My I'm Shocked and saddened to read this news, after being away from this forum for quite a few years. Just keep banging that heaven drum.
Haven't checked the asylum for a little while, only to find this sad news. Duster was a great source of knowledge and downright audiophile wisdom for many. He will surely be missed.
Is there any other user on here that has helped more people?
RIP, Duster.
He's probably still making cables somewhere.
Ah. So sad. Haven't been here in a long while. Thought I'd stop by to see what Duster'd been up to. He had a great ear and I agreed with a lot of his recommendations.
RIP Larry.
w
I joined this forum about a month or so before Duster's passing it appears. Therefore unless it was on a different forum I never got to correspond directly with him. Coincidentally, about 3 days ago I was looking for some advice on building some interconnects. A little bit unusual of a condition where I was using 110 ohm Mogami aes/ebu wire to make a set of RCA interconnects. Wasn't sure what to do with ground, drain and shield. Did a web search, sure enough there was a post by Duster explaining the best way to do it. Of course I followed his advice and I couldn't be happier with the results. They sound terrific now and should only get better. Listening to them as I compose this. Thank you Duster!
Sorry to hear this news. He was a great supporter of this forum and I enjoyed our discussions. He will be sorely missed.
So sad to hear this. Thanks for the help Larry!
I was a little late to this show...... (I found out indirectly by posting a "shout out" to him on Tweakers..... ) He was one of only few individuals whose recommendations usually clicked with me..... Especially his recommendation of the Studer900 power supplies, which may be a breakthrough product as a power source for various inexpensive gear that runs on outboard power.
Sorry to hear about Duster's passing.
He was a great community member who was always happy to share his knowledge of cables.
I have made some cable and outlet purchases based on his suggestions and he had a good ear.
Luminator, nice story about his identity.
He will be missed here as many of us have attested to in these comments.
RIP Duster and sorry for our loss.
What sad news.
Read many of his posts.
He was always very helpful, when we had questions about our cables and connectors.
He definitely will be missed.
Very sorry to hear this. Duster was one of the most prolific and informative posters on all of the Asylum for many years. He is missed. Condolences to family and friends. RIP
Duster was going to sell his own line of cables. Anybody have more info on this.
This is shocking and sad. What a wealth of helpful information he provided to me and so many. I'm very sorry to hear of his passing. May he Rest In Peace.
Ian
Oh no... how sad. :-( over the years, just like so many amongst us, I've had many exchanges with him over cables and other accessories, and he was always both the most open minded and experienced.
RIP Duster.
This is really sad news. Not only did i read Duster's posts, i exchanged emails with him several times as he was always eager to help. This is a big loss to our community here. RIP Duster.
I often read Duster's posts with a great deal of interest over the years. He offered such a well of knowledge, and always seemed willing to help rather than throw flames, which is all too common here and elsewhere. He will be missed.Months ago, I was looking for a USB digital interface to convert a USB input to I2S; I'd seen a couple of models on Amazon I was interested in, and had pretty much narrowed it down to a specific one. Regardless, I still waffled on pulling the trigger, and weeks passed without my having made a decision. I took another look at the Amazon page, and as I scrolled down to questions potential buyers might have about the item, there were several that seemed to answer questions I also had -- and the respondent to all the questions was "Duster."
I'm certain from the intelligence and level of knowledge with which he answered those questions, it left no doubt that it was AA's Duster. I immediately pulled the trigger, and it's worked perfectly for me. RIP.
Edits: 08/09/21
Very sad news. RIP Duster. I learned a lot from him because he was allways sharing knowledge. You could always have a good (technical) discussion with him without risking a flame war.
Judith
Hallo Judith,
Ik ben nieuw op dit forum en heb een vraag over jouw diy Mundorf zilver goud kabel.
In mijn netwerk switch heb ik de interne bedrading vervangen met 2x 1.5 met PTFE isolatie en dit getwist, wat een mooie verbetering was. Nu wil ik ook een DC kabel van Mundorf maken, dit in katoen en dubbele shielding SJJG360 manier. Ik wilde eigelijk 2 aders nemen van 1.5mm en deze twisten, maar twijfel nu ook over star Quad qua geometrie.
-Welke dikte Mundorf draad gebruik je bij jouw Quad design?
-Aan ieder uiteinde verbind je de eerste en tweede laag afscherming, maar verbind je links en rechts nog extra met een dunne draad? (Dit doet lang niet iedereen namelijk)
Nick Tube, Duster died last year.
Translation:
Hello Judith, I am new to this forum and have a question about your diy Mundorf silver gold cable. In my network switch I replaced the internal wiring with 2x 1.5 with PTFE insulation and twisted this, which was a nice improvement. Now I also want to make a DC cable from Mundorf, this in cotton and double shielding SJJG360 way. I wanted to take 2 wires of 1.5mm and twist them, but now I also doubt star Quad in terms of geometry. -What thickness of Mundorf wire do you use with your Quad design? -At each end you connect the first and second layer of shielding, but do you connect left and right with a thin wire? (Not everyone does this)
So sad. Duster was truly passionate about the hobby and about helping others. A big loss.
Very sorry to hear this. I've seen his posts for decades. One of the few with real knowledge of the art. And the Romeo Void San Francisco connection is pretty amazing!
Exceptionally sad and shocking news. Duster was always helpful and I benefited from his help on a number of occasions. My condolences to his family and close friends. A sad loss for all of us.
R.I.P Duster
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful hobby with me and us all here.
Jeff
nt
Can't think of many who have contributed so much personal experience. RIP.
Due to internet connection/access problems, I have been unable to make a consistent connection for the last few days.
I mourn the passing of Duster (Larry), he was a significant contributor to the Forums main purpose, to share one's own personal experiences with cables with others. He answered many questions and offered some good advice to a great many folks. He will be missed and his absence will make this a lesser place for awhile.
My thoughts are turned toward his family, and I hope they will celebrate the positives he brought to the world as much or more than the sense of loss they must feel at his passing. May we all enrich this world as much as he did, and try to leave it a better place for having been here.
Jon Risch
No, no, no. I am so sad. Duster dude your generous help and advise pretty much built my humble system. I learned so much from you. Well now you're in the largest concert hall ever. Enjoy the music.
Warmest,
Marvin
unclestu was the king of tweakers. Was Duster the king of cables?
With more than 17K posts on AA, Duster is more that just a familiar name. I feel like I lost a friend that I never actually met.
Larry/Duster was an important asset to our community. He gave so much.
That sucks. He was a great guy and a great inmate. He will be missed a ton.
Cut to razor sounding violins
R.I.P. Duster
Very sad to hear. Condolences to his family at this time.
RIP Duster.
.. and for the hobby as a whole. Does anyone know if he left behind a spouse or kids?
Duster was single, but I do not know if he had any children. I did email his sister back a few days ago out of curiosity of how Larry became Duster, here is what she wrote me "I honestly don't know how Larry came up with the handle name of Duster.... But I know he wanted to keep his online anonymity in the beginning... But I know he was also very proud of his time as a professional drummer for Romeo Void, and once people found out who he was, I think it gave him pleasure to talk about that."
Out of respect for his sister and family I don't want to bother them, but I can tell you that his sister has also been very kind as Larry was, and it shows they were both from a great family. His sister also let me know she was going to read this thread from a link that I gave her and I thanked here for letting me know what had happened so that I could share the news with everyone.
My experience with Duster reflects much of what Lummy has written that we could talk audio but often other subjects as well. It was only in a casual email one time where I brought up Texas and Larry told me had been through Texas years ago while in a band. It wasn't until a follow up email by asking him of his musical background that he then shared he had been with Romeo Void, he was as humble and kind as they come.
Aaron, thank you!
I am also sadden to hear about the passing of Duster! I learned a lot from him and posted in many of his posts. He will be missed and my condolences to his family.
Wig
.
Always willing to help all and share experiences.
KP
That is truly terrible news. I was always astounded by his knowledge of all things cable and by his generosity is passing on that knowledge.
I would bet that posting here was an escape from his chronic pain, another reason to be grateful for the asylum's existence.
It is said that civilization is built on the backs of the previous generation. Audio innovation will grow, but not without warmly thinking of Duster's contributions that led us in right direction.
When ever I saw Duster's name it made me smile a little. There were not many like him.
Edits: 08/01/21
I always mourn the passing of those who improve the lives of others, and
Duster did just that. I didn't always agree with him, but I always
respected him and his ideas. I'll miss him.
Whether or not you can observe a thing depends upon the theory you use. It is the theory which decides what can be observed. - Albert Einstein
...wherever it is good natured cable souls go.RIP Bob
RIP Duster
Note: For those of you too new to know of Bob Crump, he used to be the main cable guy around here, who came up with the Asylum Power Cord design, and Duster thought a lot of him.
Below is a post where Duster referred to Bob as his "hero".
Edits: 08/01/21
KP
j
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
Hi-Yo SLVR!
Duster was a class act and he will be missed. His insights as to the hardare to be used from various providers is monumental in the DIY cable aspects of this hobby.
I always enjoyed his views on various queries. Recently, I had come to think of the Cable Asylum as "Duster's blog." His experiments took theory and often tested that theory turning it into cable fact.
Of late, I bristled at some of his post in response to cable newbies. Considering, he was in pain and he was reposting known lore - it understandable.
"You don't miss your water 'til it's gone." I can see clearly, now, that the dust has settled.
RIP Duster!
DaveT
I never had a lot of personal interaction with him, but I read many of his posts and learned a lot from them. He obviously had a vast wealth of knowledge which he shared quite freely, and I never saw him belittle anyone - even when it may have been deserved. He seemed to me to be possessed of an unusual generosity of spirit, and the Asylum will be a poorer place for his loss.
Rest in peace indeed, Duster. You'll be missed.
He was very informative with cables and such here for so long.
A very helpful and knowledgeable guy.
Gonna post some Romeo Void on Rock?
RIP to Duster.
"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination" -Michael McClure
You will be surely missed by all.
Sorry to hear that. I don't post much here but he's always tried to help.
R.I.P. Dear Brother.
And know that in my mind, you'll never be forgotten.
that he was living with pain. It did not show in his posts.
RIP
13DoW
Such a loss to the community here, he was a big help to me...sigh
Terrible, he'll be missed. Always read his advice.
RIP
...
he was a fixture here so long that I was surprised he wasn't a mod
he'll be missed that's for sure
RIP
So sorry. He was a real contributor especially for those of us who can't spend a small fortune on the small things of this hobby. He'll be missed.
Duster was as reliable as the sunrise. Never bitter nor arrogant, his posts were always relevant and informed. Would that all contributors here follow his example. He will be genuinely missed.
Sad indeed. Duster was my guiding light and voice of reason on most all of my DIY cable adventures. I don't know how many times I've used his suggested links to products I never would have found on my own. A great guy who did an admirable job managing what at times is a somewhat testy forum.
What sad news. Duster will be missed by many.
That's a helluva blow, and so unexpected.
Thanks for letting us know.
Very sad.
Deeply sorry to hear it. He's already missed.
Jim
Always liked reading his posts. RIP Duster.
A terrible loss of a very knowledgeable and classy guy. RIP, brother.
OMG.
Nt
"I know just enough to get into trouble. But not enough to get out of it."
Man, this is terrible news. Duster, aka, Larry, was what made this forum enjoyable and beneficial to me and of course others. His experiences with cable and tweaks in general helped informed me on several occasions on what type of plug, cable material, or whatever to achieve positive results in this hobby...and a lot of this knowdge was based off of his technical and experimentation merits. I am sure he is looking down and passing us some RFI /EMI shielded love from afar.Living with chronic pain is a terrible thing for anyone to experience. Larry, you will be missed, but, your music and techie notes will live forever.
Edits: 07/29/21
His posts were an intersection of metaphysics and the scientific method, quantifying the in-quantifiable, a true 18th century genius of a sort, with a 'Byronesque ' rock band. Hard to accept he is not here anymore. RIP Lord Duster.
nt
NT
Speechless. Sad, sad news. I learned a lot from Duster. RIP.
What a loss to our community. Duster (Larry) was always willing to help, constantly experimenting, trying new ideas and sharing his findings, true class.
San Francisco's Romeo Void became more well-known in Fall 1982, when I just entered middle school. Since we were all pre-pubescent kids, "Never Say Never" had a profound effect on us, one of the first entries of sexual awareness.
Romeo Void's "Chinatown," on which Larry Carter played, cemented the band's status as one of "our own." Many of my classmates/friends lived in Chinatown. Or, if they lived outside of Chinatown, on weekends, they'd go into Chinatown, to shop and visit elderly relatives. And then, my future wife lived for over two decades, in SF's Chinatown, on Pacific near Columbus.
Although audiophiles knew Duster for his dedication to affordable cables, to me and my peers, Larry was and always will be, the drummer from Romeo Void.
A sad day indeed-
Duster was a voice of reason here and - well, Romeo Void was one of my favorites in the early '80s-
Will have to pull out some vinyl tonight...
Happy Listening
In 1982-83, we were in 6th grade, so we were 11- and 12-years-old. We got to hear the members of Romeo Void explain that, when coming up with a band name, they did not want the word, "The." They also claimed that a local magazine (which one?) had an article titled, "Why single women can't get laid in San Francisco." So they came up with "Romeo Void."
We were years from becoming sexually active. And our parents generally did not talk to us about puberty, sex, and the like. So we were left to our blind, uneducated, and inexperienced selves, to throw taboo topics up, and make wild guesses. Thus, lyrics like "I might like you better, if we slept together" were jarring.
Perhaps we were in our English and Social Studies classes, when the big Jewish girl, Rachel, blurted out, about single women not getting laid in SF, "That's 'cuz the guys are gay!!!"
Privately, Larry and I would email each other. He generally wasn't aware that, in the early-to-mid 80s, Romeo Void had such an influence on kids younger than the band. Though he would leave the Bay Area, Larry would add some recollections of his time here. He was amazed at my memories. But I told him that, it's not about one's ability to remember. Rather, it's about the times, experiences, food, people, events, cultures, and music, which had such an enormous impact on us. They pulled us out of childhood, ushered us into adulthood, and shaped us as human beings.
Larry Rogers aka LWR?
He was a Bay Area old timer.
This is of course one of the photographs he took he shared with me.
If Duster and LWR communicated with each other, that was between them.
Duster thought it was interesting, that my friends played video games. So for the latter, cables needed to maximize both picture and sound quality. Duster was aware that, of all the cables which came to me, I only received permission to write about 10% of them. So Duster did ask me, without naming names, about the other 90%, especially when it came to connectors.
Partially because Romeo Void's lead singer, Deborah Iyall, was both female and Native American, Duster was well aware of, and sensitive to, gender. And so, he found it interesting that I went to coeducational public schools, with lots of smart girls. Moreover, those same smart girls had tastes in popular music, different from your typical male audiophile.
As a musician in the early-80s, Duster said he was just scraping to get by. Without technology, he was unaware of school-aged fans. He happened to be in SF, when the 49ers won their first Super Bowl. From Duster's perspective, that was the major cultural change.
After leaving Romeo Void, Duster was kind of stunned, at how quickly MTV rose to prominence. That went hand-in-hand, with Gen X becoming the #1 consumer of popular music.
I get some of the material from my friend Becky, who, in the late-80s, opened Bad English's (the supergroup) fan club mail. Becky got to meet, among many others, Billy Idol & Steve Stevens; the Stray Cats; Adam Ant. Duster smiled, at this information. In turn, I liked to pick Duster's brain, about his music connections. He said that, in person, The Cars' Ric Ocasek was genuine and friendly. Duster flew to Boston, met some of The Cars, and got to hang out with Ocasek. Duster even laid down some drum tracks.
More familiar with SF's Mission District, Duster liked hearing me talk about my home in the Western Addition, and schools in the Marina and Outer Richmond.
Hello from a fellow Western Addition (nee Fillmore District) denizen since birth. Good remembrances of Duster may he RIP.
Audio nut
huh ... Larry Carter, drummer and cable connoisseur
would have never guessed THAT!
thanks Lummy!
regards,
Many years before "coming out" as Larry Carter the drummer, Duster reached out to me, about cables. He was perceptive enough, and thought it interesting, that I did not say what a cable sounded like. He saw that I evaluated cables on their deviations from the ideal of perfect transmission.
Moreover, he understood that I put it in context of music and life. He was very knowledgeable about early-80s details of San Francisco. But he did NOT reveal that he had lived, much less worked, in the Bay Area. Nor did he mention other Bay Area acts of that era.
He let me go on and on, about the Bay Area's late-80s heavy metal scene. I mentioned that Testament's then-drummer, Louie Clemente, used Paiste cymbals, which had a higher copper content, than, say Zildjian. So, Clemente's kit had a more "ssssss" found, versus Lars Ulrich's (of Metallica) Zildjian "shhhhh." When Duster went silent, I did not know, at the time, that he was absorbing what I had described, and taking notes.
Duster would mention that several audiophiles reached out to him, and asked if he and Lummy "were in cahoots." He relayed to me, that audiophiles were wondering why he and I did NOT cover the same cable products. The audiophiles were wondering if Duster and I had some arrangement, where he got the affordable stuff, while I did the unaffordable stuff.
Unlike other audiophiles, Duster did not have even a hint of negative attitude towards my (MTV) generation. If I read between the lines, he seemed like he wished he could have spent more time with those born in the 70s. At least in his emails with me, Duster did NOT call out, slag, vilify, or curse an individual audiophile. He did sigh, "I don't know why Boomers are so intolerant of other age groups, and other eras and types of music." But that was directed at groups, not an individual.
After Duster finally revealed that he was Larry Carter, former Romeo Void drummer, then all of his previous emails made sense to me. When I told him what an influence Romeo Void had on me and my classmates, Duster seemed a smidge embarrassed, kind of why he was reluctant to identify himself. But he seemed touched, that so many then middle-school aged local kids were listening to Romeo Void. Photo above is of Portsmouth Square, not far from where Romeo Void filmed the video for "Chinatown."
Funny thing was, when I told Duster that several of my cousins had gone to (and enjoyed) college in Washington and Oregon, he didn't say much about the Pacific Northwest. Nor did he, unlike other audiophiles, ask about Hawaii. And in regards to my posts on Rocky Road, he would comment not on the music or even artist, but the life event, and what was going on, when the song came out.
that's a very nice eulogy Lummy
I hope that his family and friends see it
any snark or hard time I may give you doesn't change the fact that I think you're a quality human being ... don't ever forget that!
best regards,
Lummy....do you know why or how Larry chose the moniker of "Duster"? I've always wondered....
Hello Alan,
..I have been following Duster's posts since 2010. Not sure when I saw the post that mentioned he got if from the Plymouth Duster. Check out the "logo" of the Plymouth Duster and you will see the "tornado" that appears under his name when he posts...-
A truly sad, sad day...-RIP Duster...-
That solves the puzzle.
Interestingly, when Larry and I communicated, we might start off with topics about cables, but didn't really dwell on them. Instead, his being a musician was more important. In the early-80s, since the band was struggling to establish itself and make a living, Larry was more focused on the existing fans, who tended to be young adults. He was generally unaware that middle school kids, via older siblings (not radio or MTV), had become aware of Romeo Void.
By the time we were old enough to go to concerts on our own, Mabuhay Gardens, where Romeo Void would play, had closed. Across Broadway, The Stone, which catered to the burgeoning heavy metal scene, had opened. This was after Romeo Void had split, in 1985. My friends/classmates therefore went to concerts at The Stone, and audiophiles know full-well how the acts that performed there shaped me/us.
Likewise, Larry told me that, while he typically didn't say anything, he was absorbing all of my stories of SF Bay Area life. I'm not sure when he left, but he was indeed interested in the SF he had left behind. He said that, obviously, old guard audiophiles had great depth of, say, Grateful Dead, Fleetwood Mac, Jefferson Airplane, and Santana. So he absolutely loved my chronicles of the rest of the 80s and early-90s.
Being in Romeo Void, Larry was directly immersed in the often-thorny gay/straight, male/female, fat/skinny issues. But again, he was pleasantly surprised that, right here in San Francisco, the band had middle school listeners.
Larry thought it was a trip that, when he joined Romeo Void, I was in elementary school, and my teammates had already given me the nicknames "Lummy" and "Luminator." When I entered Presidio Middle School in Fall 1982, Romeo Void's "Never Say Never" became an underground hit. At the same time, my nicknames were cemented, and I've had them ever since. I never did ask how or why Larry chose "Duster" as his moniker.
He initially started with "Mugwump" for a couple of posts, then switched over to "Duster". That was August, 2002. He explains the reason for the switch, but not the reasons for either of the actual monikers. At least not that I can find doing a search.
I really had to take some deep breaths when I found out he had passed. Quite the shocker. Still is.
Jonesy
"I know just enough to get into trouble. But not enough to get out of it."
Good question Alan, I wondered that too.
I've liked Romeo Void since the days of WLIR, Hempstead or West Hempstead.
I can't believe he was their drummer.
smh
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