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Blue Circle

174.63.121.156
Posted on January 5, 2019 at 12:28:20
Bob Neill
Dealer

Posts: 2953
Location: New England
Joined: October 1, 1999
 It is with great personal regret that I have to share the news that Blue Circle Audio, an essential and original piece of the audio world since 1988, has closed. As many of you have doubtless noticed, Blue Circle's equipment line has narrowed over the last few years as Gilbert's interest has focused on projects and gear that interests him personally. In other words, as his fascination with what can be done has grown, Blue Circle as a business has become a more modest enterprise. He has now come to the conclusion that while there is still more that he wants to do personally as a designer, in particular building on the what he has learned from the development of the NSI amplifiers, Blue Circle has a business is no longer at the center of his life. So he has decided that the proper thing to do is let the business enter history.

As it says on his website, as of January 1, 2019, Blue Circle Audio, Inc is officially closed. While this news may seem precipitous to some of you, as I say, it is the logical development of where Gilbert has been, where he is today, and where he expects to go in the future.

 

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RE: Blue Circle, posted on January 5, 2019 at 12:37:53
jtycho
Audiophile

Posts: 112
Location: philadelphia
Joined: December 10, 2007
 Well this is sad news. While his work may have been a bit too outside the box for some, I consider him to be a wonderful combination of mad scientist and artist. I hope he enjoys his retirement!

 

Following his muse?..., posted on January 5, 2019 at 13:18:57
musetap
Audiophile

Posts: 31879
Location: San Francisco
Joined: July 8, 2003
Contributor
  Since: January 28, 2004
 Good for him!

Hope it leads to fun adventures, personal satisfaction and new avenues of exploration.

He can always return to the world of audio production should the need/desire arise.


"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination"-Michael McClure



 

RE: Blue Circle, posted on January 5, 2019 at 14:25:46
AbeCollins
Audiophile

Posts: 46307
Location: USA
Joined: June 22, 2001
Contributor
  Since: February 2, 2002
Did he run out of clear silicone bathtub sealer? There's plenty at Home Depot ;-) Just kidding but....

Maybe Gilbert will consider engaging with the DIY audio community as Nelson Pass has done. Just a thought. Good luck to him.



 

RE: Blue Circle, posted on January 5, 2019 at 14:51:55
Mykeryte1
Reviewer

Posts: 2
Location: IL
Joined: January 5, 2019
 Scandalous! No more Blue Circle Audio? That's a bummer. I was just talking to him a couple of months ago about a custom preamp build using some of the ideas he gained from designing the NSL. Now that won't happen. It's good for him, I suppose, but a loss for the audiophile community.

 

RE: Blue Circle, posted on January 5, 2019 at 15:03:32
The Dill
Audiophile

Posts: 2199
Location: Portland, Oregon
Joined: July 1, 2004
Contributor
  Since: February 3, 2016
 Gilbert's new adventure...

 

RE: Blue Circle, posted on January 5, 2019 at 15:13:31
Bob Neill
Dealer

Posts: 2953
Location: New England
Joined: October 1, 1999
 Gilbert has been doing some design work for Saturn for quite a while. It is owned by one of his (former) Blue Circle dealers. This is a side-gig with no relation to his decision to close Blue Circle as a business. It's the business aspect of Blue Circle that has been of declining interest to him the last few years. He is an audio designer who was in business to feed himself! Thank god.

 

Blue Circle section of the Amherst Audio website, posted on January 5, 2019 at 15:17:37
Bob Neill
Dealer

Posts: 2953
Location: New England
Joined: October 1, 1999
 I have taken down the content of the Blue Circle section of my website but have saved it and can send a link to anyone who wants/needs what I offered there.

 

RE: Blue Circle, posted on January 5, 2019 at 17:18:10
Todd Krieger
Audiophile

Posts: 37333
Location: SW United States
Joined: November 2, 2000
 I hope Blue Circle's line conditioners are taken on by the new company..... It was one of only few line conditioner products that really worked.

 

No more snot? -nt, posted on January 5, 2019 at 18:04:37
E-Stat
Audiophile

Posts: 37673
Joined: May 12, 2000
Contributor
  Since: April 5, 2002
 .

 

Too bad for the future..., posted on January 5, 2019 at 20:11:10
Ivan303
Audiophile

Posts: 48887
Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM
Joined: February 26, 2001
 I can think of few in the business I respect more. First heard Blue Circle stuff at CES in the very early 2000's and it's been right up there at the top of my dream list ever since.

Here's wishing Gilbert well in his future endeavors.

He's certainly earned the right to chase his dreams.







First they came for the dumb-asses
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a dumb-ass

 

snot and bailing wire, posted on January 6, 2019 at 05:27:57
AbeCollins
Audiophile

Posts: 46307
Location: USA
Joined: June 22, 2001
Contributor
  Since: February 2, 2002

snot and bailing wire manufacturing technique


 

RE: snot and bailing wire, posted on January 6, 2019 at 08:11:53
greyman
Audiophile

Posts: 42
Joined: April 4, 2001
 Couldn't help yourself, could you Abe? Such a child, you....

 

The question is: "How Does It Sound?", posted on January 6, 2019 at 08:23:07
HarryDStanton
 Can it possibly sound like "snot and bailing wire"?

I do hate "nasality" in vocal reproduction but I don't know what to think about the "bailing wire" part... An "etched" quality in imaging and soundstaging perhaps?

 

RE: Blue Circle, posted on January 6, 2019 at 08:56:22
Blackdog
Manufacturer

Posts: 1505
Location: Ontario
Joined: March 20, 2006
 Watch for the new Saturn Audio coming soon. They are designed by Gilbert including a power line filter.




Dan Santoni

 

RE: snot and bailing wire, posted on January 6, 2019 at 11:18:33
BillH
Audiophile

Posts: 3913
Location: Baton Rouge
Joined: December 23, 1999
 I have one of those snot wall pucks. Is it a collector's item now or just a paperweight?

 

Very juvenile of me, yes - nt, posted on January 6, 2019 at 11:35:11
AbeCollins
Audiophile

Posts: 46307
Location: USA
Joined: June 22, 2001
Contributor
  Since: February 2, 2002
 .

 

Does it work?..., posted on January 6, 2019 at 13:09:09
musetap
Audiophile

Posts: 31879
Location: San Francisco
Joined: July 8, 2003
Contributor
  Since: January 28, 2004
 You can probably figure out the answer yourself.

"Once this was all Black Plasma and Imagination"-Michael McClure



 

RE: Does it work?..., posted on January 6, 2019 at 17:07:40
BillH
Audiophile

Posts: 3913
Location: Baton Rouge
Joined: December 23, 1999
 How would I know that? I'm far too lazy to do comparisons, and I only bought it because the power company here can't keep the lights on, so there are frequent surges. I finally bought a proper surge protector (a marginal improvement, I know), so I'm not using it.

 

RE: Very juvenile of me, yes - nt, posted on January 6, 2019 at 17:37:14
greyman
Audiophile

Posts: 42
Joined: April 4, 2001
 ...But sooooo expected...anyways...I will have BC gear in my rig until I RIP.....and my Dad used to say "you can't teach a pig to sing", so no changing anyone's view of things, especially here. To be honest, Gilbert Yeung invented things within circuit design that rightfully places him within the hallowed halls of the very best (especially power supplies) and given recent research, rarely replicated - a true testament to him (and at odds to your bailing wire/snot missives) that has me laughing every time I sit down for a listen...

 

RE: Blue Circle, posted on January 6, 2019 at 20:04:04
Budrew
Audiophile

Posts: 2081
Joined: April 4, 2002
 Hi Bob, Been a while! I hope you're doing well. I'm easing back into music again, now that the kids are older, and I've learned that a lot has changed! Not surprised about Blue Circle, if Gilbert is not that interested in business facet.

Speaking of talented audio designers, I'm still running my Resolution Audio system - it has been incrementally updated over the couple of years to current status. I've added a headphone amp and headphones that I'll also run from the Cantata MC. I'm a big fan of Tidal and Roon these days, hoping for Qobuz soon too.

 

RE: Blue Circle, posted on January 7, 2019 at 08:18:32
Bob Neill
Dealer

Posts: 2953
Location: New England
Joined: October 1, 1999
 Hello Budrew -- love my Cantata 3.0. Can't believe your boyz have grown, I remember everybody at the age I met them. Can be startling. I'm happy for Gilbert, less so for the rest of us. I wouldn't be surprised to see a rush on used stuff for a while as folks realize what's actually happened. Cheers, Bob.

 

Curious......is Gilbert gonna continue servicing Blue Circle products? nt, posted on January 7, 2019 at 08:18:50
Rick W
 nt

 

RE: Curious......is Gilbert gonna continue servicing Blue Circle products? nt, posted on January 7, 2019 at 08:49:59
Bob Neill
Dealer

Posts: 2953
Location: New England
Joined: October 1, 1999
 We have been assured service on Blue Circle gear will ALWAYS be available and not to worry about that. He says he is taking a break and needs some time to figure out what directions he will be going in; but again, he assures us he will not be abandoning BC owners. Blue Circle has closed but Gilbert has not!

 

RE: Curious......is Gilbert gonna continue servicing Blue Circle products? nt, posted on January 7, 2019 at 13:22:49
Blackdog
Manufacturer

Posts: 1505
Location: Ontario
Joined: March 20, 2006
 I will be servicing Blue Circle non-warranty repairs with the full
co-operation of Gilbert. As for warranty repairs, that is being done on a case to case basis for now. If Gilbert is not reachable directly your dealer or myself will help.
My email is available through my AA profile, along with my website.




Dan Santoni

 

it was inevitable, posted on January 7, 2019 at 15:30:45
mbnx01
Audiophile

Posts: 7956
Location: Eagle, Idaho
Joined: October 22, 2004
 He made some nice gear but was a terrible businessman. This was bound to happen sooner or later.





'A lie is halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on'. -Mark Twain

 

Outstanding, posted on January 7, 2019 at 15:32:44
Frihed89
Audiophile

Posts: 15703
Location: Copenhagen
Joined: March 21, 2005
 I've owned several BC amps, preamps and headphone amps and power conditioners,. They were hard to beat in the price range. His newest integrated amps represent a perfect balance between musicality and truth with extremely low distortion. But they are no longer available. The site is closed. He was/is a genius designer who put performance above convention.

 

Gilbert never missed a deliverable date in my own experience,, posted on January 7, 2019 at 15:35:47
Frihed89
Audiophile

Posts: 15703
Location: Copenhagen
Joined: March 21, 2005
 Even when he was customizing equipment for me.

 

RE: it was inevitable, posted on January 7, 2019 at 16:19:12
Bob Neill
Dealer

Posts: 2953
Location: New England
Joined: October 1, 1999
 Whatever the hell do you mean by that? He kissed no butt, if that's what you mean. He made no products simply because he could make money on them, if that's what you mean. This is a stupid remark.

 

Thank you for proving my point, posted on January 7, 2019 at 16:38:51
mbnx01
Audiophile

Posts: 7956
Location: Eagle, Idaho
Joined: October 22, 2004
 For the past what, five, ten years he's had almost no distribution. Two dealers, one is an idiot, the other, as you have shown nicely, is a jerk.

He turned his company into a joke. Remember the 'amp in a pair of shoes'. He thought that was cute. Other people thought, 'Jesus, WTF is wrong with this guy'.

I remember going out to his webpage and browsing through pictures of his products and running into a picture of his dog taking a shit. And pictures of his dogs shit. This is where I got off the Blue Circle train. Can you go out to Naim Audio and show me where the pictures of shit are? Can you go out to Audio Research and show me pictures of shit next to pics of their ten thousand dollar amplifiers? This is when it became blindingly obvious there was no adult supervision at this company.

His manufacturing practices raised the prices of his gear to the point where they were not commercially viable. Who else IN THE WORLD makes a three thousand dollar amplifer and says, 'oh, did you want a face plate? That will be three hundred dollars more because we BUY THEM ONE AT A TIME'. He's sort of the polar opposite of Mark O'Brien from Rogue Audio who is a genius at managing manufacturing costs. He buys his sheetwork, transformers, etc, by the HUNDREDS not ONE AT A TIME.

Blue Circle had some nice gear, sounded good, well built. But the company has been widely regarded as a joke for a long time. After the dog shit debacle someone should have sat Gilbert down and said, 'that's it... you go do engineering and manufacturing and let the adults make the business decisions'.

It's a shame. But it's all on Gilbert and it's no surprise. I could go on but why bother. The company is still dead and its not coming back.






'A lie is halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on'. -Mark Twain

 

when you plug it in does it increase the system noise?, posted on January 7, 2019 at 16:42:10
mbnx01
Audiophile

Posts: 7956
Location: Eagle, Idaho
Joined: October 22, 2004
 Like mine did?

Here's our revolutionary new product - to improve the sound you take it OUT of the system!









'A lie is halfway around the world before the truth gets its boots on'. -Mark Twain

 

RE: Thank you for proving my point, posted on January 7, 2019 at 16:51:53
Bob Neill
Dealer

Posts: 2953
Location: New England
Joined: October 1, 1999
 Blue Circle has been a successful enterprise for 30 years. Its owner got tired of running the business and so has closed it. That's the entire story. The rest is bull crap. I don't remember the dog crap business but if that's all it took to get you off the train, then you should never have been on it. His stuff was extremely well made, by hand; it sounded great; and it was not at all over-priced. You're singing a solo song here, dude, find something more interesting to do with your spleen.

 

RE: Thank you for proving my point, posted on January 7, 2019 at 18:08:31
Bob Neill
Dealer

Posts: 2953
Location: New England
Joined: October 1, 1999
 Oh wait, I see. You just don't like silliness and irreverence in audio. So it's his style that gets you. He's a bad businessman because he thinks we shouldn't be stuffy and adult about audio. Well, I'd say that's your problem, friend, not his. I've always found him refreshing and fun. But, as you say, he's gone now so you can relax and not worry about his ruining the decorum of our sport any longer.

 

RE: Thank you for proving my point, posted on January 7, 2019 at 18:39:59
greyman
Audiophile

Posts: 42
Joined: April 4, 2001
 Wow, you really are a turd (like the one in that picture you seem fixated on). As easy as you seem to recall that, I can recall the same dreck you posted before disparaging a fine and very talented man with whom you have some scab to pick. Maybe he summarily dismissed your apparent lack of knowledge about the business of audio (or for being an idiot in the past), and you have yourself a rather obvious grudge. What the heck do you know about the audio business that makes your assumptions such an unequivocal authority on anything. Pleeeeease!!!

 

RE: it was inevitable, posted on January 8, 2019 at 05:07:43
itolduso1000timesb4
Audiophile

Posts: 235
Location: Canada
Joined: March 7, 2018
 I dismissed Blue Circle long ago as I tend not to equate quirkiness with genius.

I filed BC in the same drawer as nOrh.

 

He told me he hand picked every tube of Silicone!, posted on January 8, 2019 at 08:03:06
bjh
Audiophile

Posts: 18614
Location: Ontario
Joined: November 22, 2003
 ... but I thought that was a good thing!

Anyway here's hoping you get over whaterver it is makes you so not cool.



 

hear, hear, +1 -t, posted on January 8, 2019 at 09:47:23
Sordidman
Audiophile

Posts: 13665
Location: San Francisco
Joined: May 14, 2001
 .

"Asylums with doors open wide,
Where people had paid to see inside,
For entertainment they watch his body twist
Behind his eyes he says, 'I still exist.'"

 

RE: Thank you for proving my point, posted on January 8, 2019 at 12:31:28
jtycho
Audiophile

Posts: 112
Location: philadelphia
Joined: December 10, 2007
 I can't say I really understand such hostility towards BC. So what you wouldn't want his gear, just as there's hundreds of brands I'm not interested in for a variety of reasons, none of which I despise as some here seem to despise BC. BC amps always performed exceedingly well within their price points and beyond. Further, the implication that this was a failed business is simply absurd. Gilbert has been talking about retiring for years, and now has done so. He didn't close shop because he couldn't sell an amp or pay the bills, he simply had enough and wanted to move on. He's a guy that lived and breathed his work for 30 years, I can imagine that taking its toll.

I get not liking his methods, even his build methods, but if you think BC was a failed venture that resulted in anything less than excellent gear, you're nuts.

 

FANTASTIC !!, posted on January 8, 2019 at 13:36:24
Sordidman
Audiophile

Posts: 13665
Location: San Francisco
Joined: May 14, 2001
 Whenever one gets close to LAMM SQ for less than 1/2 price, - you know that there's something special...

The high current BC26 is one of the best SS power amplifiers ever built, and is second to none....

Don't listen to cult-of-personality trolls who have no experience and therefore no knowledge............

"Asylums with doors open wide,
Where people had paid to see inside,
For entertainment they watch his body twist
Behind his eyes he says, 'I still exist.'"

 

LOL! Elephant Snot is in laser navigation gyros!, posted on January 8, 2019 at 14:21:05
SuperSonic
 I worked for years at Honeywell, and they put elephant snot inside their ring laser navigation gyros.

Absorbed vibration and moisture. Also was a good dielectric with high voltage, and prevented static electricity.

Honeywell Ring laser gyros are in 95% of jet liners, and lots of military products.

 

Thanks. I'm not a BC owner, as I said, just curious. I'm a bit leary of......, posted on January 8, 2019 at 14:41:36
Rick W
 buying from basically 1 man companies, though where I am I do have an excellent tech. Glad BC owners will be cool regarding service.

 

True: but reason is, - an entirely ineffective counter to trolling -t, posted on January 9, 2019 at 09:34:38
Sordidman
Audiophile

Posts: 13665
Location: San Francisco
Joined: May 14, 2001
 .

"Asylums with doors open wide,
Where people had paid to see inside,
For entertainment they watch his body twist
Behind his eyes he says, 'I still exist.'"

 

RE: Blue Circle, posted on January 9, 2019 at 10:33:39
Bob Neill
Dealer

Posts: 2953
Location: New England
Joined: October 1, 1999
 Gilbert will be expanding the notice on the Blue Circle website soon. Even he realizes it's a bit too cryptic! He's got a lot on his plate just now.

 

A point was certainly proven: just not the 1 you thought -t, posted on January 9, 2019 at 11:51:41
Sordidman
Audiophile

Posts: 13665
Location: San Francisco
Joined: May 14, 2001
 .

"Asylums with doors open wide,
Where people had paid to see inside,
For entertainment they watch his body twist
Behind his eyes he says, 'I still exist.'"

 

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