RIP Steve Schell

Terrible news..., posted on August 27, 2023 at 05:32:11
Ivan303 Audiophile Posts: 48887 Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM Joined: February 26, 2001 Contributor Since: September 3, 2024	A true gentleman in all respects. So knowledgeable and so willing to share that knowledge. Some of my favorite moments in audio were listening to those big Cogent horns at CES and RMAF. Rest in peace, Steve. First they came for the dumb-asses And I did not speak out Because I was not a dumb-ass

Very sad news., posted on August 27, 2023 at 09:13:37

Paul Eizik
Audiophile

Posts: 2121
Joined: September 15, 2001

Steve did a history of Altec presentation at the '03 Midwest Audio Fest in Ohio that was one of the high points of the show. I heard the big Cogent rig at the '07 RMAF and thought it was the best at the show, though the standard audio mags seemed oblivious to it's presence at that show. We haven't heard much from Steve on this forum during the last several years, and his presence here will be missed.

Paul

RE: RIP Steve Schell, posted on August 27, 2023 at 13:04:10
tomservo Manufacturer Posts: 8709 Joined: July 4, 2002	Sorry to hear that news. A good guy RIP

RE: RIP Steve Schell, posted on August 28, 2023 at 08:27:42
Scholl Distributor or Rep Posts: 1364 Joined: March 8, 2001	A sad loss. I met him a few times and heard the earliest Cogent that showed great promise in their earliest iteration.

Fellow home constructor who taugh me its not fail if learn, posted on August 31, 2023 at 12:55:12

Edp
Audiophile

Posts: 4632
Joined: September 23, 1999

In the late 1990s early 2000s there was a SoCal bass list (way to communicate groups before forums) that would spawn some gatherings and run what ya brung events

Through that I was able to spend time with folks like Dr Edgar, William Firebaugh of TrueTemper turntables Mr Schell and Mr Drysdale.

One of the gatherings was at Mr Schell house. This was before Cogent

He had some very specific approach to his playback systems. In his front room he had a snail sub bass horn. Massive, covered his front room window and some conical horns of his making and very very old field coil drivers, he also didn't use insulation n his speaker wires. He just ran bare wire up and across walls in a miniature telegraph pole setup. Yes clearly a single guy

He also had cast a horn in his backyard, dug hole , made cast himself, melt/poured his own metal. He said casting mostly worked but didn't like the geometry, so he just put the creation back on to of his casting hole

He made his own diaphragms just to learn. Convinced me to try to make my own cones, cause he reminded me that a failure understood was a learning event to making the next one more right.

After trying myself, I learned some, mostly you need steady hands and sharp eyes while leaving it up to folks with precise tooling

His personal creations and ultimately his and Mr Drysdale Cogent units were just awe inspiring in creation and music reproduction

He was gentle in his approach, but was willing to go technical toe to toe with even strong willed personas like Dr Edgar. He/they would not let a conical horn be seen as without merit or inferior.

And his full on commitment to the advantages of field coil drivers, inspired even at least one commercial manufacture to offer field. Oils as options to their line up.

The ultimate culmination in f his passion and Mr Drysdale s mechanical and machining was presented at THE Show n several occasions. Still one of a handful of truly unlimited performance speakers I've had the pleasure of experiencing. Yello's Oh Yeah was engulfing but tone accurate from infrasonics to well beyond human ears on 1.25 watts!

I was not a close friend like many here are, but his willingness to learn by trying willing to fail stuck with me to this day.

I am greatly sadden by another loss of technical member of SoCal Basslist

RE: RIP Steve Schell, posted on September 7, 2023 at 08:47:24
freddyi Audiophile Posts: 3852 Joined: December 6, 2001	gee - - - what a great guy and loyal friend to the Karlson 15K. R.I.P. Karlson Evangelist

Oh my ...RIP Steve!, posted on September 13, 2023 at 14:56:20
Wojciech Audiophile Posts: 4535 Joined: June 23, 2009	I've been to the same shows and met both Cogent guys. Carried with me some unique field coil compression driver and wanted their opinion. While I didn't think RMAF 07 was a successful show for Cogent, the pair was some of the nicest people in Audio I met. Steve had an encyclopedic knowledge of vintage drivers.

RE: "While I didn't think RMAF 07 was a successful show for Cogent", posted on September 14, 2023 at 12:42:58
Ivan303 Audiophile Posts: 48887 Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM Joined: February 26, 2001 Contributor Since: September 3, 2024	Maybe a good show for Cogent after all. They sold the speakers right off the floor of the show and delivered them to a customer, who lived right outside Denver, on the way home. I bought that customers 'old' Edgar Horns and we are both still enjoying our speakers. First they came for the dumb-asses And I did not speak out Because I was not a dumb-ass

Looking back 20 years all me ex'es appear more agreeable, posted on September 14, 2023 at 14:50:41

Wojciech
Audiophile

Posts: 4535
Joined: June 23, 2009

Than they really were...
Cogent had a lot of problems with that show and there was a distinct feeling of disappointment considering all the efforts which went into drivers and system and expectations resulting from those efforts. All horn systems on that show performed poorly. Welborne BD systems horns were a joke. Terry Cain (rip) big system (Bailey?) with Electronoluv amps was grotesquely bad and Avantagarde was underwhelming to say the least. I don't remember a single memorable set up from that show but I do remember driving from Michigan through Nebraska and Iowa thinking the plains will never end.

Sorry, you went to the wrong show..., posted on September 14, 2023 at 15:21:59

Ivan303
Audiophile

Posts: 48887
Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM
Joined: February 26, 2001
Contributor
Since: September 3, 2024

RMAF 2006 was the year that Teres owner Chris Brady bought the COGENTS right out of the room. It was the year Ron Welborne was in the COGENT room with is big reel to reel and his amps bi-amping the COGENTS.

Best sound I ever heard at a show.

Chris Brady at TERES bought the horns and showed them in 2007 in a huge room with wimpy EIMAC amps and they didn't sound nearly as good as the prior year.

Sorry, you should have driven out in 2006.

I bought Chris' Edgar Horns in early 2007, before RMAF. Sorry for the mistake.

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

RE: RIP Steve Schell, posted on October 4, 2023 at 07:48:24

eso
Manufacturer

Posts: 7843
Location: Long Beach, CA, USA
Joined: March 15, 2001

That was my post on Lansing Heritage.

Steve had been in declining health for several years and that was sad to watch.

I met Steve through gatherings that Bruce Edgar hosted and it was at Steve's where I first heard the RCA-1428 drivers: Still the most effortless and natural midrange I've ever heard and only rivaled by the Cogent drivers.

And I did have the privilege of working the Rich and Steve on a few full customer systems and managed to put one together for myself for effort.

Steve was an encyclopedia of audio history, design and practice and he was always very generous with his knowledge.

eso
They were a carnival of American decay on parade, and they had no idea of the atrocity they had inflicted upon themselves." Henry Chinaski

RE: RIP Steve Schell, posted on October 11, 2023 at 15:47:17
grindstone Audiophile Posts: 190 Location: GMT -6 Joined: August 10, 2008	Thank you for your posts. I never got to know Steve personally and only found your original post when looking for him to ask about some old RCA driver. I wondered if he and Rich ever got around to fooling with cloning the 8" that he spoke of (4410/4411). At any rate, it all remains a big hole and we've all lost too many gems relatively recently.

High Efficiency Speaker Asylum

RIP Steve Schell

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