Alex Kethel

[Allan F]

Terribly sad news.

 

We communicated via PM fairly regularly over the years and I considered him to be a good friend. Opinionated, passionate, knowledgeable and funny, I will truly miss him. R.I.P. Alex.

[clipper]

I am very sorry to hear this news, and I will really miss reading Alex's posts.  Loved his conviction...

 

R.I.P., Alex.

[Jud]

I will always remember reading his posts on an Oz DIY forum (really what he loved, I think) where he helped organize a group buy of PCBs, proceeds going to the costs of fighting the cancer of another member's child.  He sent me one gratis years later, which is what started me looking up information on where it had come from and how to use it.

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

32 minutes ago, Jud said:

I will always remember reading his posts on an Oz DIY forum (really what he loved, I think) where he helped organize a group buy of PCBs, proceeds going to the costs of fighting the cancer of another member's child.  He sent me one gratis years later, which is what started me looking up information on where it had come from and how to use it.

 

I'm guessing this was "rock grotto" DIY group and the JLH (John Lindsey Hood) PSU circuit board /ripple eater - voltage regulator.

 

Alex had an electronics background, working for many years for a large telecommunications company. He ended up on a very modest government pension so could not afford expensive high end commercial products. As I know you are aware, he built his own gear, including class A amplifiers.

 

Despite his modest means, he was very generous and gifted me a number of his circuit boards and devices.He would never accept any money and the only way around this was to gift him a subscription to JRiver (which he loved).

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

2 minutes ago, Audiophile Neuroscience said:

Despite his modest means, he was very generous and gifted me a number of his circuit boards and devices

 

Oh, just a shout out to @Superdad Alex Crespi of Uptone Audio....

 

When the original "Regen" came out I bought two (one paid for by an audiophile friend). Alex Crespi sent me three with a note saying the third was a gift for Alex Kethel. Alex C knew AlexK could not afford one but was aware of his interest. There were no strings attached, just a gesture of kindness.

 

Alex K got a great many hours of pleasure using the Regen in his system and also incorporating it into his various ripping experiments.🙂

[Superdad]

1 hour ago, Audiophile Neuroscience said:

Alex Crespi sent me three with a note saying the third was a gift for Alex Kethel.

I almost entirely forgot about that David. Quite kind of you to remember.

 

Thanks also for posting his photo. He always seemed such a kind man, and putting a face to that cantankerous old chap helped me smile at his spirit.

[Audiophile Neuroscience]

33 minutes ago, Superdad said:

He always seemed such a kind man, and putting a face to that cantankerous old chap helped me smile at his spirit.

 

Yes, i suppose there are one or two old cantankerous but kindly curmudgeons amongst the AS community ? 😇

 

Its hard to believe I only knew Alex for several years, meeting here at "CA" in 2013 and then in person at an audiophile gathering. It was exactly 'that face' that I saw when I walked into the room and saw Alex peering at me over one eye brow. He was quite a few years my senior and I felt like I had just walked into the Principal's office !

 

Some tracks were played and Alex remained silent. Others shared their opinion, including myself. When the host invited Alex to comment he grunted, "We seem to hear the same things", nodding in my direction. I felt like I had been anointed!

 

After the meeting, Alex came over to me and quietly murmured something about power supplies, identical checksums and hearing differences. He said, "would you like me to give you a couple of files to compare". .....Well, I was game but little did I know what I was getting myself in for - 3,577 files later !!🤣. Just Kiddin' Alex ! Wonderful memories🙂

[acg]

Alex was a good bloke. Like others say,  he was generous and kind.   Rest well friend. 

[lmitche]

What sad news. Alex was terrific, energetic and most always had a good sense of humor.

 

We had many off line conversations over the years. I will miss hearing from him.

 

Larry

[OAudio]

My conversations with Alex were with a true gentleman who had a passion to understand what makes music sound good. He was the type of enquiring person that makes a forum a interesting and fun place to hang out.

He will be sadly missed.

RIP.  

[YashN]

Rest In Peace, my friend.

[Paul R]

Alex helped me out a lot, it was a shock to hear about that.  His grandson, Daniel,  is looking for pictures of Alex if anyone has any.  -Paul 

[audiobomber]

He will be missed. RIP.

[adamdea]

I'm very late hearing this sad news. Rest in peace, Alex.

[manueljenkin]

Very late to know that he is no more. I have had nice interactions with him and one of the few people I enjoyed interacting with on AS. I'll miss him badly. Thank you for all your thoughts and guidances Alex.

[Middy]

Always very kind and helpful to me. For that shifting sand avatar will be missed as one of the gentlemen and larger than life  characters here.. 

My sincere condolences to his family and partners in crime on CA/ AS.

Gone but never forgotten..🙂

 

David 

[livelistenlearn]

been away awhile. found out from a post & pic some-web else.

 

colourful eccentricity is precious commodity in a world that has (mostly) accepted too many shades of grey.

 

as i remember, he was a fondly respected personality here. someone who shook my world (a little bit) when he suggested that not all digital data may be stored/transmitted/shared precisely.

 

thanks, sandyk. for that gift: a seed of doubt. a reminder to, sometimes, question, listen and ponder bit deeper.

 

and, the many smiles, laughs, outcry and shenanigans you “facilitated” in a hangout formerly known as CA.

 

cheers.

[Norton]

Somehow I missed this sad news.

 

Alex gave me some good advice. He’ll have an eternity to convince St Peter rather than Peter St now.

[reverendo]

only found out now about Alex passing away. really sorry to hear that. met him in several chats here. haven't been too much on CA (aka AS), but this brought up some nice memories.

 

it's interesting how these things do matter. how audio brings people together and how this somehow actually is a true community, despite the mostly virtual nature of it.

honestly hope you guys have been doing well, enjoying good music with a great system and healthy relationships.

[Iving]

Minor tribute to Alex aka sandyk.

 

I’ve been using foobar2000 since Pontius was a pilot.
I like it because it’s simple, does the job and it’s free.
To me, it’s not just a player. I spend as much time fettling my flac Library as listening to music on my main system (to be honest - probably more.) Compared with streaming and all that online exploitation (sic) implies, I much prefer ripping CDs, tagging them up idiosyncratically - and learning about music as I go. It’s no small dividend that a very concentrated, high octane (danceable) pool of the music I love makes its way onto the 480 Gb Optane PCIe AIC sitting CPU-direct in my audiophile PC (in another dedicated room).
My system is RedNet/Dante. I keep my audiophile system offline.
My last upgrade was the 480 Gb 900p AIC – from a 280 Gb that had just gotten too small.
So I had to re-install Windows, setting up everything again.
Usual learn-as-you-go opportunities, tearing your hair out, whatever …
fb2k has always been a bit laggy – not on my ordinary ripping/tagging PC - but on my audiophile PC. Probably some permutation of ASIO combined with all the stripping back of Windows etc. But never so much a problem that I should drop everything to fix it.
But this time the vertical scrolling and accompanying minor crackles were just too much. I knew with virtual certainty that there was no fix. It was foobar2000 or my happiness. Usually loathe to consider alternatives, my back was against the wall.
I have read with enthusiasm and gratitude the exhaustive notes created by @manueljenkin in the “Subjective comparison of Software Music Player” thread – not to mention the good will posts of many others. Lurking in my mind has been the understanding that Alex preferred JRiver – and the specific memory that he recommended it to me in a PM once.
At first, JRiver wasn’t too high on my shortlist.
My criteria included:
- ASIO
- Windows / Remote Desktop
- upsample x4 or to 176.4
- Offline use / no advertising at me - or music suggestions - or anything that does my hobby for me.
That ruled out many possibilities favoured by others here on AS.
I downloaded and tried a small number including musicbee – which doesn’t do 176.4.
You guessed it – eventually I tried JRiver on 30 day trial. I could stress test it on my ripping PC before installation on my listening system.
It’s not foobar2000 and, so, I have to adjust my seek/hunt/navigate/obtain/enjoy mindset.
On JRiver the variant “use Sox” for upsampling makes a difference! The sound is fuller and less like an empty room.
Compared with foobar2000/ASIO, JRiver is just that bit cleaner/less grainy/less grunt. At higher volumes JRiver wins the Hi-Fi competition.
More than this – my triggering problem is solved! JRiver will scroll vertically just as you please – with absolute impunity – not a complaint - without a murmur or any kind of sound intrusion. Same with the seek bar. Just wonderful.
OK so it’ll cost me – what - £60-£70 as a one-time payment. That’s of course no problem.
I thought to post my brief report here. If for no other reason than I was thinking of Alex a bit as I went through all of this. With appreciation – naturally.

[Richard Zane]

Heartbreaking indeed.  I would love to been able to thank him for his insights, and his ability cut through all the prevailing thoughtlessness of others but such a dignified way.  He will certainly be missed.