Kim Ryrie is an Australian synthesiser inventor who founded the audio technology company Fairlight with Peter Vogel.

Career

Kim Ryrie was the son of magazine publisher, Colin Ryrie, of Modern Magazines Pty Ltd. Based in Sydney, Ryrie launched the magazine ''

Electronics Today International ''Electronics Today International'' or ETI was a magazine for electronics hobbyists and professionals. Originally started in Australia in April 1971, ''ETI'' was published in the UK in 1972. From there, it expanded to various European countrie ...

'' in 1970 where readers would build the ETI 4600

analogue synthesiser An analog (or analogue) synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Trautonium, were built with a variety of ...

by adding to it with pieces in each issue month by month. In 1975 he discussed the limitations of analogue synthesisers with his schoolfriend, electronics designer, Peter Vogel and they invented the

Fairlight CMI The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. — with links to some Fairlight history and photos It was based on a commercial lic ...

(Computer Musical Instrument). Launched in 1979, the CMI synthesiser became popular in the 1980s with musicians like

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

, and the two founders received a

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

medal for their innovation. As other companies entered the market and introduced low-cost alternatives Fairlight went bankrupt. Ryrie purchased the companies patents and set up a new company called Fairlight ESP (Electric Sound and Picture), which sold

digital audio workstations A digital audio workstation (DAW) is an electronic device or application software used for Sound recording and reproduction, recording, editing and producing audio files. DAWs come in a wide variety of configurations from a single software pro ...

to Hollywood film studios, and won an Academy Award in 2001. In 1997 he started DEQX, which stands for digital equalisation crossover, and began working on improving speaker technology. The first commercial DEQX product was released in 2007 and was used by

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

References

Australian inventors Living people Date of birth missing (living people) {{Australia-bio-stub