Bartholomew Nicholas Locanthi II (

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, 1919 – Glendale, California, January 9, 1994) was an audio engineer and leading expert in the US pro-audio industry in the 1970s and 1980s.

Education

Bart Locanthi graduated from

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

in 1947 with a B.S. degree in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

Career

From 1947–1960, he mostly contributed to

analog computer An analog computer or analogue computer is a type of computer that uses the continuous variation aspect of physical phenomena such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities (''analog signals'') to model the problem being solved. In ...

s. Locanthi became the Vice President of Engineering at

JBL JBL is an American audio equipment manufacturer headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. JBL serves the customer home and professional market. The professional market includes studios, installed/tour/portable sound, cars, music ...

in 1960. In the late 1960s, he developed the "T circuit", an output configuration for

solid-state Solid state, or solid matter, is one of the four fundamental states of matter. Solid state may also refer to: Electronics * Solid-state electronics, circuits built of solid materials * Solid state ionics, study of ionic conductors and their use ...

power amplifiers that became a standard in the industry. He received three US

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

s for his pioneering work on

transistor amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost the v ...

s. In 1975, he was named a Vice President of

Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

North America Development. While at Pioneer, he and his team of engineers designed the HPM-100 loudspeaker. It was also at Pioneer that he was deeply involved in digital development during the early years of the

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...

. Bart Locanthi was a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

Acoustical Society of America The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) is an international scientific society founded in 1929 dedicated to generating, disseminating and promoting the knowledge of acoustics and its practical applications. The Society is primarily a voluntary org ...

and the Audio Engineering Society (AES); he was awarded posthumously the AES Gold Medal in 1996. Locanthi was active in many AES affairs, he served as papers chairman for conventions, member of the Board of Governors, and served as president (1986–1987).

Personal life

Locanthi married astronomer Dorothy N. Davis in 1943. They had two daughters and a son. He died on January 9, 1994, in Glendale, California, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Education

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading