Michael Fremer Interviews John Curl
Michael Frener, John Curl | Published on 7/31/2025
John Curl is one of the most respected circuit designers in audio history. John's innovative work has shaped both professional and consumer audio equipment for over four decades. His career began at Ampex in the late 1960s, where he designed tape recorders and conducted pioneering research on video tape recorders.
Curl transitioned into rock and roll when he designed and built sound systems for The Grateful Dead's legendary road shows, including contributions to their famous "Wall of Sound" PA system. John collaborated with Mark Levinson, resulting in the groundbreaking JC-2 stereo preamplifier in 1974. John has contributed to many cutting edge designs in High End Audio, including Parasound Electronics.
Michael Fremer talks with John about John's early days in audio and significant pieces of history that John experienced.
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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
03:00 - The Ampex Years
11:53 - Audio Retail Work
14:29 - On to Alembic
21:54 - Movie Making
34:23 - Off to Europe
37:55 - Wall of Sound
42:27 - Working with Mark Levinson
53:36 - Back to Europe
1:02:40 - Gibson Gig
1:04:35 - Bad Capacitors
1:10:30 - A Profusion of Collaborations
1:17:39 - Imperfect Digital
1:24:02 - Good FETs are scarce and expensive now
1:33:50 - Thoughts on Class D Amplifiers
1:42:39 - Performance vs Convenience Features
1:44:42 - John's Home System
1:50:09 - New Frontiers
1:53:04 - John's Taste in Music
1:56:29 - Tubes or Transisters
2:01:32 - Thoughts on Future Audio Breakthroughs
2:07:25 - Wrap Up