R.I.P. Bobby Palkovich

[Shahrukh]

Not sure how many on the forum are aware, but Bobby Palkovich, the designer of the famed Merlin speakers passed away last Thursday, the 20th of August 2015. As a current owner of his speakers, I thought I'd take the onus to inform you of his passing.

R.I.P Bobby.

 

[Naturelover]

Sad news, indeed. How old was he? There doesn't seem to be much about him on the net, even on the Merlin website.

 

[AVM]

Sad to hear that.

 

[mpw]

Dear B

Rest in Peace.

M

 

[Shahrukh]

News of his passing on Audio Asylum's website. My Dear Friend, Bobby Palkovich (Merlin Music Systems) - Rest In Peace - Rich Brkich - Speaker Asylum

Also on the merlinmusic.com home page.

 

[Nikhil]

Truly saddened by this ... May his soul rest in peace!

 

[arj]

Very sad to Hear. Apparently took his own life
Have interacted with him for quite a long time and had lots of respect for him. Was one of those "Characters" who make an impact on Audio

 

[mpw]

I think this sums it up very well for all those who knew or interacted with Bobby.

permissions from HFV mods to paste this from another forum..

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For the rest - I have had the please of knowing Bob for nearly 30 years. I am not going to get emotional in this venue but will share my response to my wife's question to whether Bobby had children.

I responded that his children are in our living room - I will take good care of them and remember his relentless passion and all he taught me every time I listen.

You will be missed, my friend.
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On this happy day of Onam - Life must move on but yes.... the memories that i have of B - will remain - a long long time.

Sleep well my friend.

regards

 

[rikhav]

Re: Merlin TSM BME

Sorry for the OT

Founder and owner of Merlin systems, Bobby passed away on august 20th

May his soul R.I.P.

 

[bhagwan]

Re: Merlin TSM BME

Sorry for the OT

Founder and owner of Merlin systems, Bobby passed away on august 20th

May his soul R.I.P.

Thank You;
Sad to learn.
BP was known to me.
Had dealt with him in the past 15 + years back, when the Merlin was imported into India.
He shall be 'missed'
RIP !

 

[mpw]

Re: Merlin TSM BME

bhagwan,

Having been in close touch with B over 3 years and getting to know him a bit thru emails and telephone sometimes, the news of his passing came as a shock to me and quite a few "merliners " - if i may use that word.

It will be nice for folks like me to know more about your experiences with B - 15 years ago and your memories of the man and his machine ( the Merlin ).

On HFV in the General lounge there is a thread for this and also on audioasylum.com where folks like me have recounted the ways in which we were touched by him.

Maybe it will be of some solace to his family and friends to read such posts.

The unique thing about Merlin and Bobby is that he knew many users of the Merlin in person ( thru emails etc... ) and in his personal touch which reflected the small company that it is ( was ? )

The Merlin TSM and VSM have been compared to the Porsche 911 in the design sense - in the context that the basic design and looks have remained the same but the internal tweaking has lead to dramatic performance enhancements over the years.

I would also like to know of anyone else on HFV or in India with ownership experience of the Merlins.

I know of myself, arj and shahrukh for now.

regards

 

[arj]

Re: Merlin TSM BME

Yes definitely a shock . I have interacted with him a lot over email and even on phone. He was one of those characters on audio - idiosyncratic but very knowledgable ..who knew his speakers inside out on how to get them to sound best.
There is a gentleman in Cochin who has a pair of VSMs ..there used to be another owner of VSMs with the BAMin Mumbai who ran them with Jadis amps but he upgraded later. Not sure who bought them