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It is with sadness that we mourn Kevin Carter's recent passing on February 2, 2024, from complications of pneumonia. He passed away peacefully at a Raleigh hospital with his wife and one of his stepsons at his side.
Kevin was a life-long champion of all things audio, from regularly attending NC Symphony concerts, being the US Lundahl transformer distributor for over 20 years, and supporter of DIY audio friends near and far. Kevin hosted the Piedmont Audio Sunday School group for over 30 years and had built up a reputation for being a great resource and a mentor for his audio buddies with wide levels of experience. He gave generously of his time, and we will all miss his quick wit, thirst for knowledge, and gusto for life. Kevin was 70 years old.
Feel free to share some of your experiences with Kevin....
Follow Ups:
I spent 3 days at CES Vegas in 2001 in the VAC/PipeDreams room and got ot know Kevin fairly well in those 3 days; he was easy to get to know. It was enough. I miss him.I didn't know it then but I owe him. I belong to the New Jersey Audio Society and years before I joined he was one of the club founders. Thank you Kevin.
P.S. I am reminded I owe Kevin weeks of ringing in my ears. He had a tradition of playing Dark Side of the Moon as loud as cleanly possible at the end of a show. I'll remember that last day of the show forever Kevin.
Edits: 04/29/24
Kevin was my mentor and friend. There were so many discussions about audio and life with Kevin. RIP Kevin.
Edits: 03/29/24
So sorry to see/hear about his passing. He was a great guy, so generous with his time and knowledge. I have his Maxed out phono preamp and his turntable motor system too (a rare piece, not many of those were ever made I think). I met him at CES/THE one year, and communicated with him remotely for many years afterwards. RIP Kevin.
Just reading this now. Very sad news indeed. My Maxxed-Out phono stage is still in service, and Kevin guided me through some thorny technical issues with it after he retired. He always went above and beyond. One of the good guys for sure.
Kevin will be missed. He was so much help and an inspiration to me. I first met him at VSAC in 90s. I still use his 4p1L linestage and sold him a set of speakers long ago.
Jim
Truly sad - RIP Kevin.
I am proud to have built one of his Maxxed Phono Amps. It continues to serve well. He was missed as soon as he stepped back from K&K Audio, and its with a heavy heart that I know he is not coming back.
Fair winds and following seas Kevin.
Michael
Kevin was a true prince of a guy.
RIP my friend
Kevin coached me through many projects over the years starting with one of his DAC's. Wanting to replace my subwoofers he steered me to Rythmik Audio and I built a pair which I am still using. When he came up with the design for the 6C33C monoblocs I built them as parallel single ended soon followed with the Mir linestage. I also have the Maxxed out phono stage. I let Kevin build it and my contribution was a mesquite faceplate to match the mesquite chassis' of the amps and the Mir.
Along with his guidance for audio projects, we shared many stories and laughs over the years. As good friends do, he lent an ear and his support when life was challenging me for which I will always be grateful. My sound system's ability to reproduce music is a lasting tribute to Kevin. Time to spin some tunes!
I will miss him alot. I built one of his phonostages, and implemented his Stereo 70 mod. I attended some of his "Audio Sunday School" sessions at his house when he lived in Apex, NC. I looked forward to the pleasant drive across Jordan Lake and seeing him and the other folks on any given Sunday. He was a no bs kind of guy with a real passion for tube audio, and was always willing to help his customers.
and I'm still using it and still love it. Great guy, fortunately met him a few times as I live not far from where he was.
Mark in NC
"The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains" -Paul Simon
For the last 20+ years, Kevin has been present at every step along my DIY audio journey. When I first contacted him, intrigued by the use of transformers within the audio signal, my conception of an online DIY store was that you choose, you buy, and then you live up (and down) with your parts and design. After all these years, parts and transformers ended up being just a tiny fraction of what Kevin has provided me with.
I knew just about nothing, and Kevin has answered litterally hundredths of questions and emails that I have shared with him. Once in a while we would have hour long calls, where it seemed that time didn't matter to him or that it had stopped altogether. He had that rare quality of taking the time and sharing his infinite insights.
His tone on DIY audio forums was always delicate, open minded, and spirited. He was eager to learn from others, and would never criticise other peoples' approaches if only to stay that, to his ears, some experiments fared better than others. To this day, I often go back to one of his multiple posts to further understand the way he went about many questions ...including of course transformrer connexion options.
Kevin orginally studied plant physiology, and the way he transcended knowledge and experience in tube audio design is just impressive. He once told me that, at some point, tube audio passion took over the rest. When his mother passed just a few years ago, he told me that he wanted to use the rest of his life to make good for the ones he loved and for others that life would bring across his path. It seems to me that it's precisely what he had already been doing forever.
One of my greatest regrets is to have missed Audio Sunday School, for distance sake. Kevin had a great bond with and esteem for his friends, near and far. I offer my best thoughts and friendship to the ones I briefly encountered, Trent, Jeff, and my words of courage to Kiyomi. Powering up our amps certainly will always bear Kevin's spirit.
His departure hurts deep amongst the local diy denizens here in North Carolina. Kevin will be remembered for his offbeat humor, pragmatism and genius tube designs that were neatly augmented by the use of solid state current sources. He married tube and solid state in the best way - all his designs are astoundingly neutral despite using tubes as the main amplification device - Our music sounds better because of him.
I'm currently building one of his MIR line stages and have been lucky enough to listen to his fully differential super high end Sonus Veritas models. The man designed phenomenal circuits and he will be missed.
Rest in Peace Kevin, see you on the other side.
Best,
Anand.
Kevin was always friendly and helpful. He will be missed.5 minutes before I read the above post I had sent Kevin an email asking if he was enjoying his pension. :(
Edits: 02/19/24 02/19/24
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