Dave Smith from Sony passed away

[Reza]

Rest in peace.

Rez

[jhg]

Very sad situation. Dave Smith was one of the smartest people I've had the honor of knowing. He read circuit boards like they musical scores(and effortlessly), was just one of those all round great people, immensley talented, personable, trustworthy, etc. The kind of person that made me think "I want to be like him when I grow up"

The funeral service is tomorrow(Tues) at St Mary’s Church at 110 Bryant Avenue, Roslyn NY 11576 at 10 AM. If anyone wants to send flowers you can thru Muscari Florists 516-625-1397.

He will be missed.

[XSergeantD]

I just heard the news when I arrived at work this morning. I worked across the street from him for nearly 13 yrs and met him out on the street on a regular basis. Many of us knew him and know how much he will be missed. I had such respect for him. I haven't heard what happened, just that he was at dinner with his mother and went home not feeling well.

Rest in peace Dave, you will be missed.

[bob katz]

Originally Posted by XSergeantD

I just heard the news when I arrived at work this morning. I worked across the street from him for nearly 13 yrs and met him out on the street on a regular basis. Many of us knew him and know how much he will be missed. I had such respect for him. I haven't heard what happened, just that he was at dinner with his mother and went home not feeling well.

Rest in peace Dave, you will be missed.

I've known Dave since 1978! This is shocking... I can't believe it. Yes, rest in peace, you will be missed.

[Silvertone]

Wow, that was out of the blue. Anyone know what happened? Too bad as he was one of the great guys at Sony. He will be missed. R.I.P. Dave.

Larry

[mytek]

Indeed very unexpected.

David was the key early expert on subjective evaluation of high resolution audio conversion. His input in this field was invaluable.

RIP David


Michal

[bobmix]

The term giant is often overused and can be a cliché when some one passes. The professional audio and studio community recently lost a true giant; David Smith.

While his professional technical pedigree was stellar, those of us who knew him
personally know that he was also a supremely kind and generous man on both a professional and human level.

Where do I start? David had so many exquisitely honed facets to his personality.
In a totally unique way, his unrivaled combination of knowledge about every corner of the technical intricacies of the complex systems we all use every day was coupled with years of street level experience of what really goes on in a session and how studios run. He was, by a long margin, the most technically adept person I have ever known, or even heard of, for that matter.

Question about a vintage microphone? Call Dave. An idea for a better audio mousetrap; run it by Dave. A problem with a 3348, call David. Worried about a big orchestral session? Ruminations on the sonic characteristics of different releases of the 1176? Fine tuning my U47. Commiserating about all nighters with wild clients The list goes on and on. Always freely sharing his encyclopedic knowledge, he became the ultimate (and essential) audio and recording reference to all of us fortunate enough to know him. As well, David brought his high standards and quest for excellence to food, wine, and fine cars – although he had been known to to raise a pint or two with the guys in the nearby dive. That was Dave – living the sublime – as well as finding it in unexpected places.

And best, with all of his extraordinary technical expertise and focus,
David knew that regardless of all the over-the-top technical and operational machinations we studio rats construct, when it really comes down to it, it’s all about a compelling performance by a flesh-and-blood human being. And he entertained, actually embraced this seeming dichotomy with grace, vision, humor, and a twinkle in his eye.

Personally, in addition to the many answered calls seeking information, David’s supportive acceptance of me as a recordist and mixer buoyed and empowered me in a way that all the awards and platinum discs can’t touch.

Among us who knew him, David’s passing has left a monumental gaping hole, both in the mental libraries of how things really work, and more importantly, how to be a magnanimous and kind human being. Fortunately, he has left a little of that in all of us.

We miss you David.

[weiss2496]

Very sad news.

I first met David in 1985 at my first US AES in Los Angeles. He and me were exhibitors, showing our stuff with AID from LA in a Record Plant recording truck outside the building. David had built an editor for the Sony F1 unit, based on a TRW multiplier chip - pioneering work back then. We stayed in contact over all those years, me as a supplier, he as a customer and mentor with suggestions and encouraging criticism. I will miss his calm and friendly nature and his ironic eyebrow-raising....

Daniel

[Paul Frindle]

I am so very very sad to hear this. David was a dear friend of both myself and my wife's spanning more than 2 decades. He was truly a quiet and gentle character of great humility with a deep passion of all things audio. We had a great many discussions and laughs over the years.

He will be very sadly missed by everyone who was aquainted with him.