Godehard Guenther, Pioneer of Analog Audio Gear, Bluetooth Speakers, Dies at 75
Godehard Guenther, 75, audio industry pioneer and founder of Analog + Digital Systems (a/d/s/) in Wilmington, Massachusetts, and Soundmatters in Reno, Nevada; died Oct. 16 at the Miriam Boyd Parlin Hospice Residence in Wayland, Massachusetts, from gastric cancer, said a Soundmatters statement.
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Born in Bochum, Germany, Guenther earned an undergraduate degree in physics at the University of Gottingen and a Ph.D. in astrophysics at the University of Heidelberg. He joined the National Academy of Sciences as a fellow in 1968 and a year later was recruited by Wernher von Braun to work with a group of scientists at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to develop an experiment that was part of the U.S.'s first space station.
Guenther left NASA in 1972 to pursue his growing interest in acoustics and a desire to push the size and performance boundaries of consumer audio equipment. According to Soundmatters, Guenther initially imported Braun loudspeakers to the U.S. before founding a/d/s/, which later acquired Braun Audio. At a/d/s, Guenther led the development of innovations including the use of rare earth metals such as samarium cobalt and neodymium in loudspeakers, the first fully digital surround sound system, and the first in-wall loudspeaker.
Early on, Guenther identified the importance of multimedia, founding Soundmatters in 1998 with the goal of shrinking the size and cost of hi-fi audio. Under the Soundmatters brand, he introduced the first hi-fi quality all-in-one surround system and the pocket-sized FoxL Bluetooth stereo loudspeaker that Time magazine named as one of the Top Ten Gadgets of the Year. His work at Soundmatters included projects for such companies as IGT, Jawbone, Logitech, Roku and ViewSonic.
Guenther “was passionate about so many things with a breadth and depth of knowledge on so many topics," Lee Adams, Soundmatters vice president-sales and marketing, told us. "I loved watching the gleam in his eyes when he would joyfully pull out the latest of his tiny inventions to wow someone.” Guenther “left us with what's literally a lifetime of creations to draw upon in the future,” Adams said.
Guenther is survived by his wife, Adelheid; a son, Christoph; and two daughters, Barbara and Katja. Contact Dee Funeral Home of Concord for details on a celebration of Guenther’s life. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Social Service Fund for Needy Patients, Massachusetts General Hospital, 100 Cambridge St., Suite 1310, Boston, MA 02114.