John Eargle
1931 - 2007

We are greatly saddened by the passing of John M. Eargle. A longtime member of the JBL family, John was a colleague, a consultant and, most important, a friend. He will be missed.

John M. Eargle, who was considered by many to be the foremost expert in the audio engineering field, has died. He was 76. Eargle, who was senior director of product development and application for JBL Professional, authored The Handbook of Recording Engineering; The Microphone Book; The Handbook of Sound System Design; Electroacoustical Reference Data; Music, Sound and Technology; The Loudspeaker Handbook; and the recent The JBL Story: 60 Years of Audio Innovation. He also wrote and coauthored many articles in the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society and the SMPTE Journal.

Eargle received degrees in music from the Eastman School of Music and the University of Michigan, as well as engineering degrees from the University of Texas and The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. He also pursued studies in acoustics with Dr. Cyril Harris at Columbia University.

His early professional affiliations were with RCA Records, Mercury Records and the Altec Corporation. While involved with JBL and other Harman International entities, Eargle recorded and/or produced approximately 275 compact discs. He received a GRAMMY Award for Best Engineered Album, Classical, from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences in 2001. He also received a Scientific and Technical Award that same year from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Eargle was a fellow, honorary member and past national president of the Audio Engineering Society (AES), and in 1984 he won the society's Bronze Medal. He joined the faculty of the Aspen Audio Recording Institute in 1980 and served the Aspen Music Festival and School in this capacity. He was a member of the Corporate Board of Music Associates of Aspen. In addition to memberships in the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Eargle was a member of Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).