IN MEMORIAM: ERNO BORBELY
Peter Noerbaek
Erno Borbely, in his 86 years, embraced opposing viewpoints with imagination, boldness, and a deeply generous spirit that is often found in the best teachers. He was grounded in home and family—especially his wife and business partner Irene and his son Alexander—yet he was willing to venture forth to new nations, learn new languages, and embrace the challenges of new ideas, methods, and technologies.
Borbely’s gift for audio electronics gave him opportunities to work in prestigious European and American companies, such as Dynaco and Motorola, while teaming up with major names in electronic engineering. He channeled much of his expertise into work on preamplifiers and amplifiers. He analyzed and remembered the nuanced strengths and weaknesses of every component of every design—particularly anything that made the sound more authentic and detailed. His skills at constructing elegant schematics and establishing new levels of precision were legendary. He was a longtime champion of MOSFET technology, as exemplified in the DH101 and DH200 power amplifiers, created in close collaboration with David Hafler.
Erno Borbely was born in Aszofo, Hungary, on the cusp of WWII. As an adventurous boy he scavenged electronic parts, which held a certain magic for him. He entered the Budapest University of Technology following the war but fled his home country following the Soviet invasion in 1956. His studies continued in Norway, his adopted home, where he earned a master’s degree in electronics. He became a Norwegian citizen, married, and settled down in a prestigious position with Norwegian Broadcasting, where he designed, taught, and wrote. But his destiny led him elsewhere—to Philadelphia—where he earned a patent developing the DynaTune circuit for the Dynaco FM5 FM tuner. It would be the first of many such achievements.
From 1984 on, he was devoted to building a modest yet highly respected business, Borbely Audio, with Irene. He was content even in the realization he might have achieved higher-profile, more lucrative success by aligning himself more closely with established industry leaders. One of his basic axioms: There is a difference between sounding very good and absolute measured linearity. He always sought to amplify that sweet spot where the two merged.
As with many who have spent a lifetime pursuing perfection, he was sometimes frustrated by what he called the “iPod Generation,” which seemed eager to abandon the appreciation of nuanced soundscapes for hammering decibels and the portability of plugging into your personal soundtrack. But he also believed that excellence was an appetite that was natural to the human psyche.
His legacy is very much alive in the work of others, such as Les Bordelon of LBAudio, and in my own work at PBN Audio. We still cherish the mentorship, the friendly and stimulating debates, and the pleasure felt in the simple experience of listening to beautiful recordings with the best available technology. Borbely intuitively grasped the optimal blend of art and science, for which our musical lives are all the richer.
Erno’s reply would often be: “Super!”