PORTLAND, OR — Audio engineer / designer / consultant extraordinaire Calvin “Cal” Perkins passed away peacefully in his home on October 22, 2022. He was 80.
His name may not be immediately familiar, yet his impact on an entire industry was far-reaching, designing products and consulting for JBL Pro, UREI, Mackie, Tapco, Marantz, TAD, Biamp, Panasonic/Ramsa, Fender Pro Audio, Audix and others. And some of the products he helped create are classics, ranging from Mackie’s VLZ console line and HR824 studio monitors to JBL Professional’s bestselling EON series of portable speakers.
THE EARLY DAYS
Born in Oakland, CA on Aug. 15, 1942, Perkins was interested in audio from an early age. He attended Oakland High School, and was enthused about using the sound system in the school’s auditorium. Donated from the 1939 SF World’s Fair, the massive rig was advanced for its day, with quad-18 subs and large horns — all with Jensen drivers.
After high school, Perkins began a long association with Oakland’s Swanson Sound Service, designing gear in an era where off-the-shelf components were almost unknown, he developed the system concept and the crossovers for Bill Graham’s Fillmore West and Fillmore East concert halls. He also mixed FOH for artists including Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Harry Mancini, Ray Charles, James Brown, Linda Ronstadt, The Grateful Dead, The Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Santana and countless others.
THE PERKINS BINS
Perkins attended the California Polytechnic State University, where he developed what would become JBL’s 4550a and 4560a subwoofers (known as “Perkins bins”). After graduating, he worked for JBL, designing signal processing and mixers (including the Model K500 24-channel console), as well as creating systems for venues such as The Troubadour in West Hollywood.
From there, Cal left to become chief hi-fi engineer for Sony/Superscope USA. He then moved on to Northwest Sound. At the time, it was one of the largest touring companies in the U.S. There, he designed large-format concert systems and also the first compact integrated speakers for NW Sound’s new Anchor product line. (That line would later became Anchor Audio.) He also assisted Pioneer with the launch of its TAD (Technical Audio Devices) business unit.
After designing consoles and amplifiers for Biamp in 1980-82, Perkins went to Fender Pro Audio, creating power amps, consoles and speaker systems. Returning to JBL from 1989-1996, he developed lightweight amplifiers and was the electronics designer for JBL’s powered EON loudspeakers.
MOVING NORTHWARD
Perkins then moved northward, serving as director of new technology at Mackie Designs (1996-2008), where he designed amplifiers, powered live and studio speakers and mixers and also developed an equalizer design (known as the “Perkins EQ”) that emulated the sound of expensive British consoles.
Cal Perkins also held a number of patents. One, entitled “Pistonic Motion Large Excursion Passive Radiator,” (US patent number # 6,176,345, filed August 9, 1999 on behalf of Mackie Designs), was essentially his re-invention of the passive radiator concept.Used as a major component in the best-selling Mackie HR824 powered studio monitors, it described a rear-mounted passive radiator assembly for a speaker that substantially reduced diaphragm resonance in the operating frequency range of the device. Perkin’s passive radiator assembly included a quasi-elliptical shaped laminated honeycomb diaphragm (#44 in drawings), which is damped by an integral outer compliance suspension (#70 in drawings) made of an elastomeric material that covers the entire upper surface of the diaphragm. Also note the dual-spider suspension (#88 and #90) used here.
Perkins is survived by his wife Carrie and children Tim, Jessica and Sara Jane and will be missed by all who knew him. Rest well, friend… you will not be forgotten. —George Petersen
