CABLE SPECIALIST CHRIS SOMMOVIGO PASSES
Julie Mullins
Entrepreneurial audio designer and cable specialist Chris Sommovigo passed away on August 16, 2022, at his home in Atlanta, Georgia. Doug White of dealership The Voice That Is announced the news in a statement on Facebook, which read in part: “Chris was highly respected in the audio industry for his talents and high character—always looking to enhance the joy of music in everything he did. Chris leaves behind his wife Mayu and two children.”
Sommovigo’s initial inspiration was having “a weird experience with a ‘digital’ cable that shouldn’t have made a difference,” according to a 2020 interview on Enjoy the Music.com, 1 so he sought out RF and millimeter wave specialists as mentors. He first became known for his early digital cables, such as the Illuminati 75 ohm digital coaxial cable introduced in 1992. He launched a new brand, Stereovox, in 2000. There, in addition to his digital efforts, he sought new approaches to analog signal transfer.2 Sommovigo designed digital cables for other manufacturers, such as Kimber Kable and i2Digital. Sommovigo credits Ray Kimber with giving him his “first and strongest leg up in the industry” after one of Sommovigo’s impedance-dependent cables captured Kimber’s interest.
Later, Sommovigo developed his signature CuTube conductor, a small-diameter, ultrathin copper microtube. In 2008, he started Stereolab LLC, the “parent” company of Black Cat Cable and its Grace-line series, the artisan marques for cables Sommovigo built by hand. He was also a distributor of high-end equipment from Continuum Audio Labs, Peak Consult, Vitus Audio, and German Physiks, among other brands.
“I’m always, always experimenting, iterating, seeking ways to shave heaviness and restriction from the sound of music coming through the hi-fi,” he said. Sommovigo’s products will endure in many audiophiles’ hi-fi systems, but his presence and passion for music will be missed.
ATC FOUNDER BILLY WOODMAN PASSES
Julie Mullins
Billy Woodman, the pioneering founder and owner of ATC Audio, passed away on July 21 at age 76, according
