Karen Sumner, one of the original founders of Transparent Audio, is featured in the December issue of The Absolute Sound. The Back Page Interview was shortened in the printed version but you can read the interview in its entirety below.
What ignited your interest in the high end? Did it come from the music side or the electronics side?
Music was the foundation of my interest in high-end audio. I took my first piano lessons when I was 8. I picked up guitar in high school, and I sang and played my way through college.
My first stereo system expanded my musical tastes. When I was 14, my dad and I built a stereo system from a Heath kit and Radio Shack speaker drivers. I bought records with my allowance, and I started picking out my own arrangements from the records — folk, blues, and some rock. The amplifier blew up frequently. I’d test tubes for the amp at the local hardware store to keep the amp running. I consulted with our local Radio Shack (which was more like a real hifi store in those days) about ways I could improve the system. I was constantly seeking ways to get more information off my records.
I have been a music lover and electronics geek since childhood.
Women in leadership or executive positions were uncommon when you began in the high end. What was that like for you?
Jack Sumner, our friend Carl Smith, and I started Transparent Audio in 1980. They both continued with their careers and helped me evenings and weekends until they could join the company full time with me in 1986. I was the front person making contacts over the phone and travelling all over the United States to meet potential dealers in the early 80s. In the beginning, we couldn’t afford decent hotels. There were no cell phones or GPS. Asking directions or getting out of the car to use a pay phone was out of the question in some of the places I ended up while looking for my destinations. Thirty years ago, travelling was definitely not comfortable or safe for young women.
If it had not been for the many wonderful people I met in the industry who welcomed me and were genuinely interested in what I had to say and demonstrate, I would never have persevered. Jack and Carl also provided valuable advice and encouragement. Mentors and fearlessness (and maybe some naïveté) were important.
Yet women are still not a large part of the hobby. Why do you think that is? What can we do to change that?
Women love music just as much as men do. Many more today have the discretionary time and money to seek out a great hifi system. These women are really no different than any other potential first time system buyer. They are drawn to the idea of putting together a better hifi system because they want to get closer to the music they love. Audio magazines and retailers haven’t made enough effort to reach outside of a relatively small group of primarily men who have spent years experimenting with equipment as an end unto itself.
Magazines and dealers could do a lot to make the hifi hobby more accessible to all potential first time system buyers by talking more about the music listening experience in the context of an entire system of components rather than primarily focusing on the merits of the latest and greatest amplifier, speaker, or cable.
We need to help neophytes, whether they are successful professional women in their forties or aspiring music lovers from the MP3 generation, unlock the mysteries of what to listen for in a well balanced audio system and provide some how-to guidance.
How do you define high-end audio to someone unfamiliar with the hobby?
High-end audio is a listening experience that grabs you, and it can happen with the simplest, most basic system. High-end audio experiences happen when a system makes you want to explore music and improve the performance of the system in ways that help you engage more completely with the music you love.
What is the first thing you listen for in a high-end audio system?
The natural balance of music’s fundamental tones to harmonic frequencies is the most important element because natural tonal balance helps our minds and bodies relax enough to be open to deep listening experiences. Poorly matched components and cables and improper system set-ups frequently skew tonal balance upward. This upwardly skewed tonal balance emphasizes harmonics and system noise more than fundamental tones. The sound can be tiresome and irritating. In contrast, one never grows tired of the sound of a well-balanced system. It invites the listener to absorb the intent of the music performance totally particularly when the system is capable of revealing other critical musical elements such as dynamics and low-level information.
What is your best “how to” advice to a person who is assembling his first high-end audio system?
Go to a specialty audio retailer who demonstrates a love for music. Seek out a person there who is expert at setting up systems and who will readily answer your questions and help you solve any service problems. Work with a retailer who will help you upgrade your system when you’re ready to take the next step.
Outside of audio, what do you do for fun?
In the winter, I attend more than 30-40 live concerts, mostly classical orchestral, solo artist or small ensemble, and opera. I listen to a lot of music at home. I’m an avid golfer and sailor. I like to design gardens, houses, and interior and exterior architectural details. I collect art. I like cooking food that is beautiful to look at, delicious, and healthy. I paint and sketch when I get a chance. I really like to read, but I will pick up an article or book about current events, people, or history before I’ll read a novel or poetry (which I also enjoy).
What still inspires you about your work?
My biggest inspiration is the Transparent staff. They have taken full ownership of our mission to provide our dealers and distributors with high performance products and services that help them create the best music systems possible for their customers.
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