Few people have made as big of a contribution to the loudspeaker industry as Dr. Floyd Toole. Toole is the well-known researcher whose work at Canada’s National Research Council (NRC) in the ‘70s and ‘80s established a clear correlation between objective measurements and subjective listening impressions that, in turn, gave many of the Canadian loudspeaker designers who worked with him a leg up in the industry and helped to make their companies into world-class leaders in loudspeaker design. Toole left NRC in the ‘90s to work for Harman International where he continued his research on loudspeakers and their interactions with rooms. Ultimately, his decades of research culminated with the release of his outstanding book, Sound Reproduction: Loudspeakers and Rooms, which was released in 2009, the same year he retired. He is seen in the picture below with Kevin Voecks (right), who he worked with at Harman for many years and was also at CEDIA Expo.
The impact of Toole’s worked at NRC lingered on long after her left; in fact, it’s because of his work that the SoundStage! Network owes him a debt of gratitude. Although NRC was the physical entity behind the research work, it was Toole who was the driving force behind it. Toole’s passion for music and accurate sound reproduction is second to none. As a result, it was he who ensured that NRC had a first-rate facility so that accurate measurements could be conducted there that would be beyond reproach, and it was he who built the NRC’s impressive name. It’s these facilities that the SoundStage! Network began using in 2000 to measure loudspeakers -- measurements that are considered the benchmark for the audio-review publishing world. No other magazine, print or online, comes close to producing measurements of this calibre. We’re proud of that, but we’re also well aware that it was Toole who was instrumental in putting it all in place. Without him, it wouldn’t be there.
Ironically, although I’ve talked to Dr. Toole many times over the years and I’m well aware of his contributions to the industry and our publications, I’d never actually met him in person until today. So, the moment I saw him I stopped him in his tracks. We talked for a bit, we exchanged business cards, and when Voecks walked by I made sure I got a picture of the two of them together because, in a certain way, Voecks has contributed something to the SoundStage! Network too. Voecks oversees the speciality-audio section of Harman International and was instrumental in the development of the Revel Ultima Salon2 loudspeaker, which I currently use as my reference. The basis to the Salon2’s design is more or less a culmination of all Toole’s research work that started so long ago.
I consider Dr. Floyd Toole to be the loudspeaker king because of the work he’s done and continues to do. Few have done more, but many have done much less and aren’t nearly as humble as Toole is. Toole says "actively retired," meaning he’s still getting involved in projects whenever he can, and invited me to call him anytime -- something I will most certainly do.
