Stereophile
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- Apr 19, 2013
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- #1
<p><img class="story_image" src="http://www.stereophile.com/images/913int.promo_.jpg" /></p>
Before striding into the future, John Dibb enjoyed considerable exposure to his sceptered isle's fascinating past. He was born in England's North Country, in 1948, in a model West Yorkshire village established a century earlier by an enlightened industrialist determined to provide comfortable housing and communal amenities for his employees and their families; called Saltaire, it's now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At age 11, young Dibb won a place at the nearby Bingley Grammar School, which dates back half a millennium, to the era of Henry VIII. He later studied at the University of Bradford, one of two English colleges then offering a course in materials science.
<p>
Dibb was interested in composite materials, and proved just the right student for a tutor who'd set up a cutting-edge research project focusing on them. Because the project also allowed him to work at various research establishments around the UK, it proved too attractive to turn down. A few years into Dibb's first job, in aerospace, another irresistible offer came along, this one from a maker of high-fidelity loudspeakers, and Dr. John Dibb made a career move that proved highly beneficial, for himself and for countless owners of the systems he's worked on in the ensuing decades.
</p><p>
<b>David Lander: </b>We should begin by saying that you recently retired after 27 years with Bowers and Wilkins, where you were the lead designer on systems as significant as the <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/691bw800/index.html">Matrix 800</a>, the <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/272/index.html">Silver Signature</a>, and the Signature Diamond.
</p><p>
<b>John Dibb: </b>I retired from full-time employment with B&W in April [2013], although I still have a flexible contract and will be helping out from time to time, mainly providing sales and marketing support.
</p><p>
<b>Lander: </b>Saltaire, where you grew up, was built along the Aire river in the mid-19th century by a textile-manufacturing tycoon, Sir Titus Salt. Did you live in the historic section?
</p><p>
<b>Dibb: </b>I was born within the original village, but as a child lived just outside. Interestingly, when my dad retired, my parents moved to a house within the historic site, and as a student I stayed with them for a while. It was only then that I appreciated what Titus Salt had achieved. Yes, it was industrial, but with many delightful touches, such as mill chimneys disguised as Venetian campaniles, and rowing boats available on the river.
</p><p>
<b>Lander: </b>How traditional was the Bingley Grammar School of your era? Was it anything like the movie versions of English private schools
[Source: http://www.stereophile.com/content/bampws-dr-john-dibb]
Before striding into the future, John Dibb enjoyed considerable exposure to his sceptered isle's fascinating past. He was born in England's North Country, in 1948, in a model West Yorkshire village established a century earlier by an enlightened industrialist determined to provide comfortable housing and communal amenities for his employees and their families; called Saltaire, it's now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At age 11, young Dibb won a place at the nearby Bingley Grammar School, which dates back half a millennium, to the era of Henry VIII. He later studied at the University of Bradford, one of two English colleges then offering a course in materials science.
<p>
Dibb was interested in composite materials, and proved just the right student for a tutor who'd set up a cutting-edge research project focusing on them. Because the project also allowed him to work at various research establishments around the UK, it proved too attractive to turn down. A few years into Dibb's first job, in aerospace, another irresistible offer came along, this one from a maker of high-fidelity loudspeakers, and Dr. John Dibb made a career move that proved highly beneficial, for himself and for countless owners of the systems he's worked on in the ensuing decades.
</p><p>
<b>David Lander: </b>We should begin by saying that you recently retired after 27 years with Bowers and Wilkins, where you were the lead designer on systems as significant as the <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/691bw800/index.html">Matrix 800</a>, the <a href="http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/272/index.html">Silver Signature</a>, and the Signature Diamond.
</p><p>
<b>John Dibb: </b>I retired from full-time employment with B&W in April [2013], although I still have a flexible contract and will be helping out from time to time, mainly providing sales and marketing support.
</p><p>
<b>Lander: </b>Saltaire, where you grew up, was built along the Aire river in the mid-19th century by a textile-manufacturing tycoon, Sir Titus Salt. Did you live in the historic section?
</p><p>
<b>Dibb: </b>I was born within the original village, but as a child lived just outside. Interestingly, when my dad retired, my parents moved to a house within the historic site, and as a student I stayed with them for a while. It was only then that I appreciated what Titus Salt had achieved. Yes, it was industrial, but with many delightful touches, such as mill chimneys disguised as Venetian campaniles, and rowing boats available on the river.
</p><p>
<b>Lander: </b>How traditional was the Bingley Grammar School of your era? Was it anything like the movie versions of English private schools
[Source: http://www.stereophile.com/content/bampws-dr-john-dibb]