[doorman]

As an very infrequent visitor to the Hawthorne website, I was surprised to get an "account suspended"
notice on trying to Log-in. Anybody know if they're still going ?

[barryso]

According to a friend who's talked to Darrel it appears they are done.

It's a shame.  They had great customer service and their forum was full of very enthusiastic folks. 

[sonicxtc]

Awesome speakers.
Fantastic customer service.
Darrel is truly one of the good guys in the audio world.

[SlushPuppy]

According to a friend who's talked to Darrel it appears they are done.

It's a shame.  They had great customer service and their forum was full of very enthusiastic folks.

That's too bad. They had a great forum. I learned a lot there.

[Rocket_Ronny]

This is very sad news. All that has been said is true. While I never was customer or reseller, I almost was several times.

I know the audio market is taking a kicking now with the low oil price hurting the economy, so it's hurting us all in audio land with this loss.

Another big pressure would be the rise of Spatial Audio and Clayton's powerhouse speaker line.

Anyway sad news for all of us. Would be nice if Darrel chimed in.

Rocket Ronny

[JLM]

From a mutual friend (who initially mentored Darrel):

Their site got severely hacked.  Darrel and Diana continue to be busy with their primary income of doing historic restoration, so they decided to retire the audio business.  Last I heard, they had 7 years of restoration work on the books.

I knew Darrel from before Hawthorne.  I hosted a 3 person audiofest where he brought in huge 2-way Fostex based bipole horns.  The next time we met was at a larger audiofest where he presented the Silver Iris, raw.  The mutual friend built the early crossovers.  Always enjoyed Diana's cookies at audiofests.   

I always wondered if they hadn't sort of lost their way moving from the simple and remarkable Silver Iris/Sterling Silver Iris.  Hope that niche gets filled as I'm not aware of another similar commercial offering.

[Early B.]

Sad to hear. I have a pair of what I believe is Hawthorne's last creation -- OB monitors with a cultured marble/ceramic baffle. 

[Rocket_Ronny]

Darrel and Diana continue to be busy with their primary income of doing historic restoration

What sort of historic restoration are we talking about?

Rocket Ronny

[Bob in St. Louis]

What sort of historic restoration are we talking about?

Rocket Ronny

Marshall Michigan is one of those places where you have to contact the local government before you have your house painted
 to ensure the color you want is appropriate for your subdivision. It is a living breathing Normal Rockwell town.

As far as Hawthorne Audio is concerned, I'm crushed they're gone. I currently own 15 of their drivers, so to say "I'm a fan", is an understatement.

As far as Darrel and Diana are concerned, I pray they have a healthy, happy and prosperous life going back to their ol passion of maintaining historic homes.
I cherish the time I had with them, both on the forum and the night they spent at my home so many years ago.
Here's a photo of me (left), Darrel, Diana, and my daughter:

[Early B.]

Yep, I just confirmed it directly that Darrel and Diana decided to retire. Hawthorne Audio is history. They're having a great time traveling. They sent me some awesome pics.

Because they can now be made smaller, open baffle speakers have the potential of getting the attention they deserve. I believe there's a tremendous opportunity for a speaker manufacturer to fill the DIY void they left behind. Danny Richie -- are you reading this? 

I really wish more speaker manufacturers would consider adopting the approach Hawthorne Audio was pursuing with regard to offering cultured marble baffles. There's so many more advantages over MDF. 

[Philistine]

The first OB speakers I heard were a former AC members Sterling Silver Iris's with Auggies, after years of upgradeitus he settled on this system and never looked back.  I enjoyed them so much I contacted Darryl and started to discuss a similar pair, ultimately I finished up with GR Research Super V's and V2's - the smaller scale of Danny's design and his x-over expertise sealed it for me.  Throughout my exposure to Darryl he was a pleasure to communicate with, generous with his time and a true professional, I wish him well in his 'retirement'.

Like my AC friend I too no longer have the desire to look for better gear because I'm not happy, my system sounds musical and is a lot of fun to listen to.  I have to thank Darryl for exposing me to the joy of OB speakers... 

[mcgsxr]

I never owned a set of his speakers, but I know a lot of folks who were happy with them.

I found their forum (I lurked a fair amount) very open (hee hee) and friendly.

I wish he and his family the best during this next phase of their lives!

[Folsom]

I had a pair that made their way to my father's TV setup. He still likes them a lot, enough that we put them in new baffles. But really, I wanted to have them outside again, that was amazing... (although it was at a memorial for my grandfather, damn it sounded good)

[crazyivan]

Hi all, have been away from this forum for a minute....ok maybe a decade or so...but, was sad to learn of HA's demise.
 
I had been looking at a pair of 15" Augies for a while to go with my OB speakers and after looking some more realized that they were going to be my best solution, and the price was right...but then found I couldn't raise their website and wondered what was up...then came across this thread.

I did find, however, that the Augies (just the Augies and apparently nothing else HA made) are currently available (while supplies last, I'm sure) on Amazon - the listing for the seller reads "Hawthorne Audio". There were 10 listed in stock and I just bought 2. Heck, with them going out of business, I would've had to start my search over for something that didn't break the bank...I looked at Danny's plate amps w/ six 8" servos, but that, while very nice sounding I'm sure, would cost me around $1600...whenever the 8's come back in stock again, anyway. But, I was really happy with the choice of the Augies though, and so much cheaper.

Anyway, the main reason I'm posting this is to let anyone know that this is foreseeably the last chance for anyone to own the Augies in new condition.

Once again, it's sad they were forced to move on, but I wish them well and here's hoping they are now looking forward happily to their restoration business.

Cheers to all.

John

[nicoch]

sad !

[hurdy_gurdyman]

Darrel and Diana will, indeed, be missed in the audio world. Darrel and Diana and I have had lots of conversations together about audio stuff, music in general and anything else that popped up. We even went to a large folk festival!
I was very honored when Darrel asked me to build crossovers for his Silver Iris 15" coaxial after I helped design  an improved XO on my own. Later I helped (with Jarred Harding) design his Sterling Silver 15" Coaxial. I own one pair of each of his PSI and SSI models and I feel very blessed to have such wonderful speakers in my home.
I'll really miss the forum that we and so many wonderful people built up over the years. It was a very friendly and informative place to hang out.
I'll remain a friend of Darrel and Diana and am happy they are going places they want to see and experience.

Dave Leonard

[danali]

Sad news, have had a pair of the original diy baffles for a long time. Listened to them this weekend with a chip amp.
They always sound great.
Thanks much Hawthorne!
GREAT customer service!

[mightym]

This is from Face Book, I hope Darrel doesn't mind me sharing it here....

At the close of 2016 a decision was made to end our 12 year run of Hawthorne Audio. Diana and I felt that the time was ideal for us to retire. After some careful consideration we felt that our time of doing audio was over. 12 years, 45 countries and 1000’s of satisfied customers proudly served. While it is true that for us this chapter of our lives has ended we did wish that all of the innovations, discoveries and exclusive products we developed could somehow live on. This wish seems to have been heard and is well on it’s way to becoming a reality.

We have been contacted by a team of individuals in Canada that shares in this dream of keeping Hawthorne Audio alive. They offered to make this happen and we set about to see if this would be mutually beneficial and in keeping with our original desires. It is with great pleasure that we make this announcement. The passing of the torch is complete and we look forward to seeing where these folks take Hawthorne Audio.
For those customers familiar with the brand we have made it possible for our exclusive line of OB specific drivers to continue to be available and featured in a fresh new line of baffles and kits. Look for a continuation of innovations and product development as we move forward.

In closing, Diana and I would like to once again reach out to the Audio community with gratitude and thanks for all of the sales, encouragements, well wishes and especially for all of the friends we met along the way. This has been an adventure of a life time that we will long treasure.

Cheers,
Darrel

[Bob in St. Louis]

Thank you for posting that.

[Wind Chaser]

That's good news. Guess it just be a matter of time before the new owners get the ball rolling.