BEO.ZONE

Subir Pramanik

Born in India, Subir K. Pramanik gained a degree in general science from the University of Poona, India and later a City & Guilds qualification at Imperial College, University of London.

Joining Bang & Olufsen in 1965 Pramanik was instrumental in the introduction of aesthetics to Bang & Olufsen products. He later helped design the Beogram 4000 turntable with Jacob Jensen and was outright responsible for the development of the original MMC 6000 cartridge, arguably the best-ever cartridge manufactured by Bang & Olufsen with it contact-line Pramanik diamond stylus, berylium cantilever and offering a flat response up to 40KHz. Produced especially for use on the tangential Beogram 4000 the MMC 6000 offered one of the earliest contact-line styli and may have predated the Shibita stylus (designed for JVC) although there is a little confusion in that the patent on the Shibata was applied for in March 1972, and CD-4 was introduced in 1971. By definition JVC probably would have produced the earliest contact-line styli for use on their (then) recently-introduced CD-4 system, along with setting the requirement for the 45kHz frequency response in order to carry the encoded rear channels.

Pramanik’s history has been related to the Archimedes psychoacoustic project and the ADTT project . In 1982 Dolby developed a system called Dolby HX which provided a cleaner original recording. This system - assisted in its developement stages by Subir Pramanik - was modified by Bang & Olufsen for consumer equipment and marketed subsequently by Dolby as ‘Dolby HX Pro’, later featuring on such Bang & Olufsen cassette recorders as the Beocord 9000.

AES

Subir Pramanik was involved in the founding of the AES (India Section) in 1994 when he was International Vice President. The goals of the Society are to serve members by stimulating and facilitating advances in the constantly changing field of audio by the encouragement and dissemination of new developments through frequent technical seminars by reputed professionals from India and abroad. It also stands to organise field visits to audio facilities within India for its members.

Pramanik was Audio Engineering Society (AES) International President 1993-1995, AES President 1997-1998 and AES Board of Governors 1999-2001.

Bang & Olufsen Key People

The brand names Bang & Olufsen, B&O, trade mark and many of the product names and details together with on-site photographs are the property and copyright of Bang & Olufsen. The information on this website is provided only as a guide to Bang & Olufsen collectors and enthusiasts of the marque.

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