Memoriam

Tributes

T-Shirts

Our Team

MusicTechLogo-White

Northern Virginia Audio Repair Center

Nearly 50,000 audio equipment serviced over 20 years

It is with profound sadness, we announce the passing of Music Technology founder and Thalmann Audio president, Bill Thalmann.

Bill was admitted to Inova Fairfax Hospital on January 6, 2024, with pneumonia. His condition rapidly deteriorated and on January 15th he requested a transition to hospice care. He died in his own bed—as was his wish—on January 21st. 

Bill was born in Valley Stream, NY, and raised in Charlottesville, VA. He was a gifted technician and a skilled problem-solver. He was the kid who took gadgets and gizmos apart and put them back together. He fixed household appliances and took numerous “correspondence” courses on electronics repair. He especially enjoyed Heathkits and even used one of their lessons to make his own color TV when he was a teenager. He always said his love of tinkering with electronics came from once sticking a penny in a wall outlet, but this may have been a tall tale. 

Bill took years of piano lessons and became good enough to make money doing it. He played bass clarinet in school, and taught himself guitar. He was in several bands during his teens, but by his own admission, he was more skilled at playing than singing. He was fond of saying his bandmates took away his microphone.

Bill came to Northern Virginia after being drafted into the Army during the Vietnam war. He served in the Army from 1971–1974, mostly at the Pentagon as—in his words—a “combat typist,” and was stationed at Fort Myer. He spent his weekends partying and interacting with music aficionados in and around DC and Charlottesville. It was there Bill met future MT tech Tim Leinbaugh. 

 

A Formidable Career

 

Upon his discharge from the Army Bill went to work in sales at Audio Associates, where Tim had gotten a job after college. Bill went on to sales at Excalibur Audio in Alexandria. But he honed his tech skills and soon embarked on his career at conrad-johnson Design in Merrifield, where he was Technical Director for 20 years. Music Technology launched around 1993 as a side gig to c-j. Working out of a spare room in his home, Bill developed a reputation for his c-j mods. After leaving c-j in 1998 he established a partnership with Doug Weisbrod (former c-j Chief Technician, Pre-amplifiers) and moved Music Tech to the space on Port Royal Rd. in Springfield where it would remain until 2023.

In the beginning, Music Tech provided repairs and modifications for vintage and high-end audio equipment. Corey Holland joined Music Tech in 2001. Soon Tim joined, as well, and later Mike Herman, rounding out their services to include tape deck repair and upgrade, mixing boards and amplifiers, turntables and keyboards. Later Bill and Doug launched the Talos guitar amplifier line, designing and manufacturing the Talos Basic and Talos Signature Model amplifiers, before Doug departed MT in 2021, after 23 years as an owner. (Note: There were other individuals and ventures during Music Tech’s 30+ years in operation. Please forgive me for not mentioning them all.)

Bill spent a lot of time in recent years developing his expertise at repairing and modifying Apogee speakers. As with all his other ventures, it wasn’t long before he established a name for himself and had clients throughout the country. Bill was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2018. Over the next five years it progressed to a stage where he no longer had the fine motor control, speed, and stamina necessary to simultaneously meet the demands of running a business and keeping up with a workload as a (very busy) tech. He shuttered the Port Royal Rd.
space in July 2023. Bill had been looking forward to a “retirement” of working at a more leisurely pace out of his garage workshop, and he maintained relationships with several long-time clients. He always said that if it weren’t for Parkinson’s, he’d work forever. When he died, there were projects spread out on his garage bench and a small backlog waiting for him.  

Bill’s Legacy

Aside from his love of music, all things hi-fi, flying, and cars, Bill was an animal lover (especially cats); a terrific partner, father, and friend; and all-around good dude.  Bill has touched us all with his kindness, his dedication, and his brilliance. I am confident there will never be another one like him. If you search his name online, among the results that come up are the many listings for amps for sale with the phrase “Modified by Bill Thalmann!” When you think about it, I guess we all were.

With gratitude for your patronage, community, and friendship,

-Michelle Hupp Thalmann

 

Get a "Modified by Bill Thalmann" T-Shirt

If you are so moved, you may remember Bill in the form of a contribution to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research… Or go adopt a cat!

#modifiedbybillthalmann

Click Here to Purchase

 

Profits will go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research..

Tributes

Please feel free to share a message or your story about Bill.  Messages left below will be shared with the family and posted to the website.

Read Tributes
Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Meet Our Team

Corey, and Tim will all continue doing specific repairs. Contact them using the information below to get your equipment serviced.

Corey Holland

Corey was our Solid State and vintage receiver expert of over 20 years. He works on power amplifiers, solid-state bass amplifiers, vintage stereo receivers, and much more. Corey is also an accomplished drummer, spending almost 10 years on the road. Before Corey came to us he was the lead repair technician for a major Washington DC event company.

Contact Corey

Tim Leinbaugh

Tim was our expert in tape equipment, he has been in the audio equipment repair business his entire career spanning over 50 years.

Tim specializes in cassette and reel-to-reel tape deck repair, related upgrades, and custom external Tape Preamps.

Contact Tim

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Tributes for Bill

Bill was kind, knowledgeable and I always looked forward to seeing him. I bought one if the " modified by Bill Thalmann" t-shirts not only because I had gear modified by him. He modified me by his example of being humble, respectful, competent and by his sheer enthusiasm and enjoyment of what he did for a living. He enriched our lives and he will be forever missed by those who where fortunate to know him.

-Paul Hensel

 

It is very hard to add to all the wonderful thoughts and comments that I have read in the other tributes. They speak for me too. I was among those that only just recently found out about his passing. I took stereo equipment to Bill over decades for either repairs or upgrade modifications. I think of something said in another tribute that he will live on to all of those to whom he gave the gift of music as it should be heard. RIP Bill

- Nick Anderson

 

I purchased a used Sony SCD-1 CD player that Bill had previously modified with his VSEI level 7 upgrade. Knowing that he performed the upgrade I called him for information on the CD player. Bill filled me in as only he could, clearly describing the benefits of the upgrade and filling me in on all the idiosyncrasies of the cd player. Over the years I had several conversations with Bill on pieces of hi-fi equipment and mods that had caught my interest. I always felt the wiser after these conversations. I consider myself fortunate that the SCD-1 needed repairing as it allowed me to meet Bill and his colleagues in his shop. I now know that Bill and I shared a mutual affection for cats. I will greatly miss my good friend, Bill.

-George Stewart

 

Bill was the greatest! I met him to have some work done and ended up probably being their first PT employee in 1998. I got sick August 1999. So my tenure did not last long but my friendship was there until the end....Peace my friend.

-Richard Gibson

 

I just today learned of Bill’s passing. He had communicated with me regarding his Parkinson’s Disease less than a year ago, and I have been thinking of checking up with him on his condition. Bill was a fine gentleman in the truest sense, one of the nicest persons I’ve known. In addition, he was the best t I’ve ever known at his work. He was honest, smart, and always carefully listening to his customers. He is missed.

-Lew Markoff

 

I met Mr. Bill about a year ago he used the company I work for services Capitol Shine. In speaking to him over the phone I immediately was intrigued by his desire to drive from Springfield to visit us as we are located in Arlington VA. Once he arrived and we chatted a bit about his vehicle a “Tesla” we moved on to discussing his love for his Music Shop in Springfield. I was in awww that he said he actually still worked there but had mentioned he was closing it soon. Some people in life you don’t have to know for years to know they are a gentle soul, a good person. This was my exact sentiments of Bill, I was very saddened to learn of him passing but do believe he left an impactful mark in so many lives. I am so very glad and honored I had the chance to serve him, chat with him, and meet his expectations in regard to his lovely red Tesla! Farewell my friend, we will meet again, just not yet… Prayers to the Family and All Who Knew Him

-Kimberly Bates

 

In 1974, after graduating college and getting married, my wife and I moved to the DC area and I quickly got a job as a salesperson for Atlantis Sound. One of the first people I met was Bill Thalmann. We became fast friends ( as did anyone who met Bill) and stayed good friends for many years. As time and careers go in different directions we drifted out of touch. The last time I saw Bill was about 10 years ago when I attended a trade show in DC. I came out to the Music Technology shop and we had a chance to get together and reminisce one last time. We talked about our time at Atlantis and later when I would help him out at cj. We remembered the times he would visit my wife and I in Pittsburgh when I was in graduate school. Lots of great memories of someone I always considered a good and dear friend. Bill was, above all, a truly gentle and kind soul. I was privileged to know Bill and call him friend. Rest in peace.

-Andy Rocker

 

I am very sad to learn of the passing of my old friend Bill. We had fallen out of touch many years ago, now of course I wish that had not happened. I very much enjoyed Michelle’s beautiful remembrance and want to add one of my own that won’t rise to that level.

I met Bill around 1969 when my family moved to Charlottesville. We lived in the same neighborhood and went to the same high school, though Bill was 2 grades ahead of me. We hit it off right away. Bill had a car by the time I met him — a 1960 Rambler station wagon with an 8-track cassette deck that Bill installed in the car. Pretty soon after meeting, we were smoking pot and riding around in the station wagon, listening to the Moody Blues, among many other bands. Acquiring pot pipes in those days was not so easy, but Bill was always inventive. He made a large pipe out of iron plumbing pipes and joints. He kept it underneath the driver’s seat and often when he pulled it out, it was cool/cold and so when you inhaled... far too much smoke would enter your lungs. The pipe had a woman’s name (I don’t remember it) and when he would mention that name, it was always code for “do you want to get high?”

We had a variety of escapades during those few years, too many to catalogues here. One summer, we decided to drive to Virginia Beach after I had gotten a car, an old Volvo sedan. The driver’s backrest for the car had just failed and so it was hardly usable unless the driver had an incredibly strong back. We did not let this deter us, however, driving to the Beach with the passenger steering and relaying commands to the driver, while the driver operated the pedals with his head resting on the backseat. We got to the beach that night in good shape but had nowhere to stay. We drove to Sandbridge and parked at the beach planning to sleep in the car, until we discovered hordes of mosquitoes. So, we drove down the Sandbridge road as fast as the car would go, while madly cranking up the windows, hoping we had expelled the mosquitoes. We had not done so, and the car of course, was insufferably hot with the windows up. I think we drove home in the morning.

Fast forward, Bill had a terrible draft number and would almost certainly have gone to Vietnam had he been drafted. He tried to join the Merchant Marines, but that did not work out. Fortunately, he was able to enlist and thus became a combat typist, as Michelle related. It was a tough time for him. He visited me in my college dorm at the University of Virginia frequently, which is where he met Tim, one of my suitemates. They were instant friends. One such weekend, he showed up in his car, a slightly newer Rambler, and was in such a bad mood, he invited everyone in the dorm to take a few swings at the car with a sledge hammer (no hitting windows). We all had a go at it and it was good therapy for him. I recall he was planning to junk the car shortly afterwards.

Bill was amazingly clever at fixing things. After my wife and I moved to Northern Virginia, he was always willing to fix stereo equipment, and socialize, but as my job demanded more from me, and our family grew, we drifted apart. He was a wonderful, gentle-hearted man and I am so sad to discover that he is no longer with us. I send my condolences to his wife and daughter.

-Jeff Sherwood

 

Bill was a prince of a man. I had a lengthy e-mail from him, apparently the day before he was hospitalized. He consulted with me on the best components to buy, repaired my speakers, did mods on my cd players and answered all my dumb electronics questions promptly and with great patience. He is one of few people who are irreplaceable. My sympathy to the family.

-Bill McDonnell

 

I was very saddened to read about Bill's passing. I was a longtime customer and was always thankful for Bill's skill, talent and passion for all things electronic. Even during busy periods in the shop, he always seemed to find time to chat for a moment. Parkinsons is a horrible affliction, and I fervently hope that someone, someday will discover a cure. My most sincere condolences to his wife and family, and his employees/coworkers.

-Greg Davis

 

Bill and I became close friends at the age of nine and eleven in key west subdivision, Charlottesville, Virginia. At the age of thirteen we started our first band -- yes, the V05. (The drummer's name was Vestas Oswal the shampoo of the time was V05, again, we we're 13). At the more advanced age of 15 with the local Steve Ralls and Ed berry we formed The Ragged Edge. I recall a gig where bill forgot to bring the electrical cord to the Oregon he played so well. He removed the wiring assembly from an available iron, spliced it for the instrument and let the good times roll. He was just so Bill. Bicycles to dirt bikes road bikes and unreliable first cars Bill kept us all rolling along, fixing and repairing as only he could do. He had wonderful parents, a precious sister and, obviously a large number of special friends and immediate family I did not know. My heart goes out to his family and friends who's hearts ache for him.
He was kind, funny, generous, smart and talented and a special friend in my most formative years. I'm just so sorry particularly for his family.

-Dwight Foster

 

Bill and I had been friends across borders with many shared audio pursuits and obsessions, though when we spoke on the phone less than half of it ended up being about audio! I miss those calls – they became fewer over the last year or so. He always had calm contributory comment on all topics. Kind, and unflappable. Having known of his illness for several years it still is a shock that his retirement would be so short. He really did take his work and service to others very seriously, and only left MT relatively recently, working hard though personal obstacles beyond any expectations. Our main shared focus were Apogee Acoustics speakers, and we partnered to save many speakers for their owners. Bill had an exemplary work record in his capacity as a trained Installer-Repairer for Apogee Acoustics on top of all the other high end that came to his expert attention he so routinely improved upon. 20 years we worked together, a lot of trust, well maintained. I will miss Bill on a whole lot of levels. I hope GOD caught him gently, for he was a gentleman...

-Graz

 

I received the sad news that a dear friend and Audio Pioneer, Bill Thalmann, has passed away after a long struggle with an illness. I first met Bill in 1978 when I worked at Audio Associates. He was the top Technician there and was a wizard at repairing esoteric gear such as aligning Marantz 10B Tuners and rebuilding Tandberg Reel to Reels and players. He later repaired exotic electrostatic speakers. Bill then moved into an R&D and Technical role at Conrad Johnson. He could repair the great big monsters such as the Premier Ones to the Original Conrad Johnson preamps. He then moved to open Music Technology in North Springfield. There he built an amazing business and was a McIntosh Authorized repair outlet. He modified equipment making the power supplies and internal circuits better. Everything he did he improved. He could rebuild Apogee speakers and modify their ribbon tweeters to deliver exquisite highs. I adored this man as he was a true helpful friend, had a marvelous sense of humor, and was a man who served our country in the Air Force, and he was a dad too. We all know that someday our time will come, and we pray for Bill's family and friends as we mourn his loss. RIP Bill Thalmann.

-High Note Audio Shop

 

Bill and I had what started out to a business relation, I am the service manager for Pass Laboratories in NorCal, and in time it grew to be a personal friendship; he will very much be missed on many levels.

-Kent English

 

I will deeply miss Bill. I met him in 1978 when I started at Audio Associates and worked with him when he was with Conrad Johnson. Bill and I would have a blast working the CES Shows for CJ but I was awed at his technical prowess. He was a master at his craft but was always a kind and gentle man who would help anybody any time. RIP my dear friend.

-Bill Nay

 

What a wonderful life - family - cats and wife. Bill was blessed with so much kindness and care during his time on Earth. He now is with the angels - and will forever be the best guardian angel in the Heavens to all whose life he touched. May he be blessed with peace and comfort as he awaits a time when all will be together. He will be kept in God's tender hands forever.

-Gina Lynch

 

When I learned of this sad news, I was listening to music on my McIntosh tube amps that Bill refurbished. The music lives on, thanks to Bill. He was a kind soul and I'm sad to hear that he's left us. Peace and love to his family and friends.

-Jay

 

My deepest condolences on the loss of a fellow audiophile and cat lover. He will be missed. I've already adopted a cat, but I will make a donation to the local shelter in Bill's name.

-Greg Arpino

 

I just want to say that Bill was an incredible person and I appreciate all of the times we met. His work on my audio system was first class in every way. Thanks, Bill, for the great time and audio work.

-Joseph Kenney

 

I am so saddened to hear of Bill's passing. I first met Bill in 2012 after I returned from a lengthy European assignment. I had a German preamp that needed to be converted to 120 volts and a Denon DP62L turntable that needed to be refurbished. Bill was very meticulous about handling the equipment. He was very interested in the German preamp because it had an outboard power supply. In usual Bill fashion, he asked if I wanted to do some mods. I declined, but now I realize that Bill approaches each audio piece of hardware as a potential project. He saw no barriers in audio equipment. He overhauled my Denon turntable, and it sits proudly in our living room where we use it quite often. I will always remember our interaction and friendly straightforward approach to working with me. Bill will be sorely missed. I have a memory of Bill in my audio equipment that I will cherish. Rest in peace and God bless.

-Nick
CEO/President, The Audiophile Lounge, LLC

 

Bill exemplified kindness, honesty, talent, and thoughtfulness. My introduction to Bill and Music Technology came through Audiogon when I purchased a pair of CJ Premier 5 amplifiers. After reading about another CJ Premier 5 owner's positive experience with Bill's modifications, I reached out to him. Bill guided me through the available options, offering expert advice on the best way to restore and upgrade my amps. The results were (are) truly remarkable, and I felt fortunate to have crossed paths with him.

Later on, I sought to revive my non-functional Apogee Duetta Signature speakers, which had been in storage for well over a decade. Bill worked his magic on my Apogees, undertaking tasks such as replacing all the ribbons, capacitors and wiring, as well as refinishing the shells. As I write this, I'm currently enjoying the exceptional performance of my system—a testament to Bill's legacy as a highly skilled and talented music technology engineer.

However, Bill was more than just a professional; he was a wonderful person. Despite the tangential nature of our connection, I feel enriched for having known him. My heartfelt condolences go out to Bill's family, friends, and close colleagues. He will be greatly missed.

-Chris Ingersoll

This will close in 0 seconds

error: Content is protected !!