The Designer
Keith Herron, the owner and principal designer at Herron Audio, is a graduate of Iowa State University and a Registered Professional Electrical Engineer. He was formerly director of R&D for Ampeg, Crate, and Audio Centron. He combines a strong background in electronics, mathematics, physics, and music with a keen ear and an open-minded analysis of audio equipment design. He describes himself as an audiophile, a lover of music, and a "former" musician.

Keith Herron, E.E.P.E., President, Herron Audio:
It is hearing the events as they would naturally happen, such as the sound of the hammer hitting the strings in a piano. The sound should be clear and the events should happen in the correct order as opposed to hearing the strings vibrating before some confused presentation of the hammer striking them later.

When you have heard it done right, you will know immediately. Correct presentation in time is the key element to transparency. We experience this every day in our listening to the un-amplified world around us. It gives us the ability to decipher what the source of the sound is and precisely where it is located relative to our listening position.

Transparency is so much more than just low distortion. It is that rare and special ability of an exceptional piece of audio equipment to get out of the way of the performance and allow the listener to really hear the expression, emotion, and subtlety of each individual performer amidst the complexity and crescendo of the orchestra and chorus. The touch and feel of each instrument becomes profoundly clear - the foundation and the soul of the performance. There should be no equipment bias as to the type of music be it contemporary, jazz, rock, classical, and other forms of musical expression. All qualities of the music should be correctly presented to the listener as performed and recorded.

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Herron Audio Pre-amplifiers

Herron makes solid-state preamps that don't sound like solid state, and trouble-free tubed preamps that don't sound like tubes. Though you probably won't find their sound identical, you will hear music from all of them. The choice is yours, and we urge you to audition both types without preconceptions.

Herron Audio vacuum tube preamplifiers are designed to take the listener as close as possible to the original live musical performance.

State-of-the-art components and innovative design are combined using a purist approach that provides utmost clarity and reproduces the emotion, dynamics, and passion of the musical performance without adding or subtracting any colorations or distortions of its own.

The clarity of its performance is true to the source.

Herron Audio Amplifiers

Herron amplifiers prove that research, innovative design, and meticulous execution can merge the strengths of tubes and solid-state, while avoiding the drawbacks of both and sounding like neither. Our compact, cool-running power amps extend our tradition of more music from your media, with less distraction from the equipment.

The M1 is a full complementary symmetry bipolar implementation and contains no coupling capacitors in the forward direction. It employs the latest technology in wide band output devices with enhanced low level linearity. Proper stage-to-stage impedance matching insures extraordinarily low distortion and a unique successive stage to output confluence provides a seamless combination of micro/nano-resolution from forward stages and robust controlled power and authority from successive stages. This unified current summation drive stage network eliminates the crossover notch problems common in many solid state amplifier designs. High idle current or class A bias output stage operation is not necessary! The M1 runs cool under most listening conditions and provides a live presentation with none of the hardness normally associated with solid state amplifiers. The output network of this amplifier is resonance free and remains stable even with a 1 micro-Farad capacitor connected across the output terminals. The M1 engenders the fine resolution and liquidity normally associated with tube amplification plus the power and bass control of solid state. Individual voices remain distinct and clear amidst the crescendo full orchestra and chorus. The sound of the M1 is pure and true to the source. It has the clarity, focus in time, and natural sound inherent in all Herron Audio products.

Herron Audio Cables

The accuracy of Herron Audio interconnect cables is a good match for Herron Audio equipment. The small diameter yet rugged configuration of this cable impedes electrical and mechanical resonances and conveys a natural uncolored musical presentation. They are neutral and deliver a precise sense of timing while offering excellent noise immunity. The full spectrum, from the most intricate to the most bold musical passages, is communicated with integrity and ease. Herron Audio Interconnects are true to the music.