Dr. Joseph D’Appolito On-board at Snell

As Snell’s Chief Engineer, D’Appolito Will Now Direct All New Product Development 

Peabody, MA, July 30, 2008— Snell Acoustics, a leading manufacturer of high-performance loudspeakers for more than 30 years, today announced that legendary audio designer Joseph D’Appolito, Ph.D, whose name is synonymous with the paired-vertical array widely accepted as the ideal arrangement of dynamic transducers, is now exclusively Snell’s full-time chief engineer. In his newly designated position, Dr. D’Appolito will work closely with David Logvin, Snell’s Senior Design Engineer, to direct new product development, assuring Snell’s continued performance levels and design innovations.

An internationally recognized authority in acoustics, speaker design and measurement techniques, Dr. D'Appolito has been Snell’s chief engineer since joining the company in 2003 and has spearheaded the design of many of the company’s products, including Snell’s new flagship Illusion Reference Tower. He has also been directly responsible for the renowned Snell Series 7 models, including the complementary in-wall and in-cabinet speakers. Now, with Dr. D’Appolito’s exclusive commitment to Snell, he and the company will be able to concentrate on the obvious synergies between his engineering pedigree and Snell’s renowned expertise in the design and manufacturing of high-end loudspeakers.

Designer of the Renowned “D’Appolito Array”

Dr. D’Appolito is best known for designing the popular loudspeaker geometry commonly known as the “D'Appolito Array,” which is now incorporated into the designs of many premium quality speakers designed and manufactured in Europe, Asia and the U.S. The technique, when properly executed, sandwiches a tweeter between two midrange drivers – so that the tweeter's output is directed primarily at listeners in the horizontal plane, minimizing reflections with the floor and ceiling, resulting in increased clarity and a broader “sweet spot.”

In addition to designing the D’Appolito Array, Dr. D’Appolito has been at the forefront of high-performance commercial loudspeaker design for over twenty years. Prior to joining Snell, he was instrumental in the design of more than 80 loudspeaker systems and related audio engineering projects.

Dr. D’Appolito is the author of the world's authoritative book on loudspeaker testing, Testing Loudspeakers (Audio Amateur Press). In addition, he has contributed widely to both the technical and popular literature on loudspeaker and crossover design. He has served as Contributing Technical Editor for popular books on home and auto loudspeaker construction published by Master Publishing, and has authored more than 30 journal and conference papers covering applications of modern estimation and control theory, statistical signal processing, stochastic systems identification and modeling, and a broad range of navigation, guidance, communications and signal processing issues.

Snell’s New Flagship Illusion Tower

Dr. D’Appolito’s most recent accomplishment at Snell has been directing the design and creation of the Snell Illusion Reference Tower loudspeaker. With no limitations set on acoustical design, materials or creative design, Illusion is truly an audio enthusiast’s masterpiece. A uniquely designed graceful pair of tapering towers, Illusion houses a full spectrum of fast, sublimely musical transducers, integrated with an exceedingly precise crossover network. The result is a superbly balanced, highly dynamic device with a nearly holographic soundstage that puts voices and instruments not just in their proper location, but in the their proper size relative to each other – with consistent acoustic characteristics at every listening level.

Dr. D'Appolito holds BEE, SMEE, EE and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Massachusetts.

About Snell Acoustics
For over 30  years Snell Acoustics has designed and manufactured high-end loudspeakers, and has earned a reputation as one of the world’s foremost manufactures of custom-built, handcrafted speakers. Based in Peabody, Massachusetts, the company is renowned for its aesthetically pleasing hand-made cabinets, award-winning sound, and pioneering efforts with THX.™ Snell Acoustics is a wholly owned subsidiary of D&M Holdings Inc. Additional information is available at www.snellacoustics.com.

About D&M Holdings Inc.
D&M Holdings Inc. is a global operating company providing worldwide management and distribution platforms for premium consumer, automotive, commercial and professional audio and video businesses including Denon^®, Marantz^®, McIntosh^® Laboratory, Boston Acoustics^®, Snell Acoustics, Escient^â, Calrec Audio, Denon DJ, D&M Professional and D&M Premium Sound Solutions.  Our technologies improve the quality of any audio and visual experience. iPod is a registered trademark of Apple Inc.  All other product and brand names with a trademark symbol are trademarks or registered trademarks of D&M Holdings, Inc. or its subsidiaries.  For more information visit www.dm-holdings.com.