The audio world lost one of its leading lights last week when my dear old friend Tim de Paravicini succumbed to the liver cancer that he had been fighting for several months (with great good humour and optimism). Few who met Tim will forget his startlingly larger-than-life personality and the sheer vigour with which he attacked any problem from audio electronics design (his 'day job') to lawnmower repairs to reading a badly typeset Christmas menu in poor light.