Charles and Camila
Not the British royal couple, but still audiophile aristocracy, as they uphold the tradition of vacuum tubes and horn speakers in their ‘palace’ in Amarante, surrounded by vineyards.
A former commercial pilot and helicopter instructor, Charles is an American from Texas who has always loved audio and became an amplifier and speaker builder, initially for friends and eventually as a lifelong pursuit. His wife, Camila, a Brazilian designer, joined him on this journey, which has taken them flying around the world and ultimately led them to land in Amarante, a UNESCO City of Music.
I recently published an article in Hificlube titled “The Mystery of Azzolina” about the Quark compact single-driver monitor speakers, which you can read here or in the Related Articles below. However, nothing beats speaking directly with the creator to gain a better understanding of the creation.
Nothing beats speaking directly with the creator to gain a better understanding of the creation.
Manuel Dias, the exclusive distributor of Azzolina Quark in Portugal, invited me to a social gathering with the Azzolina couple, at Imacustica – Lisbon, which led to this long 25-minute interview, edited from an engaging one-hour conversation.
Charles Azzolina, “Chuck” to his friends, reveals in this interview some of the secrets behind the creation of Quark and speaks with conviction, enthusiasm, and knowledge about everything: from Flamengo to the magic of the divine formula, the ellipse, and the unique Quark’s acoustic filter, with a patent application; from the reflex port with Bullock Vintage tuning to the valves and solid-state amplifiers that produce a ‘vacuum-like’ sound; from the curse of electrolytic capacitors, replaced in their power supplies by magnetic storage instead of chemical, to the new Proton, a floor-standing speaker that uses four speakers identical to those of the Quark and a beryllium tweeter, with horn loading in an d'Appolito configuration.
Definitely a must-see video.
Charles Azzolina, CEO and designer of Azzolina Audio
An interview by JVH for YouTube in 4K