In Memory of Michel Reverchon, Visionary Founder of Goldmund (1945–2025)

In an official statement, the company paid tribute to the visionary who shaped Goldmund’s identity and changed the world of high-end audio. Michel’s life was shaped by music, science, and curiosity.

He grew up in a world filled with music and culture. His grandmother, Marie Louise Godde, was a classical singer who introduced him early to rehearsals, orchestras, and the discipline of singing. As a child, he soon discovered his gift for music: an unusually sharp ear that could spot a wrong note. This talent inspired his lifelong search for authentic sound.

Michel’s early life was shaped by many influences. His father ran a photography and hi-fi shop in Paris, introducing him to the precision of top quality German and Swiss audio technology. His half-brothers introduced him to opera and psychoanalysis. Their neighbour, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Louis de Broglie, taught Michel that science is essential for understanding the world, and is open to anyone who is curious.

Michel was always fascinated by how things worked, and often took things apart to learn more. As a teenager, he built his first loudspeaker system using parts from a wardrobe. One key moment came when he listened to a new pickup system with his father. He was disappointed by how it sounded compared to live instruments, and this experience set him on the path that would define his life.

After serving in the army and working his way up at IBM to become a regional director in charge of hundreds of engineers, he realised his passion for music could not be limited to his free time. In 1975, Michel started MBR Electronics, importing high-end audio equipment, and balanced this new venture with his corporate career for several years.

He met the Levy brothers in 1978, two researchers who developed a groundbreaking tangential tonearm and founded Goldmund. This meeting led to Michel acquiring the company in 1981 and moving it to Geneva. He believed Switzerland’s tradition of precision micro-mechanics was the perfect base for his vision.

He was just as interested in listening rooms as he was in electronics. To Michel, perfect sound meant understanding how sound waves move, reflect, and change. This passion led Goldmund to pioneer work in architectural acoustics, room correction, and custom calibration for every amplifier and speaker.

An Impressive Legacy

With Michel as leader, Goldmund launched many breakthrough technologies and iconic products. In 1980, it introduced Mechanical Grounding, setting a new standard for stability and vibration control.

In 1983, the Goldmund Reference turntable became a landmark in analogue sound.

In 1987, Goldmund released its first Apologue loudspeaker and its first electronics, the Mimesis 2 preamplifier and Mimesis 3 power amplifier, starting Goldmund’s journey into high-performance electronics.

The company moved into the digital era in 1990 with its own Alize DAC technology, used in the Mimesis 10 (above) and Mimesis 36 CD transport (below).

In 1992, it introduced the Telos amplifiers (below), which it claimed, “pushed the boundaries of power, accuracy, and control”. This started a product line that continues to evolve today.

In 2003, Goldmund launched the Mini Logos Active (below), its first active loudspeaker, making hi-fi systems simpler and improving sound quality.

The next year, the company created Proteus LS, modelling software that brought scientific precision and consistency to loudspeaker design. In 2006, Goldmund began using its own Leonardo time-correction technology to address group-delay distortion. In 2007, Proteus HT and the Mimesis 24 processor brought this approach to home theatres, marking a big step in multichannel audio.

The Metis MKII, released in 2011, was Goldmund’s first powered loudspeaker with digital processing. In 2013, the company achieved a new milestone by adding wireless transmission with CD-quality sound to its digital standalone loudspeakers, enabling elegant, cable-free systems. Michel retired in 2015, but Goldmund continued to build on his vision by launching more powerful and precise amplifiers, such as the Telos 8800, and new technologies, such as Themis preamplification, in 2024. The Gaia line (above) introduced a new speaker-modelling approach where form follows function, and a refined design with invisible assemblies and screw-free construction. In 2022, the Pulp line (below) brought a more lifestyle-focused speaker with WiSA and Bluetooth connectivity.

The official dispatch notes that: “Michel was rigorous, technical, visionary – yet also ironic, charismatic, and profoundly human. A bon vivant, a captivating storyteller, a demanding mentor, a believer in curiosity and lifelong learning.

He cherished opera, blues, and symphonic music; he loved travel, good company, and the finer things in life. Yet above all, he never accepted compromise when it came to sound. He possessed an exceptional ability to hear problems others could not, and he knew how to bring together the most talented experts to solve them. As he often said, “I am not better than others at fixing problems, but I’m better than others at hearing problems.”

Michel Reverchon leaves behind a legacy that transcends products and patents, then. He brought science and emotion together, as he built a company that reflected his refusal to compromise. Today, the entire Goldmund family – employees, partners, clients, and friends around the world –honours his memory and continues the work he began over forty five years ago.

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