NAD Electronics founder and industry veteran Martin L. Borish (Marty) died July 11, the company announced, after a battle with cancer.
Borish was born Sept. 17, 1927. After a brief stint in optometry, he returned to school to receive his bachelor’s degree in electric engineering from Rutgers University. Borish opened his first hi-fi retail store, HiFi Heaven, in New Brunswick, N.J., in 1956. He later sold the store and joined Acoustic Research, where he climbed the ranks and eventually became president/CEO.
In 1972, Borish moderated and monitored a small group of international high-end audio distributors in a discussion about a potential development of a “new brand” of electronics called “New Acoustic Dimension,” according to NAD’s statement. Four years later, he left Acoustic Research to form NAD Electronics. The company introduced the NAD 3020 a year later, the first amplifier with full disclosure power (FDP).
NAD was sold in 1999 to the Lenbrook Group, where Borish served as an advisory board member.
According to NAD’s statement: “Marty spent 44 years living in London, England with Elaine, his wife of 66 years, before moving back to the U.S. to be closer to their two sons Larry and Jeff, and their families. His love for music was all encompassing not only in the audio world but also with musical theater and especially opera. Marty will be greatly missed but his legacy will live on. He lived a life full of love, travel and of course music, and would be the first to say that he lived a dream life, reminding those near to him that ‘it was a wonderful ride.’”