My name is Charles 'Crash' Prest and I have been in the audio business for most of my adult life. It all started in high school where I was selected to be the stage manager for the school's music department. I had an electric guitar and an amp but the school owned a '59' Bassman and a '65' Twin Reverb. Need I say more; I was hooked.
In 1972, fresh out of the military, I worked at a retail Hi-Fi store in Phoenix, Arizona. We were Arizona's first retail outlet for Cerwin-Vega's residential speaker line. While there I met Gene Czerwinski, the principal behind Cerwin-Vega, and volunteered to assist Gene at Consumer Electronic Shows. The relationship amounted to only a couple of shows but I was working with "The Man". I asked every question I could possibly think of; sound was where it's at. This left me with a craving for more knowledge. So, I started building my own Hi-Fi gear. I purchased kits from companies like Dynaco, Southwest Technical Products, and Heath.
In 1976, while managing a car stereo store, I was approached by a man starting a new company making Hi-Fi amps for cars. Now in those days there was no such thing as Hi-Fi in cars. This got my attention and I found myself acting as a car stereo speaker consultant for Jim Fosgate. This gave me the opportunity to work with Jim in his lab at his home. I asked so many questions that Jim suggested I go to school and become an engineer.
So, here I am; working as an Electrical Engineer. I have a day job working in the design department for a local electrical engineering consultant firm. I hold a Bachelors Degree in Manufacturing Engineering from Arizona State University Polytechnic and I am working on my graduate degree as well.