Hi-Fi's Father Loves Harmony Synonym For Success: Sound king Harman refined manager-worker relationship.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)

Byline: PATRICK SEITZ

Sidney Harman turned his love of music into an industry.

In the early 1950s, when Harman worked at a public-address system company, he and the chief engineer borrowed some gear to find a better way to play records at home.

Harman and Bernard Kardon found that they could use amplifiers from work to play their records with exceptional clarity. Friends began asking for similar systems, and the two men tried to persuade their employer to make them.

But their employer, David Bogen Co., turned them down. Convinced they were on to something big, the two left the company in 1952 to form Harman Kardon. They're widely credited with combining the amplifier and tuner to create the first modern high-fidelity receiver.

"In those days, most people listened to records on modest phonograph players. I was certain there were enough interested people out there to support a small company dedicated to making equipment that really brought the music alive," Harman said in a company biography.

Soon, Harman and Kardon were at trade shows with their revolutionary products. To drum up sales, Harman also took his products straight to his audience -- the consumer.