Today, the concept of Near Field Monitoring™ seems like an industry standard, but we have Edward M. Long to thank for that. One of the most influential loudspeaker designers of the 20th century, Long was noted for co-inventing (and trademarking) the Time-Align™ speaker process and the pressure zone technology made popular in Crown’s PZM microphones, as well as developing and selling the first Near Field Monitor™ (another Ed Long trademark). In 1977, Long’s Calibration Standard Instruments (CSI) debuted the MDM-4 (Mix-Down Monitor-4), a compact studio monitor that employed his Time-Align concept, but also introduced the notion of the Near Field Monitor (another Long trademark), which — by placing the speakers close to the listener — largely negated the effects of the room acoustics. This technique caught on and today remains a standard method used in nearly every recording facility throughout the world and almost every recording made in the past four-plus decades.  

Long retired in 2003 and turned his energy to writing both technical (Time Align Design and More) and illustrated childrens' adventure books, including Magellan's Gold and Monarch of the Andes. He resided in San Jose, CA until his death on December 17th, 2016.