LinkedIn Profile: Tom Christiansen, LinkedIn
Neurochrome is based in Calgary, Canada. I founded Neurochrome in 2010 to provide well-designed high-end audio circuits to the DIY audio community, and it quickly grew to a self-sustaining hobby. This early success provided me with valuable insight into the DIY audio market. It also made me realize, that to grow Neurochrome into a business, I would need to adopt a business mindset. This change in strategy and the growth which followed allowed me to leave my job with Texas Instruments (formerly: National Semiconductor) in 2015. I had worked at TI/NSC for a decade and wanted to pursue other passions; one of these passions being high-performance audio circuit design. Neurochrome has now grown into a full-time job for me, and is my only source of income (by choice!)
My interest in electronics started in the early 1980s when I started building power supplies to power various experiments, which usually involved letting the magic smoke out of electronic components. My career in electronics started in 1991, while I was still in high school, when I landed a job as an electronics technician. In 2002, I earned my Master's degree in Electrical Engineering at University of Washington, Seattle. My electronics career continued at National Semiconductor and Texas Instruments where I designed precision op-amps and precision timing circuits for use in cellphone base stations.
If you are interested in a deep dive into my motivations for Neurochrome, I suggest that you read The Neurochrome Story published in the May 2024 issue of AudioXpress. You can find it here: »The Neurochrome Story.
Design Philosophy
My philosophy is simple: Engineering : : Done : : Right.
I set my customers and clients up for success. I provide well-designed circuits and circuit boards that are well tested, peer reviewed, and well documented. My boards have all been prototyped before production and any bugs have been addressed. The board layout does matter for circuit performance. If you want precision performance – i.e. low susceptibility to electromagnetic interference and low noise – the board needs to be optimized for signal integrity. This is especially important in circuits that require high signal-to-noise ratio, such as audio circuits, and in circuits that is exposed to fast current spikes, such as high voltage regulators and switching regulators.
All circuits and circuit boards offered on this page are peer reviewed and have been optimized for signal integrity and circuit performance. In addition, all audio circuits have been extensively tested by listening tests.