A piece of Utah and American history: sound pioneer Jim Fosgate’s Heber home is on the market

Emmy award winner Jim and wife Norma lived in their Heber home for over three decades. Photo: Fosgate family.

HEBER CITY, Utah — Nestled within 10 acres of private land lies a home that holds not just the echoes of a beautiful, giving couple but also the pioneering work of a man who shaped the world of audio technology. Meet Emmy-award-winning Jim and Norma Fosgate, the husband and wife duo that changed how we listen to music, television, and radio.

The pair met later in life in Arizona. They each had children from previous marriages, never having children together. Norma taught music therapy at the time and was annoyed by the constant music playing in her apartment complex.

A friend of the family, realtor, and member of the JNF Foundation, Kathy McCabe, retells their meeting, “she went to check it out, and it was Jim. They started talking, and it was really love at first sight for them. From that point on, they became inseparable. In fact, the longest time that they were ever apart was when Jim went into the hospital. Before he died, they had never been apart more than a couple of days in the over 40 years that they were married.”

Life for the Fosgates wasn’t always about riches; McCabe paints a vivid picture of humble beginnings— images like Jim and Norma pushing their car with not enough gas downhill to get it going. Despite lacking a college education, Jim was a self-taught genius with a passion for sound, responsible for car stereo and surround sound innovations.

“He was the first one to do those big car speakers,” McCabe said. “Anytime you’re next to those cars where your car is shaking because their bass is so loud, that’s Jim’s fault.”

Growing up, his father owned a radio store. From a young age, Fosgate disassembled radios and put them back together; he even made his own portable radio for his bike.

“One of the things he’s most well known for is Pro Logic,” she said. “So when you go to theatres, you hear Dolby Pro Logic, surround sound. That was Jim’s design, and he partnered with Dolby on that. He still has 21 different patents for systems he’s created.”

Notably, Jim was on the team that created surround sound that earned him an Emmy award. “Norma actually coined the name surround sound,” McCabe said. Norma, she continued, was the business strength of the Fosgate team, taking care of administrative and financial duties so Jim could focus on inventing.

The Fosgates eventually settled in Norma’s home state, Utah, in Heber, where they built a home that served as a haven for family, friends, and sound enthusiasts. Their house, now on the market, boasts over 6,500 square feet of space, including a sound studio, where Jim fine-tuned his creations, and a listening room that once housed a collection of amps, receivers, speakers, turntables, and radios.

“Most people think I have the listing wrong— it is one bedroom when people scratch their heads. They liked to host big parties and have people there, but they also loved their own space.”

As Jim and Norma aged, their philanthropic efforts took shape through the JNF Foundation. This off-the-grid foundation focused on supporting small nonprofit organizations in Utah, reflecting their commitment to giving back to the community that meant so much to them. Their plan was always to “give it all back.”

“He was an avid car collector. He collected old Vespa-type scooters. He also was big into photography. And, of course, music, he probably had 10 to 15,000 LPS at the house.”

In 2017, he continued to innovate. Jim claimed to McCabe that ARIES, also named by Norma, “was going to be his greatest ever creation.” ARIES was supposed to be released in 2019 when the Ukrainian war disrupted the supply of Russian tubes. The COVID-19 pandemic compounded difficulties, and ARIES was retooled.

Sadly, Jim passed in December 2022 at the age of 85. Norma passed shortly after on January 25, 2023.

“In Jim’s mind, ARIES is his greatest project. It’s so new it’s barely coming out in the marketplace,” she said.

The legacy of Jim and Norma Fosgate lives on through their contributions to audio technology, their philanthropy, and the memories embedded in the walls of their Heber home. As the property seeks new caretakers, it carries with it actual Utah history that shaped the way we experience sound without even thinking twice.