AES British Section newsletters
September 2005
Technical Visit - Tuesday 18 October
ARCAM has been designing and manufacturing high performance consumer audio equipment in Cambridge for some 29 years. In recent times it has successfully expanded its product range beyond stereo to include award-winning DVD players, AV processors and AV receivers.
The visit will include a talk followed by a discussion with ARCAM founder John Dawson, including ways to survive and prosper as a specialist supplier in an increasingly mass-market world. There will be a factory tour and a demonstration of some state-of-the-art audio and audio/video equipment. Numbers are limited, so please book your place as soon as possible, preferably by email or fax.
AGM and Lecture - Tuesday 8 November
Audio frequency analogue-line interfaces - David Birt
Professional audio equipment generally uses balanced or floating line interconnection between individual units. This enables discrimination between the wanted signal and unwanted interference such as mains hum. In the past, and before solid-state electronics appeared, transformers were always used at each end of the line. Today, many pieces of equipment use electronic balancing circuits which do not require transformers. David will examine the characteristics of various circuit topologies, and show some comparative measurements of key parameters.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
TUESDAY 8th NOVEMBER AT 6.30pm
NOMINATIONS FOR THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
This year there are two vacancies on the Executive Committee that need to be filled at the AGM. The Committee nominates the following members to fill these vacancies:
- Tim Harris
- Keith Howard
In addition to the above, any Member or Associate Member in good standing may nominate a candidate for election by a postal ballot. Such nominations should be submitted to the Secretariat by Wednesday 12th October, accompanied by biographical details of not more than 100 words.
Tim Harris recently received a MEng degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Imperial College, London. Currently, Tim is studying for an EngD degree at the Institute for System Level Integration in Scotland, for which his sponsor is Snell & Wilcox Ltd. Tim gained an early interest in audio through his father (Steven Harris) and has been involved in a range of audio-related activities from setting up and running several student cinemas to recording baroque classical concerts. Tim helped organize the very successful 2005 AES UK Conference, and is on the 2006 UK Conference Committee.
Keith Howard has been writing about highquality audio as a hi-fi journalist for almost 30 years. After working as an editorial assistant on Popular Hi-Fi and Hi-Fi Answers during a year out between universities, he returned to Hi-Fi Answers in 1980 and shortly thereafter became editor, a post he held until going freelance in 1989. Since then he has written principally for Audiophile, Gramophone, Hi-Fi News and, most recently, Stereophile in the US, concentrating on technical feature material. In parallel he has diversified into writing on automotive technology for various car and motorsport magazines, notably Autocar and Motor Sport.