Audio Engineering Society

Upper Midwest Section

 

 

 

Upcoming Events:

Jonathan Novick from Audio Precision, Inc

"Lies, Damned Lies & Specifications"

Tuesday, March 23, 2010
 

 

Here is Jonathan's abstract for this presentation:
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Lies, Damned Lies & Specifications

*       Which spec tells you how a product sounds?
*       Why do some products have good specs but still sound bad (and vice versa)?
*       Why don't we measure audio products with music as a stimulus?
*       Why aren't datasheets for finished audio product as long as datasheets for IC's?
*       Is 10% THD way too much or just barely noticeable?

Specs are important. Every product has them. Lots of time and money are
spent measuring them. People will base purchase decisions on them. And
yet many people will dismiss them outright.

In the '60s and '70s over-zealous marketing led to such inflated specs
that the Federal Trade Commission had to step in and create a federal
regulation regarding their use. Thirty five years later, confusion
reigns again and this time the FTC is not stepping in. Consumer fraud
still exists but that's not the whole problem. People frequently
misinterpret specs. They'll make broad assumptions about the performance
characteristics of a device based on a single point measurement. Without
an accurate understanding of various audio specs it is easy assume that
standard measurements don't reflect real world listening. This is
especially true of common distortion measurements.

This lively presentation will take a closer look at the world of specs
including the "art" of "specsmanship." Live listening tests will be
conducted during the presentation so that attendees can compare real
world performance to measured specifications.

Jonathan Novick is Director of Sales for the Americas at Audio
Precision, Inc. He is a past chairman of the LA Section of the AES and
has served on the executive committee for the past five years.  Jonathan
is an active member of the Consumer Electronics Association standards
committee on audio and was co-chair of the Live Sound Seminars for the
125th AES convention. In his spare time, he likes to dabble in live
sound and professional DJ work. Jonathan holds a BSEE degree from
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and spent much of his professional
career involved in the design and simulation of RF and microwave
circuitry.

=======================================================================


The Upper Midwest Section of AES, and Bosch our room hosts, do not specifically endorse the opinions of this presenter, however the subject
matter and discussions surrounding it should prove interesting, insightful, and entertaining.

_____________

EVENT DETAILS
_____________

Date: Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Time: 7:00 PM

Place:

Bosch Security Systems, Inc
Communications Systems (Electro-Voice, Telex, RTS)
12000 Portland Ave South
Burnsville, Minnesota 55337
USA

Room: Academy Conference Room

Entrance:

Please enter the parking lot off of Portland Avenue which runs along the North side of Bosch's property.  Please go to the lower level entrance
on the north side of the building.  Park in the lot adjacent to this entrance.  This in NOT the main building entrance.

Invitation:

All those interested in audio are welcome, and this of course includes all student and regular AES members. There is no admission charge (and
the AES organization is not being charged for this event.)

Please email back to me if you will attend.   Thank you.


Best Regards

John Nygren
AES Upper Midwest Section Member

 

 

Other Upcoming Events:  More Information Coming Soon...

Our section plans to offer a few different events each year.  We also encourage members, especially those outside the Minneapolis/St. Paul area to organize your own local events.  Contact us for assistance in planning local events-we want to help!   This is your AES Section.  Please continue to give us feedback on how we can make it more effective for you.  Also send along audio events that we can pass along via the web site or newsletters.

 

Regards,

John Nygren

Chair, AES Upper Midwest Section

 

 

 

SECTION OFFICERS

Chairman: John Nygren   Vice Chairman: Bruce Olson

Secretary: Robert Barbour

Treasurer: Jason Spartz

Committee: Larry Glenn David Igl Greg Reierson Erland Persson Joe Dundovic Brian Johnson

Contact Information: John Nygren 740 Preakness Lane   Chanhassen, MN 55317   Phone: 612 581 8766 http://www.aes.org/sections/uppermidwest/

 

Past Events:

SMALL ROOM ACOUSTICS WORKSHOP:

Led by Bruce Olson and Brad Yost.  This session was held Saturday, March 25 at North Central University

In addition to being our Section’s Vice Chairman, Bruce Olson is the AES Standards Steering Committee Vice Chair for the Western Hemisphere, and chair of the AES Working Group on Grounding and EMC Practices.  Bruce is the founding member of OLSON SOUND DESIGN, www.olsonsound.com, a consulting firm specializing in sound system, technical systems and combined audio & video production/presentation system design.

Brad Yost is a veteran designer, engineer, and producer with numerous award winning projects to his credit as a specialist in recording, mixing, studio design and consultation.  As an acoustic consultant, Brad has over 20 years of experience in system design, analysis, and installation of systems both simple and complex.

Bruce and Brad will hold this workshop in NCU’s Rehearsal/Recording area for which they creating the acoustical design.

 

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UPPER MIDWEST SECTION HOSTS SPEAKER DESIGN PRESENTATION AND MANUFACTURER TOUR:

 On Thursday, March 2 The AES UPPER MIDWEST SECTION and the Minneapolis Speaker Company (MISCO), hosted a meeting of 53 members, student members and guests from a wide variety of ages and backgrounds.

Dan Digre of MISCO and consultant Mike Shields of DMSI provided a journey through the design and manufacture of a custom loudspeaker driver. Mike Shields presented diagrams and formulas explaining electrical, acoustical, and mechanical models of loudspeaker performance.  Mike provided a discussion of the steps in selecting performance parameters for an 8-inch woofer using design software to supplement his design experience. Four of these specific 8-inch drivers together with an equalized amplifier are used in the Model S48 active “Fast Woofer” by High Emotion Audio. Mike later used the S48 to demonstrate the finished product and the iterations in arriving at the equalization characteristics (www.highemotionaudio.com). 

Dan then outlined the steps in choosing and evaluating the multiple components of the speaker using SPEAD (by Red Rock Acoustics) design software to provide the performance specified. A sample speaker using the data derived during the presentation was assembled and tested. While waiting for the glue to dry on the sample, MISCO provided tours of their large OEM speaker manufacturing plant. MISCO was started by Cliff Digre, Dan’s father some 50 years ago and is one of very few loudspeaker manufacturing facilities remaining in the USA serving the OEM market.  Cliff Digre was also on hand to greet the participants and assist in giving tours. 

Mike reminded us that the ultimate evaluation of any loudspeaker is “how does it sound?” This represents subjective evaluation rather than an objective measurement which leads to larger questions of the connection between what we know how to measure and what we can hear.

 

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Saint Paul MN:  The Audio Engineering Society - Upper Midwest Section held its most recent meeting at the McNally Smith College of Music in downtown Saint Paul.  The May 7^th event hosted three of the top designers of high quality audio hardware. 

• Dave Hill, proprietor of CRANE SONG in Superior, Wisconsin is known world wide for his one-of-a-kind products.  Dave designed products for Summit Audio for ten years prior to starting Crane Song.  His pre-amps, mixers, and A to D converters have received rave reviews.   http://www.cranesong.com/

 

• Dan Kennedy, founder of GREAT RIVER ELECTRONICS creates audiophile grade gear in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dan started by developing quiet microphone preamplifiers for recording classical music using ribbon microphones.  After successfully producing these, Dan set out to improve the performance of vintage hardware designs, and has also added several well-received equalizers to his product line as well.    http://www.greatriverelectronics.com/products.html

 

• Wade Goeke of CHANDLER LIMITED in Waverly, Iowa returned to Iowa after life in LA, and has built a reputation for making new versions of classic devices.  He is currently teaming with EMI/Abbey Road to create hardware that brings back the sound of recordings by the likes of the Beatles and Pink Floyd.    http://www.chandlerlimited.com/products/ltd1.php

Dave, Dan, and Wade came together to discuss their products and how they go about dreaming up and producing their critically-acclaimed gear.  The event started with brief introductions followed by a question and answer session that was moderated by John Nygren (section chairman). 

The panel discussed a wide range of current audio design and operation issues such as:

·         The sound of transformers versus electronically differentiated inputs/outputs.

·         What benefits result from buying professional level equipment compared to budget level gear.

·         How the quality of cables impact the performance of processors.

·         The impact of “pin 1” design errors on noise prevention/rejection.

·         Interference between devices in close proximity (heat, electromagnetic, ground loops, etc.).

·         The impact of phase shift on the performance of audio designs.

·         The use of negative feedback loops in amplifier designs.

·         How AC power conditioning effects the performance of hardware.

·         Trends the panelists anticipate in the audio hardware industry in the next 2 to 5 years.

·         The performance of digital versus analog designs using the latest equipment and sample rates.

Product demonstrations and discussions followed the event.

Over 50 people participated in the event representing an even distribution between section members, student section members and attendees from the local audio community.  The Upper Midwest section appreciates the generous participation of Dan Kennedy, Wade Goeke, and Dave Hill  in this meeting.  We also thank Thomas Day, Faculty Advisor, and his Student section at McNally Smith College for providing their auditorium for this event.

 

       

Wade Goeke, Dave Hill, Dan Kennedy, John Nygren                         Demonstration and discussion                                     Dan Kennedy, Dave Hill, and Wade Goeke

 Photographs taken by Jason Spartz, (section treasurer)