The Audio Engineering Society new series of Standards webinars will highlight the vital role of the AES Standards Committee and its work in the establishment of audio standards and practices.
— New initiative from the AES Standards Committee shines a light on Audio Standards development, while seeking input and experience from the global audio community —
The Audio Engineering Society has announced a series of webinars hosted by the AES Standards Committee that will illuminate the inner workings of the often complex, yet necessary, set of rules by which engineers and equipment manufacturers abide and the increasingly important role of the AES and its work to establish audio standards and practices that ensure interoperability worldwide. AES members may register for the Zoom webinar for live interaction with the presenters, while non-members may watch a live stream of the event on the AES YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/AESorg. The webinar will also provide opportunities for individuals to become involved in the ongoing proposal and establishment of working audio protocols.
“Across decades, AES Standards have fostered gear interoperability, improved workflows, streamlined the adoption of new technologies and quantified and improved performance of hardware and software tools,” said AES Standards Committee Chair Bruce Olson. “This series of webinars will help demystify the AES Standards development process. As so much of standards work is conducted online in a pandemic world, the opportunity for involvement is now practical for a wider number of the Society’s members and other interested parties with experience, perspectives, and insights to share on Standards work in progress. We invite everyone interested to join us for these webinars as an open door into active participation in AES Standards creation and refinement.”
The first three webinars in the AES Standards series have been announced, each outlining a different AES standard currently in development. The first event will take place on March 29 at 12:00 noon, ET, and will discuss the current development of a procedure for loudspeaker test and measurement using a music simulation test signal called M-Noise. Presenters Merlijn Van Veen and Roger Schwenke, co-chairs of the SC-04-03-A Task Group, will briefly explore the background and impetus for this project. The AES Standards procedure will be explained and demonstrated, including challenges faced by the SC-04-03-A Task Group and how the Group’s activities have inspired development within other standard bodies. The session will close with a description of the remaining development steps and how interested individuals can get involved.
In the second event, taking place May 17, Nicolas Sturmel will discuss using AES67 over wide area networks – the focus of the SC-02-12-M Task Group. On July 26 Bill Whitlock will discuss ongoing initiatives on analog system interconnection standards in the SC-05-05 Working Group. In the fourth webinar on September 20, Anthony Kuzub will discuss the new AES72 standard from SC-05-02 for transporting either analog or digital audio over quad twisted pair cable, including documentation of RJ45 connector pin-outs.
What are Audio Standards?
Standards are universal “rules” by which technology and its operators can ensure interoperability across compliant devices, platforms, and workflows. In audio, this means, for example, that analog signals employing XLR connectors will maintain absolute polarity with all XLR-equipped devices (AES14), that your Dante-enabled device can seamlessly share audio with a Ravenna, Q-SYS, LiveWire, or other digital audio networks that implement the AES67 standard, and that a digital audio file will transfer accurately within networks (AES31, AES47) with accompanying audio data description and control metadata (AES41). These are just a few of the standards developed and overseen by the Audio Engineering Society Standards Committee, composed of over 1200 members across 11 working groups in the fields of Digital Audio, Acoustics, Interconnections and Metadata for Audio. To learn more about participating in the development of AES Standards visit www.aes.org/standards/development/. AES Standards documents are available in the AES Standards Store and are free for download for AES members.
Visit the AES Standards Blog for Standards news, Working Group status reports, the schedule of upcoming events, webinar registration and more.
Posted: Monday, March 22, 2021
Interfacio – Global recruitment for audio and media technology
KEF Audio (UK) Limited, Celestion, GP Acoustics
See the full AES Job Board listings at aes.org/jobs
Posted: Monday, March 22, 2021
The Audio Engineering Society Honors the Memory of AES Life Fellow Herman Wilms
The Audio Engineering Society is honoring the memory of Herman Wilms, a driving force in developments in the early European AES and throughout the industry.
During his 40-plus year career, Wilms was awarded the AES Fellowship Award (1976), the AES Board of Governors Award (1981), the AES Bronze Medal Award (1997) and an AES Distinguished Service Medal Award (2007), among other accolades.
Wilms authored several papers available in the AES E-Library, and is also featured in this AES Legends video interview: https://aes.digitellinc.com/aes/sessions/1056/view.
The funeral takes place this Friday, March 18 at 10 CET time, and will be stramed online https://www.uitvaartstream.be/hermanwilms (video will also remain online for 30 days).
Posted: Thursday, March 18, 2021
AES Immersive Audio Academy Series Registration Open for June 17th Event
— The AES’s second-in-series Immersive Audio Academy offers insights from top producers and researchers in the industry, offering hands-on immersive music mixing opportunities and more for attendees —
Leaders in the field of immersive audio will gather for the next-in-series AES Immersive Audio Academy, being streamcast to a global audience on Thursday, June 17 from 9:00am to 6:00pm ET. Building upon the AES’s first Immersive Audio Academy event, held in February 2021, this one-day online event, organized by Immersive Audio Academy co-chairs Steve Martz and Andres Mayo will focus on emerging music production technologies and workflows in immersive and binaural audio with exclusive presentations by some of the leading innovators in the field. AES Immersive Audio Academy industry partners for this installment in the Academy series are Fraunhofer and New Audio Technology.
The AES Immersive Audio Academy program of events offers a varied schedule of presentations aimed at offering a well-rounded educational event that will spark further innovation within the industry. In the session “Preserving the Artistic Intent in Immersive Music,” panelists Wilfried Van Baelen, Frank Filipetti Darcy Proper, and Thomas Walravens will discuss their approach to immersive audio productions and their most effective workflow solutions. Expanding further on the capabilities of immersive audio, the panel discussion “Getting Higher Quality in Immersive Audio” will include Andres Mayo, George Massenburg, Eric Schilling and Ceri Thomas addressing the issue of how to get high quality sound when you go 360, and offering audio examples as part of the presentation. The session “Immersive in Classical Music” will further take a look into one of the most popular genres for immersive audio in an informative panel moderated by Darcy Proper with special guests Malgorzata Albinska-Frank, Kseniya Kawko and Ulrike Schwarz.
The day’s sessions will culminate in a 3.5-hour hands-on Master Class, “Mixing Music in Immersive,” hosted by Ronald Prent. Over the past 30 years, Prent has established himself as a specialist in immersive audio, not only pioneering in the field of multichannel mixing, but also playing a key role in the conceptualization and development of new technology needed to meet the demands of working in 5.1 and other progressive high-resolution multi-channel formats.
AES Immersive Audio Academy 2 registration is only $49 for AES members ($99 for non-members) and is available now at AESShow.com/Immersive2.
Posted: Monday, March 8, 2021
The AES is set to premiere its first-ever EDM Academy event on March 11, 2021. Shown clockwise: Alex Bartles, AES EDM Academy co-chair; Funk Cartel brothers Rory and Cam Cochrane; Dr. Rick Snoman, AES EDM Academy co-chair; Roska, artist/producer/DJ; and Stephan Mauer, Product Manager for Studio Monitoring at ADAM Audio.
— First-ever AES EDM event brings expert industry educators, producers and artists to the spotlight, along with giveaway opportunities to win limited edition Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBB headphones —
The AES EDM Academy, taking place March 11, is set to guide attendees through the artistry and techniques used by today’s hottest EDM artists and producers. As the first event of its kind hosted by the Audio Engineering Society, this day-long event brings together a variety of industry professionals on topical sessions designed to help attendees achieve maximum impact with their productions. Registration is just $20 for AES Members / $40 non-members, and all attendees will be entered for a chance to win limited-edition ATH-M50xBB Blue/Black headphones from AES EDM Academy event sponsor Audio-Technica.
“We are very excited to host the very first AES event dedicated to EDM music and culture,” said AES EDM Academy co-chair Alex Bartles. “Co-chair Rick Snoman and I have put together a program that will offer both practical and artistic value for our attendees and will showcase our artists, engineers and educators to the industry.”
AES EDM Academy Sessions:
10:00am EST – “The Most Important Tool in your Arsenal,” presented by Alex Bartles
11:00am EST – “Education to Industry as an Artist,” presented by the Funk Cartel brothers, Rory and Cam Cochrane
12:00 noon EST – “An Insight into Roska and the UK Funky Genre,” presented by Roska
1:00 pm EST – “Studio Monitoring 101,” presented by Stephan Mauer, head of product at ADAM Audio
2:00pm EST – “Do Your Kicks Punch?” presented by Dr. Rick Snoman
3:00pm EST - Encore Presentation: "Eurorack Applications in Electronic Dance Music Productions” - Originally streamed with live Q&A in the AES Show Fall 2020 online Convention
Presenter Bios:
Alex Bartles
Alex Bartles studied Electronic Music production under Rick Snoman, award-winning remixer and author of the Dance Music Manual, and over several years trained as a mix engineer, producer and trainer. During 2019, she contributed articles and a chapter to the latest edition of Rick’s book, alongside holding a number of talks at universities and colleges across the UK, training younger EDM producers. A qualified audiologist with 15+ years’ experience, she has worked with professional artists and musicians, specializing in tinnitus retraining therapy for music industry professionals. After taking an interest in the music production side of the industry, her career became more and more specialized toward engineering and technology, and specifically electronic music production.
Funk Cartel
The “Funk Cartel” is a duo consisting of brothers “Blame Rory” and “Kimono Cam,” known for their rave-ready flavors, bringing life and soul to the underground sound. Closer than their relationship as brothers is their relationship with the dance floor, way beyond their years in production skills, attributed to a close upbringing surrounded by good House music. The brothers believe that House has an ability to bring people together like no other style, and that their purpose is to share this message. They have a clear understanding of what works for the crowds, and this perfectly translates into their music and style. Their unique weave of deep rolling basslines, intricate keys, and clever energy-fueled percussion leaves a lasting impression on all who hear it and is a true breath of fresh air for the scene. Their sets are frequently stacked with their own distinctive productions and edits. A relentless work ethic in the studio helps forge their sound, which cannot be genre-labeled, as their music pushes forward in many directions. The formation of their own label THUNDR has not only showcased their own music but brought fresh talent to the forefront of the scene.
Roska
Working across UK Funky, House and various mutated strains of bass-heavy club music, Roska has earmarked himself as one of the UK’s most accomplished underground exponents, continuing his journey as a pioneer of the Funky House sound via his Roska Kicks & Snares (RKS) imprint. Presiding over 100 releases, RKS has welcomed the likes of MA1, Champion, Murder He Wrote and DJ POLO to the label since its inception in 2010 and has spent the last two years developing and mentoring later artists also including DJ MOTU and more in the fold. A renowned DJ to boot, Roska also helms the “Roska Presents” brand, which has seen him curate lineups across the UK for the last 6 years. He has been shifting to a worldwide DJ from being European-based for many years, playing over 20 different cities across the world, frequently touring Asia, Australasia and Americas. After a few years off radio, Roska returns to the airwaves (and online) with Reprezent every fourth Wednesday of each month, bringing guests from his label.
Stephan Mauer
Stephan Mauer lives and works at the junction of music, audio technology and the professional audio market, with a focus on acoustics. He received his Engineering Diploma at Technical University of Ilmenau, Germany, having worked on Flat Panel loudspeakers for his thesis. He works as an independent live and studio sound mixer, and since 2018, Mauer has also served as Product Manager for Studio Monitoring at ADAM Audio.
Dr. Rick Snoman
Rick Snoman is an award-winning producer, remixer, engineer and author. He runs Altar Recording Studios in the UK, the first and only boutique studio dedicated to electronic dance producers, regularly engineering music for a variety of electronic dance music labels including Sony BMG, Warner, Polydor and many others. Rick's ghost production work has earned millions of views on YouTube, and his work has accredited him as an iTunes-certified mastering engineer and an EMTAS certified tutor. With 30 years’ experience working in both private and commercial studios worldwide, he specializes in electronic dance music production. He has remixed for some of the biggest names in the industry, including Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue and Justin Timberlake, and has produced music under various monikers, including Phiadra, Aeon Soul and Red 5.
Visit AESShow.com/edm for AES EDM Academy registration, preliminary session information, presenter bios and more.
Posted: Monday, March 1, 2021
AES Community - Sharing a Common Passion
The AES is comprised of individuals from around the world united by a passion for audio. From seasoned professionals to novices and students, from researchers to practitioners, from local sections to international conferences and conventions, the AES is the way to Listen, Learn and Connect with the global audio community.
Like, Share and Follow us on our official social media channels at aes.org/community
#AESorg
Posted: Thursday, February 18, 2021
The AES is set to premiere its first-ever EDM Academy event on March 11, 2021
— One-day online event will focus on technology, tools and techniques to enhance EDM sessions and performances —
The AES has announced details of the upcoming premiere of the AES EDM Academy, taking place online, March 11, from 10:00am to 5:00pm ET, and offering a full day of sessions covering the latest trends in technology, tools and techniques for EDM production and performance. Registration is just $20 for AES members ($40 for non-members) and includes access to on-demand replay of the event for an additional two months for AES members (two weeks for nonmembers). Additionally, attendees will receive a certificate of achievement for participating in the AES EDM Academy sessions.
In this first-ever AES EDM Academy event, industry pros will guide attendees through a host of topical sessions covering both the artistry and techniques used by today’s hottest EDM artists and producers. Slated sessions include:
“The Most Important Tool in your Arsenal” – AES EDM Academy co-chair Alexandra Bartles takes a fresh look at the most important tool in any studio: human hearing. Bartles will share critical knowledge about how hearing works and how to protect it.
“Education to Industry as an Artist” – In this session, the Funk Cartel brothers, Rory and Cam Cochrane, discuss their self-driven artist development strategies, the importance of understanding the audio engineering aspect of music production, and how they continue to carve out their place in the music industry.
“Do Your Kicks Punch?” – Dr. Rick Snoman gives insight on how to tighten up the most important element in an electronic dance track: the kick drum. Snoman will look at the different methods used to synthesize kick drums, alongside the various ways to use processing to ensure that kicks punch through the track and translate properly to the dance floor.
“An Insight into Roska and the UK Funky Genre” – Continuing his journey as a pioneer of the Funky House sound via his more than 100 releases on the Roska Kicks & Snares (RKS) imprint, Roska has welcomed the likes of MA1, Champion, Murder He Wrote, DJ POLO and DJ MOTU to the label since its inception in 2010.
“Studio Monitoring 101” – A comprehensive session on the correct set-up, placement and types of studio monitoring for EDM production presented by Stephan Mauer, head of product at ADAM Audio since 2018.
Visit AESShow.com/edm for AES EDM Academy registration, preliminary session information, presenter bios and more.
Posted: Wednesday, February 17, 2021
The AES Audio Product Education Institute will present the free webinar "Modeling and Measurement of True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Wearables" on Tuesday, July 20, at 12:00pm EDT
— This July 20th webinar will focus on the fastest-growing category in consumer electronics with presentations from COMSOL, Listen, and JJR Acoustics detailing modeling, simulation and measurement of true wireless earbuds —
The AES Audio Product Education Institute (APEI), created to promote methodologies, practices and technologies involved in developing and bringing audio products to market, is producing a free webinar focused on “Modeling and Measurement of True Wireless Stereo (TWS) Wearables” on Tuesday, July 20 (12:00pm EDT).
Strong consumer acceptance prompted true wireless stereo (TWS) devices to become the most dominant category of product shipments in the past few years. The increased demand drove down selling prices, and with the market’s low barrier to entry, the mature supply chain resulted in better devices at lower price points. Vast shipments of these devices flooded the market in a short period of time. TWS earbuds are one of many wearable devices and are popular for pairing with smart watches, phones, and laptops. The audio playback and voice sound quality of the many different products varies significantly.
In this online event, Jinlan Huang (Lead Applications Engineer, COMSOL), Steve F. Temme (President, Listen, Inc.) and Roger Shively (Co-founder and Principal of JJR Acoustics) will share their unique perspectives in three separate presentations, with an opportunity for attendees to ask questions at the end. The event will provide unique insights on the broad spectrum of techniques used to validate the development and design of TWS earbuds. This session will look at the subjective evaluation, acoustic measurement, and simulation of some typical, popular TWS earbuds.
The first session, “Voice Sound Quality Assessment Over TWS Earbuds,” presented by Roger Shively, will detail the results of subjective evaluations of the voice quality received via a number of TWS earbuds. Audio examples of TWS devices in mostly live and mostly dead acoustic environments will be played with corresponding frequency response data shown. Finally, the description and results of listening tests performed for these devices will be shared.
Addressing the notorious challenges of “Testing the Audio Performance of Hearables,” Steve Temme will explain how to address these unique Bluetooth® designs. TWS earbuds may contain signal processing including background noise filtering, voice activity detection from microphones, equalization and active noise cancellation on the playback side. This means that their characteristics change according to real-world conditions. Furthermore, for a complete evaluation, their multifunctional nature creates the need to test voice recognition, music playback, communication and hearing-assist features, and with repeated testing in the presence of varying environmental parameters. The session will address ways to acoustically measure these complex devices.
In the final session, “Using Simulation in the Design of Hearable and In-Ear Audio Devices,” Jinlan Huang will discuss how to design these in-ear audio devices, looking at examples that investigate the acoustics of an occluded human ear canal and study the effect of unwanted leaks or on-purpose open solutions in an earbud setup. The presentation will also detail the acoustics of a generic head and torso simulator used to produce a head-related transfer function (HRTF), the modeling of a balanced armature receiver and how to study the interaction between the transducer and the rest of the system.
This new webinar from the Audio Product Education Institute’s Modeling and Measurement education pillar underscores the AES’s commitment to providing its membership and the industry at large with information on real-world solutions for audio product development.
Learn more here: audioproducteducationinstitute.org/modeling-and-measurement-of-true-wireless-stereo-wearab...
Register here: https://aes.perigonlive.com/1-evtcb5f5f6cc822476d92febde2257aead2
Posted: Monday, February 15, 2021
In honor of Black History Month and in loving memory of educator and AES Member Jay Henry, AES is publicly sharing the video "African Americans in Audio from our AES Live: Videos collection, recorded at the 147th AES Convention in New York City in 2019.
Watch this extraordinary gathering of renowned engineers, performers, and educators for a discussion on how African Americans have been blazing trails behind the scenes in the recording industry and how we can best engage and welcome them to access the social and scholarly networks that have benefited us all.
View the video on the AES YouTube channel at youtu.be/nT_M_DO4TrM
Posted: Thursday, February 11, 2021
AES Audio Product Education Institute Promotes Weekly Online Events During the Month of June
— Strong sequence of June 2021 online sessions from the AES APEI initiative will focus on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Automotive Audio, Modeling and Measurement, and Supply Chain and Sourcing —
The AES Audio Product Education Institute (APEI) will host a sequence of four online events in June 2021, centered on some of its most dynamic education pillars – Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Automotive Audio, Modeling and Measurement, and Supply Chain and Sourcing. The sessions will feature top industry experts and companies in each area of focus.
The webinars will take place each Wednesday in June at 9:00 AM Pacific (12:00 PM Eastern).
The event Automotive Audio session on Remote Sound Tuning in Automobiles will take place June 9, 2021. This webinar will discuss tools and practices for remotely measuring a car audio system, visualizing the data, and auralizing and tuning the system, with very close accuracy to the in-vehicle experience. Roger Shively (JJR Acoustics, LLC), APEI's Automotive Pillar Chair, together with Shelley Uprichard, independent audio engineer, will co-host the session and present on the subjective evaluation work.
Marc Levasseur, independent audio engineer and consultant, with extensive experience in automotive audio sound tuning, will describe his use of Illusonic's solutions, together with Christof Faller (Illusonic founder), who will demonstrate system auralization with head-tracking and headphone compensation equalization. Finally, Michael Fabry, General Manager at DSP Concepts Germany, former founder of S1nn, and manager of audio systems for companies such as Harman/Becker and Bose, will demonstrate capturing a vehicle and system acoustic footprint and offline tuning. The two-hour session will conclude with an opportunity for questions from attendees.
One week later on June 16, a new APEI Modeling and Measurement webinar will address Achieving Loudspeaker Design Goals Using Multiphysics Simulation. In this webinar, Lakshmikanth Tipparaju, Senior Acoustic System and Transducer Engineer at Dolby Laboratories, and Jinlan Huang, COMSOL Applications Engineer, will discuss on the role of modeling and measurements in the loudspeaker design process.
Tipparaju will share project experiences in the design of a height channel speaker for immersive audio setups, and how simulation, measurements and experiments helped to ensure that the design met the requirements. In the second talk, Huang will detail the use of simulation in audio system design and the various numerical approaches to consider for multiphysics modeling of loudspeakers.
Concluding the June series on June 23, the consistently insightful series of Audio Product Education Institute webinars focusing on Supply Chain & Sourcing will offer perspectives from two well-established design houses whose representatives will discuss their firms’ roles and contributions as a vital support option for brands in all critical stages of product development, and how the design companies explore various perspectives in audio design and engineering. Details will be confirmed soon on the APEI website.
More detailed content information, speaker bios, and registration for each of these events is available in the Audio Product Education Institute website, in the respective event pages.
Information and registration for upcoming APEI events is available here: https://audioproducteducationinstitute.org.
Posted: Monday, February 1, 2021
