Nick Engel, Dolby Laboratories
Location: virtual
Speaker(s): Nick Engel, Dolby Laboratories
Recording of this presentation: https://youtu.be/q4EQKDXOUH8
Noise Reduction technology kick-started Dolby Laboratories 55 years ago, and in 2020, continues to be a focus, albeit in completely new contexts and applications. Despite advances in capture technology and the shift in recording mediums, the proliferation of content creators and capture devices has seen an ever increasing need for solutions to reduce noise in audio.
In this presentation, Nick Engel will dive into noise reduction techniques – from analog processing through to today's machine learning approaches. He'll discuss his own experiences as an engineer working on the digital implementation of Dolby B Noise Reduction, through to more recent experiences for helping to reduce noise in audio recordings at scale with Dolby.io. This talk will explore how the types of noise and audio capture and recording methods have progressed, as well as approaches for reducing noise, from analog, to digital signal processing and through to the state of the art of deep learning techniques.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
Nick Engel is the Senior Director, Media API R&D for the Dolby.io Media Processing platform. Nick is a graduate of the Australian National University where he studied Engineering (Interdisciplinary Systems) and Information Technology (Software Engineering). Nick grew up playing guitar and his passion for music and technology led him to join Lake Technology in 2003 as an Audio Signal Processing engineer developing audio enhancement technology for consumer devices. Nick joined Dolby Laboratories in 2004 and has held various positions in the Advanced Technology Group and Consumer Entertainment Group leading engineering teams in Sydney, San Francisco, Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen developing technology to bring immersive and enhanced audio experiences to a wide range of consumer devices in the home and on the go. Nick holds several patents and played a key role in launching new initiatives and developing many of Dolby's core audio technologies. Nick recently relocated to San Francisco to lead the R&D team for Dolby.io - a developer API platform for enabling media processing and analysis at scale.
A NOTE ON OUR VIRTUAL MEETING FORMAT:
We will be hosting this meeting using BlueJeans, as opposed to Zoom (which we have used for the last couple meetings). One advantage of BlueJeans is that we will be experiencing spatialized Dolby Voice processing. We are still limited to 100 people attending the meeting. We plan to have a recording of the meeting available afterwards on the section's YouTube channel, however. Please be sure that BlueJeans is installed on your preferred device prior to the meeting time (app store for iOS/Android, or the meeting link should open a web app on Mac or PC). You can either use the audio on your device, or call in for the audio with your phone (see instructions at the bottom of this message). There is also a test link at the bottom to check your setup.
Most participants will have audio and video muted during the meeting. The moderator will un-mute participants in turn to ask a question during the Q&A period. This will be explained again at the beginning of the meeting.
Other Business: Officer nominations for the 2020-2021 season
Posted: Friday, August 21, 2020
Dr. Colleen Le Prell
Location: Zoom Meeting (see description for details)
Speaker(s): Dr. Colleen Le Prell, University of Texas at Dallas
Recording of this presentation: https://youtu.be/gV_SxVW-RaQ
There are hundreds of drugs that have the potential to induce unwanted auditory side effects including not only tinnitus and hearing loss, but also dizziness and other balance disorders. Two of the drugs best known for inducing hearing loss and tinnitus are the chemotherapeutic drug cisplatin and various members of the aminoglycoside antibiotics family which are used to treat major life-threatening infections. Although the hearing loss induced by these “ototoxic” drugs compromises quality of life, the life-saving benefits of the drugs outweigh the unwanted side effects. In an effort to reduce hearing loss caused not only by these ototoxic drugs but also the hearing loss caused by exposure to loud sound, laboratories around the world have engaged in sustained research activities targeting the development of new “otoprotective” drug agents that ameliorate the harmful effects of noise, cisplatin, and the aminoglycoside antibiotics. In this talk, I will provide a brief overview of how noise, cisplatin, and aminoglycoside antibiotics induce cell death in the inner ear, and how investigational drug agents have protected the inner ear against cell death and hearing loss, preserving auditory function not only in pre-clinical lab studies completed in rodent models but also in early stage clinical trials. Although there are not yet any drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for prevention of hearing loss, multiple promising agents are progressing through the clinical testing process and there is hope that new drug solutions might one day provide a new tool within the hearing loss prevention toolbox.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
Dr. Colleen Le Prell is the Emilie and Phil Schepps Professor of Hearing Science at the University of Texas at Dallas, and head of the UTD Communication Sciences and Disorders area, which includes programs in Speech, Language, and Hearing. She has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, several foundations, and industry. Translational research in her laboratory is directed at prevention of noise-induced hearing loss. She has published more than 65 research articles in peer-reviewed journals and is an Associate Editor for both the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America and the International Journal of Audiology. She contributed 19 book chapters to various texts, and she has edited 3 books. She is a Past-President of the National Hearing Conservation Association, a current member of the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Hearing Loss Prevention Cross Sector Council, and she has contributed to the World Health Organization “Make Listening Safe” annual consultation annually since 2017.
Posted: Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Tom Miller, Sr. Principal Engineer, Knowles Electronics
Location: Zoom Meeting (Virtual; See description for details)
Speaker(s): Tom Miller, Senior Principal Engineer, Knowles Electronics
Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/969420078pwd=Wjh5TWtReUhYUU96ZXNId1UydGIzZz09
Note that this meeting will be limited to 100 participants.
POST-MEETING UPDATE: A recording of the presentation is now available at https://vimeo.com/411726930
A NOTE ON OUR NEW FORMAT:
As you may have noticed, this month's meeting is a bit of a departure from our normal mode of operation. Even though Governor Pritzker has extended the “stay-at-home” order for Illinois until April 30, the Chicago AES Section is indomitable, and will continue our meetings online!
We will be hosting this meeting using Zoom. The one drawback we are facing is that participation is limited to 100 people. We plan to have a recording of the meeting available online afterwards, however. Please be sure that Zoom is installed on your preferred device prior to the meeting time (app store for iOS/Android, or the meeting link should prompt you to install the app on Mac or PC). You can either use the audio on your device, or call in for the audio with these instructions
The meeting will be introduced and moderated by Andrew Bellavia (Director of Market Development, Knowles Electronics). Most participants will have audio and video muted during the meeting. The moderator will un-mute participants in turn to ask a question during the Q&A period. This will be explained again at the beginning of the meeting.
ABSTRACT:
Many companies wish to add Active Noise Control (ANC) to their wireless music headsets. ANC makes wearing insert earphones more pleasant, and makes the music easier to hear clearly. Unfortunately, most publications on noise cancelling lack practical information needed to make many key design decisions, and the experts are quite reluctant to share their methods. This presentation will help fill some of those gaps, covering many of the factors needed to provide good noise reduction in small headsets. It will cover the basics of ANC operation, then go onto discuss design factors such as headset acoustics and venting, filter design, and transducer selection. Tom will discuss how to keep an ANC system stable across a variety of wearers, dispelling some myths about latency and stability. He will show how to make good use of balanced armature devices in ANC systems, including how to add a tweeter without disrupting stability. The discussion will conclude with a brief description of transparent pass-through operation and some more advanced ANC techniques that adapt the headset to users and certain use cases.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
Tom Miller is a Senior Principal Engineer at Knowles Electronics, and has been there for nearly a quarter century. Over those years he has helped to create many of Knowles’ balanced armature receiver designs and has been granted over a dozen patents. More recently he has been studying how Knowles microphones and receivers affect system level issues, such as the control of wind noise pickup and active noise cancellation. Tom is a former Regional Vice President of the AES, and has held every local office except treasurer. Back in a previous century Tom obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan. Upon graduation, he worked for a dozen years as chief technical engineer of Universal Recording, a major Chicago recording studio in its day. After that, he spent a few years working on signal processing for loudspeakers at International Jensen before moving on to Knowles. In his spare time he creates electronic music under the name Shadreaux, having released several albums on Bandcamp (but selling almost none).
Other Business: From AES HQ: AES Helps "Socially Distancing" Members Worldwide Listen, Learn, and Connect with Discounted Membership Rate Extended Through April 30. To help audio professionals stay connected as the world enters a period of isolation, the Audio Engineering Society is offering 3-month membership for $25, or a 3-month bonus at the standard yearly rate, through April 30, for both new and renewing members. Enrolled audio students receive an even bigger discount with AES Student Memberships starting at just $10 – find out more here.
Posted: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Dr. Colleen Le Prell
Location: Shure Incorporated, 5800 W. Touhy Ave, Niles, IL 60714
Speaker(s): Dr. Colleen Le Prell, University of Texas at Dallas
**THIS MEETING WAS CANCELLED DUE TO CDC REGULATIONS REGARDING COVID-19 PANDEMIC**
ABSTRACT:
There are hundreds of drugs that have the potential to induce unwanted auditory side effects including not only tinnitus and hearing loss, but also dizziness and other balance disorders. Two of the drugs best known for inducing hearing loss and tinnitus are the chemotherapeutic drug cisplatin and various members of the aminoglycoside antibiotics family which are used to treat major life-threatening infections. Although the hearing loss induced by these “ototoxic” drugs compromises quality of life, the life-saving benefits of the drugs outweigh the unwanted side effects. In an effort to reduce hearing loss caused not only by these ototoxic drugs but also the hearing loss caused by exposure to loud sound, laboratories around the world have engaged in sustained research activities targeting the development of new “otoprotective” drug agents that ameliorate the harmful effects of noise, cisplatin, and the aminoglycoside antibiotics. In this talk, I will provide a brief overview of how noise, cisplatin, and aminoglycoside antibiotics induce cell death in the inner ear, and how investigational drug agents have protected the inner ear against cell death and hearing loss, preserving auditory function not only in pre-clinical lab studies completed in rodent models but also in early stage clinical trials. Although there are not yet any drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for prevention of hearing loss, multiple promising agents are progressing through the clinical testing process and there is hope that new drug solutions might one day provide a new tool within the hearing loss prevention toolbox.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER:
Dr. Colleen Le Prell is the Emilie and Phil Schepps Professor of Hearing Science at the University of Texas at Dallas, and head of the UTD Communication Sciences and Disorders area, which includes programs in Speech, Language, and Hearing. She has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, several foundations, and industry. Translational research in her laboratory is directed at prevention of noise-induced hearing loss. She has published more than 65 research articles in peer-reviewed journals and is an Associate Editor for both the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America and the International Journal of Audiology. She contributed 19 book chapters to various texts, and she has edited 3 books. She is a Past-President of the National Hearing Conservation Association, a current member of the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Hearing Loss Prevention Cross Sector Council, and she has contributed to the World Health Organization “Make Listening Safe” annual consultation annually since 2017.
Other Business: DINNER: Dinner (optional, but please RSVP) will begin at 6:30pm. Contact Brandon Cudequest ([email protected]) by Wednesday, March 18th if you would like to join us. Pizza and salad from Lou Malnati’s will be provided. Please let Brandon know if you have a preference for vegetarian, gluten-free, etc. Price is $10 for non-members and $8 for members and students (please bring cash). SAVE THE DATE: Our next meeting will be on Thursday, April 16, 2020. Oliver Masciorotte (Co–Founder & CMO at MAAT Digital) will present on the topic of Loudness & Dynamic Range Metering. Meeting will be held at Shure Inc.
Posted: Saturday, March 7, 2020
Charlie Post
Location: Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60604
Speaker(s): Charlie Post, CSO Recording Engineer
ABOUT THE HOST:
Charlie Post moved to Chicago in 2014, having accepted a position with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He is recording CSO performances for archival, for potential future commercial release on the CSO Resound label, and for the CSO broadcast on the WFMT radio network. The weekly radio broadcast can be heard on WFMT and around the world on CSO.org/radio or SoundCloud, and has upwards of 250k listeners.
The Tanglewood music festival is a large part of his career. For 10 years he spent his summers in the Berkshire mountains of Massachusetts, supervising a team of engineers covering multiple venues, He recorded and mixed sound for hundreds of performances each season, ranging in scope from solo and chamber to full orchestras with choir, as well as jazz groups and rock shows. At the request of the CSO, he changed to a full-year-round position following the 2016 season at Tanglewood.
Alongside working with the Orchestra, he records, edit, and mix classical music for his company PostProductions Audio. He engineers and produces remote recording sessions, and offers live sound mixing services. He has a home studio where he edits and masters recordings, utilizing a high resolution Merging Technologies Pyramix-based digital audio workstation. He uses other software when working on different genres.
Before moving to Chicago, Charlie lived in Miami, mixing live sound at IATSE Local 500 venues such as the Adrienne Arsht Center for Performing Arts, Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater, the Colony Theater and the Miami Dade County Auditorium. He also mixed many shows for the Aventura Arts and Cultural Center and the Miramar Cultural Center / Artspark, assuming the position of head of sound at these venues on an interim basis.
Specialties: Charlie has over 20 years of professional experience in studio engineering and live sound. He worked in NYC commercial recording studios for 10 years, splitting time between engineering and studio management. Although he has been specializing in classical and acoustic music since 2006, he also has years of experience in jazz and rock plus big band, opera, Broadway cast recordings, R&B, etc. Charlie has eclectic tastes in music. Besides engineering, he studied music formally and still plays the saxophone and clarinet. Music is his life!
Other Business: SOCIAL HOUR: Social hour will begin at 6:00pm at the Threshold Acoustics office (a short walk from Symphony Center). -- Sandwiches from Jimmy Johns as well as beverages will be provided. Please indicate your attendance at social hour when you RSVP for the tour so that we can get an accurate count for food. Please also indicate if you have a preference for vegetarian, gluten-free, etc. -- Price is $10 for non-members or $8 for members and students (please bring cash). (if you want to partake in the sandwiches, simply attending the social hour and tour is free!) -- Threshold Acoustics is located in the Board of Trade building at Jackson & LaSalle, 141 West Jackson Boulevard. By CTA, use the LaSalle/Van Buren stop and enter the building from the Van Buren St. entrance. -- Parking lots are available with attended parking on Financial Place between Jackson and Van Buren, or on Federal street in the same block. -- Once in the building, proceed to the 2nd floor, and if you have RSVP’d, your name will be your ticket to enter through security. Please bring a valid state or federal ID for admittance into the building. Threshold is on the 20th floor in the Northwest corner of the building.
Posted: Thursday, January 30, 2020
Location: Shure Incorporated, 5800 W. Touhy Ave, Niles, IL 60714
Speaker(s): Bill Maylone, Cedille Records & Mary Mazurek, WFMT
DESCRIPTION:
Engineers Bill Maylone and Mary Mazurek will speak about their Grammy-nominated recording Liquid Melancholy: Clarinet Music of James Stephenson released on Chicago’s Cedille Label. They will play excerpts and include details about the planning, microphone choices and placements, editing, mixing, and mastering that went into making the album.
ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:
Bill Maylone has been recording in the Chicago area and beyond for over 30 years, and has been the chief recording engineer for Chicago-based Cedille Records since its inception in 1989. Bill began recording live concerts and spoken-word events for WFMT during its ‘Golden Age’ in the mid and late 1980's. Since then he has engineered almost 200 CD recordings for Cedille, as well as numerous other interesting projects with orchestras and solo artists in the US, Germany, the UK, and the Slovak and Czech Republics. In 2011 and 2012 he received Grammy awards for his work with the renowned new music ensemble Eighth Blackbird.
Mary Mazurek is a GRAMMY-nominated recording engineer. Her nomination was awarded by the Recording Academy in 2018 in the category of Best Engineered Album, Classical. She is also a broadcaster, producer, educator, and artist. Her work is regularly featured on WFMT Radio and WFMT.com. She is a sought after educator and speaker who enjoys contributing in the classroom and on panels and committees within her industry and beyond. She serves as an advocate and role model for women in the recording industry, which presently is less than 5% female. Additionally, she loves sharing her sonic insights across disciplines.
Other Business: Dinner (optional, but please RSVP) will begin at 6:30pm. Contact Brandon Cudequest ([email protected]) by Tuesday, October 29th if you would like to join us. Pizza and salad from Lou Malnati’s will be provided. Please let Brandon know if you have a preference for vegetarian, gluten-free, etc. Price is $10 for non-members and $8 for members and students (please bring cash).
Posted: Thursday, October 17, 2019
Industry recognition for Teri's engineering aptitude while helping build Apple's supply chain under Tim Cook between 2011-2013, where she was a Solution Architect / Systems Engineer at CDW. Teri has been active with the AES Chicago Section since 2007 and has been the webmaster / social media admin since 2014. See URL below for details.
CDW Awarded Prestigious Apple Authorised Enterprise Reseller (AAER) Status
Posted: Thursday, October 3, 2019
The results of the 2019-2010 officer election found here: http://www.aes.org/sections/view.cfm?section=137
Posted: Friday, September 20, 2019
Location: Shure Incorporated, 5800 W. Touhy Ave, Niles, IL 60714
Speaker(s): Joseph Myers, President - Kirkegaard Associates
Joseph Myers will talk about room acoustics, sound isolation, and the control of background noise from a practical point of view, focusing on topics and situations that audio designers are likely to come across. Questions are appreciated!
Joseph Myers is the Principal Acoustics Design Consultant and President of Kirkegaard Associates, and has designed a significant number of the firm’s major projects. This deep experience with performing arts, academic, and worship facilities forms the foundation of his work. An active singer and actor, Joseph also brings a performer’s perspective to his projects. He draws on his background in architectural engineering to develop practical, buildable solutions. He enjoys translating client needs into clear acoustic goals, and then translating those goals into a beautiful, functional, and affordable facility.
Joseph also lectures on acoustic design, having presented to a variety of academic and professional institutions, including the Acoustical Society of America and Yale School of Drama. Joseph has degrees in Architectural Engineering and East Asian Studies from Pennsylvania State University.
Other Business: Dinner (optional, but please RSVP) will begin at 6:30pm. Contact Giles Davis ([email protected]) by Monday, September 16th if you would like to join us.Pizza and salad from Lou Malnati’s will be provided. Please let Giles know if you have a preference for vegetarian, gluten-free, etc.Price is $10 for non-members and $8 for members and students (please bring cash).
https://mailchi.mp/bf0b5dd0a3b3/chicago-aes-section-meeting-notice-september-17-2019?e=7129ff5be9
Posted: Saturday, August 31, 2019
Location: Stage Two @ Columbia College Chicago, 618 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago IL 60605
Speaker(s): Sanford Field, Top Notch Violins
Professional luthier Sanford Field will explain the basic structure and acoustics of the violin family of instruments, as well as the technical difficulties frequently experienced by string players and their instruments. He will then explore and explain the tools and techniques used to diagnose and correct these problems. Examples of malfunctioning instruments will be daringly explored (and in some cases corrected) live on stage, tools will be displayed and demonstrated, and violins will be played, both as objects of critical listening, and to demonstrate the tangible effects of successful and unsuccessful repair outcomes. After the talk, questions will be answered and discussed, and the tools and instruments covered in the talk will be available for examination by attendees.
Sanford Field is a professional luthier and owner/partner at Top Notch Violins, a full-service string instrument shop in Saint Louis, MO. Sanford attended the Red Wing School of Instrument Repair, where he studied violin construction and repair under Lisbeth Butler and John Reed. After completing his training, he worked at Nashville Violins and Saint Louis Strings where his clients included Charlie Daniels, Arvel Bird, and Yonder Mountain String Band's Allie Kral, as well as countless professional musicians, teachers, and students. Prior to his career as a luthier, Sanford received a BFA in painting from the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana in 2004, and an MFA in Studio Practice from the University of Illinois at Chicago. In his free time, Sanford also enjoys building furniture, studying HEMA (historic European martial arts), playing violin, banjo, and guitar and spending time with his wife Annie-Rose, and their two rescue dogs, Tallulah and Rowan.
Other Business: The Chicago AES & ASA Sections will provide (and cover the cost) of light appetizers and drinks ahead of the presentation (Starting at 6p)
Posted: Saturday, March 23, 2019
