The Acoustics & Sound Reinforcement committee’s work is concerned with the following areas of interest as applied to audio engineering: general acoustics, architectural acoustics including building acoustics and room acoustics (including measurement, design, and simulation), electroacoustic systems (including virtual reality, virtual acoustics, and signal processing), psychoacoustics and physiological acoustics, noise control, sound and vibration isolation.
TC-ASR proposed the Healthy Ears, Limited Annoyance (HELA) Initiative in Section 7.4 of AES Technical Document AESTD1007.1.20-05.
Healthy Ears indicates a commitment to preserving healthy hearing for all individuals at an event (whether they are working, volunteering or in attendance). Limited Annoyance focuses on the off-site community, striving to avoid excessive annoyance due to noise pollution. Limited is used as it is understood that it is impossible to avoid all annoyance. Practical noise-based annoyance limiting must be the target. The acronym, HELA, is a play on a common slang term used in California, “hella”, meaning very. In this case, any member of the initiative would be considered HELA-compliant (read: very compliant).
This initiative follows a two-pronged approach to support:
Work is currently underway in area (B) to develop an online certification program with external delivery partners. This will be based on the findings and recommendations from AESTD1007.1.20-05 and the WHO Global Standard on Safe Listening Venues and Events.
The research behind AESTD1007.1.20-05 and the WHO Global Standard revealed significant variances in sound-level management practices and attitudes across the globe. Although both documents outline currently accepted best practices, it is unreasonable to expect key stakeholders within live events (live sound engineers, venue management, musicians, acoustical consultants, event promoters, equipment manufacturers, booking agents, educators, etc.) to read and understand these documents, both which exceed 100 pages.
An opportunity exists to introduce a formal benchmark in professional practice for those in the live event sector. Along with the potential benefits to public health and safety, the scheme will promote professionalization across the industry. The certification scheme has the potential to make a real difference in terms of realizing reductions in exposure to dangerously high sound levels, as is the aim of the WHO Global Standard.
The working group for the HELA certification scheme includes:
The HELA certification scheme is planned for launch in 2024.
In May 2020, TC-ASR published an AES Technical Document on sound exposure and noise pollution at large-scale outdoor music events.
The contributors to this document were:
The aim of this group was to develop a set of recommendations outlining what needs to be done to address the issue of sound exposure and noise pollution due to outdoor events, with an emphasis on practicality and preservation of a good audience experience.
AESTD1007 is due for an update in 2025. Please get in touch with a TC-ASR chairs/vice-chairs if you are interested in contributing.
2024 AES International Acoustics & Sound Reinforcement Conference, January 22-26 , Le Mans, France.
2022 3rd AES International Acoustics & Sound Reinforcement Conference, January, Virtual
2017 2nd AES International Acoustics & Sound Reinforcement Conference, August 30 – September 2, Struer, Denmark
2015 AES 1st AES International Acoustics & Sound Reinforcement Conference, July 15-17, Montreal, Canada
If you are interested in participating in the committee’s work please send an e-mail to Adam Hill and attend committee meetings. We communicates via e-mail. Bi-annual meetings are held at both US and European AES conventions.
These documents do not necessarily express the official position of the AES on the issues discussed at these meetings, and only represent the views of committee members participating in the discussion. Any unauthorized use of these publications is prohibited. Authorization must be obtained from the Executive Director of the AES.
2025-10-23 159_AES_TC-ASR_minutes
Description: Minutes of TC-ASR at 159th AES Convention, Long Beach, October 2025, Hybrid
2023-11-6 155th New York Meeting Minutes
Description: Minutes of the TCASR meeting held for the 155th Convention (New York 2023) on 3 November 2023.
2023-6-1 154th Helsinki Meeting Minutes
Description: Minutes of the TCASR meeting held for the 154th Convention (Helsinki 2023) on 26 May 2023.
2022-12-9 153rd New York Meeting Minutes
Description: Minutes of the TCASR meeting held at the 153rd Convention (New York 2022) on 25 October 2022.
2022-8-15 152nd Spring Show Meeting Minutes
Description: Minutes of the TCASR meeting held at the 152nd Convention (Spring Show 2022) on 30 May 2022.
2021-10-27 151st Fall Show Meeting Minutes
Description: Minutes of the TCASR meeting held at the 151st Convention (Fall Show 2021) on 15 October 2021.
2021-6-18 150th Spring Show Meeting Minutes
Description: Minutes of the TCASR meeting held at the 150th Convention (Spring Show 2021) on 1 June 2021.
2020-11-6 149th Fall Show 2020 Meeting Minutes
Description: Minutes of the TCASR meeting held at the 149th Convention (Fall Show 2020) on 27 October 2020.
2020-6-25 148th Virtual Vienna Meeting Minutes
Description: Minutes of the TCASR meeting held at the 148th Convention (Virtual Vienna) on 3 June 2020.
2019-11-4 147th New York Meeting Minutes
Description: Minutes of the TCASR meeting held at the 147th Convention in New York on 17 October 2019.
2019-4-10 146th Dublin meeting minutes
Description: Minutes of the TCASR meeting held at the 146th Convention in Dublin on 21 March 2019.
2019-2-28 AES 145 TCASR NYC 2018
Description: Meeting notes from TCASR meeting in NYC October 2018
2018-5-31 144th Milan Meeting Minutes
Description: Minutes of the TCASR meeting held at the 144th Convention in Milan on 25 May 2018.
2017-11-10 143rd New York Meeting Minutes
Description: Minutes of the TCASR meeting held at the 143rd Convention in New York on 19 October 2017.
2017-6-23 142nd Berlin Meeting Minutes
Description: Minutes of the TCASR meeting held at the 142nd Convention in Berlin on 21 May 2017.
2016-11-21 141st Los Angeles Meeting Minutes
Description: Minutes of the Technical Committee meeting held at The AES 141st Conference in Los Angeles, September 29th 2016, 10:00 – 11:00 am.
2016-3-21 59th Conference Report
Description: Conference report from the 59th AES conference on Sound Reinforcement Engineering an Technology
2014-11-2 AES 137 Los Angeles Meeting Minutes
Description: Minutes of TC Meeting held at AES 137 Los Angeles October 9, 2014
2014-10-5 AES 136 TCASR 2014 Berlin Minutes
Description: Meeting Minutes from Berlin and Agenda for LA
2013-11-10 AES 135 TCASR NY 2013 Minutes
Description: Meeting Minutes NY TCASR 2013
2012-10-25 AES 131 TCASR NY 2011 Minutes
Description: TCASR Meeting Minutes, NYC Oct 22, 2011
2012-5-10 TC ASR 132nd minutes
Description: Minutes of the TC ASR meeting during the 132nd AES Convention in Budapest
2012-4-24 TC ASR Agenda 132nd
Description: TC ASR Agenda 132nd Convention meeting
2009-11-18 Minutes – 122nd Convention
Description: Meeting report
2007-12-5 AES 122 TCASR Vienna 2007 Minute
Description: Meeting Notes from the TCASR Meeting in Vienna May 2007
2007-12-5 AES 123 TCASR 2007 New York Minutes
Description: TCASR Meeting Notes from New York October 2007
2007-5-3 AES 121 TCASR 2006 San Francisco minutes
Description: Chairperson’s minutes
2006-9-30 AES_120_TCASR_2006_Paris minutes
Description: minutes AES_120_TCASR_2006_Paris
2006-9-30 AES_117_TCASR_2004_San_Francisco minutes
Description: minutes AES_117_TCASR_2004_San_Francisco
2006-9-30 AES_114_TCASR_2003_Amsterdam minutes
Description: minutes AES_114_TCASR_2003_Amsterdam
2006-9-30 AES_112_TCASR_2002_Munich minutes
Description: minutes AES_112_TCASR_2002_Munich
2006-9-30 AES_111_TCASR_2001_New_York minutes
Description: minutes AES_111_TCASR_2001_New_York
2006-9-30 AES_110_TCASR_2001_Amsterdam minutes
Description: minutes AES_110_TCASR_2001_Amsterdam
2006-9-30 AES_109_TCASR_2000_Los_Angeles minutes
Description: minutes AES_109_TCASR_2000_Los_Angeles
1999-10-8 AES 92 TCASR San Fransisco 1992 minutes
Description: Chairman’s minutes
1999-10-4 AES 92 TCASR 1992 Vienna minutes
Description: Chairman’s minutes
1999-10-3 AES 107 TCASR 1999 New York minutes
Description: Chairman’s minutes
1999-10-3 AES 103 TCASR 1997 New York minutes
Description: Chairman’s minutes
1999-10-3 AES 99 TCASR 1995 New York minutes
Description: Chairman’s minutes
1999-10-3 AES 98 TCASR 1995 Paris minutes
Description: Chairman’s minutes
1999-10-3 AES 97 TCASR 1994 San Francisco minutes
Description: Chairman’s minutes
1999-10-3 AES 96 TCASR 1994 Amsterdam minutes
Description: Chairman’s minutes
1999-10-3 AES 95 TCASR 1993 New York minutes
Description: Chairman’s minutes
1999-10-3 AES 94 TCASR 1993 Berlin minutes
Description: Chairman’s minutes
1999-10-3 AES 93 TCASR 1992 San Francisco minutes
Description: Chairman’s minutes
1999-10-3 AES 92 TCASR 1992 Vienna minutes
Description: Chairman’s minutes
The TC on Acoustics and Sound Reinforcement helps to maintain a Topic Website on Acoustics and Sound Reinforcement.
Charlie Hughes
Jan Voetmann
Kurt M. Graffy
Peter Mapp
Wieslaw Woszczyk
Eddy Bogh Brixen
David W. Robb
Alan Clayton
Robert Lee
Adam Hill
Kees Neervoort
Jos Mulder
Joern Nettingsmeier
Alejandro Bidondo
Ugis Vilcans
Ralph Haddad
Francois MONTIGNIES
Bob McCarthy
Tobias Goldmann
Charbel Hourani
Douglas McKinnie
Jim Brown
Mendel Kleiner
Richard S Stroud
Wolfgang Ahnert
Jim Griffiths
J M Woodgate
Timothy Kuschel
Marcel Kok
Michael Santucci
Elena Shabalina
Lively Lively
Eric Ferguson
Balazs Kakonyi
James Hipperson
Thomas Bland
Scott Sugden
Olushola Aremu
David Prince
Francis Rumsey
Peter Svensson
Neil A. Shaw
Soren Bech
David Andrews
Bruce Olson
Scott Burgess
Bernardus Kok
Daniele Ponteggia
Andy Wardle
Etienne Corteel
Arica Rust
Merlijn van Veen
Jon Burton
Michael Lawrence
David Williams
Boris Rehders
Hannah Goodine
Joshua Edwards
