Section Event

A Spotlight on Four Audio Designers and Marc Urselli’s newest studio, Audio Confidential

Name: A Spotlight on Four Audio Designers and Marc Urselli’s newest studio, Audio Confidential
Start: 2026-11-15T15:05:00-05:00
End: 2026-11-15T18:00:00-05:00
Location: New York

AES NY Section is proud to present a spot light on 4 Audio Designers and Marc Urselli’s newest studio, Audio Confidential

Featuring: Sam Berkow: Creator of the Industry standard Smaart Live Acoustic Tools
Marc Urselli: Creator of the new first of its kind Microphone, Dual Element Ribbon and Condenser, the MU1 manufactured by JZ Microphones
Peter B. Swann: Creator of Analog Audio Benchmarks / Useful Arts Audio
Roey Shamir: Creator of KeyQualization™ / Moderator of the event.

Audience participants will have an opportunity to Audition the MU1 mics as well as The Key-Q™P11 (11 Band) Harmonic Filter™ (3pm-4pm). Then there will be a panel discussion about the different journeys the 4 designers have traveled in the product development stage and in the case of Sam and Peter also details about the road to success they have already traveled with their respective audio product designs. Some snacks and networking at the end of the afternoon.

VIP seat in presentation room: $25

Seat in video feed control room: $20

No seat: $10

Event details

Event Date November 15, 2026

3:05 pm – 6:00 pm
New York, 186 w 28th street NYC NY
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Speakers

Sam Berkow Henderson Engineers Sam Berkow is an Acoustical Design Director at Henderson Engineers. A 1400 person, employee owned Engineering Firm with offices in 15 American cities. He is also founder of both SIA Acoustics and SIA Software Company, Inc. Sam is best known as the acoustical designer of performing arts venues, recording studios, worship spaces and as the developer of the SIA-SMAART acoustical measurement system. As the creator of SIA-SMAART, Mr. Berkow developed a system used world-wide to provide acoustical measurement capabilities that allow users to optimize sound system performance and measure a room’s acoustical environment. SIA-Smaart came about from Sam’s Work with Alexander Yuell-Thorton II (best known as Pavorati’s System Engineer) and Ultra-Sound co-founder Don Pearson. Both “Thorny” and “Dr. Don” were focused on how to optimize sound systems for use in Arenas and Stadiums. Sam saw that these tools lead him to create a practical measurement system to address booth room acoustics and system optimization. Working with Thorny and Don gave Sam access to systems in Arenas and Stadiums and the lifetime of experience they both had! SIA-Smaart was developed in 1994, is a PC & Mac-Based measurement system that provides both transfer functions and impulse response measurements. The transfer function in Smaart uses multiple time-windows to loosely mimic human hearing, making a practical tool for optimizing sound system performance. In addition to an acoustical measurement system, Mr. Berkow’s research in acoustics has been focused on finding practical solutions to both the acoustical and electro-acoustical problems of the design of performance, production and sound critical spaces. Mr. Berkow has designed and consulted for many performance spaces and recording & broadcast studios world-wide, including; Recording Studios: Airshow Mastering (Boulder Co), Tonal Park (Takoma Md.), The Milk Barn Studios (Stockton NJ), AppleHead Studios (Woodstock NY), The Clive Davis Studio at NYU, The Legacy Records Studio Facility (Henderson NV), Sonic Conscious Studios, (Denver Col), The Caribou Performance Space and Studio, (Nederland, Col), Studio X (Sabastopol, Ca), JJ Blair’s Canyon Recorders (Hollywood Ca), The Woods Studio (Woodstock NY), The IIWII Studios at SST (Weehawkin NJ), and many others. Mr. Berkow’s research into acoustical design and measurement has been focused on finding practical solutions to both the acoustical and electro-acoustical problems of performance, production and sound critical spaces. Mr. Berkow has designed and consulted for many performance spaces and recording & broadcast studios world-wide, including; Recording Studios: Airshow Mastering (Boulder Co), Tonal Park (Takoma Md.), The Milk Barn Studios (Stockton NJ), AppleHead Studios (Woodstock NY), The Clive Davis Studio at NYU, The Legacy Records Studio Facility (Henderson NV), Sonic Conscious Studios, (Denver Col), The Caribou Performance Space and Studio, (Nederland, Col), Studio X (Sabastopol, Ca), JJ Blair’s Canyon Recorders (Hollywood Ca), The Woods Studio (Woodstock NY), The IIWII Studios at SST (Weehawkin NJ), and many others. Performance Spaces: eTown Hall in Boulder Colorado, PIER 17. NYC, The Pearl at the Palms (Las Vegas), Brooklyn Bowl (Las Vegas, Nashville, Philadelphia), Rockwood Music Hall – Boston, The Great Hall of the People, (Beijing China), The Caribou Performance Space and Studio, (Nederland, Col), Mickey Hart’s Studio X (Sabastopol, Ca), The Jazz Standard NYC, NBC Studios NYC, Chase/Deluxe Sound Stages and ADR rooms (Hollywood Ca), The Jazz St. Louis Venue & Studio, The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles Ca, The Pocket Venue (NYC), The American Family Insurance Amphitheater and many other projects! In 1999, Mr. Berkow was selected as a lead acoustical designer for the new home of Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC), containing a 1245-seat concert theater, a 600-seat Jazz-atrium, a recording studio complex and a 175-seat Jazz club.
Marc Urselli Audio Confidential 7-time nominated 3-time Grammy Award winning engineer, producer, mixer, remixer, FOH live sound engineer & sound designer Marc Urselli writes, produces and records artists from all over the world. He also composes music for TV and film and does sound design for commercials and mixing for film and TV. On average he records and/or mixes about 50-100 albums every year and in 2008 alone he recorded and mixed more than half a dozen movie soundtracks. He also holds the undisputed record of having recorded the most number of albums by a single artist (100 and counting). Marc Urselli was born in Switzerland and raised in Italy. His musical education began at age 12. At age 17 he opened his first commercial recording facility in Italy. At age 21 he moved to New York City where he began, and continues to work at the legendary recording studio EastSide Sound as the resident Chief House Engineer. Credits include U2, Foo Fighters, Nick Cave, Lou Reed, Frank Sinatra, John Zorn, The Fugees, Les Paul, Laurie Anderson, Gotye, Børns, Sting, Joss Stone, Macy Gray, Courtney Love, Michael Franti, Jack DeJohnette (Miles Davis), Esperanza Spalding, John Patitucci, Ornette Coleman, Joan Jett, Blixa Bargeld (Einsturzende Neubauten), Lucinda Williams, Beth Orton, Todd Rundgren, Donald Fagen (Steely Dan), Charlotte Gainsbourg, King Khan, David Johansen (New York Dolls), Paola Prestini, DuYun, The Orwells, Devendra Banhart, The Beach Boys, Lila Downs, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Faith No More's Mike Patton, Rolling Stones' Keith Richards, Rufus Reid, Lionel Loueke, Buddy Guy, Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora, Bill Frisell, Goo Goo Dolls' Johnny Rzeznick, ZZ Top, Sam Cooke, The Black Crowes, Aerosmith's Joe Perry, Simply Red's Mick Hucknall, Luther Vandross and many many more. For a longer list of clients and credits please check out his discography at www.marcurselli.com/music
Peter Swann Useful Arts Audio Peter Swann built his first console in 1982, and has been working ever since to create signal processing devices that don’t just measure well on the bench, but translate sound to compliment the perceptual mechanisms of the human ear and brain. In 2017, he launched Useful Arts Audio, which manufactures specialty front-end gear designed to accentuate musical performances by taking advantage of the natural emphasis the brain places on dynamics and harmonic content. Mr. Swann creates original designs aimed at translating incoming musical signals into compelling listening experiences.
Roey Shamir THCRS llc Roey Shamir is an accomplished audio engineer, record producer, musician, and technology innovator with a career spanning more than four decades. Active in the music industry since 1982, he has remained at the forefront of studio technology and production practices since beginning his work at the age of sixteen. Currently serving as Chairman of the New York Section of the Audio Engineering Society (AES), where he also produces and moderates monthly educational events designed to support both emerging talent and established professionals. Over the past seven years, his leadership roles within the AES New York Section—including Events Coordinator and Co-Chair—have led to the production of more than 40 live and virtual events, contributing significantly to the organization’s community engagement and professional development initiatives. In addition to his industry leadership, Roey is developing an original audio technology, Key-Qualization™ (Key-Q™), for commercial release in both hardware and software formats. This innovation is being developed in collaboration with Useful Arts Audio, a respected New Jersey-based manufacturer. Throughout his career, he has recorded, mixed, and produced a wide range of music projects and film soundtracks, working in major studios across New York, Los Angeles, Japan, Nashville, Florida, and Israel. His collaborations include work with internationally recognized artists such as Quincy Jones, Al B. Sure!, RUN-DMC, Information Society, Ronnie Spector, Roberta Flack, Robert Palmer, Rod Stewart, David Bowie, Joyce Sims, and Mantronix. Beyond engineering and production, Roey is also a multi-instrumentalist and programmer, contributing guitar, synthesizer programming, drum machine design, and vocal arrangement to numerous projects. He notably collaborated with Roger Linn on the original factory sound library for the Linn 9000 and Akai MPC60, helping shape early digital rhythm production tools. Roey holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Production and Engineering from SUNY Empire State University, is an alumnus of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, and was among the early graduates of both the Institute of Audio Research and Full Sail’s inaugural audio program. Currently, Roey works primarily from his private studio, collaborating remotely with artists and producers worldwide. He specializes in immersive audio formats including Dolby Atmos, Sony 360 Reality Audio, and Auro-3D, and continues to work in major studio environments, A dedicated educator and mentor, he is a frequent guest speaker at colleges and actively supports the development of young professionals, particularly those from underrepresented communities and individuals with disabilities, fostering greater access and inclusion within the music industry.

A Spotlight on Four Audio Designers and Marc Urselli’s newest studio, Audio Confidential

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