Signal To Noise Podcast

Daniel and Andreas Sennheiser, the third-generation CEOs of Sennheiser Electronics, join the show in Episode 304 to celebrate and look back on Sennheiser’s 80th anniversary. In a wide-ranging conversation, they talk about the history of Sennheiser, and how it’s remained a family-run company through all of its 80-year history, the hits (and even a couple misses!) of those first eight decades, and w...

In Episode 303, Sean and Andy are joined by Robert Kuijpers, coming to us straight from the Netherlands to share stories and tips from his extensive experience in the “guerrilla audio” world of fast-moving music festivals. Robert has been immersed in the live music industry since age 10, starting playing guitar and working in a guitar local shop where he developed a passion for electronics and sig...

In Episode 302, Andy and Sean welcome back Sam Kusnetz from Figure 53 to discuss new features in QLab 5.5 software for designing and playing back sound, video, light, and show control cues, particularly the introduction of object-based audio. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . The conversation covers the evolution of audio mixing in live events, the importance of user feedbac...

Gabe Correa, audio and network project manager at Clair Global, joins the show in Episode 301 to talk about special events on a gigantic scale. Gabe is a Brazilian-born audio and fiber project manager who’s led major live and broadcast productions in 30-plus countries across six continents, such as handling technical operations for the FIFA Club World Cup, Formula 1 and Formula-E, YouTube Brandcas...

In Episode 300, the hosts take listeners on a trip over to the Signal to Noise Discord Server and dig into a grab bag of tips and tricks from the “Info and Wisdom Nuggets” thread. It’s a lighting round of great advice for anybody in the live audio field, from mixing to troubleshooting to career advice — there’s something useful for everybody! This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF...

In Episode 299, the hosts are joined by Jim Reed, RCF USA’s Manager of Installed Sound and System Design, for a wide-ranging conversation that includes pivoting from a career as a musician and front-of-house engineer to a job on the manufacturer side in live venue installations, as well as sharing advice for production folks who get asked to help consult on installations, and those who might be lo...

It’s time for an InfoComm debrief, as returning guest Elliott Carroll joins Andy and Sean to compare notes on what he and Andy saw during their recent trip to Orlando for this year’s InfoComm trade show. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . As Andy puts it, it was the year of big wireless in small packages — so much of the show was about putting eyes and ears on the latest offe...

In Episode 297, it’s all about safe listening levels, hearing protection and more, as Sean and Andy talk to three of the folks behind the Healthy Ears, Limited Annoyance Initiative (HELA) about all things loud (but not too loud)! This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . Returning guest Laura Sinnott, AuD is joined by Jon Burton and Jos Mulder to explain where HELA came from, its pu...

In episode 296, Sean and Andy are joined by Garrett Doran, Sean’s director of operations at Audio Engineers Northwest, to get more perspective on how to get hired as a freelancer in the live audio industry. Garrett shares what he looks for in a resume and/or interview, how to impress a sound company you’re new to, and – just as importantly – what sorts of things are immediate red flags for a compa...

Listener favorite Ryan John returns to the show in Episode 295 to catch up with Andy and Sean about a wide range of subjects, from the recent season of network TV “upfronts” and “For Your Consideration” presentations he worked to presenting at the L-Acoustics 2025 Keynote in his role as the company’s director of product management for software. There’s even a deep dive into espresso machines and t...

Picking up where they left off in Episode 293 , the hosts continue the conversation Brian Maddox about building a successful freelance career in live events. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . Brian brings the unique perspective of not only being one of the most in-demand freelance mixers in the corporate event market, but having built a new freelance career after pivoting fr...

Friend of the podcast and returning guest Brian Maddox joins Sean and Andy in Episode 293 to dig into the nuts and bolts of how to build a successful freelance career in live events. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . Brian brings the unique perspective of not only being one of the most in-demand freelance mixers in the corporate event market, but having built a new career af...

In Episode 292, the hosts turn to a question from the Signal to Noise Discord community and take a trip to Signal to Noise University, where professor Sean treats Andy and the listeners to Marketing 101 with a look at how to make yourself indispensable to clients. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . Whether you’re a small to medium-sized sound provider looking for new business...

In the second part of Andy’s conversation with Cody Heimann of Sound Devices (part one is here ), the duo rolls up their sleeves and goes deep on the company’s Astral wireless platform that offers 32 channels in a single rack-unit, Optocore integration, and a handheld transmitter that can take almost any capsule on the market without any additional adapters, there’s a lot to discuss. This episode...

Episode 290 goes all in on wireless as Andy is joined by Cody Heimann, RF applications engineer at Sound Devices as well as a veteran RF coordinator for large-scale events. In the first of two episodes, he talks about how his career grew and led to finding a niche as an RF coordinator for events and clients such as Coachella, New Year’s Eve in Times Square, and some of the largest corporate events...

“Spatial” and “immersive” audio are buzzwords that we seem unable to escape in today’s world of live sound, but what do they actually mean and how do we use them — if we even should at all? Theatre sound designer Nat Houle joins the show in Episode 289 to provide a “manufacturer-agnostic” take on the topic, benefits and limitations, and much more. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and...

This week, Andy takes us behind the scenes for a look at how an episode of Signal to Noise is produced and edited. He walks through the recording, processing, and editing chain, sharing tips and tricks on how to efficiently produce an unscripted conversational podcast, as well as some plugins and tips that are equally applicable to live mixes to broadcast or streaming. Links: iZotope RX 11 SoundRa...

Veteran mix engineer Wayne Pauley returns the show in Episode 287 to talk with the hosts about his experience mixing RCF’s Ultimate Jam Night showcase at NAMM, and doing it in the inimitable “Wayne Pauley style” — in other words, as analog as possible! This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . Wayne also talks about touring with an RCF TT+ Audio PA as well as his love for ATI Parago...

In Episode 286, Sean and Andy continue their look at stepping up from smaller shows with a dive into larger intercom platforms and a look at life past four-channel analog systems. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . Drawing from his work programming intercom systems for large scale corporate and broadcast events, including network upfronts, professional wrestling matches, and...

In Episode 285, the hosts are joined by Tal Kocen and Dave Friesema, founders of brand-new in-ear monitor maker Dark Matter Audio Labs. Sean and Andy were impressed with their IEMs when the company launched at NAMM a couple weeks ago, and knew they had to have the duo on to tell their story. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . Tal and Dave detail their history in the live audi...

Picking up where they left off in Episode 282 , Sean and Andy dig deeper into the “hows and whys” of wireless system frequency coordination, addressing issues such as whether it’s ever OK to just scan on the receiver, an overview of the differences between the Shure Wireless Workbench and SoundBase Coord platforms, the reasons why it’s always a good idea to do your own frequency scan with an analy...

Fresh back from the 2025 North American Music Merchants (NAMM) Show in Anaheim, CA, Andy and Sean compare notes on all the cool new audio things they saw there, including loudspeakers, in-ear monitors, plugins, consoles, and everything in between. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . Be sure to register for Live Sound Nashville on March 11, where you can check out the annual Li...

In Episode 282, Sean and Andy pick up where they left off last time, answering some follow-up questions they’ve received on gain staging for monitor mixes, other tips and tricks for clean and clear in-ear monitors, as well as how to make the most “bang for your buck” improvements to wireless microphones and monitors. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . If you’re going to the N...

In the final episode of 2024, Sean and Andy pick up where they left off last time ( Episode 280 ) in rounding out some baseline tips for getting a rocking mix going fast — compressors, effects, and general mixing advice abound as their last holiday gift to everyone out there listening! This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF . Episode Links: Episode 230: Sean’s Go-To Effects Episode...

In Episode 280, Sean and Andy take it back to basics, and offer some advice for folks early in their live sound journey to help speed through sound check and get a band dialed in more quickly. From setting gains to EQ and compressors, the hosts share a bunch of tips and tricks they’ve learned along the way from all sorts of smart folks in both the live audio and recording worlds. This episode is s...