ALMA Announces January Winter Symposium Seminars, Papers & Tutorials
The Association of Loudspeaker Manufacturing & Acoustics International (ALMA) Winter Symposium will feature two powerful training seminars on Sunday, January 6.
- (1888PressRelease) November 15, 2012 - The Association of Loudspeaker Manufacturing & Acoustics International (ALMA) Winter Symposium program, "Product Development in the Global Paradigm: Acoustic Modeling, Measurement and Manufacturing in the Modern Marketplace" will feature two powerful half-day training seminars on Sunday, January 6, taught by two widely-respected loudspeaker experts. The symposium program will focus on the challenges the loudspeaker industry faces with multiple locations around the globe.
The annual Winter Symposium will be held Sunday, January 6 and Monday, January 7, 2013 at The Tuscany Suites & Casino, 255 E. Flamingo Rd. in Las Vegasbefore CES 2013, . The program will expand to include technologies such as micro-drivers, microphones, hearing aids, and other transducer-related technology.
One of the two seminars, Moving Coil Transducer Motor Design, will be facilitated by Richard Little, founder of Far North Electroacoustics. The seminar will cover the design of magnetic motors of moving coil transducers which can involve many different issues and choices on the part of the design engineer. The seminar will review a number of the topics involved in motor design including: motor design objectives; magnet material types and grades; typical magnetic motor design topologies; the permanent magnet magnetization process; thermal demagnetization; voice coil design, design options; voice coil inductance; the analysis of motor design through physical equations, and through finite-element analysis; methods for measuring magnetic motor performance; and the general topic of non-linear motor behavior. Case studies and examples will be presented to illustrate and illuminate each of the topics.
Miniature Speakers and Microphones: Design and Application will be facilitated by renowned inventor and audio Systems Engineer Osman Isvan and will explore omnidirectional and noise-canceling microphones. SMT, ECM, MEMS, digital and analog microphone technologies will be discussed. Special operating conditions and constraints of handheld devices make micro speaker design a unique discipline. Headphone drivers require special test methods due to their unique acoustic coupling. Two-way communication environments introduce additional parameters; audio DSP shuffles acoustic design priorities; high component density leads to unwanted interactions; and super-miniaturization of microphones makes SNR targets more challenging to meet. These topics and more will be discussed with examples.
Richard Little, well-known throughout the loudspeaker industry for his scholarly approach to design, founded Far North Electroacoustics at the beginning of 2012 with the vision and mission of helping the firm's customers design better products through the use of advanced analysis, design, and measurement tools. Previously, Little worked at Tymphany HK Ltd., based in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China, where he worked on advanced R&D and future designs for Peerless branded audio products. He has worked in the loudspeaker engineering field since 1995, at Boston Acoustics for two years, and in Bose Corporation's Automotive Systems Division for eight years, prior to joining Tymphany in 2005. He moved to Tymphany's China facilities in 2006, where he managed an engineering group for many years
Little's expertise includes audio transducer engineering, magnetics engineering, acoustic circuit modeling, multiphysics finite element analysis (electromagnetics, structural, and acoustic), statistical analysis, and reliability engineering. Little's audio industry experience includes products for automotive OEM, home theatre, multimedia, automotive aftermarket, consumer electronics, and professional sound products. Outside of audio, Little has conducted research on magnetic sensor designs for the oil and gas industry, analyzed network flow in water distribution networks, and contributed some concept component designs for a proposed nuclear accelerator expansion. Little has published peer-reviewed papers published in the fields of acoustic engineering and non-destructive evaluation/testing. He is listed as an inventor on several patents in electro acoustic transducer design. He holds a B.S. in Honors Physics from the University of British Columbia (1992), and a M.S. in Physics from Queen's University at Kingston (1995) in the field of Applied Magnetics.
Inventor and audio systems engineer, Osman Isvan, has been an acoustics and audio professional for 30 years. He designed consumer products with micro speakers and microphones for 15 years. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from the Istanbul Technical University and later earned a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University, specializing in vibrations and acoustics. For the following 15 years Osman was a research engineer at Bose Corporation, where he worked on the design of loudspeaker drivers, and developed a computer model to simulate and analyze the acoustic field created by vibrating diaphragms. He also built a scanning laser vibrometer system for testing loudspeaker and headphone drivers. In 1998 Osman joined Gibson Guitar Corporation inNashville, where he designed a multi-axis pickup for the company's first guitar with digital audio interface. In 2000 Osman moved toCalifornia and became an acoustics engineer for Plantronics where he worked on telecommunication headsets and stereo headphones. Since 2009 Osman was an audio systems engineer at Palm and Hewlett Packard, specializing in performance optimization of miniature speakers and microphones, and the parameter tuning of audio systems of smart phones.
Osman has authored technical papers on audio signal processing, vibration damping, and guitar pickups. He is an inventor with eight patents on compact loudspeakers, miniature speakers, guitar pickups, noise reduction, echo cancellation, microphones, earphones and headsets.
Papers and tutorials:
Papers and tutorials will feature: Audio System Variance in Production Vehicles by Dr. Steve Hutt; Mathematical Treatise of Flux and Magnetic Circuits and their Optimization by Dr. David Hyre, CTO, Dyne Analytics; Perception and Measurement of Headphones, by Dr. Sean Olive, Director of Acoustic Research for Harman International; Fast Quality Testing of Loudspeaker Suspension Parts and Passive Radiators, Robert Werner and Dr. Wolfgang Klippel; Modeling the Large Signal Behavior of Micro-Speakers, Daniel Knobloch and Dr. Wolfgang Klippel; Measurement of Harmonic Distortion Audibility Using a Simplified Psychoacoustic Model, Steve Temme, President, Listen Inc.; Directivity of Horn System: Beryllium vs. Titanium by Peter Andrews, Materion Electrofusion; Estimating Short and Long Term Power Requirements for Powered Speakers, Sonos; A Modern Approach to Bass Response Extension in Conventionally Sized Loudspeakers by Boaz Shalev, CTO, Atlantic Technology; MoTIV Motor Modeling Software by Mark Beach and Dan Wiggins, DYNE Analytics; A new Algorithm for Surround Sound by Spiro Iraclianos, Global Transducer Engineer, Harman International Automotive Division; Fine Measurements with the FINE R+D System, Peter Larsen, President, LoudSoft, Ltd.; What's New with Microphones by Mike Klasco of Menlo Scientific and How to Design a Speaker for the iPhone 5 by Dr. John Oh, President of Pulsus Technologies.
Symposium co-chairs, Peter Andrews of Materion Electrofusion and Mark Beach of Dyne Analytics, are very excited about being able to feature these two experienced experts in seminars that run back-to-back. Say co-chairs Beach and Andrews, "Feedback from past symposium attendees has shown that many would like to take more than one training but have not been able to because they've been scheduled at the same time. This schedule will allow attendees to take both seminars. It's a great way to get the industry training we need and can't find anywhere else!"
The largest event held in the world entirely dedicated to the loudspeaker industry, the Winter Symposium will feature training courses covering various aspects of modeling, measurement, and manufacturing in today's multi-national-cooperative-environment. There will be technical paper presentations, tutorial sessions, round table and panel discussions, an exhibit hall showcasing suppliers to the industry, and an annual banquet where the now famous "Driver Awards" will be presented to deserving recipients.
Visit www.almainternational.org for more information, to register to attend, exhibit or sponsor the symposium or to be added to the mailing list.
About ALMA
ALMA is the only international trade association dedicated to improving the design and manufacture of loudspeakers. The ALMA Symposia is where the loudspeaker industry meets to improve their skills and to network.
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