If I am in the Music Room listening to some change engineering made or a new tweak we want to put into products, it’s my responsibility to listen and evaluate those changes as best I can and pass judgment on them. Sometimes that’s very difficult because I find myself in a situation where it sounds worse here, but better there, etc.
One of the tricks I use to get a different viewpoint on the subject is to sit off axis. In each of the Music Rooms we have three identical seats: one of which is, of course, the hot seat right in the middle.
I can move to either the left or the right seat next to the hot seat to get a different view of the sound and in many cases, the decision is made much easier by doing this.
I first noticed this while at Genesis Technologies with Arnie Nudell, founder of Infinity. Because Arnie has always been the chief listener and evaluator, I was always sitting next to his seat; riding shotgun if you will.
Many times in our listening sessions over the years I would hear differences much quicker in the copilot’s seat rather than the pilot’s seat and thus, over the years, I’ve figured out the times when I need to simply move over and get a different view.
Paul McGowan
