Editor/Publisher: Gary Khan
Editor: Mike Castronovo
President: Mary Mazurek
V.P.: Mike Castronovo

Volume 19 Number 12
December, 2004

EARS meets at Turkish Cuisine & Bakery

5605 N. Clark, Chicago, IL
773-878-8930
Tuesday December 28 7:30pm

We return to Turkish Cuisine & Bakery 5605 N. Clark, Chicago 773-878-8930 Tuesday December 28 7:30pm for The Jeff Hamilton Memorial Holiday Party. We had a great time there last year, so now we're coming back for the great food and atmosphere. It's a BYOB establishment; EARS will provide beer and wine. If you require anything else, feel free to bring it. Please RSVP to ears@ears-chicago.org or call 773-880-5000 by Sunday 12/26. Remember that the party is opened to all dues paying members. If you're not up to date, there's still time. Send your dues ($25) to EARS c/o Pegasus P.O. Box 578903, Chicago, IL 60657.

Appreciation File:

Thanks to Gap Digital hosting last month's meeting at and to all of you who made it through the snow to see this first class facility. www.gapdigital.com Todd Busteed and Glen West took us on a tour of this multi room studio designed by the WALTERS-STORYK Design Group. Todd spoke passionately about what went into the production of a surround audio drama. This process included writing the script, casting the talent, finding the right composer to do the score, recording the music, recording sound effects, assembling and mixing the show, and even having a blind person QC to determine if the audio is believable. Todd played us an example of a completed work with actors, sound effects, and a score (recorded at Nashville's Ocean Way) that was masterfully mixed in surround. Thanks for the generous hospitality including an ample supply of premium pizza!

Also thanks to Jamie Tagg of Benchmark Media for letting us try out his personal DAC-1 converter. They are so popular that they didn¹t have any currently in stock. We put it up against a Swiss sonic D/A and the in house Sony DMX-R100. We found that the Benchmark yielded very realistic and sharp imaging. The Swiss Sonics produced a wider image, but the image wasn¹t as defined. The Sony's held up very well in the comparison.

If anyone is interested in purchasing a Benchmark DAC-1, they are offering us a special discount and free rack hardware if four or more members purchase a converter. Contact ears@ears-chicago.org for more info and check out http://www.benchmarkmedia.com for details on the DAC-1.

Congrats!:

EARS member Chris Willis and Chicago area engineer Bill Maylone have been nominated for their second Engineering Grammy Award! This is from http://www.grammy.com/awards/grammy/47noms.aspx Field 29 - Production, Classical, Category 93, Best Engineered Album, Classical (An Engineer's Award. (Artist names appear in parenthesis.)) Kurka: Symphonic Works (Symphony No. 2, Op. 24; Julius Caesar; Music For Orchestra, Etc.) Bill Maylone & Christopher Willis, engineers (Carlos Kalmar) [Cedille Records]

Thanks for the dues!:

Sarantis Alexopoulas, Harry Brotman, Mike Castronovo, Kathy Dunaj, Dan Epstein, Paul Fischer, John Groot, Jeff Jaskoviak, Dave Jeziorsky, Gary Khan, Jim Mazurek, Mary Mazurek, Micheal Moncada, David Moss, Kevin Robins, The Spoiled by Technology crew & Tim Swan of Gand concert Sound. For those of you who haven¹t sent your dues in yet, send them ($25) to EARS c/o Pegasus P.O. Box 578903, Chicago, IL 60657

Happy Holidays!
-Mary Mazurek-

If you have any ideas for stories, wish to contribute an article, or want to include any upcoming events, please contact:

Gary at ears@ears-chicago.org. Or write to:
Peagasus Recording P.O Box 578903, Chicago, IL 60657.