Frank Filipetti is one of the most respected names in the music business. As a producer, mixer and engineer he has been at the forefront of digital music and production for decades – working with artists such as Elton John, KISS, Billy Joel and Carly Simon. He won a Grammy for Best Engineered Album for James Taylor’s landmark “Hourglass,” which also won that year’s Best Pop Album. Filipetti continues to work in music and film production and remains a major proponent of the surround sound experience for engineers and consumers alike.
PART I
How did you discover Audyssey?
Totally by accident. A couple of years ago I bought a Denon 5308 receiver, which included a consumer version of Audyssey MultEQ. I’d always been skeptical of automatic digital equalization so I held off on setting it up. But when I did try it I was amazed.
Did that prompt you to check out the Audyssey Sound Equalizer Pro?
Yes. I said to myself, ‘This is very interesting, I wonder if they have a version for professionals?’ So I called Audyssey and eventually got on the line with Chris who told me about the Sound Equalizer Pro. One thing led to another and he ended up coming up to New York and setting up the system for me.
Where did you install the Sound Equalizer Pro?
Chris and I set it up at my control room at Right Track Recording – a room I’ve had for 25 years; it’s been my main mixing and recording room for as far back as I can remember. I had always been happy and comfortable with the room, but it had a slight bump at 60 Hz, dipped at 90 Hz, and bumped again at 120 Hz. I had also been happy with the JBL 6300 monitors since those allow you to tune the low end. So, I had a room and a system that, except for a few small problems, were still excellent for my needs.
We set up the Sound Equalizer Pro and, lo and behold, as good as I thought my room sounded, this suddenly made everything sound so much tighter, cleaner and more focused.