System Design & Optimization | Berkeley | September 2025

09:30- 17:30

This course explores the principles of loudspeaker system design, focusing on the physics, prediction, measurement, and optimization techniques used in professional sound reinforcement. Participants will apply these concepts using Meyer Sound loudspeakers, MAPP 3D system prediction software, and the Galileo GALAXY processor platform.

Modern tools like prediction software and affordable analyzers make system design more accessible than ever. But true mastery requires understanding the science behind the tools. Without it, troubleshooting and adapting to real-world challenges becomes guesswork.

Through a structured approach grounded in acoustic principles, this course trains attendees to make informed design decisions, validate them with measurement, and avoid missteps caused by misunderstood data. Emphasis is placed on optimizing multi-zone systems by managing level and phase relationships to ensure consistent, high-quality coverage.

Participants will develop critical listening skills alongside technical analysis—connecting what they hear with what they measure. The result is not just proficiency with tools, but a mindset of intentional, predictive, and verified system design.

By the end, attendees will be equipped to design systems with confidence and purpose, ensuring every listener experiences the performance as intended.

• Apply knowledge and understanding of physics of sound and concepts of frequency and phase to design, install, and calibrate/verify/optimize loudspeaker systems.

• Understand sound sources interaction to inform approaches to design, installation, and calibration of loudspeaker systems.

• Implement strategies for designing and executing loudspeaker systems including effective low frequency directivity and control.

SDO is eligible for 18 AVIXA CTS, CTS-D, CTS-I RU.

The registration fee includes training materials, AVIXA CTS RU, Eventbrite fees, morning coffee + pastries, and an optional Meyer Sound Factory tour on Friday, September 19th 9:30am-11:30am.

Bob McCarthy’s involvement in the field of sound system optimization began in 1984 with the development of Source Independent Measurement (SIM®), which was inducted into the TEC Awards Hall of Fame in 2019. He has been an active force in modern sound system design and optimization for over 35 years, including three generations of SIM, thousands of designs, tunings, training seminars and publications. Bob has had the privilege to work with many great sound designers, including Abe Jacob, Andrew Bruce, Tony Meola, Jonathan Deans, Francois Desjardins and more, and has been charged with tuning systems for Cirque Du Soleil, Walt Disney Entertainment, Carnegie Hall, Celine Dion, Grateful Dead and others. Musical theater credits include Les Miserables, The Beatles’ LOVE, Wicked and many more. Recent designs and tunings include the ongoing Metallica WorldWired tours, Roskilde Festival, Shanghai Disney Resort and more.

His award-winning book, Sound Systems: Design and Optimization, now in its third edition, has sold over 15,000 copies in three languages. USITT presented Bob with the Distinguished Achievement in Sound Award in 2014. Bob is well known in the field of audio education and delivered the keynote address at the 50th AES Conference, which was the first ever dedicated to audio education.

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