In Episode 297, it’s all about safe listening levels, hearing protection and more, as Sean and Andy talk to three of the folks behind the Healthy Ears, Limited Annoyance Initiative (HELA) about all things loud (but not too loud)! This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF.

Returning guest Laura Sinnott, AuD is joined by Jon Burton and Jos Wilder to explain where HELA came from, its purpose, and much more. From World Health Organization standards for live event audio to which generic fit earplugs to recommend to friends, there’s a ton of great info in this jam-packed hour.

Healthy Ears, Limited Annoyance is a non-profit group of industry and academic specialists in audio, acoustics, and more, offering training and certification about the benefits of responsible sound management.

Created in response to research conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Audio Engineering Society (AES), and hosted by the Electro-Acoustics Research Lab (EARLab), University of Derby, UK, HELA offers training and certification for everyone involved in the live event sector, from bar managers and security staff to sound technicians and concert promoters. It’s designed to provide a clear understanding of the benefits of having a responsible sound management plan for audiences, staff and neighbors.

HELA supports venues of all sizes, from grassroots to large-scale events, in creating positive relationships with their audiences as well as surrounding communities. Topics covered include the Fundamentals Of Sound, Noise Pollution, Sound Level Limits, Personal Hearing Protection, Management & Communication, Audience Expectations, Venue Design and more.

Episode Links:
Healthy Ears, Limited Annoyance Initiative (HELA) FAQs
WHO Global Standard For Safe Listening Venues & Events
ASI Audio 3DME Active-Ambient Technology
Etymotic Research ER20XS Earplugs
Curvd Everyday Earplugs
Laura Sinnott, AuD: Choosing Earplugs, Loop Earplugs Review, Curvd Earplugs Review
STN Episode 177: Hearing Health Matters
STN Episode 152: Dr. Heather Malyuk, Soundcheck Audiology – “All Ears Are Famous”
Episode 297 Transcript

AES Papers:
Education and Certification in Sound Pressure Level Measurement, Monitoring and Management at Entertainment Events
Sound Level Monitoring at Live Events, Part 1– Live Dynamic Range
Sound Level Monitoring at Live Events, Part 2 — Regulations, Practices, and Preferences
Sound Level Monitoring at Live Events, Part 3 — Improved Tools and Procedures

In episode 296, Sean and Andy are joined by Garrett Doran, Sean’s director of operations at Audio Engineers Northwest, to get more perspective on how to get hired as a freelancer in the live audio industry. Garrett shares what he looks for in a resume and/or interview, how to impress a sound company you’re new to, and – just as importantly – what sorts of things are immediate red flags for a company like theirs!

They also dig into strategies for keeping the small to medium size festival gigs that are the summer bread-and-butter for many audio providers running smoothly, from keeping lines of comm open to running a smooth and fast sound check, as well as why the patch tech should be the best mixer on your team!

Episode Links:
Episode 241 – Richard Cadena, Electricity for the Entertainment Electrician & Technician
Episode 296 Transcript

Connect with the community on the Signal To Noise Facebook Group and Discord Server. Both are spaces for listeners to create to generate conversations around the people and topics covered in the podcast — we want your questions and comments!

Also please check out and support The Roadie Clinic, Their mission is simple. “We exist to empower & heal roadies and their families by providing resources & services tailored to the struggles of the touring lifestyle.”

The Signal To Noise Podcast on ProSoundWeb is co-hosted by pro audio veterans Andy Leviss and Sean Walker.

Want to be a part of the show? If you have a quick tip to share, or a question for the hosts, past or future guests, or listeners at home, we’d love to include it in a future episode. You can send it to us one of two ways:

1) If you want to send it in as text and have us read it, or record your own short audio file, send it to signal2noise@prosoundweb.com with the subject “Tips” or “Questions”

2) If you want a quick easy way to do a short (90s or less) audio recording, go to https://www.speakpipe.com/S2N and leave us a voicemail there

Listener favorite Ryan John returns to the show in Episode 295 to catch up with Andy and Sean about a wide range of subjects, from the recent season of network TV “upfronts” and “For Your Consideration” presentations he worked to presenting at the L-Acoustics 2025 Keynote in his role as the company’s director of product management for software. There’s even a deep dive into espresso machines and the wonders of super light roasted coffee! This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF.

Episode Links:
L-Acoustics Keynote 2025 | Roundhouse London
Episode 289, Nat Houle on Spatial Audio
Fellow – Espresso Series 1
Tim Wendelboe Coffee
Episode 295 Transcript

Connect with the community on the Signal To Noise Facebook Group and Discord Server. Both are spaces for listeners to create to generate conversations around the people and topics covered in the podcast — we want your questions and comments!

Also please check out and support The Roadie Clinic, Their mission is simple. “We exist to empower & heal roadies and their families by providing resources & services tailored to the struggles of the touring lifestyle.”

The Signal To Noise Podcast on ProSoundWeb is co-hosted by pro audio veterans Andy Leviss and Sean Walker.

Want to be a part of the show? If you have a quick tip to share, or a question for the hosts, past or future guests, or listeners at home, we’d love to include it in a future episode. You can send it to us one of two ways:

1) If you want to send it in as text and have us read it, or record your own short audio file, send it to signal2noise@prosoundweb.com with the subject “Tips” or “Questions”

2) If you want a quick easy way to do a short (90s or less) audio recording, go to https://www.speakpipe.com/S2N and leave us a voicemail there

Picking up where they left off in Episode 293, the hosts continue the conversation Brian Maddox about building a successful freelance career in live events. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF.

Brian brings the unique perspective of not only being one of the most in-demand freelance mixers in the corporate event market, but having built a new freelance career after pivoting from a staff job at three different times in his life.

Episode Links:
STN Episode 151 With Brian Maddox (Next Generation Audio Professionals)
STN Episode 243 With Brian Maddox (Mixing Corporate Events, Part 1)
STN Episode 244 With Brian Maddox (Mixing Corporate Events, Part 2)
STN Episode 275 With Brian Maddox (Mixing For The 2024 Paris Olympics)
Brian Maddox Articles On ProSoundWeb
Episode 294 Transcript

Connect with the community on the Signal To Noise Facebook Group and Discord Server. Both are spaces for listeners to create to generate conversations around the people and topics covered in the podcast — we want your questions and comments!

Also please check out and support The Roadie Clinic, Their mission is simple. “We exist to empower & heal roadies and their families by providing resources & services tailored to the struggles of the touring lifestyle.”

The Signal To Noise Podcast on ProSoundWeb is co-hosted by pro audio veterans Andy Leviss and Sean Walker.

Want to be a part of the show? If you have a quick tip to share, or a question for the hosts, past or future guests, or listeners at home, we’d love to include it in a future episode. You can send it to us one of two ways:

1) If you want to send it in as text and have us read it, or record your own short audio file, send it to signal2noise@prosoundweb.com with the subject “Tips” or “Questions”

2) If you want a quick easy way to do a short (90s or less) audio recording, go to https://www.speakpipe.com/S2N and leave us a voicemail there

Friend of the podcast and returning guest Brian Maddox joins Sean and Andy in Episode 293 to dig into the nuts and bolts of how to build a successful freelance career in live events. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF.

Brian brings the unique perspective of not only being one of the most in-demand freelance mixers in the corporate event market, but having built a new career after pivoting from a staff job at three different times in his life. This conversation got so in depth with great advice from Brian that it couldn’t fit in one episode, so be sure to tune in next episode for part two!

Episode Links:
STN Episode 151 With Brian Maddox (Next Generation Audio Professionals)
STN Episode 243 With Brian Maddox (Mixing Corporate Events, Part 1)
STN Episode 244 With Brian Maddox (Mixing Corporate Events, Part 2)
STN Episode 275 With Brian Maddox (Mixing For The 2024 Paris Olympics)
Brian Maddox Articles On ProSoundWeb
Episode 293 Transcript

Connect with the community on the Signal To Noise Facebook Group and Discord Server. Both are spaces for listeners to create to generate conversations around the people and topics covered in the podcast — we want your questions and comments!

Also please check out and support The Roadie Clinic, Their mission is simple. “We exist to empower & heal roadies and their families by providing resources & services tailored to the struggles of the touring lifestyle.”

The Signal To Noise Podcast on ProSoundWeb is co-hosted by pro audio veterans Andy Leviss and Sean Walker.

Want to be a part of the show? If you have a quick tip to share, or a question for the hosts, past or future guests, or listeners at home, we’d love to include it in a future episode. You can send it to us one of two ways:

1) If you want to send it in as text and have us read it, or record your own short audio file, send it to signal2noise@prosoundweb.com with the subject “Tips” or “Questions”

2) If you want a quick easy way to do a short (90s or less) audio recording, go to https://www.speakpipe.com/S2N and leave us a voicemail there

Episode 293 Transcript

In Episode 292, the hosts turn to a question from the Signal to Noise Discord community and take a trip to Signal to Noise University, where professor Sean treats Andy and the listeners to Marketing 101 with a look at how to make yourself indispensable to clients. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF.

Whether you’re a small to medium-sized sound provider looking for new business, a freelancer seeking for work from one of those providers, or you’re doing (or trying to do) weddings, corporate events, and concerts — or a mix of all those and more — Sean provides some great advice based on his experience in building his own successful sound company.

Episode Links:
Audio Engineers Northwest
Episode 292 Transcript

Connect with the community on the Signal To Noise Facebook Group and Discord Server. Both are spaces for listeners to create to generate conversations around the people and topics covered in the podcast — we want your questions and comments!

Also please check out and support The Roadie Clinic, Their mission is simple. “We exist to empower & heal roadies and their families by providing resources & services tailored to the struggles of the touring lifestyle.”

The Signal To Noise Podcast on ProSoundWeb is co-hosted by pro audio veterans Andy Leviss and Sean Walker.

Want to be a part of the show? If you have a quick tip to share, or a question for the hosts, past or future guests, or listeners at home, we’d love to include it in a future episode. You can send it to us one of two ways:

1) If you want to send it in as text and have us read it, or record your own short audio file, send it to signal2noise@prosoundweb.com with the subject “Tips” or “Questions”

2) If you want a quick easy way to do a short (90s or less) audio recording, go to https://www.speakpipe.com/S2N and leave us a voicemail there

In the second part of Andy’s conversation with Cody Heimann of Sound Devices (part one is here), the duo rolls up their sleeves and goes deep on the company’s Astral wireless platform that offers 32 channels in a single rack-unit, Optocore integration, and a handheld transmitter that can take almost any capsule on the market without any additional adapters, there’s a lot to discuss. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF.

Episode Links:
Episode 290 — Cody Heimann On Large-Scale RF Deployment
Sound Devices Astral Wireless & A20-HH Intro Video
Episode 291 Transcript

Connect with the community on the Signal To Noise Facebook Group and Discord Server. Both are spaces for listeners to create to generate conversations around the people and topics covered in the podcast — we want your questions and comments!

Also please check out and support The Roadie Clinic, Their mission is simple. “We exist to empower & heal roadies and their families by providing resources & services tailored to the struggles of the touring lifestyle.”

The Signal To Noise Podcast on ProSoundWeb is co-hosted by pro audio veterans Andy Leviss and Sean Walker.

Want to be a part of the show? If you have a quick tip to share, or a question for the hosts, past or future guests, or listeners at home, we’d love to include it in a future episode. You can send it to us one of two ways:

1) If you want to send it in as text and have us read it, or record your own short audio file, send it to signal2noise@prosoundweb.com with the subject “Tips” or “Questions”
2) If you want a quick easy way to do a short (90s or less) audio recording, go to https://www.speakpipe.com/S2N and leave us a voicemail there

Episode 290 goes all in on wireless as Andy is joined by Cody Heimann, RF applications engineer at Sound Devices as well as a veteran RF coordinator for large-scale events. In the first of two episodes, he talks about how his career grew and led to finding a niche as an RF coordinator for events and clients such as Coachella, New Year’s Eve in Times Square, and some of the largest corporate events and conventions in the world. This episode is sponsored by Allen & Heath and RCF.

In a wide-ranging conversation, Cody shares tips and advice for handling large events, making wise choices about compromises to fit hundreds of channels of RF into tight spaces, and much more!

After starting his career as an audio assistant, he became a stage tech and patch master, moving through the ranks to monitor and front of house engineer, PA tech, and production manager. He’s been involved in all things audio, which has allowed him to build a diverse portfolio in troubleshooting, technical skills and client relationships.

Now, as an RF applications engineer, he’s definitely no stranger to being agile and working in different mediums of the industry. In April of 2024, Cody joined the RF Applications Team at Sound Devices where he largely works largely in product development, technical support, education, and large-scale and complex deployments of the company’s Astral wireless systems.

Cody loves fitness and the outdoors; he was a part-owner of Music City Boxing in Nashville, met his wife rock climbing as well as an avid motorcycle enthusiast and self-proclaimed “once upon a time drummer.” It’s no doubt that music has been a passion of his since his youth and he loves being able to help continue to be a small part in the big shows!

Episode Links:
Cody Heimann On LinkedIn
Practical Show Tech 15: RF Over Fiber, Multi-Antenna Systems & More
Practical Show Tech 23: Basics Of Frequency Coordination Using PWS IAS
Sound Devices Astral Wireless Family
Grownsy Baby Nasal Aspirator
Powered Ear Wax Remover
Episode 290 Transcript

Connect with the community on the Signal To Noise Facebook Group and Discord Server. Both are spaces for listeners to create to generate conversations around the people and topics covered in the podcast — we want your questions and comments!

Also please check out and support The Roadie Clinic, Their mission is simple. “We exist to empower & heal roadies and their families by providing resources & services tailored to the struggles of the touring lifestyle.”

The Signal To Noise Podcast on ProSoundWeb is co-hosted by pro audio veterans Andy Leviss and Sean Walker.