| The Director's Chair October 2001
An Interview with
Buzz Goddard of TAG McLaren Audio
 Jeff Fritz: Tell us
about your start in the consumer electronics field, and detail how you wound up at TAG
McLaren.
Buzz Goddard: I’ve always been
interested in audio and music. I worked in retail, both sales and service, for many years,
and then I got into manufacturing at Kloss Video, creating projection televisions back at
the dawn of home theater. In 1987 I was hired to get a company called Lexicon into the
consumer electronics business. Up to that point Lexicon was strictly pro audio. I
developed and ran that business until two years ago when, hankering for a change, I began
consulting. After some work with Creative Labs and their Cambridge SoundWorks subsidiary,
I began working with TAG McLaren Audio, eventually ending up running the U.S. operations,
which is what I do today.
JF: What do you consider the high
points in your career?
BG: Meeting lots of my heroes, everyone
from George Martin to George Clinton, and having something to give back to them. Many in
the recording industry are intensely interested in how people are listening at home. I
think that a lot of people have a bit of teacher in them, and it’s always gratifying
to watch people gain a new appreciation for recordings and music. So there is, in my job,
a potential for a "high point" almost everyday. That’s cool.
JF: Tell us a bit about TAG McLaren.
BG: The company has an intense culture of
fastidious engineering. In the audio company, we are able to leverage incredible
engineering know-how in signal acquisition and transmission. At TAG Electronic Systems you
have engineers who have been working with sensor signals smaller than the output of a
moving coil cartridge. They amplify them, digitize them, and transmit them back to the
pits. Keep in mind that this is all from a car several miles away, traveling at high
velocity and pulling several Gs almost constantly. These signals are absolutely mission
critical. These sensors are in one of the most hostile environments imaginable. Formula
One engines turn over as high as 19,000rpm, and I can assure you that minimal RF emissions
are not the highest priority! These guys know more about signal transmission and data
integrity than anyone outside of NASA. And they have incredible engineering and
manufacturing facilities all dedicated to getting just the slightest edge. No expense is
spared; no detail too small.
Audio companies have just recently started using multilayer
boards. Some are using as many as four layers. TAG Electronic Systems has been doing
multilayer boards for over a decade, some of them have up to 14 layers! We get to leverage
off all this knowledge and expertise. There is also superb manufacturing equipment. Our
surface-mounted components aren’t just wave soldered. They are processed in a
nitrogen-filled infrared reflow oven. No audio company is going to invest that kind of
capital in equipment. But we already have it, bought with Formula One dollars, where only
the best will do. Reliability and performance are paramount.
 Blending these engineering attributes
with the disciplines of audio is a fascinating engineering management challenge. Obviously
the teams have been very successful. In just a few years, we have created components that
challenge the state of the art in a wide variety of audio disciplines. Our AV32R is now an
industry reference standard. Both Dolby and DTS have purchased a dozen units for
demonstrating their technologies, and they can, of course, get any processors they want (I
find it amusing as this seems to be one of the few things they agree on). Our T32R tuner
is a reference standard for the BBC and has gained a fanatical following in the United
States. Our DVD32R is considered by many to be the benchmark DVD player, and it has been
measured as the lowest jitter CD playback system when used in conjunction with our AV32R.
Our F1 AvantGarde speakers received a five star perfect rating from Audio, the
largest audio magazine in Europe. Our 60iRV amplifier garnered a coveted EISA award (voted
on by dozens of magazines from 16 countries). And the company is really still in its
infancy!
JF: Are there any specific
characteristics you feel are especially important for exceptional home theater?
BG: The environment is often the biggest
challenge. The best gear in the world is only going to give you mediocre results unless
you spend a lot of time on the room and the setup. An honest flat frequency/power response
is rather difficult to achieve, particularly below 100Hz and at high SPLs. A knowledgeable
pro for acoustics and EQ as well as a really good video technician are critical if
you’re going to create an exceptional theater. It also should be effortless to use
and able to acoustically and comfortably accommodate at least four to six people as the
movie experience is typically one of sharing (as opposed to music listening which is often
solitary). And getting good sound imaging to six people in a small room is not a trivial
task.
JF: The AV32R processor has gained
tremendous popularity. It seems to be one of a few products that is truly supported by the
manufacturer with timely/affordable upgrades. Can you speak about this product?
BG: I can be boastful about it without
being immodest. I had nothing to do with the original design. It’s fascinating where
the product is today. When the AV32R was introduced, I was still at Lexicon formulating
the just now introduced MC-12. The two products share a similar design base. The amazing
thing about the AV32R is how forward thinking the design is. Since day one, it has run
native at 96kHz (you would be stunned to know how few processors can do this). It is based
on the fabulous Analog Devices SHARC DSP engine, and it is designed so that the existing
DSP can be easily doubled with a simple plug-in board. All of the internal code, even the
DSP code, is stored in flash memory, so the unit can be easily upgraded, even the sound
processing algorithms. Thus we were able to offer Dolby Pro Logic II to all of our
customers many months ago, whereas most manufacturers haven’t even announced dates
for introduction. Popping the cover off is really impressive if you’ve looked at much
audio gear. The AV32R has brilliant design, layout, and execution. It is a work of art. If
you compare the components and the construction to other products, it is easy to see why
other companies are very concerned about competing with us. While it is certainly not an
inexpensive product, it is a very high-value product. Next month, we will be revealing an
extensive roadmap of the future developments for the AV32R. There are some really
interesting and exciting upgrades and options planned.
JF: What are the biggest issues facing
the audio/video industry at present?
BG: Chaos. It’s not just the format
wars (DVD-A vs. SACD is like Beta vs. VHS; DTS vs. Dolby Digital is like vinyl vs. CD). It
is the competition from other entertainment forms. Gaming has captured a lot of the
enthusiast types that used to flock to audio. MP3s and the Napster syndrome have the
content providers circling their wagons, and, in the process, running over the early
adopters critical to high-resolution format pioneering. Challenging? Sure. But I’ll
take the curse of living in interesting times; I find it all fascinating.
JF: What are your feelings on
multichannel music, and how do you see it progressing/interfacing over the next few years.
BG: Despite my background in studio work
(I majored in musical technologies and music composition and taught studio techniques and
electronic music), I don’t believe the recording is holy. I believe the music, the
emotion, is holy. And I’ve listened enough to know that five or seven channels do a
much better job of communicating most music than one or two channels. I hate the comb
filtering of lead vocals that two-channel inexorably imparts. I hate the bastardized
spatial perspective that comes from having to jam the side and rear ambience into just two
channels in front of the listener. My favorite thing about the two-channel vs.
multichannel debates is the déjà vu. The arguments are the same ones put forth defending
mono from the onslaught of two-channel. It fascinates me how equipment enthusiasts, who
thrive on tweaking and upgrades, can become Luddite idiots creating ridiculous arguments
against progress. There is nothing right or magical about two channels. I think 7.1 is a
minimal need for a proper spatial presentation. It happens that it works well for film
sound too. Great! I should admit that film sound is more of an intellectual rather than
aesthetic and passionate pursuit for me. It is a fascinating art form in itself, but
I’m a musician not a filmmaker.
JF: What general advice would you give
to those Home Theater & Sound readers that might be building their first
system?
BG: I think the THX guidelines offer the
best shot for a novice to get good sound. Certainly there are many ways to approach home
theater. In fact, that is part of the problem. The choices get overwhelming. I’ve
been involved with the THX program since its inception. It is not, as some would have you
believe, a way to keep George Lucas out of personal bankruptcy. A lot of thought was put
into the guidelines and standards, and a lot of work goes into producing the gear and then
testing it for compliance. You can certainly get good sound without THX-approved products,
but for the beginner, overwhelmed by choices, this is a good starting point.
Read a wide variety of posts on the Net and read a bunch of
the magazines. Like anything else, you need to understand the critic’s perspective.
See if their taste aligns with yours. Ask questions. People love to share. Although you
may get too many answers, it doesn’t take long for you to sift through and decide
what’s really relevant to you and what is accurate.
And don’t take it too seriously. It’s not a job;
it’s an adventure. |
