Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Bob McCarthy opened the very first Live Sound Summit back in 2018, and honestly? This might be the most important 35 minutes of system tuning wisdom you'll ever watch.
Bob doesn't sugarcoat anything here. He tackles the biggest cop-out in audio ("it measures good but sounds bad"), explains why everything looks "dirty" on modern analyzers (spoiler: that's normal), and breaks down his famous A + B = AB formula that's saved countless engineers from making terrible decisions.
**What makes this special:**
- Bob's "shades of gray" philosophy that'll change how you approach tuning
- Why gross over-EQ is still the #1 mistake (even in 2018)
- The "Mr. Spock moment" - what to do when your analyzer shows something weird
- Speaker aiming that actually makes sense (hint: stop aiming everything at center)
- Why you need to think about 10,000 seats, not just the mix position
This is vintage Bob - no fluff, just decades of hard-earned wisdom delivered with his signature mix of technical precision and practical reality. Whether you're just starting out or you've been doing this for years, Bob's going to make you think differently about how you approach system tuning.
**About Bob McCarthy:**
Author of "Sound Systems: Design and Optimization," co-founder of SIM (Sound Image Measurement), and the guy who literally wrote the book on modern system design. He's been measuring systems with FFT since 1984 and has probably forgotten more about acoustics than most of us will ever know.
---
**Quick heads up:** This was recorded in 2018, so some specific tools and techniques mentioned might have evolved, but Bob's core principles are timeless.
**Big thanks** to Bob for letting us share this gem with the community, and to everyone who made the original Live Sound Summit happen.
---
**Timestamps:**
00:00 - Opening thoughts & the Beatles at Shea Stadium
03:30 - Subjective vs. Objective audio (and why both matter)
08:15 - The "it measures good but sounds bad" cop-out
10:40 - Thinking about the whole space, not just your seat
12:25 - The A + B = AB formula explained
14:00 - Why modern analyzers look "dirty" (and that's normal)
15:30 - Speaker aiming methodology
22:50 - Most common tuning mistake: gross over-EQ
27:00 - Coverage measurement positioning
28:30 - Standing waves (they're just reflections, folks)
31:07 - M-noise vs pink noise
32:24 - Where's the next big advance in speaker design?
---
**Resources:**
- Bob's books: "Sound Systems: Design and Optimization"
- Meyer Sound SIM system
Bob McCarthy opened the very first Live Sound Summit back in 2018, and honestly? This might be the most important 35 minutes of system tuning wisdom you'll ever watch.
Bob doesn't sugarcoat anything here. He tackles the biggest cop-out in audio ("it measures good but sounds bad"), explains why everything looks "dirty" on modern analyzers (spoiler: that's normal), and breaks down his famous A + B = AB formula that's saved countless engineers from making terrible decisions.
**What makes this special:**
- Bob's "shades of gray" philosophy that'll change how you approach tuning
- Why gross over-EQ is still the #1 mistake (even in 2018)
- The "Mr. Spock moment" - what to do when your analyzer shows something weird
- Speaker aiming that actually makes sense (hint: stop aiming everything at center)
- Why you need to think about 10,000 seats, not just the mix position
This is vintage Bob - no fluff, just decades of hard-earned wisdom delivered with his signature mix of technical precision and practical reality. Whether you're just starting out or you've been doing this for years, Bob's going to make you think differently about how you approach system tuning.
**About Bob McCarthy:**
Author of "Sound Systems: Design and Optimization," co-founder of SIM (Sound Image Measurement), and the guy who literally wrote the book on modern system design. He's been measuring systems with FFT since 1984 and has probably forgotten more about acoustics than most of us will ever know.
---
**Quick heads up:** This was recorded in 2018, so some specific tools and techniques mentioned might have evolved, but Bob's core principles are timeless.
**Big thanks** to Bob for letting us share this gem with the community, and to everyone who made the original Live Sound Summit happen.
---
**Timestamps:**
00:00 - Opening thoughts & the Beatles at Shea Stadium
03:30 - Subjective vs. Objective audio (and why both matter)
08:15 - The "it measures good but sounds bad" cop-out
10:40 - Thinking about the whole space, not just your seat
12:25 - The A + B = AB formula explained
14:00 - Why modern analyzers look "dirty" (and that's normal)
15:30 - Speaker aiming methodology
22:50 - Most common tuning mistake: gross over-EQ
27:00 - Coverage measurement positioning
28:30 - Standing waves (they're just reflections, folks)
31:07 - M-noise vs pink noise
32:24 - Where's the next big advance in speaker design?
---
**Resources:**
- Bob's books: "Sound Systems: Design and Optimization"
- Meyer Sound SIM system
