Acoustician Andy Munro will be named as the recipient of the first Lifetime Achievement Award at the Pro Sound Awards next month, September. The unanimous choice of Munro was made by the Awards team – the editors of Intent Media titles Audio Pro International, MI Pro, Audio Media, Installation, TVBEurope, Music Week and PSNEurope – late last week.
“I am extremely flattered to be given this accolade,” Munro commented on hearing the news. “The world of acoustics has often been regarded with a mixture of suspicion and reverence, a status quo I have always tried to debunk so I accept gratefully this award as recognition of a job well done by everyone at Munro Acoustics.”
Andy Munro studied mechanical engineering before joining the Shure Corporation of America in 1972 as a technical writer. His interest in microphone and loudspeaker design led to involvement with the design of speaker systems for large auditoria for sound reinforcement purposes. Munro worked with many of Shure’s clients and sponsored artists including The Rolling Stones and rental giant Showco during their Led Zeppelin tours in 1975.
In 1980, he started his own design practice, specialising in studio design and acoustic analysis, using techniques such as time-delay spectrometry that, at the time, were not generally known in the UK. In 1990 he co-founded Dynaudio Acoustics with the eponymous Danish manufacturer to design professional monitor systems for recording and film mixing facilities.
Munro Acoustics has become one the most respected design companies in the audio business and that is the result of a “complete commitment to high-fidelity sound”, he says. A small team of acoustic and architectural experts has expanded the range of projects to every corner of the professional sound business. Studios such as British Grove and Sphere have set very high standards for mixing, while the custom-built monitor systems at AIR Lyndhurst have been in continuous use since 1992.
In the last ten years, Munro has established a thriving consultancy in India and a studio construction business with Architect Clive Glover. Chris Walls has assumed overall responsibility for acoustic design so that Munro can work on new products and software.
Munro was elected as a corporate Member of the Institute of Acoustics in 1985 and has been a member of the Institute of Sound and Communications Engineers since 1975. He is an active member of the Audio Engineering Society in both the USA and Europe where he has delivered many papers on studio design techniques. Munro Acoustics has recently worked closely with Dolby, Disney and the Pinewood-Shepperton Group to develop the new ATMOS standard for film mixing theatres. He is currently designing studios for the new BBC headquarters in central London including a new TV studio along the public glass façade of the Peel Wing of New Broadcasting House.
“I consider any recognition by one’s peers to be encouraging and meaningful and, as our very existence depends on a combination of reputation and value engineering, this award is especially welcome,” Andy Munro told PSNEurope.
Munro will receive his trophy at the first Pro Sound Awards, to be held at the Ministry of Sound in London on 19 September. Fourteen other award winners from across the broad spectrum of pro-audio will be revealed on the night. Headline sponsors for the event are DiGiCo and Sennheiser, with further sponsorship provided by Focusrite Novation, Fineline Media Finance, Genelec, Martin Audio, Medialease, Sony and ISE, plus support from ISCE, IABM, the Institute of Acoustics and The Space in Brighton. The charity partner for the evening is Nordoff Robbins.
Tickets are still available for the Pro Sound Awards priced at £45 www.prosoundawards.com
