No Second Chances in Live Sound: A Discussion on the Growing Demands Upon A1s

Audio engineers Michael Jackson and Glenn Stilwell share their experiences and observations

Audiences are unforgiving when it comes to sound. And in high-pressure, live productions, the A1 is often the unsung hero.

Maintaining intelligible, impactful, high-quality audio under unpredictable conditions is an A1’s stock and trade. And with entertainment now integrating more into “the mix” – from corporate to sports – juggling multiple sources and localized feeds in real time has only gotten more complex.

In this exclusive discussion, Michael Jackson, Owner / Engineer of BPIAudio and acclaimed audio engineer Glenn Stilwell, who is the sound supervisor on AppleTV’s Friday Night Baseball and senior audio maintenance engineer for NBC Olympics discuss how the role of the A1 is evolving and how it varies from project to project.

This session was moderated by Tom Menrath, Audio Team Director / Key Account Strategy for Advanced Systems Group (ASG) and was hosted at the 2025 Silicon Valley Video Summit in Mountain View, CA on January 28.

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