Professional Sound - February 2021 | Page 11

The Spirit of Pro Audio Innovations Celebrated at 36 th Annual NAMM TEC Awards
Winners of the NAMM Technical Excellence and Creativity ( TEC Awards ), honouring the best in professional audio and sound production , were announced in a virtual event on the final day of NAMM ’ s Believe in Music Week . Presented on Believe TV , the annual event recognized the highest achievements in the pro audio and sound worlds of music making , live performances , video games , television , and films .
Universal Audio picked up the day ’ s biggest collection of prizes in the technical categories for its Apollo x4 interface ( Computer Audio Hardware ); the Neve 1084 Unison Preamp & EQ plug-in ( Signal Processing Software - Dynamics / EQ / Utilities ); and the company ’ s Luna Recording System ( Workstation Technology / Recording Devices ).
Other winners included JBL for its DSi 2.0 amplifier ( Amplification Hardware – Studio & Sound Reinforcement ) and Eon One loudspeakers ( Sound Reinforcement Loudspeakers ); AKG ’ s K300 Series headphones ( Headphone / Earpiece Technology ) and Lyra USB microphone ( Microphones – Recording ); and Allen & Heath for its Avantis mixing console ( Small Format Console Technology ; among many others .
“ Despite the global pandemic , the industry continued to innovate , creating one of the largest collectives of product nominees in the 35-year history of the awards . And given the world engaged in virtual interaction on an unprecedented level , the products honoured helped connect us all by delivering music and sound across the world ,” shares Eric Geer , TEC entries and nominations supervisor .
Many projects in creative categories were recognized as well , including the premiere season of The Mandalorian ( Television Sound Production ); 1917 ( Film Sound Production ); Beck ’ s Hyperspace ( Record Production – Album ); and the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music ( Studio Design Project ).
For the first time , award content , including category and a 35-year retrospective videos , were streamed live to Believe in Music attendees for free . Viewers enjoyed companies and experts who were feted in 22 Technical Achievement categories and seven Creative Achievement categories .
For a full list of winners , go to www . tecawards . com . Digital readers of Professional Sound may also view the TEC Awards ’ presentation video by clicking on the thumbnail above .
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