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The Recording Academy® Producers & Engineers Wing® Showcases High-Resolution Audio at CE Week in New York

Listening Event on June 24 and Panel on June 25 Highlight New Developments in Convenience of High-Resolution Audio and Its Distribution

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (July 16, 2014) — As part of its ongoing initiatives to promote sound quality and High-Resolution Audio, The Recording Academy® Producers & Engineers Wing® hosted two successful events in New York during CE Week, the Consumer Electronic industry’s official mid-year meeting, conference and new technology showcase, which this year took place June 23-26.

On June 24, the P&E Wing hosted a High-Resolution Audio Listening Event in partnership with DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) at one of Manhattan’s premier studios, Jungle City Studios in the Chelsea district. The event marked a celebration of the recent announcement of an industry agreement for a formal definition for High-Resolution Audio and featured three-time GRAMMY®-winning engineer/mixer Chuck Ainlay; six-time GRAMMY-winning engineer/mixer Frank Filipetti; seven-time GRAMMY-winning mastering engineer Bob Ludwig; GRAMMY-nominated composer/engineer/producer David Chesky; AIX Records/iTrax.com founder and chief engineer Mark Waldrep and GRAMMY-nominated engineer Kevin Reeves. These audio luminaries took over the main control room at Jungle City and shared selections of master recordings provided by label partners Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group. The tracks were played to attendees through a JBL M2 Reference Monitor System, which was set up and tuned by JBL senior manager of Recording & Broadcast Marketing Peter Chaikin. Attendees were also able to experience High-Resolution Audio-capable gear throughout the facility from manufacturers Astell & Kern, dCS Ltd., Onkyo USA and Sony Electronics. Hi-res digital music retailers Acoustic Sounds and HD Tracks also presented some of the latest in master-quality recordings available to the public.

The following day, June 25, the P&E Wing and the DEG hosted a panel titled “Making High-Resolution Audio Accessible.” Conference attendees packed the Gallery at the Metropolitan Pavilion on Wednesday afternoon for the panel, which featured Sony Electronics Home Audio Division Product Marketing manager Aaron Levine, Onkyo USA National Marketing and Product Planning manager Paul Wasek, Universal Music Group vice president of Technology and Production Global Digital Business Jim Belcher, Warner Music Group Chief Technology Strategist Howie Singer, P&E Wing Senior Executive Director Maureen Droney and Sony Music Legacy Recordings vice president, Marketing, John Jackson. The panel, moderated by DEG senior director Marc Finer, discussed the steps that different facets of the music industry are taking to make High-Resolution Audio readily available to consumers. The panel concluded with a brief audience Q&A session.

Chuck Ainlay stated, “High-Resolution Audio is important for all kinds of music. It isn’t just for classical, or acoustic-based music, although of course those are wonderful places to hear what High-Resolution can offer. Hi-Res is simply the best way to capture the full spectrum of sound for any recording, so that listeners can hear it as it was intended to be heard.”

“In the past, people were not able to fully hear and appreciate the way the music sounded when it was first created, even on vinyl,” added Filipetti. “But today, listeners can hear the music in their home exactlylike we do in the studio when we record and mix it. All they have to do is demand it!”

Photo Caption 1: The High-Resolution Audio Listening Event, presented by the P&E Wing with DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), at Jungle City Studios in the Chelsea District of Manhattan, June 24, 2014, during CE Week. Pictured with microphone is Frank Filipetti. Photo Courtesy of The Recording Academy®/Craig Barritt/WireImage. © 2014. Photographed by: Craig Barritt/WireImage.

Photo Caption 2: The P&E Wing-hosted panel “Making High-Resolution Audio Accessible,” June 25, 2014, at the Gallery at the Metropolitan Pavilion during CE Week. Pictured L-R: Marc Finer (event moderator), DEG senior director; Jim Belcher, Universal Music Group vice president of Technology and Production Global Digital Business; Howie Singer, Warner Music Group Chief Technology Strategist; Maureen Droney, P&E Wing Senior Executive Director; Aaron Levine, Sony Electronics Home Audio Division Product Marketing manager; Paul Wasek, Onkyo USA National Marketing and Product Planning manager; and John Jackson, Sony Music Legacy Recordings vice president, Marketing. Photo Courtesy of The Recording Academy®. © 2014.

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