Geoff Martin: The Tonmeister

Originally from Newfoundland, Canada, Dr. Geoff Martin has degrees in music performance, sound recording and acoustics simulation. He has taught electronics and electroacoustic music composition at McGill University and the University of Ottawa. Geoff is a member of the Audio Engineering Society (AES) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Geoff is the Tonmeister at Bang & Olufsen and the person responsible for tuning B&O PLAY products. Geoff’s primary objective is to deliver outstanding sound design – and he does so by combining an engineer’s precision with a music lover and musician’s sensibilities.

"We constantly explore the limits of technology to ensure that our customers experience a sound recording exactly the way the artist and the recording engineer intended it - nothing more, nothing less,"

— Geoff Martin

Geoff works with both engineers and designers to produce the signature sound of the company – naturally authentic, fully balanced and delightfully accurate! An avid musician himself, Geoff previously worked as a recording engineer and knows the ins and outs of a recording studio.

At Bang & Olufsen though Geoff works out of his own listening room – a room designed to simulate a normal living room. Here he carries out sound tuning and listening tests – over and over again. Once the sound is tuned, he often takes the products out for a spin.

To other rooms in the area – really big rooms, smaller rooms, and sometimes even outdoor – all depending on what the final products is designed for

This meticulous approach to sound combines tech sheet measurements with sound design based on observations in the ‘real world’. To some extent the technological part is almost like following a recipe, while the final sound tuning of the products is the result of a design process. 

Coming up with the perfect sound for any given product demands a fine balance between the rational and the emotional, but as Geoff points out there’s more to B&O PLAY products than pure sound:

“From my point of view, a given product is comprised of a bunch of things. One is how good does it sound, but another is how good does it look, and another is how easy it is to use. And all of those things are mixed to decide how good the product is.”

— Geoff Martin

And, according to Geoff, no one does a better job at this moment combining good sound with other values such as good design and functionality than Bang & Olufsen in the B&O PLAY product portfolio.

Geoff Martin: The Tonmeister

Originally from Newfoundland, Canada, Dr. Geoff Martin has degrees in music performance, sound recording and acoustics simulation. He has taught electronics and electroacoustic music composition at McGill University and the University of Ottawa. Geoff is a member of the Audio Engineering Society (AES) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Geoff is the Tonmeister at Bang & Olufsen and the person responsible for tuning B&O PLAY products. Geoff’s primary objective is to deliver outstanding sound design – and he does so by combining an engineer’s precision with a music lover and musician’s sensibilities.

"We constantly explore the limits of technology to ensure that our customers experience a sound recording exactly the way the artist and the recording engineer intended it - nothing more, nothing less,"

— Geoff Martin

Geoff works with both engineers and designers to produce the signature sound of the company – naturally authentic, fully balanced and delightfully accurate! An avid musician himself, Geoff previously worked as a recording engineer and knows the ins and outs of a recording studio.

At Bang & Olufsen though Geoff works out of his own listening room – a room designed to simulate a normal living room. Here he carries out sound tuning and listening tests – over and over again. Once the sound is tuned, he often takes the products out for a spin.

To other rooms in the area – really big rooms, smaller rooms, and sometimes even outdoor – all depending on what the final products is designed for

This meticulous approach to sound combines tech sheet measurements with sound design based on observations in the ‘real world’. To some extent the technological part is almost like following a recipe, while the final sound tuning of the products is the result of a design process. 

Coming up with the perfect sound for any given product demands a fine balance between the rational and the emotional, but as Geoff points out there’s more to B&O PLAY products than pure sound:

“From my point of view, a given product is comprised of a bunch of things. One is how good does it sound, but another is how good does it look, and another is how easy it is to use. And all of those things are mixed to decide how good the product is.”

— Geoff Martin

And, according to Geoff, no one does a better job at this moment combining good sound with other values such as good design and functionality than Bang & Olufsen in the B&O PLAY product portfolio.