Why Syn-Aud-Con?

There are many excellent audio seminars out there...

Some are held at trade shows, others at houses of worship and yet others are conducted by manufacturers and are specific to their products. We encourage you to take as many of them as you can. We are often asked “How is Syn-Aud-Con different from other audio seminars.”

Great Value – A Syn-Aud-Con seminar's average price is $275 per day. Other seminars within our industry are priced at $325+/day and the average technological seminar is priced at $500+/day. Another added value, there are no sales pitches. We are constantly told "This is the best seminar I've ever attended. How do we do this? We have chosen to remain a small, efficiently run company. 

Continuity – Many audio practitioners learn their trade in the field, and there is no substitute for the “school of hard knocks.” But this type of training alone results in “knowledge gaps” because it bypasses much of the theoretical basis for audio practices. We take an A-to-Z approach in our seminars, and many attendees tell us that the “filling in the gaps” has been a valuable experience for them. We even throw in a little history so that you can understand “why we do what we do.”

Prioritization – Audio is comprised of a huge field of topics, each of which can be a specialty of its own. We have sifted through this sea of information and present only the topics relevant to sound reinforcement. And just as important, the topics are properly weighted relative to each other. This assures that we get from “A-to-Z” without spending too much time on “M.” What people get from Syn-Aud-Con is a shortened learning curve on the things they need to know to work in the audio field. We know that you must divide your time between audio and other technical fields, and we strive to provide the audio part in a way that complements the other technologies that you must work with.

Syn-Aud-Con History – The best audio people are general practitioners. One should have experience and knowledge in many areas to be proficient as an Operator, Technician or Designer. An “academic-only” background excludes the practical. A “field-only” background excludes the academic. Syn-Aud-Con’s history is rich in both theory and practice, and we balance the two to provide a seminar with the right “mix.”

Presentation Equipment – A Syn-Aud-Con seminar goes beyond a PowerPoint presentation. We bring over $80,000 in presentation equipment which includes two projectors/screens, a Left-Center-Right playback system, beam-steered line arrays, DSP processors, analog and digital mixers, a wireless in-ear demo system and even an Ethernet audio network to present the course material in a rich multimedia environment. It takes a full day of setup, but we think it’s worth it.

Demonstrations – When you are trying to understand something, it helps to see a picture. It also helps to relate it to something that you already understand that uses a similar principle. Many topics that appear to be complicated only require the right graphic or analogy to make the lights come on. We have heard on many occasions from experienced audio people that they never understood complex topics like the decibel, impedance, phase and constant-voltage until they came to a Syn-Aud-Con seminar. We start each class by saying “You already know this stuff, you just may not know that you know it.”

Identification – It is a big responsibility to stand before my audio peers and fill the role of instructor. I do so not as one with intellectual superiority, but as one who has invested the time to refine the topics for presentation. My audio background is the same as many of those who attend – an on-going struggle to balance the theory and practice to get things done in an efficient and profitable manner. An understanding of “when it matters” and “when it doesn’t” can only come from combining theory and practice.

Organization – I left this for last because it is possibly the most important trait of a Syn-Aud-Con seminar. Our seminars are organized. Brenda’s behind-the-scenes work assures that things start on time and run smoothly. Special dietary needs? Brenda has you covered. Our breaks are on time, our meals are on time, and we begin and end according to schedule. The printed course materials are in full color and they are consistently the best that we see anywhere. Brenda manages the details with dedication and a smile, and it is her devotion to creating a learning environment that makes it easy for me to present the information.

These are just a few of the things that will make attending a Syn-Aud-Con seminar a valuable experience for you. Come see for yourself and if you aren’t completely satisfied we will gladly refund your registration fee.