Company News
Listen Celebrates 25 Years
2020 is Listen’s 25th anniversary! When Listen sold its first product in 1995, it was the first soundcard-based audio measurement system, and its competition was often human listeners. Now, with an installed base of well over 10,000 systems and the industry-wide adoption of both soundcard-based architecture and highly automated sequence-based measurement, Listen is still leading the way with new algorithms and product development to meet the changing needs of the marketplace. In this article, reprinted from Loudspeaker Industry Sourcebook, Listen founder and president, Steve Temme, shares his story.
New Software Engineers
Listen has expanded its software team with the hiring of 2 new engineers Josh Thibeault (left) and Dan Donato (right).
Josh graduated from Tufts University in 2019 with a Bachelors Degree In Mechanical Engineering. While at Tufts, he played varsity football and was part of the Tufts Electric Race Team. Outside of work, Josh enjoys reading, spending time with friends and family, and listening to music.
Dan holds degrees in Computer Science and Economics from University at Buffalo. Prior to joining Listen, he has worked as a firefighter and testing video games. In his spare time he develops virtual reality games, plays roller derby, and plays the trumpet.
New West Coast Sales Applications Engineer: Anastassia Tolpygo
Anastassia Tolpygo has joined Listen, Inc. as West Coast Sales Applications Engineer, based in the San Francisco Bay area and will be the main point of contact for our customers in California, Oregon, Washington and Nevada. She has a strong background in vibration and FFT analysis, having supported sales and applications for Crystal Instruments the past 5 years. Prior to that she held positions encompassing sales, technical support and QA in a variety of high-tech companies, including Plantronics and Sena. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Physics from UCSC. This expertise in mechanics and acoustics, combined with sales and applications experience enables her to truly understand and appreciate customer needs. Anastassia happens to be fluent in Russian and is keenly passionate about audio. Outside of work, she practices various types of dance, critiques music online and enjoys time with family.
Seminar at Sound Hub
Today, Steve Temme presented on how to measure voice activated devices such as smart speakers, hearables and automotive audio, as well as how to use SoundCheck for basic audio measurements at Sound Hub Denmark, the world’s leading audio innovation hub and co-working space.In the morning, he presented the basics of SoundCheck, and taught attendees (many of whom had access to the SoundCheck system at Sound Hub) how to build a test sequence in SoundCheck. recommendations for the equipment used. After lunch, he explained in depth how to test voice activated devices such as automotive infotainment systems, hearables, and smart speakers. These devices are complex to test as they have numerous wired and wireless connections and often contain signal processing, both on the record and the playback side. In this session, he outlined the test configurations, tools and techniques that enable accurate measurement of the audio performance of such devices under the many various real-world conditions in which they are used.
New Support Engineer – Devin Vaillancourt
Devin Vaillancourt has joined the technical support team at Listen, where he will be working closely with Steve, Mark L, Cam and Mark D to help our customers with their audio measurements. Devin graduated from UMass Lowell in 2016 with a degree in sound recording technology. Prior to joining Listen, he worked as an audio technician for a production services company where he gained extensive knowledge of using, calibrating and troubleshooting audio interfaces, and other recording hardware and software. In addition to his technical experience, Devin is a keen musician – outside of work, he plays in several bands, records and engineers music, and teaches drums.
New Manufacturing Manager: Ryan Burgess
Ryan Burgess has joined Listen as Manufacturing Manager, responsible for all manufacturing functions including supply chain, assembly, test, Quality Control, and product delivery. Ryan is an experienced manufacturing professional with 20 years’ experience in Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Quality Control Systems. He attended Clark University focusing on Computer Science, minoring in Mechanical Engineering, and also holds several certifications including a Six Sigma Green Belt, certified internal auditor and LEAN Bronze certificate. Prior to joining Listen, Ryan has held management roles in the mass notification industry, aerospace industry, industrial technology, and a global technology solutions company. In his free time Ryan enjoys spending time with his wife and six children, music, sports, and home improvement.
New Sales Director: Joe Kushi
Joe Kushi has joined Listen as Sales Director. Joe is an experienced international sales manager with over 25 years’ experience in both domestic and international sales and sales management. He also holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in business, languages and international business. In prior positions, he has sold a variety of hi-tech products including data acquisition and imaging systems, audio and video QA equipment, telecoms and security infrastructure equipment. He speaks 5 languages (with varying degrees of fluency), has lived in Paris and Brussels, and has opened offices and managed reps around the world. Outside of work, Joe enjoys traveling, listening to music, and playing drums.
New Order Processing Specialist: Rocky Ludger
Rock-Andral Ludger (Rocky) has joined Listen in the role of Order Processing Specialist. In this role, Rocky is responsible for every order from the moment it is placed, through fulfilment, to ensuring safe delivery of the product. He is also the smiling face at our front desk and keeps the office running smoothly. Rocky joins Listen with a degree in business from Kentucky University and several years’ supply chain management experience, both in the Boston area and in his native Haiti where he also used to play soccer professionally. He also speaks multiple languages fluently, including Spanish, French and Creole. Outside of work, Rocky is a keen athlete who enjoys playing and watching many different sports and, like most at Listen, also enjoys music. Rocky also founded and runs a non-profit organization in Haiti, New Vision for Youth, that coaches young professional leaders.
