The pro audio world is filled with clichés. On the one hand, you’ve got the “mad scientist” type who toils away at the workbench creating seemingly magical solutions. The other is the funny, gregarious marketing guy who can price a product to sell. Now what if there was someone who was both of those things? Mark Engebretson. The 2013 recipient of the Parnelli Audio Innovator Award, Engebretson is likely the most influential pro sound engineer you’ve never heard of.
Low Profile, Huge Influence
“The name Mark Engebretson is one that may not be immediately recognized by the rank-and-file of the audio community,” states FRONT of HOUSE editor George Petersen. “However, during his distinguished 40-plus year career, he developed and created products for Altec Lansing and Paramount Pictures, and later with JBL Professional and QSC and a slew of others. His patents range from systems for film sound reproduction, to loudspeaker rigging, to line array technologies. In 2002, Mark was the recipient (along with John Eargle and Don Keele) of a Scientific and Technical Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Most recently he was a consultant with VUE Audiotechnik.”
With 12 patents and several pending and the author of many technical papers and articles, Engebretson’s creative efforts and leadership over the years have led to numerous highly successful professional audio products and advancements in sound system architecture. Along the way he’s worked with many of the giants in the business.
“I have always enjoyed working with Mark,” says A-1 Audio founder and 2010 Parnelli Innovator honoree Al Siniscal. “From an engineering point of view, I appreciate his ability to develop various loudspeaker products for A-1 Entertainment Services. His expertise is most welcome when building successful products that can be used everyday.”
“Mark is one of the most amazing guys, because he visualizes sound,” says ATK’s Michael MacDonald. “He understands what a speaker should sound like when few really do. He knows how to measure the sound. It’s amazing to watch him work.”
“I met Mark in 1973 when he was a vice-president at Altec,” says Steve Woolley, longtime audio professional, currently with Listen Technologies Corporation. “I found Mark to be an exceptional person, an absolute brilliant thinker. I always thought his architectural training contributed to his genius.”
Parnelli Audio Innovator Stan Miller says he was the “spec guy” for back in the day when they were trying to figure out how to make loudspeakers perform better and louder without blowing them up. “He knew that if we used this voice coil this way, and then put with this dome, maybe we could get the speaker to take more power,” he explains. “He’s a designer who’s also an engineer.”
Workin’ at the Hi Fi Store
Engebretson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota August 3, 1942. While attending college, he got a part-time gig at the local component Hi-Fi store, Anderson Hi-Fi. He was a natural, spending most of his time in the back room building speakers. There he became enthralled with Altec Lansing’s high-efficiency professional loudspeakers. By in 1962, he had gotten to know Don Davis, then Altec’s regional manager. Davis immediately noticed his energy and talents. “He installed a three-channel system of Altec theater components for an in-store demonstrations of custom built-in loudspeaker components in a 30- by 10-foot wall behind transparent drapery,” Davis says. “He sold a lot of Altec components and custom installations in those days!”
In 1970, he became a regional manager at Altec. He says he was amazed when he met Stan Miller about the same time. “I’ve seen him operate starting in 1971, and he developed and pioneered a lot of stuff in this business,” Engebretson says. “It’s been interesting and informative to work with him. You look back at your own career and you say, ‘Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have done this or that,’ but what you see is it’s really the ones who take risks who make the breakthroughs. Without taking risks, [progress] just doesn’t happen.”
During his time at Altec, Engebretson made his mark. By 1975 he was a vice president of new product development with three project managers reporting to him. But during Engebretson’s six years, he headed a team that made significant contributions to the pro audio industry. This included the 1200 Series along with several studio monitor and commercial loudspeakers inspired by work with Stan Miller.
The Man to Call
In 1979 with Stephen Woolley, he formed Advanced Technology Design Corporation. There they developed and marketed a series of bi-, tri- and subwoofer amplifiers with on-board equalization, signal delay, and bandpass signal processing. “During the early 1980s, our work with signal processing for cinema applications disclosed that direct-radiating low-frequency loudspeakers provided greater bandwidth and required less processing than the traditional horn-type bass cabinets, while being more spatially efficient,” Woolley says.
From 1983 to 1999, Engebretson was the product consultant to have on your team. He worked with Audiotechniques, A-1 Audio, The Delicate Production Co., Sound Image and Stanal Sound. “In partnership with David Scheirman, Summit Laboratories opened in 1987 to provide independent loudspeaker measurement and related services to the audio industry,” he says. “Our customer list grew to be a Who’s Who of audio equipment manufacturers, including both domestic and international clients.”
With Delicate, he created subwoofer systems. He worked with Sound Image’s team on the G2, the very wide-angle 1250 and upgrades to their PhasLoc system. “We replaced the rectangular horns with axisymmetric wave guides,” he says.
Dawn of the Line Array
In 1999, Engebretson joined JBL Professional. As director of systems development, he led the VerTec engineering development team, which brought the company a TEC Award in 2001, and EQ Magazine’s Blue Ribbon Award in 2002. “I don’t know how many line array boxes one can sell, but we sold a lot of those!” he understates. Many other successful products followed, but the line arrays would have a lasting impact.
Quickly “everyone was getting into line arrays — the ‘high frequency wave guide wars’ I called it,” he says. “It was all about capturing and maintaining a narrow vertical coverage so that the adjacent high frequency won’t interfere with the neighboring unit. Today virtually all manufacturers tout that theirs is the only one that works — but that’s the nature of the business!”
In February of 2005, Engebretson was named VP of R&D at QSC. During this period he oversaw three engineering groups: loudspeakers, amplifiers and digital products.
Under his leadership, QSC advanced in loudspeaker sales from near insignificance to one of the preeminent pro audio suppliers, with products such as the K-Series powered loudspeakers and advanced cinema loudspeakers and control systems. It was wildly successful: QSC’s loudspeaker share had been 5% of its total sales; suddenly it was over 50% without losing market share in any of its other areas.
Neither Geek nor Mad Scientist
But don’t color Engebretson geeky science drab. “Mark is one of the funniest people you’ll ever meet,” MacDonald says. “Wicked smart, he has a wry wit and is a little sarcastic.” Yes he is low key, and “watches what is going on, and when he does say something, it’s usually funny.”
“One of the challenges in this business is that a lot of guys who can do this kind of work can’t communicate — you know the ‘mad scientist types!’ Miller laughs. “He’s able to communicate what is going on to a lay person. He delves deep into the science, but can put whatever the information is into whatever form that is appropriate. He’s bright and articulate — and I think that’s a big reason for his success.”
Mark Engebretson will be presented with the Parnelli Audio Innovator award Nov. 23 at the Mirage in Las Vegas. More information is available at www.parnelliawards.com.
