Yamaha DM2000 and 02R96 Capture TEC Awards

BUENA PARK, CA (October 17, 2003) — Yamaha was among the manufacturers earning accolades at AES 2003, as The Mix Foundation for Excellence in Audio announced the winners of the 19th Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity (TEC) Awards, held October 11 in New York City during the AES convention. The Yamaha DM2000 and 02R96 digital mixing consoles were named winners in the categories of Sound Reinforcement Console Technology and Small Format Console Technology, respectively.

The DM2000 is a winner: (L to R) Hiroshi Hamamatsu and Katsuhiro Tokuda, YCJ; Yamaha Commercial Audio product manager Marc Lopez; general manager Larry Italia; Yoshi Doi, president, Yamaha Corporation of America; and Shoji Mita, planning manager, Yamaha Commercial Audio.

TEC Award nominations include products, facilities and associated projects which represent superior accomplishments in the Technical and Creative fields. The awards honor individuals, companies and technical innovations behind the sound of recordings, films, television shows and live performances. Nominated products and works must have been released during the period from March 1, 2002 through February 28, 2003, and are selected by a panel of 150 members of the professional audio industry. A voters guide and ballot are then distributed to the approximately 52,000 U.S. readers of MIX magazine, who selected the winners in August of 2003.

"Receiving not one – but two – TEC Awards is an honor for those involved with the sales, marketing and installation of the DM2000 and 02R96 here in the U.S., as well as the many people involved in the design and engineering that went on 'behind the scenes' at Yamaha in Japan," stated Larry Italia, general manager, Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems Division.

"These awards affirm the viability of digital audio, and recognize Yamaha as the top manufacturer supporting that platform," stated Wayne Hrabak, marketing manager, Yamaha Professional Audio. "This is especially significant, given the fact that this is the fifteenth anniversary of Yamaha's digital console line."

The 02R96 digital mixer takes a TEC: (L to R) Yamaha Professional Audio marketing manager Wayne Hrabak and product manager John Schauer.

An all-star lineup of artists, producers and engineers presented the awards in 24 categories of Technical and Creative achievement, including: Phil Ramone, Tony Brown, Russ Titelman and Elliot Mazer. Other presenters included Janie Hendrix, sister of the late Jimi Hendrix, and John Storyk, designer of Electric Lady Studios, who inducted engineer/producer Eddie Kramer into the TEC Awards Hall of Fame. Guitarist and inventor Les Paul presented the Les Paul Award to mastering wizard Bob Ludwig on behalf of rock legend Bruce Springsteen, who was unable to attend the ceremony.

Proceeds of the TEC Awards are donated to various audio scholarships and hearing conservation programs, including H.E.A.R. (Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers), and the House Ear Institute of Los Angeles for its Sound Partners Program.

For more information on the DM2000, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Commercial Audio Systems Division; for the 02R96, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Pro Audio & Combo Division, Professional Audio, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; email infostation@yamaha.com.