Jim
Farrell - Audio Engineer
Many
moons have passed since Jim started his career as a working drummer
and audio enthusiast. When he discovered the Music Industry Arts
(MIA) program at Fanshawe College (in the age of the hair band)
everything started to come together. Jim graduated from MIA
with honors and was nominated “Engineer of the Year”. Shortly
after graduation he took a position with Warner Music Canada as a
Quality Engineer. His responsibilities involved listening to and
evaluating pre-production masters and first runs. He was also
responsible for product quality (vinyl LPs and cassettes) at all of
Warner’s plants. One of the special projects of the day
involved an intense effort to improve the quality and consistency
of cassette tapes. Jim worked with both Quality Records and
Capitol EMI. Through these efforts both companies dramatically
changed the way cassettes were mastered and mass produced. There
was a new emphasis on alignment, technical precision, and
consistency. It was these efforts that created the Super Cassettes
and SDR/XDR (Super Dynamic Range/Extended Dynamic Range) Cassettes
respectively.
Jim then advanced to work at Quality Records... a key supplier to
Warner Music Canada, A&M, Polygram, and other similar companies
who had adopted the technologies and procedures that Jim had
developed and implemented. The exposure to the Mastering
functions for both LP and cassette would captivate him and lead to
his next endeavour….
Canada’s first CD plant was Praxis Technologies. At that time this
technology was brand new and Jim was selected to lead the quality
focus of the company. He ensured that the standards set by Sony and
Philips were known, understood, and implemented. This included
several visits to the Netherlands to work with the Philips
development team to bring this new technology to Canada. As a
result Jim developed expertise in all aspects of digital audio,
including recording, editing, CD mastering, and replication. Jim
then progressed to work in the Aerospace industry as a quality
assurance professional and started his first small studio venture.
The studio evolved over the years utilizing ADAT machines DAW
integration. These studios helped numerous independent artists
get access to professional sound.
In 2001 Jim joined IMAX Corporation to Manage the Audio Technology
department. His responsibilities included bringing soundtrack
mastering in house (it was previously subcontracted). To do this he
oversaw the designing and building of two world class mastering
rooms. IMAX is highly invested in digital audio (in several
formats) and Jim’s experience and expertise was invaluable in a
successful transition into the internal control of soundtrack
production, quality control, and replication for IMAX films. His
expertise was also utilized in theatre tuning and sound system
optimization. He facilitated the use of new tools and technology in
IMAX theatres, including the implementation of professional digital
multi-track hard disk playback.
Jim is a consummate professional who loves audio and is constantly
searching for the “holy grail” of audio reproduction. His work in
acoustic design and audio installation is quickly gaining a world
class reputation for excellence. Many clients are overwhelmed by
the accuracy as well as pure musical/audio truth revealled.
With over 25 years experience in some of Canada’s more unique audio
adventures Jim brings passion, skill and precision to the art and
science of audio.