https://www.davidshriver.comWriting on audio, AV systems, and leadership.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-sunday-stationhttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-sunday-stationThu, 12 Nov 2026 14:15:00 +0000A few years ago I coordinated 48 channels of wireless for a theater in Houston.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/quiet-leadershiphttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/quiet-leadershipWed, 11 Nov 2026 14:15:00 +0000My family and friends joke that I was born old. I've always been quick to step up, and I've spent a good part of my life in charge of one thing or another.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/paying-a-little-morehttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/paying-a-little-moreTue, 10 Nov 2026 14:15:00 +0000I bought a car this fall, and I picked the dealership before I picked the car.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/its-not-my-jobhttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/its-not-my-jobThu, 05 Nov 2026 14:15:00 +0000"It's not my job" is the line I hear most often on a construction site.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-wrong-numberhttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-wrong-numberWed, 04 Nov 2026 14:15:00 +0000Nothing has changed the face of AV more in the last 10 years than direct view LED.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/twelve-years-inhttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/twelve-years-inTue, 03 Nov 2026 14:15:00 +0000Today marks 12 years since I joined Ford AV. I had forgotten the date until it showed up on our internal page and the congratulations started arriving.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/train-transfer-terminatehttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/train-transfer-terminateThu, 29 Oct 2026 14:15:00 +0000Train, Transfer, Terminatehttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/determined-by-othershttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/determined-by-othersWed, 28 Oct 2026 14:15:00 +0000"Power requirements and thermal load to be determined by others."https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/you-cant-tune-a-room-with-electronshttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/you-cant-tune-a-room-with-electronsTue, 27 Oct 2026 14:15:00 +0000You can't tune a room with electrons.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/not-every-vacuum-is-minehttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/not-every-vacuum-is-mineThu, 22 Oct 2026 14:15:00 +0000Desmond Tutu once described himself as a leader by default, only because nature does not allow a vacuum.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/every-tier-countedhttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/every-tier-countedWed, 21 Oct 2026 14:15:00 +0000I have said before that USB is the best and worst thing to happen to AV.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-biggest-number-on-the-sheethttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-biggest-number-on-the-sheetTue, 20 Oct 2026 14:15:00 +0000A few weeks ago I mixed a band I did not know, at a venue I had never worked.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/written-for-the-wrong-readerhttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/written-for-the-wrong-readerThu, 15 Oct 2026 14:15:00 +0000I went with one of my engineers to meet a potential customer in Houston.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/answer-as-yourselfhttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/answer-as-yourselfWed, 14 Oct 2026 14:15:00 +0000A friend from graduate school called a few weeks ago for help with an interview.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/condensers-on-a-live-stagehttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/condensers-on-a-live-stageTue, 13 Oct 2026 14:15:00 +0000I love microphones. Some of that is the gear, but most of it is a belief that the best sound gets captured as early in the chain as possible.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/a-good-mix-does-not-sound-goodhttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/a-good-mix-does-not-sound-goodThu, 08 Oct 2026 14:15:00 +0000A good in-ear mix usually does not sound good. Solo the mix of an experienced performer and it is thin, dry, and lopsided.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/we-made-the-datehttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/we-made-the-dateWed, 07 Oct 2026 14:15:00 +0000AV integrators get asked to shorten commissioning on almost every project.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/depreciation-holds-no-cashhttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/depreciation-holds-no-cashTue, 06 Oct 2026 14:15:00 +0000Commercial Integrator published a piece I wrote about putting AV replacement on the accrual line.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/delay-on-purposehttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/delay-on-purposeThu, 01 Oct 2026 14:15:00 +0000One of the strange things about AV is that we spend a great deal of effort reducing latency, then turn around and add delay on purpose.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-de-esser-on-the-reverbhttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-de-esser-on-the-reverbWed, 30 Sep 2026 14:15:00 +0000Three years ago I was training a high school intern on a live console.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-70-7v-standardhttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-70-7v-standardTue, 29 Sep 2026 14:15:00 +0000Why is a 70V speaker system actually 70.7 volts? It is an oddly specific number, and the reason has almost nothing to do with loudspeakers.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-second-momenthttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-second-momentThu, 24 Sep 2026 14:15:00 +0000There are 2 moments in a show that put an audio engineer on edge.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-simple-roomshttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-simple-roomsWed, 23 Sep 2026 14:15:00 +0000A large enterprise campus decided its conference rooms did not need an integrator.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-marked-platehttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-marked-plateThu, 17 Sep 2026 14:15:00 +0000At Waffle House, the cook works off the plate. As the order is called, he sets a mark on the plate for each item, then cooks and builds straight from those marks.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/let-them-winhttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/let-them-winWed, 16 Sep 2026 14:15:00 +0000The head of a customer's in-house AV team wanted to personally direct our commissioning.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/turn-it-up-to-11https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/turn-it-up-to-11Thu, 10 Sep 2026 14:15:00 +0000There is a scene in Spinal Tap where a guitarist explains that his amps go to 11, one louder than 10.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/know-when-to-walk-awayhttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/know-when-to-walk-awayWed, 09 Sep 2026 14:15:00 +0000A potential customer asked to meet with me and one of my account managers.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-work-you-keephttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-work-you-keepTue, 08 Sep 2026 14:15:00 +0000Most leaders think they know when to step in, but sometimes we step in because we still like doing the work.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/designing-for-the-operator-who-does-not-exist-yethttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/designing-for-the-operator-who-does-not-exist-yetThu, 03 Sep 2026 14:15:00 +0000The touch panel in a brand new executive room asked the first person through the door to set the room state, choose a content source, route video, select audio sources, pick which cameras to use, and where to aim them.https://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-clock-is-infrastructurehttps://www.davidshriver.com/posts/the-clock-is-infrastructureWed, 02 Sep 2026 14:15:00 +0000When Dante was the only AV-over-IP (AVoIP) transport on most networks, clocking took care of itself.