engineering

Michael L. Dorrough

Michael L. Dorrough is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Michael L. Dorrough rather than just read about it. In short: Michael L. Dorrough (born January 1942), American inventor and audio engineer regarded as the “father of multi-band processing.” He is the founder of Dorrough Electronics and inventor of the Discriminate Audio Processor (DAP) in 1973, and the Dorrough Loudness Monitor.

Key takeaways

Michael L. Dorrough belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Michael L. Dorrough to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Michael L. Dorrough from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Michael L. Dorrough (born January 1942), American inventor and audio engineer regarded as the “father of multi-band processing.” He is the founder of Dorrough Electronics and inventor of the Discriminate Audio Processor (DAP) in 1973, and the Dorrough Loudness Monitor. While the DAP product instantly changed audio processing in the broadcast world, the company is best known for its award-winning “eyebrow” scale audio loudness monitors in widespread use throughout the motion picture, recording and broadcast industries worldwide.

Biography Born in San Francisco. Began his career as a recording engineer in 1963 at Casey Kasam and Bob Hudson's Emperor Productions. While focusing on recording, he maintained working relationships with several of the Los Angeles radio stations, bridging the gap between the two mediums, which enabled him to experiment with audio processing. Later at RCA, he continued his research on his theory that audio processing should be directed toward perceived power and not on amplitude alone. The first composite tri-band processor was incorporated into the recording sessions of such artists as Jefferson Airplane and Carol Burnett. In 1970 Dorrough Electronics was formed to market this product. Aware of the inconsistencies in the metering of program levels, he realized that to maintain consistent listening levels that there must be a relationship between the peak and the average content, and that both should be displayed on a common scale. His development of a LED meter displaying both peak and average ballistics with dual reference points is used for audio program level indications throughout the world. Dorrough is a native of Los Angeles and lives in Woodland Hills, California. He is married and has five children.

Awards and honors 1990 Audio Engineering Society: Fellowship Award presented for his development of multiband audio processing and the dual loudness meter, September 24. 1993 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: Technical Achievement Award for design and development of the compound meter known as the Dorrough Level Meter, February 26. 2000 National Association of Broadcasters: Radio Engineering Achievement Award for his significant contribution to the art of audio processing and audio monitoring, April 12. 2000 Academy of Television Arts and Sciences: Emmy Award for the Dorrough Loudness Meter as the standard of the industry for accurately determining audio levels, July 11.

US Patents Dual Loudness Meter and Method; Patent number 4,528,501, June 9, 1985 Dynamic Video Luminance and Chrominance Meter; Patent number 5,216,492, June 1, 1993 Sequential Audio Switcher; Patent number 5,343,534, August 30, 1994 Level Meter for Digitally Encoded Audio; Patent number 5,751,819, May 12, 1998 Power Line Meter/Monitor with LED Display; Patent number 6,198,403, March 6, 2001

References

External links Official website This Week in Radio Tech Ep. 155 – Michael Dorrough 2-7-13 Oral History Project Gallery—Michael Dorrough explains early studio signal processing Michael Dorrough - Early Studio Recording A History of Audio Processing: Part 2 – The Era of Multiband Processing

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Michael L. Dorrough

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Michael L. Dorrough claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Michael L. Dorrough before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Michael L. Dorrough ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Michael L. Dorrough

In research: Michael L. Dorrough appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Michael L. Dorrough in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Michael L. Dorrough is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1942 births, Academy Award for Technical Achievement winners, American audio engineer stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Michael L. Dorrough outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Michael L. Dorrough in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Michael L. Dorrough means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Michael L. Dorrough out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Michael L. Dorrough in simple terms?

Why does Michael L. Dorrough matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Michael L. Dorrough?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Michael L. Dorrough.