In our series ‘The people behind the brand‘, today we talk to Michael Hoff from Product Development at the Mannheim headquarters.
Can you briefly introduce yourself?
Sure, my name is Michael Hoff. As the technical support, I am here to answer questions from ic audio about speaker product development, in particular compliance with the EN54-24 standard and preparation of the necessary documentation for the certification process.
I measure and document the technical data for the loudspeakers and am the contact person for our incoming goods inspection.
Initially, I also took care of a lot of service repairs for our amplifiers. Today this is no longer an issue; ic audio has focussed entirely on loudspeakers.
When I joined, only 4 speakers were certified per year and the EN54 team consisted of two additional people. Today, we have 6 people working on 94 new speaker types per year, their product certification and development at the Mannheim site alone.
How did you find ic audio?
When I started at ic audio in 2012, the EN 54-24 standard was still in its infancy.
At the time, I was working as a developer for a HIFI loudspeaker manufacturer in Baden. At that time, the German HIFI (Made in Germany) tradition industry began to die.
In my search for a new field of work, I came across ic audio. I decided to make my career change here. During the job interview, I quickly realised that I would be able to make a valuable contribution to the company with my specialist knowledge. The rest is history.
What does a normal working day look like?
The day usually starts with a team meeting where we clarify any questions and issues. After that, I sift through technical emails and answer any customer enquiries via our sales department.
Prototyping, acoustic measurements, creating new concepts… these are all part of my job. I also test every single TH-100-EN54 tunnel horn in the form of acoustic measurements and document this before sending it to our customer.
I am also responsible for training new colleagues in the QA department. I provide them with intensive support and familiarise them with all of our work steps and processes. I take a lot of time for this.
And after work?
As a HIFI nerd, I also spend a lot of time with electroacoustics in my private life. I’ve been known to re-tune loudspeakers and modify chassis parameters for more than one friend. Besides all that I also like to go camping with my wife.
Michael, thank you very much for your time.
