The next meeting of the AES Melbourne Section will be an online event held on
Monday 27th October 2025 at 7:30 pm AEDT via Zoom.
Bookings are required:
Please book at https://www.trybooking.com/DGIGI
Tomlinson Holman will present on the topic of:
The History and Future of Surround Sound
On Monday, 27th October, the world’s leading expert on the topic, Tomlinson Holman takes you on a journey through the evolution of surround sound from its earliest acoustic invention by composers, through the first surround sound recording and who invented it, into cinemas and its development ever since.
Tomlinson will dissect the technical challenges posed and the approaches evolved leading to present-day cinema sound, then offer insightful observations for a future with increasing demands of psychoacoustic-based sound, winding up in a perhaps surprising development in which he was intimately involved.
About Tomlinson Holman:
Tomlinson Holman – audio engineer and inventor of related technologies.
He grew up in Downers Grove, Illinois and received his degree from the University of Illinois then established Apt Corporation in Cambridge, Massachusetts, producing his revolutionary audio pre-amplifier design (and related power amplifier) that still remains sought after many years later.
In 1980, Tomlinson moved to the US West Coast as technical director for Lucasfilm, working on their facilities and inventing the THX System (Tomlinson Holman’s EXperiment), and revolutionary productions starting with Return of the Jedi, Star Wars, and would name the internationally recognised 5.1-channel sound (ITU775).
He would then join the University of Southern California as film sound Professor to impart knowledge to train and inspire the next generation of filmmakers, whilst also creating the world’s first 10.2-channel format. During this time, Tomlinson also established TMH Corporation.
Tomlinson would then join Apple Corporation for 10 years until 2021, providing technical direction, being formally recognised by Apple as Distinguished Engineer in 2019.
Tomlinson received an Academy Award for Technical Achievement for motion picture loudspeaker systems, and was awarded the IEEE Masaru Ibuka award for consumer electronics in 2007, among many other awards. He is also a Fellow and Silver Medal Winner of the AES.
He has published widely and is continuing to do so today.
Visitors and guests are welcome.
Bookings required.
Please book at https://www.trybooking.com/DGIGI
