Calgary company's audio tech is travelling the globe with some of the world's biggest DJs

A small, family-owned Calgary audio manufacturer is seeing one of its specialist products used at electronic music festivals and clubs all over the world.

And for one of its employees, getting to showcase his company's technology while meeting some of his heroes is a dream come true.

Amadeus Meitner has worked at the family business for the past 15 years. His father, Ed Meitner, founded the company. 

EMM Labs specializes in high-end audiophile equipment, used by everyone from recording studios and engineers to record collectors and music lovers.

The company's Meitner Audio converter, which has become a big hit with DJs and event promoters internationally, enhances the quality of big sound systems used at raves and clubs. 

Meitner, a DJ and electronic music fan himself, says the interest in the Calgary company's product has snowballed since it started being used by big name DJs like Carl Cox and Sasha.

"It's surreal, it definitely is," said Meitner. "I don't really comprehend how exciting it is in the moment, but then when you're standing back and you see our product on a big stage with thousands of dance music fans enjoying what we're doing, it's a really cool feeling."

"It's allowed me to meet some of my musical idols and work with them directly," he said. "Teaching people about what we're doing here in Calgary and why it's special."

Meitner says that while the crowd might not notice the subtle difference a specialist audio converter can make, DJs and sound techs have become big fans.

"They're pretty blown away, especially the sound engineers that use it. You go to a show and get a text from the engineer later saying 'this is incredible' — that's the best feeling in the world."

"It's been to quite a few countries. We did the big Ultra Music festival in Miami, and another big event we do every year is the Amsterdam Dance Event, which is a full activation of the city over more than 200 venues," said Meitner.

"This year, we're doing 27 installs over four days in Amsterdam, which is big for us," he said.

It's allowed me to meet some of my musical idols and work with them directly.- Amadeus Meitner

Meitner says they now have companies and clubs around the world using their converters on a regular basis, including venues in Calgary and Montreal.

"I'm lucky our whole team here supports this venture because although it's not our main business model, it's creating awareness for our products," he said.

"Digital music is all around us, on Spotify, on CDs, through Bluetooth, and in order to hear that music, it needs to go through a converter. We make this custom converter that doesn't rely on off-the-shelf parts like chips that are used in cars and phones and laptops," said Meitner.

The company's Meitner Audio sound converters are designed and partly manufactured in Calgary. The metal exteriors are manufactured in Ontario.

The company has had to navigate chip shortages during the pandemic, as have other businesses and sectors, including the automobile industry.

The ongoing supply chain disruption has caused shortages and delayed production on everything from gaming consoles to iPhones over the past two years, including converter chips.

Meitner says the company manufactures its own chips for its audiophile products and has been able to make changes to keep the business going through the pandemic.

"We've managed to stay on top of it by pre-emptively redesigning boards to accommodate the chips we can get. Really policing it all is the way we've managed," said Deven Schiffo, purchasing and product developer at EMM Labs.

"One of the things we do to avoid the chip shortage is we try and select chips that are readily available, but we also don't rely on specific chips and other companies," said Schiffo.

Meitner says that despite a few delays on production and parts, they've fared well over the past two years. 

Meitner says he'll be back on the road soon taking more of his audio converters to the 2022 Amsterdam Dance Event festival, which takes place later this month.