Ken Newman, In Pursuit Of Audio Nirvana
Before digital consoles, prediction software, analyzers, plugins, and virtual soundcheck, there were engineers like Ken Newman figuring it all out in real time.
Ken’s career spans more than four decades and includes artists such as Barry Manilow, Paul Anka, Shirley MacLaine, Anita Baker, Liza Minnelli, Chris Isaak, Julio Iglesias, and many more. But what makes his story fascinating is not just the list of artists. It’s the path he took to get there.
Growing up around electronics and ham radio through his family’s business, Ken started building recording rigs and modifying mixers while still in high school. Long before live sound had established rules or standardized systems, he was learning through experimentation, failure, curiosity, and instinct.
In this conversation, Ken reflects on the early days of regional sound companies, homemade consoles, analog outboard gear, Atlantic City showroom productions, the transition from analog to digital mixing, and the endless pursuit of what he calls “audio nirvana.”
Along the way, he shares stories about:
recording local bands with a custom-built Gately Pro Kit mixer,
discovering live sound while working with regional PA companies in the 1970s,
troubleshooting a Doobie Brothers tour console failure,
learning from legendary engineers and system techs,
navigating difficult artists and high-pressure situations,
and why honesty, consistency, and challenge matter just as much as technical ability.
More than anything, this episode captures the mindset of a generation that helped build modern live sound from the ground up, often without formal training, established workflows, or even proper equipment.
For Ken, the goal has always remained the same:
make it sound great, make people happy, and keep chasing the next level.
You can check out more of Ken’s work here www.newmanaudio.com
Some of the more interesting things that Ken has done in his career:
1. He was the first to mix sound for a public concert at the Meadowlands Stadium in NJ, as he was mixing for the very first opening act of the first show there, The Stanky Brown Group. June 25, 1978
2. He did the sound for (and made the only recording of) the funeral of Frank Sinatra. May 20, 1998
3. While he was mixing front-of-house for Barry Manilow, he was the first to mix sound at a few new concert facilities, among them The Rosemont Theatre near Chicago, The Pond in Anaheim and The Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
Ken Newman's FOH rig for Paul Anka in 1985
Harrison Alive 32 console
Yamaha PM400
2- Lexicon 224's with remote controllers (pre Larc)
KT Dn360
LA3 , LA4 , DBX 160x
Teac reel-to-reel for playback
Nady 700 wireless mic receiver
Pro walkman cassette recorder
Clear-Com speaker station
Ken’s Remote Recording setup in 1972
Ken Newman's FOH setup with a Yamaha PM2000, M916 and a M512 at the Gershwin Theater in NYC in 84' for Shirley MacLaine on Broadway.
"A couple of things I remember from the MacLaine engagement are that Michael Jackson attended one of the shows, and for me the highlight of my career at that point happened when a man leaned over to me after one of the shows and said to me, “My name is Michael Bennett, and YOU are a genius!” - Ken Newman
