Meet the Team

With Meet The HARMAN Luxury Team, our goal is for you to get to know us better. In each edition we feature a different member of the team, and this month it's Ollie McIntyre, Principal Acoustic Engineer.

How would you describe what you do in your current role?

I am one of the engineers here in Northridge responsible for the acoustic design of our loudspeakers. This includes drive units, horns, waveguides, crossover circuits, and cabinet/port design. On any given day I can be running acoustic simulations, conducting measurements in the anechoic chamber, or carrying out listening tests.

What did you study in school? Did you always imagine yourself doing something like what you’re doing now or did the fates just take you in that direction?

I suppose a job in audio was probably inevitable, but I wasn’t one of these guys that was taking apart CB radios at 12 weeks old! I came to loudspeaker design originally from music, playing violin and piano at school. I later became interested in hi-fi, the science of sound, and particularly loudspeakers, and so did a masters in audio and acoustics, tailoring my research to loudspeaker design and measurement techniques.

How did your career path lead you to HARMAN? 

After finishing my masters, I wrote to every loudspeaker company in the UK that I could think of and was fortunate that Monitor Audio in Essex offered me my first acoustic engineering job. Later I moved to Meridian Audio before joining HARMAN for JBL Professional working on line array loudspeakers. I then made the switch back to hi-fi by joining the luxury audio team.

What is the most important thing you have learned over your career?

There are strong beliefs and opinions in audio, among both engineers and audiophiles, and so truly objective evaluation, such as double-blind listening and thorough measurement taking, are invaluable tools at getting to the ‘truth’.

Any other advice you would share with people just starting out in this industry?

In my relatively short career, I have had the opportunity to work with a bunch of extremely talented and knowledgeable engineers.  My advice to those starting out would be to absorb everything you can and realize that for some things there is no substitute for experience.

What are you most proud of in your life?

My fiancé – she moved across the country with me and has built new friendships, a new job, and made our relocation to California possible.

When did you realize you had a passion for music or audio? Was there any one band, song, or movie that did it for you?

My parents introduced me to the Beatles at an early age, and I think that left a lasting impression - I remember watching The Hard Days Night and Help! movies so many times. Later on, I became a big fan of the French record label Ed Banger Records, especially music from Breakbot, Justice and Sebastian. If you were to look around our apartment today, you’d still find some Ed Banger merch.

What current technology impresses you the most? 

I suppose not that novel anymore, but ANC in headphones is something I use every day. Something that can remove incoming sound and isolate you from the outside world is pretty great even if most of us have already grown accustomed to it.

Favorite music genre?

Late 70s to early 80s soft rock.

The desert island question, of course. If you were marooned for eternity & could listen to only 3 albums, what would they be?

All things Must Pass – George Harrison

By Your Side – Breakbot

Discovery – Daft Punk

You have the floor. In closing, tell us anything else you want us to know about yourself.

I am from Devon in the UK originally but feel very lucky to have ended up here in Southern California, working for one of the most iconic speaker brands in history. I love vintage hi-fi gear, quartz chronograph watches, and exploring LA’s food scene.