Oveal Walker
Founder & Principal Consultant, Amplify Consultants. Perceptual audio engineer with 13 years turning expert listening into measurable guidance for product decisions.
The short version
I spent 13 years at SRS Labs and Xperi/DTS, eventually leading DTS's perceptual evaluation program as Director, Audio Quality Control. My team designed the blind listening tests that shaped DTS:X, Virtual:X, Headphone:X, and Clear Dialogue, and turned what we heard into audio quality standards that engineering, product, and field teams used for years.
Today I focus on where audio quality meets AI: which metrics actually match what people hear, and how teams can use them without losing rigor. I take on consulting projects through Amplify, and I'm also open to senior roles in perceptual audio research, audio quality leadership, and audio AI/ML.
Based in the Los Angeles area. Open to remote US roles and relocation to Texas for the right fit.
Core skills
- Perceptual audio evaluation
- MUSHRA / BS.1116 / ABX / MOS
- Psychoacoustics
- Objective-to-subjective correlation
- Perceptual targets & acceptance criteria
- Codec evaluation
- Critical listening
- Audio measurement (SMAART)
- Statistical analysis
- Python
- MATLAB
- Team leadership
Career highlights
Founder & Principal Consultant
- Audio quality evaluation, perceptual testing, and AI/technology-adoption advisory.
- Benchmarked 34 audio quality metrics (17 AI-based) against expert MUSHRA ratings; an ML fusion model reached r = 0.89 on unseen trials vs. 0.74 for the best single metric.
- Built AI-assisted analytics tools and automated data dashboards.
Director, Audio Quality Control
- Led DTS's perceptual evaluation program: methods, listening facilities, tools, hiring, and quality standards.
- Directed a Sound Profile framework (10+ perceptual attributes) that tied target listener experiences to measurable success criteria; set Virtual:X perceptual targets with pass thresholds.
- Shaped DTS:X, Virtual:X, Headphone:X, and Clear Dialogue through blind listening tests of codecs and post-processing; renovated listening rooms to full BS.1116 compliance.
- Cut certification development time 30% by turning perceptual findings into standards and tests used across teams for 5+ years.
- Led a team of up to 10 while staying hands-on.
Project Lead → Project Manager → Senior Project Manager, Audio Fidelity
- Turned listening-test results into per-release reports, scorecards, and go/no-go recommendations for leadership and R&D.
- Built competitive benchmarking templates and a standing benchmark set that informed development priorities.
- Developed new test methods for volume levelers, bass enhancers, and 3D audio.
Audio Quality Assurance Engineer
- Ran subjective and objective evaluations of audio post-processing; started the shared listening-test library later adopted into DTS's QA playbook.
Acoustic Consultant
- Designed acoustical environments for educational and architectural projects.
Patents (co-inventor)
- U.S. 11,304,020 · Immersive Audio Reproduction Systems (2022)
- U.S. 11,425,521 · Compensating for Binaural Loudspeaker Directivity (2022)
- U.S. 9,236,842 and 9,712,916 · Bass Enhancement System (2016, 2017)
Education
- M.S., Music Engineering Technology, University of Miami. Thesis: Active Noise Cancellation using Selective Adaptive Filtering.
- B.S., Electrical Engineering, Prairie View A&M University.
Have a product that needs to sound right?
Or a team that needs a perceptual audio lead? Either way, let's talk.