Featured Artist System: Roey Hershkovitz, Music Segment Producer, CONAN Show

The written transcript below contains several excerpts from the full audio interview which can be heard here.

Nick from SVS here with Roey Hershkovitz, the Music Segment Producer for the Conan O’ Brien Show. Can you tell us a bit about what you do with the Conan O’ Brien Show?

Sure thing. So, I book the bands that play on the Show and I am responsible for the performance segment on the show itself. I also oversee the production and background setup that goes into the segments.

Do you have any interesting stories you can share about some of the performers you have worked with during your time on show?

I have been with Conan for 18 or 19 years and the music side for about a decade. So, I have been able to work with some really amazing people over the years. We get to work with a lot of people on the way up. We had Adele on the show twice I think during the release of her first record. One of my favorites was Tony Bennett when we were doing the show in New York he would come around once a year during the holidays so that was always a really big thrill. Pearl Jam and Green Day have been on the show, so we have worked with some great rock acts as well. Also more recently we have had Earth, Wind and Fire that was pretty outrageous and something that my kids were really into to so its fun for the whole family.

You currently own one of the SVS SB16-Ultras and Prime Elevation speakers, but I am curious to know how you first got into high performance audio?

Music has always played a significant role in my life. Growing up my dad had a really nice HiFi System and it was sort of the system I grew up with in my household. So, there was always this sense of nostalgia about this gear I grew up listening to. I lived in Manhattan and Queens for years and I just had this little mini shelf system that was what my space and budget allowed me. When I moved out west to LA I found myself with more space and suddenly the gear started reintroducing itself back into my life. I had my dad’s old system brought out and repaired and built out from there.

How did you first hear about SVS?

As I was putting together my home theater in our garage, low end became an issue. My wife had a decent enough sub, but I felt it was lacking so I found a matching sub for it. The pair didn’t really end up delivering like I hoped so I got two more of the same sub in an effort to improve my bass. I didn’t get the impact I was hoping for and the name SVS started coming up from reviewers I trusted and on the Howard Stern show that I listen to a lot.

What sealed the deal for you on the SB16-Ultra?

Digging deeper into it is when I found out about the SB16 and the PB16-Ultra subwoofers and that was when I reached out to SVS about my room and what would be best for me. After some conversations with the SVS support team, I decided on the SB16 and there was an immediate change over the four 12” subs that I had before. The SB16 provided a much cleaner and decongested sound compared to what I had before. What this one box has been able to do, four other subs from a competitor could not even touch.

Moving out of the low-end you also added some Prime Elevation speakers, what has been your experience with those so far?

Just being obsessed with these newer technologies like Atmos and DTS-X and wanting to get involved in that, I picked up a Marantz AV8802A I believe and started playing with the Atmos setting on that. Just messing with that, the heights was something I wanted to get into. So, I tried some ceiling reflective Atmos enabled speakers and kind of got a taste of what that technology could deliver. So, enter the SVS Prime Elevation speakers of which I have put four over-head. It is like cooking on a stove instead of in a microwave for the first time. That added dimension where it just tickles you. I had friends over for a movie screening the other night watching the new Planet of the Apes and what was coming through it is just that perfect sensation where it blends so well that it is almost seamless and just makes you feel like you’re right there in the movie.

For people who don’t know, you are married to Lisa Loeb who just won her first Grammy for a children’s album, Feel What You Feel. As the father of your two children do you feel any responsibility for that Grammy or can you talk a bit about it?

Well I don’t think I can take any credit for that. Lisa works really hard to put these records together and this last run of them have been more geared towards the family and kids records. She has been working hard towards making something you want to listen to not just something kids listen to. It is a family and group effort to be supportive. So, it is a group effort, but I can take no credit for making a record that sounds that good that is all her. She really knows what she is doing, and she works hard at it and that Grammy was a great moment for all of us.

Really appreciate you taking the time to come talk to us Roey, and I hope you enjoy that system and pass that passion on to the next generation and we will keep growing this thing.

You got it, thanks, good talking to you.

Click below to listen to the full audio interview with Roey Hershkovitz.