About Performance Acoustics Labs

Performance Acoustics Labs (PAL) focuses on providing the finest acoustic environments possible.
Our decades of engineering knowledge, world class acoustic products, and extensive high performance audio expertise
combine into one team that makes sure you obtain an outstanding level of acoustic performance from your system.

Performance Acoustics Labs is the exclusive distributor for Svanå Miljöteknik AB (SMT) within the US, Canada, and Mexico. We find the acoustic products and integrated approach developed by Matts Odemalm at SMT allows us to build rooms of superior performance. Our engineers work together closely as a team sharing their experience and results from projects all over the world. The North American projects benefit from 15 years of European experience. Similarly European projects benefit from the most recent projects in the US.  This close working relationship between our engineers provides a great benefit to every customer.

Within the US, Canada, and Mexico, Performance Acoustic Labs also offers a PAL Goodwin’s Signature Room option. The PAL Goodwin’s Signature Room option is available to select customers who want all the expertise of PAL plus the design expertise and project oversight of Mr. Alan Goodwin of Goodwin’s High End. Mr. Goodwin has also been building world-class listening rooms for decades and we find his philosophy and approach very synergistic with PAL. This option brings together about a century of combined experience from Goodwin’s, PAL, and Svanå Miljöteknik. The PAL Goodwin’s Signature Rooms are available at many price/performance levels.

Our Leadership:

Mr. Michael Latvis grew up in New Hampshire and played trumpet starting in elementary school.  He has always had a love for music and audio systems and started building audio systems and collecting music in his early teens.  He designed and built his first turntable isolation system in high school prior to any formal engineering education.  Mr. Latvis has earned degrees in engineering and design from New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord NH and Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester NY.   He has over 27 years of mechanical engineering and product design experience and thousands of hours in professional training related to product design, development and manufacturing related to the following industries.

1. Nuclear Power Systems Inspection

2. Helicopter Rotor Bearing, Engine, and Transmission Vibration Isolation Systems

3. Servo Valve and Fuel Control Systems

4. Interior Noise Reduction and Vibration Isolation Systems for Commercial Aviation

5. Army and Navy Weapon Systems Shock and Vibration Isolation Products

6. Industrial Computers and Electronics Vibration Isolation Systems

7. High End Audio Isolation Systems and Resonance Control Products

Mr. Latvis has held a number of key positions including Design, Engineering, Sr. Engineering, Engineering Management, and Business Development Management.  These positions were held with industry leading control systems and vibration isolation systems companies.  He has four US patents and international patents related to shock, vibration isolation, and audio products.  He has published and presented a number of papers related to vibration and noise control products in various industries.

Mr. Latvis founded Harmonic Resolution Systems (HRS) in 2000 to focus on the development of reference level products specifically for high-end audio and video equipment market.   HRS is a recognized industry leader for reference level audio stands, isolation systems, and audio resonance control products.  Mr. Latvis also started Performance Acoustics Labs (PAL) in 2007 to help bring world-class acoustical design services and products to the North American market by partnering with Svanå Miljöteknik AB.  He is currently President and CEO of Harmonic Resolution Systems Inc. and Performance Acoustics Labs and is also Chief Engineer for Harmonic Resolution Systems Inc.

Mr. Thomas Frederick grew up on a farm in northeastern Pennsylvania learning to grow crops, milk cows, deal with things mechanical and play the accordion. He then traveled the US for eight years of heavy industrial construction as a boilermaker and welder. He always found fascination in Julian D. Hirsch’s writings for Stereo Review.

Mr. Frederick was graduated with distinction at Cornell University and went on to a 17 year career in mechanical engineering in the corporate world, living in Buffalo, NY, Salt Lake City, UT, and Fort Collins, CO. He held engineering positions of increasing responsibility in product, applications, design, systems analysis, modeling & simulation, and new product development including Chief Engineer for the Atchley Controls® product line. He is sole inventor of one patent. He provided his expertise to a wide variety of industries including gas turbine (military, commercial, and industrial), flight controls (military and commercial), helicopter, naval, lumber, rubber, steel mills, underwater ROVs, motion simulators, and plastic molding machines. During these years he learned the value of putting the customer, performance and quality first.

In 2004 he established Frederick Group Inc., to provide consulting engineering as well as to pursue the arts. In 2007 he began providing engineering leadership for Performance Acoustics Labs.

Mr. Matts Odemalm studied mathematics at Uppsala University and completed his Master of Engineering degree at KTH Stockholm. He founded SMT (Svanå Miljöteknik AB) in 1994 with two unique products. The first was the ODSS (Omnidirectional Sound Source), built under license by B&K Denmark with over 1200 units sold. The second was the Golden Horn diffuser, still the most broad-banded diffuser on the market with nearly 2000 diffuser units per square meter. 

SMT developed an outstanding reputation over the years by providing very high performance acoustical environments in studios, listening rooms, control rooms, and performance spaces worldwide. SMT uniquely understands how to properly design and tune rooms including reference level rooms suitable for high performance listening and recording.

A partial listing of completed projects:

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