Sound Power
Now accepting consulting engagements · 2026 — 2027

Systems designed to be heard.
Knowledge designed to be shared.

Sound Power is the independent consulting and education practice of Mercer Aplin, Clinical Assistant Professor of Audio Technology at Purdue University and former Senior AV Consultant at Threshold Acoustics. Available now for new performing-arts, higher-education, and civic-venue AV engagements.

Start a project →Consulting services/Teaching at Purdue/Theatrical sound design/Knowledge base
§ 01 — Consulting

A practice built for the next room.

From new construction to renovation, Sound Power brings a decade of large-venue AV experience to projects that demand careful design and operator-centered thinking. Engagements are sized to fit — from feasibility studies and owner advocacy through full design and commissioning.

Services & sectors →
§ 02 — Teaching

Training the audio practitioners of the next decade.

As Clinical Assistant Professor of Audio Technology in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Purdue University, Mercer designs and teaches new courses for undergraduate and graduate students, mentors student sound designers, and oversees the audio systems serving the department’s production venues.

Coursework & mentorship →
Mercer Aplin at a front-of-house tech table in a large concert hall, working with students at the mix position.
Front-of-house · concert hall tuning
Tech rehearsal of a musical with a tree-silhouette set lit in deep purple and magenta, viewed from the back of the house.
Tech rehearsal · musical theatre
Back of a fully cabled production audio rack with color-coded Powercon and multi-pin connectors during a load-in.
Systems · load-in & cabling
03What I do

Services for venues, institutions, and design teams.

Full scope of services →

  • AV Systems Design

    Concept-through-construction design of reinforcement, presentation, and production audio-video systems for performing arts, higher education, and civic facilities.

  • Immersive Audio

    Spatial-audio systems for theatre, music, and themed experience — built around the platform that best fits the room, the production calendar, and the operating team.

  • Network & Infrastructure

    Audio-over-IP and AV-over-IP design tuned to facility realities — interoperability, redundancy, and a system someone can still maintain a decade from now.

  • Commissioning & Optimization

    On-site tuning, alignment, and acceptance testing — turning a documented system into a room that performs the way the design promised.

04Experience

A decade at Threshold.

Between 2015 and 2024 Mercer contributed to more than 150 projects at Threshold Acoustics in Chicago, with primary design responsibility on over fifty. New consulting clients inherit that institutional memory.

150+
Projects contributed
50+
Lead design
4
Countries
Representative previous engagements
  • 01
    Under the projection surface, looking toward the plaza pavilions.
    Expo 2020 — Al Wasl Plaza
    AV design support for the dome at the heart of Expo 2020 — a 360° immersive projection and audio environment seen by millions.
    Photo: Mercer Aplin
    Dubai, UAE
    Themed Experience
  • 02
    Atwood Concert Hall from the balcony — the faceted proscenium surround and house layout that shaped array coverage.
    Alaska Center for the Performing Arts
    Multi-venue performance complex AV systems modernization.
    Photo: Mercer Aplin
    Anchorage, AK
    Performing Arts
  • 03
    The Salata Auditorium in School Hall after refurbishment, looking toward the organ.
    Eton College — School Hall
    Heritage hall reinforcement and presentation systems serving lectures, concerts, and ceremony.
    Photo: Mercer Aplin
    Windsor, United Kingdom
    Performing Arts
  • 04
    The Arts and Ideals gallery — LED text frieze wrapping the upper volume above the interactive stations.
    John F. Kennedy Center — Arts and Ideals
    Exhibit AV systems supporting the Kennedy Center’s permanent installation honoring JFK’s vision for the arts.
    Photo: Mercer Aplin
    Washington, DC
    Civic & Cultural
  • 05
    The restored house from the stage, with the rebuilt control room and balcony technical positions.
    Studebaker Theater
    Restoration of a 1898 Fine Arts Building theater — modern reinforcement systems within a historic envelope.
    Photo: Mercer Aplin
    Chicago, IL
    Performing Arts
View the full portfolio →
05Knowledge

From the bench.

A curated reading and viewing list — industry essays on AV consulting practice, talks from working designers, and tutorials I return to and recommend to students.

Browse the resources →
§ On Instagram

Sound Power, in the field.

Recent work, teaching, and studio life from @_soundpower.

Follow on Instagram ↗

The live feed isn’t connected yet. Until then, follow the latest work on @_soundpower.

Engagements

Have a venue, a renovation, or a new build on the horizon?

Start a conversation →