When Everything Stopped, He Started Listening
2/23/202628 min
David Jeffers has always understood the world through sound. As a kid, he bounced beats between tape decks and built speaker boxes from spare parts. After college, he founded an underground hip hop label. Then came the day that split his life in two. And in the quiet that followed, David started listening more deeply… and piece by piece, he built a new life, guided not by what he lost, but what he could create. For news about Quad Life, the upcoming documentary about David, follow Quad_Life_Doc on Instagram. Explore David’s sound design work and book with him at quadriphonicsound.com. Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced by Defacto Sound. Support the show and get ad-free episodes at 20k.org/plus. Subscribe on YouTube to see our video series. If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at mystery.20k.org. Follow Dallas on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Join our community on Reddit. Explore incredible speakers, soundbars, and more at sonos.com. Get 3 months of free payroll at gusto.com/20k. Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month Shopify trial at shopify.com/20k. Visit quo.com/20k for 20% of your first 6 months of business phone software. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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First 90 secondsDallas Taylor· Host0:00
You know that moment when you hear a song you've loved for years, and suddenly you notice something new? A harmony over in the left channel, a faint acoustic guitar, a breath before the chorus. That's what I love about Sonos. Their speakers are designed to connect you to the details that make music feel alive, and whether I'm playing a vinyl record in my kitchen or a modern blockbuster on my home theater system, the sound is rich, immersive, and incredibly clear. If you want studio-quality sound in every room, visit sonos.com. That's S-O-N-O-S.com. [upbeat music] You're listening- To Twenty- Thousand- Hertz.
David Jeffers· Guest0:42
The stories- Behind the world's- Most iconic- And fascinating sounds.
Dallas Taylor· Host0:48
I'm Dallas Taylor.
David Jeffers· Guest0:50
I vowed that if somebody wanted to hear my story, I was gonna keep it real with them and let them know what things are really like. [upbeat music] My name is David Jeffers, and I'm a sound designer.
Dallas Taylor· Host1:04
David has worked with companies like Google, Meta, the YMCA, 23andMe, and many more. His sound design style is always very musical, which goes back to his childhood.
David Jeffers· Guest1:16
Around my house, music was always going. My dad had a record player, and he played music all the time. My older brothers, they started getting into hip hop, so I wanted to be like them and started listening to hip hop.