INDUSTRY & PRODUCT NEWS

Antelope Audio Introduces New 10MX Atomic Clock

The culmination of two decades of leadership in digital audio technologies, Antelope's new 10MX Atomic Clock builds on the renowned 10M Atomic Clock and Trinity Master Clock, providing greater sonic imaging and ergonomics, supporting sampling rates up to 768 kHz. The new 10MX provides a stable clocking solution in a smaller and more efficient 1U enclosure. Read More

Microchip Releases Next-Generation Bluetooth LE 4.2 Compliant Solutions

Microchip Technology announced its next-generation Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) solutions with compliant silicon, modules, and software. Qualified to the latest Bluetooth 4.2 standard, the IS1870 and the IS1871 Bluetooth LE RF ICs, along with the BM70 module, expand Microchip's existing Bluetooth portfolio and carry both worldwide regulatory and Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) certifications. Read More

Sennheiser Reveals New 2015 Orpheus Electrostatic Headphones

On September 1 during an event in London to celebrate its 70th anniversary year, Sennheiser began an intriguing teaser web campaign "Reshaping Excellence." Now, the company has finally revealed the campaign's intent-a successor to the legendary Orpheus, originally introduced in 1990. The 2015 Orpheus reintroduces the concept of the world's best headphones. Read More

Mackie Introduces Reach All-in-One Professional PA System With ARC Array Technology

Mackie continues to expand its range of solutions addressing the needs of performance musicians with innovative and affordable designs, now introducing an all-in-one professional PA system that delivers ultra-wide coverage for the entire audience and powerful built-in personal monitoring. The new Mackie Reach Professional PA System features Amplified Radial Curve (ARC) high-frequency array technology. Read More

Shure Introduces KSE1500 Sound Isolating Electrostatic Earphones and Amplifier System

The Shure booth at the 139th International Audio Engineering Society (AES) Convention in New York was constantly surrounded by visitors and press waiting for a chance to try out the new and intriguing KSE1500 Electrostatic Earphones, which are complemented by an extremely well designed portable headphone preamp. The headphone preamp, made available separately as the SHA900, is also able to power other headphones and earphones. Read More

Solid State Logic Introduces "Βeta" 500 Format Module Development Kit

At the 139th International Audio Engineering Society (AES) Convention in New York, Solid State Logic (SSL) announced the introduction of βeta, a unique 500 format module Hardware Development Kit using SSL specific components. Now audio electronics enthusiasts can build creations that will look as cool as they sound and feature real SSL controls. Read More

Genelec Introduces Intelligence to Large Main Monitor Systems with the 1236 SAM Monitor and RAM-XL Amplifier

At the 139th International Audio Engineering Society (AES) Convention in New York, Genelec introduced its flagship 1236 monitoring system and accompanying RAM-XL Remote Amplifier Module, designed to achieve extreme performance requirements in the most demanding recording and mixing environments. This is Genelec's 16th Smart Active Monitoring (SAM) system. Read More

Amadeus Philharmonia Speakers Co-Designed by Jean Nouvel Now Shipping

Amadeus is now shipping the remarkable Philharmonia speakers, co-designed by world-renowned architect Jean Nouvel, for both the high-end and professional audio markets. The French company initially created the speakers specifically for the Philharmonie de Paris recording and mastering studios, using a unique curved structure consisting of 547 wood veneers accurately machined and assembled. Read More

Jo�o

Martins

Editor-in-Chief

Editor's Desk

139th AES New York 2015 - An Inspiring Event

Michael Abrash, Chief Scientist of Oculus VR, during the 139th AES Opening Session

As expected, the 139th International Audio Engineering Society (AES) Convention was a truly great event with one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date technical programs. Even the weather in New York helped, with a fortunate change from a severe storm and pouring rain on Wednesday to four beautiful sunny days. The exhibition was also extremely interesting with a strong display of companies, products, and technologies, attracting a strong flow of visitors, especially during the first two days.

As to product announcements, we will refer to our news coverage online and the news items highlighted last week and in this edition of The Audio Voice. Visit audioXpress.com and search or click the tag AES139. Here, I will focus on the main trends.

My main impression of the show was that the AES exhibition continues to be an excellent opportunity for many smaller companies, in particular those boutique analog "builders" of exquisite outboard electronics-from tube microphone preamplifiers and compressors to full channel-strips, which continue to be popular and essential items for both project and commercial studios in the digital age.

There was also no shortage of new interesting studio monitors (Genelec and PMC upped their bets on main monitors), new microphones and even a surprising number of top analog recording consoles were on display, such as the amazing Rupert Neve Designs 5088 90 V Class A mixer, with custom transformers coupling every single input and output (including the inserts), combined with the new SwiftMix automation and DAW Ethernet control software; AMS Neve's new BCM10/2 Mk2, powered by Neve 1073 mic preamps and EQ along with 1272 summing mixers, now available in 10, 16, 24 and 32 channel configurations (first deliveries expected in January 2016); and API displaying an incredible 48 channel API Vision surround production console and a 32 channel 1608 recording Console, apart from introducing the new 535-LA Line Amplifier (500 Series format), modeled after API's highly prized console-based 325 booster cards.

There were also plenty of digital consoles at the show, with Lawo, DiGiCo, Yamaha, Cadac, Solid State Logic, and many other leading manufacturers showing their commitment to the AES exhibition almost at the same level as they do with other large trade shows. But as I said, I'll leave the highlights for our continuously updated news section on audioXpress.com.

What I feel continues to be the most disappointing aspect of AES exhibitions has to do with the world of software. In a focused environment such as the AES, ideal for smaller companies to promote technologies to a high profile and creative attendance, it is simply strange that only a few software manufacturers actually have booths. The Project Studio Expo had a continuous flow of speakers and well-attended presentations, showing how software is currently the tool of the trade in professional audio. From Digital Audio Workstations (DAW) solutions to live sound and live recording, and even when we discuss the evolution of digital audio to the networked age, software tools continue to be at the center of workflows. Digitally focused companies, such as Slate Digital and Waves Audio, for instance, attracted a crowd every time they had presentations of its advanced solutions.

And yet, some of the most important software companies were not found at the show or were simply represented in a corner of a distributor booth. There must be a better way to promote software than simply carry an iMac to a show and demo it for a maximum of two persons at a time. And while Avid continues to promote its Pro Tools ecosystem with its "partners village," I was saddened to find some innovative software companies limited to a ridiculous hidden corner. The concept makes sense for start-ups trying to leverage Avid's platform and community, but it doesn't translate well for established software companies, which could well have attracted hundreds of visitors to a booth. Kudos to Zynaptiq and Denis H. Goekdag, which continues to attend every show with a small but efficient booth, promoting state-of-the-art artificial intelligence and signal processing technologies.

Looking at the more positive aspects of the show, the 139th AES convention clearly touched upon the most important topics for the audio industry. The opening session set the tone with a keynote speech by Michael Abrash, Chief Scientist of Oculus VR (owned by Facebook). Abrash made an entertaining and inspiring presentation on how audio research and development will play a key part in the future of virtual reality (VR), and what opportunities it will open for the audio engineering communities. The applications might be still a few years away but it was simply refreshing to hear from someone whose work sits at the cutting-edge of technology and is not restricted by the usual industry conventions. The session was well attended by a young delegation of AES students and I have no doubt they all felt inspired by Michael Abrash's remarks on questioning perception and how thinking "outside the box" toward new audio applications can be potentially world-changing.

And talking about "world-changing," there were a few presentations at the AES exhibition (and complementary sessions) that addressed the topics I consider to be the absolute highlights of the event. The first was on the Audinate stand and it was the presentation of the new Dante Via software audio network solution. Dante Via has been in development for more time than the Australian and Oregon-based company would like (it was slatted to be introduced at the end of 2014) but the demonstrations in New York clearly showed that this will be one of the most important developments for audio networking technologies.

Basically, Dante Via allows complete, standalone audio systems of networked PCs to interchange two-channel audio without the need for any dedicated Dante-enabled hardware to be present on the network. Dante Via enhances any USB, Firewire, or Thunderbolt audio device with network connectivity, allowing it to expand any Dante system with hundreds of readily available products and unrestrained by short cable runs. The software can connect to applications such as Cubase, Pro Tools, Logic, PowerPoint audio, or even Skype, enabling Macs and PCs to send, receive, and monitor any track while recording, or use Dante Via as a tool for monitoring any local or remote channel.

While Audinate's existing Dante Virtual Sound Card is a robust, high channel count application with the single purpose of getting a large number of channels in and out of a computer, Dante Via allows for a much more diverse set of devices and applications to be routed and networked, two channels at a time, even creating standalone Dante networks using only computers.

Next to Audinate's booth, we found Mytek, the digital audio converter specialist from Brooklyn, New York, with a presentation of its new Brooklyn USB2 DAC, preamplifier, and headphone amp, premiered at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF) 2015. Mytek also offers Dante connectivity on its professional converters but the new Brooklyn USB2 DAC now features MQA support, apart from DSD and DXD. Much as Dante networking technology is revolutionizing professional audio applications, Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) ground-breaking technology - created by Meridian's founder Bob Stuart - will soon enable a new level of high-quality digital content to be distributed and streamed in consumer audio applications.

Finally, another important highlight at the 139th AES convention was the first public demonstration of AES67 audio-over-IP streaming interoperability between the various currently available IP-based audio networking platforms. The demonstration, held at the Media Networking Alliance booth, promoted awareness for the new AES67 standard, featuring 22 devices from different manufacturers. There were devices employing Dante, Livewire, Q-LAN, and RAVENNA and they were all connected to a simple network with a single Ethernet switch. AES67 was demonstrated in both unicast (one-to-one) and multicast (one-to-many) audio transmission and was a clear validation of the benefits of these important industry efforts.

From the Vault

The Sweet Spot

By Nelson Pass

What can you do to ensure the best possible sound from your system? The "sweet spot" concept is generally regarded as "that happy balance of conditions that elicits the best possible sound," including the interiors of the components themselves. As Nelson Pass wrote, this essential article, is about "finding the sweet spot for each gain device in audio amplifiers. It is a commonly held belief in audio that the best amplifiers are composed of one or more active gain stages, each made as intrinsically linear as possible before negative feedback is applied to further improve performance." Read on. This article was originally published by audioXpress, January 2010. Read the Complete Article Here

Voice Coil Spotlight

Subwoofer Alignment with Full-Range System

By Charlie Hughes

In this tutorial, Charlie Hughes addresses the question of "How do I align a subwoofer with a full-range loudspeaker system?" As he explains, the task of adding a subwoofer to a loudspeaker system to increase the low-frequency bandwidth should typically entail sorting the relative bandwidth of the subwoofer and the full-range system (crossover); the relative output level of the subwoofer and the full-range system (gain); and the relative arrival time of the signal from the subwoofer and the full-range system (delay). This article was published in Voice Coil November 2011. Read The Full Article Online

AX November 2015: Digital Login

VC November 2015: Digital Login

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