Let’s face it — sound reinforcement pros are tough to shop for. We have plenty of black T-shirts, mini-MagLites and useless trinkets. What we could really use is something that could make a difference in our everyday lives. So with that in mind, we present our annual holiday gift guide. Just leave this issue of FRONT of HOUSE laying around (opened to this page, of course) where the right person can find it. Then take your trusty Sharpie, circle any items of interest so potential gifters will spot it and voila… in a few weeks, you hopefully will receive gifts you’ll truly appreciate. It’s easy and fun, so give it a try! Here are our suggestions of great gifts for the holiday season.
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xDS Headphones ($189)
The ATH-M50xDS are an awesomely cool deep-sea blue version of A-T’s popular ATH-M50x pro monitor headphones. Not only do these sound great, but their distinctive color keeps them from getting mixed up with all the typically drab black cans you’ll find laying around any production. But their appeal goes beyond cosmetics and accurate reproduction. The sealed circumaural design offers effective isolation from outside noises and the ATH-M50xDS feature a collapsible design for compact storage, while 90-degree swiveling earcups allow easy, one-ear monitoring. Another appreciated touch is these include three detachable cables — 3-meter coiled, 3-meter straight and 1.2-meter straight types.
CyberPower AVRG750LCD Intelligent UPS ($115)
Get yourself a little peace of mind and add an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) to your FOH setup. You don’t need to run your entire system off this in case of a power outage, but an inexpensive UPS can help you avoid that excruciatingly long wait for your console to reboot should you briefly lose power. The AVRG750LCD will provide 450 watts (plenty for medium-size consoles in the 85-175 watt range, but can also power a DiGiCo Quantum 7), and at $115, it’s insurance anyone can afford.
GL.iNet GL-MT1300 Wireless Little Travel Router ($55)
Yeah, you have a router you work with, but these days, with nearly everything in your audio rig interconnected via Wi-Fi, maybe having a backup device isn’t a bad idea and the GL.iNet GL-MT1300 (Beryl) VPN Wireless Little Travel Router is just the ticket. Barely larger than a pack of cigarettes, this little wonder is a high-performance, next-gen design with dual-band Wi-Fi offering fast speeds of up to 400 Mbps (2.4 GHz) and 867 Mbps (5 GHz).
König & Meyer Speaker Stand Leveling Leg ($TBA)
Using this model #24618 adapter, you can compensate for uneven floors, stairs, steps or sloping positions in no time at all. The leveling leg is mounted one-time on one of the speaker stand legs and secured with a clamp. The required extension length is infinitely variable and allows a max height adjustment of 200mm (8.9”). If no leveling is required, the adapter simply slides out of the way on the leg for storage. Model 24618 fits most standard 35mm tube diameter speaker/lighting stands; versions for other tube leg diameter stands are also offered. New product; pricing TBA.
Minuendo Lossless Earplugs ($159)
Your hearing is priceless, so Norwegian manufacturer Minuendo offers Minuendo Lossless Earplugs, which allow sound reinforcement professionals, stage personnel and live performers control excessive audio exposure sound levels to help prevent adverse hearing effects. Unlike other earplugs, Minuendo Lossless Earplugs deliver a natural, flat frequency response, with an all-passive design (no batteries or electronics) that features a variable passive Hi-Fi filter; stepless (-7 to -25 dB) attenuation adjustment; and a patented adjustable membrane.
Neumann NDH 20 Headphones – Black Edition ($599)
With their cool black finish, closed-back, circumaural (around the ear) design and 34 dB of passive noise isolation, these are ideal for sound reinforcement use — particularly when soloing inputs during a live mix. The newly designed 38mm drivers provide clear, accurate sound from 5 Hz to 30 kHz, while the high-gauss neodymium magnets ensure low-distortion and high-sensitivity, offering ample volume even from weak console headphone outputs. The headphones are foldable for storage and include a carry bag and 9.8-foot detachable cable with 1/8” plug and ¼” TRS adapter.
RME 12-Channel Dante/MADI Preamp ($3,599)
Designed for high-performance professional audio applications, RME’s 12Mic-D is a digitally controlled, remote-controllable 12-channel mic preamp on a custom FPGA platform using Audinate’s Dante IP Core in a single rack space. Multiple units can be linked for more channels. Besides offering 64×64 Dante I/O, 128×128 MADI I/O, 24 outputs of ADAT outs and headphone monitoring of any channel, the unit has dual-redundant power supplies for use in no-fail situations — all in a single rackspace chassis.
Whirlwind Qbox ($316)
A must-have in anyone’s gig bag, Qbox is a multipurpose testing device used for checking analog audio lines and can send or receive audio signals at either mic or line levels, as well as detect the presence of phantom or intercom voltage on the line. It also has an onboard 440 Hz sine wave generator, and a built-in speaker and headphone output actually lets you hear the signal being monitored, to listen for audio distortion conditions, while a built-in electret mic is provided for convenience. A version with AES-3, S/PDIF and analog I/O is also offered.
