Founded 10 years ago as an adjunct of the Parnelli Awards, the Indispensable Technology) (“IT”) Awards honor innovations in lighting, staging, video and audio. There are six new products nominated in each of the four areas, and FRONT of HOUSE and PLSN readers are invited to vote to select the winners in any or all of the categories at www.parnelliawards.com/vote.
The Parnelli Awards, which had to be canceled in Jan. 2021 due of the pandemic, will return as an in-person event June 3 during the 2022 NAMM Show, which is set for June 3-5 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Along with the IT Awards, the 20th Annual Parnelli ceremony, hosted by Jammin Jay Lamont, will also honor David Bernstein, Peter Morse and Sam Berkow, respectively, with the Parnelli Lifetime Achievement, Visionary and Audio Innovator awards.
Below are details on the six audio products for IT Award consideration. Details on products in the other IT Award categories can be found at www.plsn.me/IT-2022. For more information on the Parnellis, and to join us by reserving your seat (or table), visit www.parnelliawards.com.
Allen & Heath Avantis Digital Console
Housed in a rugged, steel exoskeleton with a compact 36”x25” footprint, this 96 kHz, 64-channel, 42-bus, FPGA-driven console has two large, 1080i HD touch screens, extensive I/O options and processing from A-H’s flagship dLive mixing system. Its 24 fader strips (with moving faders, programmable rotaries and softkeys) offer fast access to mix parameters and can be configured as input channels, mixes, FX sends, FX returns, DCA masters or MIDI strips. Local I/O has 12 mic/line inputs, 12 analog outs, plus AES digital; I/O expansion ports connect to Dante, Waves, gigaACE, MADI and more; and a wide variety of stagebox options are available.
d&b audiotechnik XSL Line Array
d&b completes its SL family of directional line arrays with the XSL, which puts its directional loudspeaker technology into a smaller (27.5 x 11 x 20”), lighter-weight (86-pound), more energy-efficient package. The unit features two 8” front-facing neodymium LF drivers; two 6.5” side-facing LF drivers; and a 6.5” mid driver and two 1” exit HF compression drivers on a waveshaping device. Variants of the basic XSL are offered with narrow 80° or wider 120° horizontal dispersion. XSL systems’ 3-point rigging system can quickly create vertical line source arrays (with up to 24 cabinets) via a dedicated flying frame.
DiGiCo Quantum338 Digital Console
The Quantum338 is based on seventh-generation FPGAs, offering 128 input channels, 64 buses and a 24 x 24 matrix — all with full channel processing. Also standard are three bright, 17-inch multi-touch screens, 70 individual TFT channel displays and 38 100mm touch-sensitive faders. A new level of local audio connectivity and performance comes via the “Ultimate Stadius” 32-bit ADC and DAC conversion built into Quantum338 as standard, alongside six single (or three redundant) MADI connections, dual DMI slots and a built-in UB MADI USB recording interface. Mustard Processing, Spice Rack, Nodal Processing and True Solo are also standard on the Quantum338.
L-Acoustics K3 Line Source System
L-Acoustics expands its K Series with the K3, its smallest full-range enclosure, designed to deliver big sound for mid-size events with audiences from 1,000 to 10,000. K3 provides full-range bandwidth without a flown companion sub. The dual-12 system is scalable with other elements such as the K1 and K2, for large-scale events. Equipped with a long-throw (>100’) DOSC waveguide, K2 also has Panflex technology, provides users with quick access to symmetrical or asymmetrical horizontal directivity patterns. Specs include a wide 42 Hz to 20 kHz (-10 dB) bandwidth, and 143 dB max SPLs and a 95-pound weight.
Lawo mc236 Mk II Digital Console
Offered in two frame sizes — the 16-fader (single 21.5” touchscreen) and the 32-fader (dual 21.5” touchscreens), the new mc236 Mk II digital console features: 256 DSP channels (160 inputs and 96 summing buses) with a total I/O capacity of 864 channels; up to 96 groups and 32 Automix groups; onboard A__UHD Core processing; Button-Glow and touch-sensitive rotary controls; color TFT fader-strip displays; and full-on Waves SuperRack SoundGrid. A wide range of peripherals are offered, including the A__stage-series WAN-capable audio-to-IP Stageboxes, analog / AES3 / MADI nodes, a modular IP node and Lawo’s versatile V__pro8 8-Channel Video Processing Toolkit.
Meyer Sound Labs PANTHER Line Array
Designed for large-scale touring and installs, Meyer’s new flagship line arrays combine two 12” woofers and 3” compression drivers with four channels of onboard Class-D powering fed from a dual (analog / Milan AVB network) input module. Three models offer different horizontal dispersion: the 95° PANTHER-M; 110° PANTHER-W; and the long-throw 80° PANTHER-L. PANTHER produces nearly the same power and headroom as LEO in the footprint of LYON, yet weighs just 150 pounds. All have IP55 weather protection-rated enclosures and seamlessly integrate with Meyer’s system design, deployment and management tools, including MAPP 3D, GALAXY, Compass, and Spacemap Go.
These six Audio products are joined by three other categories of products, for lighting, video and staging, on the Parnelli Indispensable Technology “IT” ballot at www.parnelliawards.com/vote. (For more details on the IT Award nominees in the Lighting, Video and Staging categories, go to www.plsn.me/IT-2022 .
