Winter NAMM 2007 is as big and loud as ever, but a little light on the pro audio side.
While the giant noisefest that is Winter NAMM was not totally devoid of any worthy-of-mention pro-grade live audio products, you did have to hunt a bit to find them. No big surprise. NAMM is, after all, a show aimed at music store buyers and not soundcos. But we went along for the ride regardless and came up with a few potential gems. Stick It In Your Ear
There was a lot happening in the personal monitor with three of the big five earpiece suppliers showing new product.
Westone's tryst with Gennum has finally borne fruit. The SD1 system includes a couple of tiny mics attached to the cables that attach to the earpiece. Coupled with a DSP system that is basically a speaker processor for the little speakers in your head, you get tons of control and the ability to allow blends of monitor mix and ambient stage sounds. On the downside, it ain't cheap; it means something else to program, and you have to wear another beltpack. (If there is a wireless guitar involved, then it means three beltpacks. Better have a big belt.) On the upside, the ability to add real ambience may get more performers on PMs, which will mean less monitor wash in the house, which is a good thing. Watch this space for a review.
Sensaphonics was showing a "3D" earpiece that sounds intriguing but, as they only make custom products, we could not actually try one. If you have, let us know what we missed.
Finally, Future Sonics double-dipped on the news side with the release of a new prograde universal fit product called Atrio. These we did hear, and they rock. We were all blown away by the consumer version of these called the FS1, but the Atrio is so much better that it is really a different product. Definitely one to check out. Next, they took this cool new piece and hooked up with our boys at Hear Technologies who will distribute them with their line of personal mixing products. Their first customer is some dude named Les Paul. [For a fuller rundown on this, see the article on the cover –ed.]
In the Mix
Outside of some entry-level analog stuff, this show was light on mixers. We did hear rumblings that Digidesign is approaching 500 VENUE systems sold, which is quite an impressive feat, and Crest Audio snuck out a new digitally controlled analog console, called the CV20, that now includes VCAs (OK, DCAs) to spring up from the HP8 and HP-W consoles. The 40- channel version will retail at about $18,000, but the balanced inserts, 12 auxes and 4-band fully parametric EQ section per channel make it worth the price tag.
As far as mics go, Audio-Technica showed a full line of re-engineered Artist series mics with pro performance at an attractive price point. For a full rundown of the series, check out the video coverage on FOH-TV on the FOH Web site (did we forget to mention that we are doing some cool new Web stuff? Make sure to keep an eye on things over the next few months. Lots is changing.)
Meanwhile, AKG Acoustics was making a big splash with its D5 and C5 vocal mics. The D5 features a super cardioid pattern and very novel diaphragm construction to offer performance specifications beyond most dynamic mics. And the C5 vocal condenser mic has a next-generation capsule that eclipses the old C900 mic performance by quite a bit. The D5 retails at $119 and the C5 at $219, and that should turn the heads of the competition.
The Other End of the Snake
Community Loudspeaker debuted their Sonus series of loudspeakers as Pro-sumer grade of enclosures made for local/regional soundco's and discriminating music groups. This series replaces the XLT and XLTE cabinets and make improvements on driver specs, cabinet quality, and keeps the pricing very affordable. Our dream setup from the Sonus series would be the 3294 top boxes (12"+6.5"+1"horn, 3- way) at $699 each, plus the new 218S subwoofers (2×18" front loaded) at $1399 each. The cabinets have great sensitivity, and smooth response where it counts.
Ambling over to the QSC exhibit, Pat Quilter was in all his glory draped in a white lab coat to help promote the HPR122i 12"+1.4" horn powered loudspeaker that "will knock your socks off". Their little "knock your socks off" commercial is quite humorous with Pat as "Dr. Q" and his array of stick mounted HPR122i's trying to de-sock Elsa, an obvious member of the Swedish Bikini Team. The HPR122i contains 400 watt and 100 watt amplifiers derived from the RMX amplifier family to drive high SPLs and keep the weight about 60 pounds. And the $799 retail price should ensure a lot of HPR122i's will be seen doing wedge and stick duty on various performance stages. Stay tuned for more sock blowing news from QSC soon.
Jeff Taylor of Dynacord fame showed off his D15-3 D-Lite wedges with polypropylene casing and 15"+6.5"+1" driver configuration. I have to say, this is among the best wedges we have ever heard, and the clarity plus insane SPL output is something every soundco should audition. The $1400 retail price is plenty spendy, but this is tourgrade stuff.
And back in Harmanland, JBL had a couple of cool offerings. Remember the old M-Pro series that first crossed a JBL box with an internal Crown amp? The PRX500 series builds on that idea with the addition of DSP and nice real-world touches like a pole mount that is actually tilted down. The series includes five models including a 12" two-way, two- and three-way 15s, a three-way dual 15" and an 18"sub.
JBL also introduced a smaller version of its VRX line array that it is marketing to bands and DJs as well as smaller installs. This may be the tipping point. Let's put it this way: If the local band with its own production shows up at the gig with a small line array and your soundco cannot offer one, even if the client wants it… Hmmm. Something to think about.
Now, we don't want to hear anything about trade shows for a couple of months, which will — ain't life funny? — be just in time for NSCA in Orlando in March. Keep an eye out for our video crew.
