PRODUCT HITS OF NAMM & INFOCOMM 2022
When two major audio tradeshows happen three days and 265 miles apart, you know that something’s “not quite the usual.” But these are unusual times and call for some unusual measures. Nevertheless, in 2022, thousands of audio professionals made the trek to Anaheim, CA from June 3-5 for NAMM and/or (just three days later) to Las Vegas from June 8-10 for InfoComm. Many companies (and attendees) were put in the situation of picking which show to attend; others went to both shows. With a need to check out the latest in new technology offerings, the intrepid FRONT of HOUSE editors attended both expos. Along the way, we found there was plenty to see — and hear. Here are a few of the products that caught our attention.
SPEAKERS? LOUDSPEAKERS!
1 Sound offered a preview of its SUB2112 passive, flyable subwoofer that combines a 21” and two 12” drivers for a 25 Hz to 160 Hz response with articulate upper bass. It’s just 43.3 x 31.3 x 23.4” and has a 137 dB max SPL.
Adamson’s Load Library 5.3 for the Lake Processor simplifies using linear-phase and conventional crossover settings, with defaults for E, S, and IS-Series cabinets and time-aligned subwoofer presets for fast system optimization. www.adamsonsystems.com
Alcons Audio featured its installation-specific LR18i, a compact 3-way line-array with a 7” HF ribbon driver mounted coaxially on a 6.5” cone midrange and combined with dual 8” neodymium woofers and offered in 90° or 120° horizontal dispersion versions. A flyable / stackable LR18B 18” subwoofer is optional.
BASSBOSS’ new SSP215 Mk II subwoofer packs two 15” neodymium drivers and 4,000 watts of DSP-driven amplification into a compact 17.25 x 48 x 29.5” enclosure capable of max 135 dB SPLs.
d&b audiotechnik’s A-Series are passive 2-way designs with a 1.4”-exit driver on a waveshaping horn and dual neodymium woofers in portable or install versions with 60° or 90° dispersion. Featuring flexible splay angles, these are flyable in vertical columns or horizontal clusters in mid-size applications.
DAS Audio’s LARA is a large-format, self-powered (6,000W) cardioid line array that can reproduce 146 dB max SPLs from its two 12” woofers, two rear-firing 8” woofers and two front-firing 3” HF drivers. Also available is LARA SUB, a companion cardioid subwoofer with two 18” woofers and a rear-firing 18” driver.
FBT unveiled MYRA, its new large-scale 3-way line array solution, with two 14” woofers, coaxial MF driver and 2.5” HF drivers — with 1,600 + 650 watts of biamplification. Its four-point integrated rigging system allows up to 20 cabinets to be flown quickly and easily in any venue. A new MYRA 218S double-18 sub completes the package.
Fulcrum Acoustic’s AHC2 High Output Coaxial Horn updates the compact enclosures of its original AH while incorporating two high-power 10” woofers and a coaxial MF/HF driver for broadband pattern control below 400 Hz and LF extension below 80 Hz.
Holoplot’s X1 Modul 96 full range speaker and X1 Modul 80-S+sub use 3D audio beamforming and wavefield synthesis to steer sound beams (vertically and horizontally) to desired areas. The software-driven system has 96 individually amplified drivers (including 80 dome tweeters) in each cabinet.
JBL’s SRX900 Series of powered systems include dual-6.5” and dual-10” line arrays and complementary 18” and dual-18” subs. User-configurable DSP and design/management software offer control from a computer, mobile device or the rear-panel.
L-Acoustics’ ultra-shallow (3.9” deep) Soka colinear source (nine 3.5” MF drivers; three 1” HF drivers) delivers 124 dB extending down to 70 Hz, or 130 dB down to 100 Hz. The companion dual 6.5” woofer SB6i sub operates down to 29 Hz with up to 114 dB. Intended for on-wall or in-wall mounting, Soka and SB6i are rated IP55 for indoor or outdoor use.
LD Systems’ MAILA “Modular All-Round Intelligent Line Array” scalable sound system is based on four components — a MAILA SAT satellite; MAILA COL column; 2,500w MAILA SPA amplifier; and the MAILA SUB dual-15 powered subwoofer, with each satellite tiltable to put sound where it needs to be.
Martin Audio’s VU-NET Version 2.3.3 Windows software provides control and monitoring of Martin’s MLA, CDD-LIVE and iKON systems, while adding new features for its iKON amplifiers and DX4.0 controllers.
Meyer Sound was celebrating the launch of its flagship dual-12” PANTHER line array (which won the prestigious Audio Indispensible Technology honor at the 2022 Parnelli Awards) and the company also announced that the new system was selected for use on Ed Sheeran’s 2022 world tour, which began earlier this year.
RCF’s new 3-way, active NX 985-A is designed for venues and P.A./rental companies, with a 15” woofer, 6” cone mid and 1.75” HF driver, with 2,100 watts of biamplification and FIRPHASE DSP for up to 138 dB max SPLs. The new 4,400W, double-18 SUB 8008 can be added for more LF punch.
Renkus-Heinz’ PCX Series incorporate steerable UniBeam capability in passive columns for consistent front-to-back coverage with minimal side lobe artifacts. The IP64 weather-resistant PCX will be available in three sizes — PCX4, PCX8 and PCX16 — all utilizing 3” full-range neodymium drivers for a discrete appearance.
Void Acoustics expands its IP-55 rated Cyclone series with Cyclone 4, a smaller solution for outdoor venues and entertainment spaces. Inside the molded ABS enclosure (available in all RAL colors) is a passive 4” coaxial driver with a 0.75” soft dome tweeter.
MIXERS!
Allen & Heath’s free v1.2 firmware upgrade for its popular Avantis digital console adds a built-in, next-gen RTA; Sennheiser wireless mic control integration from the console surface; expanded dPack DEEP DSP, now with Bus (modeled on the legendary SSL bus compressor) and more, including RTA views being visible on iPad and Director, for tweaking from anywhere in the venue.
DiGiCo’s V3.0 software ups the power of its S-Series consoles, expanding the channel count from 48 to 60 flexi channels and 24 flexi buses. It also adds LCR (Left-Center-Right) or LRM (Left-Right-Mono) master bus configurations, along with OSC control of Snapshots, MADI Sample Rate conversion on the DMI-MADI-B and DMI-MADI-C and compatibility with DiGiCo’s Dante-based DQ-Rack.
Lawo has integrated Merging Technologies solutions with Lawo’s HOME infrastructure management platform, so parameters on Merging products can be tweaked from a Lawo mc²-series console with built-in HOME functionality. Currently, Merging’s Anubis and Hapi MKII products are HOME compliant, with more expected later this year.
Solid State Logic demoed its Live V5.0 console software which has integrated control of Meyer Sound Spacemap Go, Shure ULX-D and Axient Digital mic control and workflow-based enhancements, including Routing Interface and Event Manager improvements. It also adds Plus Processing Packs DSP to its L450 and L650 mixers.
Waves’ Proton Duo combines a Waves Proton SoundGrid server, an Axis Proton audio-optimized computer and a built-in network switch — in one compact device. Proton Duo is also optimized to run Waves eMotion LV1 live mixer, the Waves SuperRack live plug-in host and the SoundGrid Studio application on systems of up to 32 channels — just add I/O and you’re ready to mix.
MICS, MICS, MICS
Austrian Audio was showing its OD5 (dynamic, $299) and OC7 (condenser, $519) — two new models for instrument miking. Both are cardioid and have 2-stage bass rolloff filters, switchable -10 dB pads and a unique mount that allows the capsule to swivel 220° for ease in placement, especially in tight quarters.
DPA Microphones launched the 4055, a condenser mic optimized for capturing kick drums and other low frequency sources. Unlike most other kick mics, the 4055 has a neutral, overall flat response, allowing the user to EQ (or not EQ) the mic to taste. CLICK HERE to read the “Road Test” in this issue on page 25.
iSEMcon’s iSEMic CPX-1212 is a Class-1 measurement mic featuring an interchangeable ½” nickel-diaphragm FP1212 capsule on a CPX-12 iSEMtron stainless steel preamp body with 48-volt phantom powering (12 VDC wireless-ready) and can handle 155 dB SPL without clipping.
Shure’s KSM11 wireless cardioid condenser mic capsule, provides a combination of clear highs, rich mids and full lows, and is designed for use with all Shure wireless systems with interchangeable mic capsules, including Axient Digital, ULX-D and more. It’s available in black or brushed nickel.
PRODUCTION ESSENTIALS
Audio-Technica’s ATW-3255 is a single-channel IEM system operating in the 470-608 MHz UHF range. It features a rugged bodypack receiver, pro ATH-E40 earphones and a diversity transmitter with a large OLED display and network monitoring/control via A-T’s Wireless Manager software.
Clear-Com showed Arcadia Central Station updates, with powering for its wired and wireless analog and digital intercom systems and offering HelixNet Digital Partyline integration, support for more than 100 beltpacks,180 ports of mixing capability and the ability for 1.9 GHz, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz systems to work together simultaneously.
Crest Audio’s CPX Series power amps range from 480w to 1,600w/ch, can operate at line voltages as low as 50% and drive loads as low as 2 ohms/channel. A Gain Comparator protects speakers from overload conditions. Onboard processing includes two crossovers and a subsonic filter.
JH Audio unveiled its new flagship in-ear monitor, The Sharona — the company’s first-ever 16-driver configuration with a true 4-way crossover, featuring the Knowles RAU Quad Supertweeter, which expands it’s well-rounded sound signature to HF response to 25 kHz.
K-array’s Kommander series amps incorporate cloud-based technologies, with an Integrated Electronic Brain (IEB) aboard each amp. With network-integrated DSP processors and Class-D modules, these 2U models can drive any K-array passive product with up to eight 2,500w channels of amplification.
Pliant Technologies’ v1.10 firmware its CrewCom wireless intercoms adds a High Density mode that supports up to 32 Radio Packs (RPs) on a single Radio Transceiver, while allowing any RP to communicate using four available full-duplex talk paths. And a new Auto Config function simplifies system setups.
punQtum by Riedel is a full-duplex, digital partyline intercom communications solution. The system uses the advantages of modern IP networks but can be quickly configured to meet individual needs. There’s no master station or other central point of intelligence; all processing is handled locally in each device with a capacity of 32 channels, four program inputs, up to four announce outputs and 32 control outputs.
RME’s 12Mic-D is a digitally controlled, 12-channel mic preamp on a custom FPGA platform using Audinate’s Dante IP Core in a single rack space. Besides offering 64×64 Dante I/O, 128×128 MADI I/O and 24 outputs of ADAT and headphone monitoring of any channel, the unit has dual-redundant power supplies for use in no-fail situations.
MORE TO COME
There were more cool toys at NAMM and InfoComm and we’ll be covering these in future pages of FRONT of HOUSE and on our website. Meanwhile, NAMM returns to sunny Anaheim, April 13-15, 2023. See you there!
