AES Partner News Blog

Radial Engineering's MIX2:1 is a mixer that passively sums two audio channels down to one. This enables users to sum the stereo outputs of a console, recording interface or portable playback device down to mono, or to mix any two signals together and balance their relative input levels.

At the inputs of the MIX 2:1, both quarter-inch TRS and XLR connectors are available, with ground-lift switches to help eliminate buzz and hum from ground loops. Each input can be individually engaged or disengaged, allowing users to audition either signal before summing both together. A trim control is also featured on each input, so if users are connecting two separate mono sources, such as the outputs of two mic preamps, they can each be attenuated as needed to match their levels at the output. Both level controls can be completely bypassed, resulting in equal summing of inputs 1 and 2, and preventing accidental or unwanted level adjustments. The MIX 2:1 has a 180-degree flip on Input-2, to help solve issues with frequency cancellation due to the inputs being out of polarity.

For more information visit www.radialeng.com.

Alteros, an Audio-Technica company, has been gearing up for an eventful AES Convention, with new products and corporate developments shaping the ways it serves the industry. Alteros is dedicated to the research, development and sales of innovative technology products with a special focus on the evolving RF landscape and creating wireless solutions for live audio production, broadcast studios, sporting events and theater applications in the ever-shrinking frequency spectrum. Alteros develops products that capitalize on Audio-Technica’s years of extensive ultra-wideband (UWB) and RF technology research, and digital solutions for demanding technical problems.

At demo room 2D05, located at the level 2 meeting rooms, Jackie Green, Alteros President and CTO; Brian Fair, Executive Vice President Digital Engineering; and Bob Green, Executive Vice President, Product Engineering, will be on-hand to meet attendees to discuss the current and future state of the broadcast industry, solutions offered by Alteros and long-term goals of the company. The booth will also be exhibiting the Alteros GTX Series Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Wireless Microphone System, a professional broadcast product delivering a fully digital 6.5GHz system that is immune to regulatory changes/auctions, spectrum loss and spectrum crowding. Developed and tested in conjunction with major broadcasters and other audio production professionals, GTX needs no frequency coordination, STA, or database registration. The system features automatic failover/redundant switching, MADI, fiber, Dante and AES67 digital outputs for seamless compatibility in increasingly IP-based infrastructures. System management software helps maximize operational efficiency, enabling new workflows and future process.

Corporate developments for Alteros include the opening of a new dedicated R&D facility in Stow, Ohio, a new manufacturing partner in San Jose, California, expansion of their engineering staff, and the recent shipment of the GTX Series Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Wireless Microphone System. Alteros states that it has several RF solutions in the works, including a version for large stadiums, extreme sports and campus-based events.

“It’s a new world now for wireless audio, and not just because of the RF reallocation,” stated Jackie Green. “Alteros is designing RF products for how the industry is going to need to work in the future as well as today. Our foundation is still pro audio, but as we move up into the 6 GHz-10 GHz ranges, we’re entering new territory, and we need new thinking to go with that.”

For more information visit www.alteros.tech.

RTW, vendor of visual audio meters and monitoring devices for professional broadcast, production, post production and quality control, is once again exhibiting at the Avid Partner Pavilion at AES New York 2017.

One of the highlights of this year’s display will be a preview of the company’s latest version of its Continuous Loudness Control (CLC) software, which enables users to operate live or batch mode loudness processing for up to 24 channels simultaneously. All surround formats defined in the ITU 1770-4 standard are supported. The Institut für Rundfunktechnik, GmbH (IRT) (Institute for Broadcast Technology, Ltd.), partnered with RTW to further improve its CLC algorithm for faster processing. This updated version of the CLC will be available for customers to download in the coming months.

“We are excited to bring RTW’s continuously evolving loudness control software to the AES convention,” says Andreas Tweitmann, CEO, RTW. “From our updated CLC software, to the new partnership with Nixer and our expanded product portfolio, RTW provides solutions for the audio engineering customer. We always look forward to getting our product in front of this market to hear our clients’ feedback.”

RTW will also showcase PD-Dante at the show. RTW recently announced its partnership with Nixer Pro Audio to distribute PD-Dante, a handheld monitoring and diagnostic system that allows users to listen directly into Dante streams located on an (Ether-) Network. With 64 possible Dante channels, users can select from an existing mix or create a user-definable mix of these channels via its capacitive touchscreen, and listen to them via PD-Dante’s on-board loudspeakers and headphone connection. The company will distribute this product worldwide starting December 2017.

Also on display will be the MM3 MusicMeter, conceived to give users the ability to implement loudness metering into music-based applications with flexibility and accuracy. The Masterclass PlugIns Series, which includes RTW’s Loudness and Mastering Tools, will also be on display. These plugins provide RTW hardware meters as software. Loudness Tools features metering and loudness displays for mono, stereo, multichannel and surround applications, while Mastering Tools consists of  analysis and display functions for mastering, metering and loudness measurements. A range of other RTW products will also be featured at the booth.

For more information vitis www.rtw.com

Waves Audio, provider of digital signal processing solutions and digital music production tools, now celebrates its 25^th anniversary, an occasion that also marks the advent of the digital plugin itself — a concept that has revolutionized every corner of audio production over the last quarter-century.

To mark this occasion, Waves is now shipping revamped and reskinned versions of three of its plugins: the Q10 Equalizer, the AudioTrack channel strip plugin, and the L1 Ultramaximizer level maximizer/peak limiter. These revamped 25th Anniversary editions include new plugin features, as well as a choice between two graphic user interfaces – the traditional ‘Legacy’ interface, and the new ‘Modern’ interface created especially for the 25th Anniversary celebrations.

Twenty-five years ago, Waves introduced the first audio plugin, the Q10 Paragraphic Equalizer. With its introduction, Waves not only transformed the way we work in the recording studio, it also created an entirely new industry sector: software-based audio signal processing. Further, Waves attributes the Q10 as giving the computer a new status in music recording by offering high-end professional sound quality “in the box,” on par with the sound provided by hardware gear.

What was then considered a surprising foray into computer-driven sound processing tools has since become a prevalent industry staple, with Waves tools now being used in many sectors of the audio market, from recording, mixing, mastering and post-production, to broadcast, live sound, and consumer electronics. For its accomplishments, Waves received a Technical GRAMMY Award in 2011.

Waves has gone on to develop a comprehensive line of over 200 audio plugins, a line of hardware units, and an expanding line of virtual instruments.

For more information visit www.waves.com

At this year’s AES Convention in New York, exhibitors and attendees will enjoy a new addition: "The Mixer" lounge and bar, sponsored by the Recording Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing, Iron Mountain Entertainment Services, Sennheiser, and Neumann.

The Mixer Lounge, a four-sided bar situated in the center rear of the hall, is adjacent to the AES Mix with the Masters Workshop and between the Project Studio Expo Theater and the Live Sound Expo Theater. It is the perfect location to meet with friends and colleagues, network with new contacts, and get one-on-one time with exhibitors and the pros and technology leaders presenting at the convention’s many sessions, workshops.

The Mixer will be selling coffee and snacks all day, with a selection of alcohol available in the afternoon until 6pm. Information and promotional films will also be screened in the lounge throughout the three days of the Convention’s exhibition.

Company Displays New Two-Channel Microphone Preamp and A/D Converter

A highlight at DPA’s booth at AES NY 2017  is their d:vice MMA-A Digital Audio Interface, which provides musicians with “studio quality” sound on the go.

The d:vice MMA-A Digital Audio Interface is a high-quality, two-channel microphone preamp and A/D converter offering mono, independent two-channel (dual) and stereo capabilities. As part of the latest firmware update, the app for the d:vice boasts a new summing feature. When two microphones are connected, it is now possible to sum the two channels so that each of the mics' audio signals is sent equally to output 1 and output 2. Users are now able to set individual gain for each mic and still have a single summed mono output. This is especially useful to ensure controlled output to mono platforms, including, but not limited to, Facebook™ Live.

"We are excited to bring the d:vice to a city like New York where life is always on the move," says Christopher Spahr, VP of Sales and Marketing, DPA Microphones, Inc. "As a company, we are always looking to meet our various customers' needs, and a large part of the live sound and recording market lives right in New York City. With the d:vice, users can record and stream clear and professional audio with any DPA miniature microphone. It is an innovation in a league of its own and we look forward to showing it off at this year's AES NY show."

For more info,visit: http://www.dpamicrophones.com/microphones/dvice

PMC’s Masters of Audio seminars, in exclusive partnership with the AES, will give AES New York 2017 attendees the opportunity to hear immersive sound presentations from some of the pro audio industry’s most prominent engineers and producers.

These sonically exhilarating events will take place during the 143^rd AES Convention at the Javits Centre, which runs from October 18^th – 21^st 2017. The UK speaker manufacturer will host the seminars in demo room 1E06, which will have a full 9.1 monitor setup based on the company’s IB2-XBD-A monitor system supplemented with IB1S-AIII for the surround channels and reference twotwo.6 models for the height channels. The award-winning MB3S-XBD-A monitors will also be on display. Also, AES visitors can hear all these monitors as they are put through their paces between seminar sessions.

PMC’s Masters of Audio seminar program is now a well-established attraction at AES Conventions in the USA. Topics under discussion this year will include Spatial Audio for Multitrack Recordings, Making Your Mixes Shine, Practical Immersive Audio at Home, Modern Classical Production, Kraftwerk and Booka Shade, as well as an special listening program of 9.1 music productions. Each session will feature eminent, world-renowned music professionals such as:

·      Chris Tabron, a multi-platinum producer, mixer and engineer who has worked with artists such as Beyoncé, Mary J Blige, Nicki Minaj.

·      Piper Payne, owner and chief engineer of Neato Mastering in California.

·      GRAMMY nominated producer David Bowles, founder of classical recording production company Swineshead Productions.

·      GRAMMY nominated engineer Daniel Shores who is based at Sono Luminus and is also Adjunct Professor at Shenandoah University.

·      Ian Corbett, Coordinator and Professor of Audio Engineering at Kansas Community College and author of the book Mic It! on microphone techniques.

·      Tom Ammermann, producer and founder of Luna Studios in Hamburg, who now specialises in 3D and spatial audio technologies.

·      Robert Ridihalgh, a a composer and sound designer who has scored the music and sound for over100 games.

·      Scott Selfon, composer and principal software engineer lead at Microsoft.

·      Mark Yeend, Creative Director at Mircosoft’s Xbox Advanced Technology Group.

·      Martha de Francisco, classical producer/engineer and Professor for Sound Recording at McGill University, Montreal.

·      Composer Akiyuki Morimoto, whose work includes music for Monster Hunter 3, Lost Planet 2 and Resident Evil 6.

A full schedule of seminars and speakers can be found at

https://pmc-speakers.com/events/aes-2017

Sony's third-generation DWX series, said to be suited for theater or other live applications, is specified to deliver audio latency of 1.2ms with extended bandwidth and high-density multi-channel operation. A four-element diversity antenna configuration and the DWX RF circuitry is said to provide reliable operation, and the system supports Dante. The new DWX components include the smaller DWT-B03R digital wireless bodypack transmitter, the DWR-R03D digital wireless rackmount receiver, the BC-DWX1 battery charger and the ECM-77LM miniature, omnidirectional electret condenser microphone.

Sony will also show prototypes of three new “Hi-Res” condenser microphones for professional studio and home recording applications at the AES New York 2017 Convention. Sony says that these new models build on its studio microphone heritage and continue its recent development of Hi-Res audio products. The side address mic is said optimized for vocal use, while the two end address models (one cardioid and one omnidirectional) are said applicable to instrument miking.

Syva is a new format, “high-power” speaker system combining L-Acoustics' heritage line source technology with a plug-and-play approach. Featuring six medium-frequency and three high-frequency speakers in a J-shaped progressive curvature format, Syva's patent-pending transducer arrangement, called "segment source," has specifications that include a horizontal and vertical, 140 degrees x 26 degrees (+5/-21 degrees) directivity pattern and 115 feet (35m) of throw.

Syva is said to be suited for projects that “demand visual discretion” – applications ranging from corporate events and fashion/trade shows to amphitheaters, houses of worship and performing arts centers to more intimate settings, such as home cinemas or lounge bars.

Syva can be accompanied by the Syva Low high power subwoofer or Syva Sub infra extension to achieve a 142dB max SPL. The Syva Low enclosure features two K2-grade 12-inch drivers designed to provide LF contour and extended bandwidth down to 40Hz. Similarly, Syva Sub features one KS28-grade 12-inch driver specified as further extending the bandwidth of the system in the infrasound domain down to 27Hz.

DiGiCo has announced the launch of a new DMI-MIC Pre-Amp Card for its S-Series digital mixing consoles, offering additional connectivity.

The S-Series has already seen an increase from 40 to 48 flexi channels as part of a recent update, and the new DMI-MIC Pre-Amp Card adds an extra eight mic inputs, connected via a 25-way D-sub, using the same pre-amps already found in the console. 

DiGiCo consoles are used on many of the biggest live sound tours and events around the world and DiGiCo claims that the launch of new, compact S-Series made this pedigree of audio performance available to every part of the industry, with Stealth Digital Processing, power and flexibility. 

The S-Series multi-touch touch screens offer up to 31 faders, 96kHz processing, internal FX and a range of I/O. With plug-in DMI cards the S-Series can operate in a variety of environments by adding extra I/O or connectivity options, including MADI, Dante or Waves SoundGrid. 

“The new DMI-MIC Pre-Amp Card shows our continued commitment to our products,” says DiGiCo General Manager, Austin Freshwater. “To take advantage of this and our other DMI card options, we are running a Get Connected program, so contact your local dealer for full details of the program and get connected soon!”