New Products
Posted on: Saturday 18th of November 2017
When Keith Holland reviewed the original PSI A21-M monitor in Resolution, he said: “Of particular note though is the remarkable step response, which is presumably helped by PSI Audio’s Compensated Phase Response (CPR) system. This accurate time response is very rare in this type of speaker but here, PSI Audio has proven that it is possible”. To celebrate the 20th birthday of the A21-M, PSI have been working hard on a new version, and after more than one year development, the brand new A21-M V4 has been developed. At AES 2017 in New York, PSI had 3 new products on show:– PSI’s biggest 2-way precision monitor, the A21-M, revamped to version 4.
– a new compact subwoofer, the Sub A125-M.
– the long awaited collaboration product between Weiss & PSI Audio, the Livebox, the first transaural speaker based on X-talk Cancellation, which was auditioned in PSI and Weiss’s demo room on the 2nd floor. Binaural sound and “3D Aural imaging” have been given a new lease of life due to a big push by Sky, BT Sport and other networks to bring Dolby Atmos and immersive audio reproduction into the consumer living space.
www.psiaudio.com
Located in the capsule of its miniature mics, CORE is currently available in the d:screet 4060, d:screet 4061, d:fine 4066 and d:fine 4088 mics. For example, with CORE by DPA, the d:screet CORE 4060 for gets a 6 dB increase in both THD and dynamic range. Total harmonic distortion: < 1% THD up to 129 dB SPL peak; Dynamic range: Typ. 106 dB. Microphones purchased with the new technology will come in CORE packaging and will have a blue label near the serial number on the cable to differentiate between these and the original versions; a laser engraving has been incorporated at the microphone capsule as well. The remaining d:screet and d:fine microphones and full range of colour options will be available with CORE technology in early 2018.
www.dpamicrophones.com
Genelec has collaborated with head-related transfer function (HRTF) modelling technology specialist IDA Audio on an immersive audio experience for professional headphone users. Accessible via a software application for smartphone, the jointly-developed technology scans the user’s ears, upper body and head to create a Cloud-based customised personal audio profile, which can then be loaded into a DAW via a third-party plug-ins. Headphones are limited in their reproduction of 3D audio because of the proximity in a headphone of the audio source, which eliminates the acoustical influence of the listener’s ears and head, and therefore the cues that create the sense of audio source location and distance relative to the listener. With this software application, a favourite pair of headphones can be used to give accurate 3D audio. ‘Everyone is unique when it comes to hearing – the ways in which our brains perceive the world around us is shaped by our physical features, determining how we hear,’ explains Genelec CEO, Siamäk Naghian. ‘No two people share the same HRTF, because the size and shape of each person’s head, ears, and upper torso all affect how that individual experiences the sounds around them. This makes it extremely difficult to monitor 3D audio over headphones, since using headphones means you remove the effects of those physical features – and this adversely affects the sound. The answer is to 3D scan each individual listener and then map their unique HRTFs. This means that you can precisely hear in three dimensions through any high-quality headphones that you choose to use.’ The application will be available to professional users in early 2018 as a download from the Genelec website.
www.genelec.com
Lectrosonics has introduced two new transmitters as the latest generation in the award-winning Digital Hybrid Wireless SM Series product line: the wide band SMWB (single AA battery) and SMDWB (dual AA battery). These new transmitters have a similar look and feel to previous SM Series units, but with several new features – including the ability to either act as a transmitter or as a body-worn recorder – and wideband tuning. Similar to other current Lectrosonics transmitters, the SMWB and SMDWB units tune across 3 standard frequency blocks and come in several frequency ranges: A1 (470 – 537 MHz) and B1 (537 – 614 MHz) for the North American and export markets, and B2 (563 – 640 MHz) and C1 (614 – 691 MHz) for certain other export markets. RF power for these models is selectable at 100, 50, or 25 mW (North American version) and 50 or 25 mW (certain export markets). The SMWB and SMDWB feature the standard TA5 connector with servo-bias mic input. The SMWB and SMDWB units can be configured as either a transmitter or a recorder, with files stored on Micro SD card memory, allowing use as body worn recorders. The audio files are recorded in the industry standard Broadcast Wave (.WAV) format at 24 bits, 44.1 kHz sample rate. The Micro SD memory card can also be used to update firmware in the field. SMWB, Single Battery: $1,459 SMDW, Double Battery: $1,597
www.lectrosonics.com
Sony Professional Pro Audio Division showcased prototypes of three new Hi-Resolution microphones at the AES N.Y. 2017. Designed for professional studio and recording applications, the most notable feature of the new Hi-Res studio microphones is that they are capable of extended frequency response up to 50kHz. The flagship C-100 side address, large-diaphragm condenser mic is optimised for vocal use, while the two end address condenser mic models (ECM-100U cardioid and ECM-100N omnidirectional) have been designed with instrument recording in mind. The C-100 has three selectable polar patterns: Omni, Uni (cardioid) and Bi (figure-of-8). The C-100’s newly-developed double microphone capsule uses a two-part metallic body structure first used on the famous C-800G studio mic to prevent acoustic vibration, resulting in low noise and clear sound.
www.soundnetwork.co.uk
www.sony.jp/pro-audio/
Lawo has launched an automated audio mixing system for Germany’s Bundesliga football league. Deutsche Football League (DFL) subsidiary Sportcast coordinated the work of Lawo, and broadcast graphics creator ChyronHego, to ready the technology for the market in a two-year development and testing phase. The innovative approach taken by the new audio production systems lies in the networked utilisation of data as a basis for automatic audio mixing. This offers considerably better quality than manual audio mixing. The Lawo KICK software uses tracking data of the type that is now standard practice in professional football and has previously been mainly used for match statistics and graphic analyses. Camera-based technology generates real-time data in the stadium allowing the exact position of the 22 players, referees and the ball to be tracked. Using the existing microphones, their positions on the edge of the field and their directional characteristics, the system determines which microphone can best capture what is happening on the field at any given time and automatically sends the necessary commands to the mixing console. The sound engineer sitting in the broadcast van can use the automated mixing of the field microphones in the overall mix and thus has more leeway for enhancing the aesthetics of the broadcast sound during the match.
www.lawo.de
