AES in L.A. – Day one

SATURDAY – LA. By Simon Byrne

The Audio Engineering Society’s 141st International Convention kicked off today in Los Angeles at the LA Convention Centre.

This event attracts an international audience ranging from audio veterans to students in all areas of audio including broadcast, recording, game audio and live sound.  Over 4 days, the event includes a full technical program of tutorials, workshops, seminars, technical tours and a fine exhibition. There are literally 100’s of high quality sessions hosted by luminaries on most subjects.

But back to the exhibition, here is a sample of the interesting things that I spoted today.

L’Acoustics have released a version 2 of their popular small format line array. What’s new about it? 6db more level from the same size box with reduced weight. Twice as loud…nice.

Neutrik showed me their new version of the Xirium Pro Wireless link. This model transmits 250 milliwatt in the 5Ghz region with a claimed 4 mile range, AES, analog and Dante versions, complete with Lithium Ion batteries for 10-14 hours life.

They are also showing their new 10 pin XLR. This combo connecter meets Cat 5e in terms of data throughput as well as 2 pins dedicated for up to 6 amps DC. Neutrik see this as a robust alternative to Ethercon as well as any other application where low voltage and multipin connectivity is required.

Proplex are showing their range of data switches which are ruggezied versions of the Cisco SG-300 switches.  They have Cisco motherboards but feature Ethercon connectors, better cooling and airflow, rugged cases and on some models, the ability to change Vlans on the front panel.

Cedar have released a 2 channel version of their proprietory noise reduction technology. The ability to reduce the background noise and a noisy show floor is nothing short of impressive. I can see these turning up on premium lectern mike chains.

And lastly for today is the Dynamount. The Dynamount is a motorised microphone positioning system that is controlled by an app or the Chrom browser with a plugin. The idea is that you can make subtle mike position adjustments whilst listening at the studio monitor position to get that “sweet spot” when recording.

Puremix live

Waves stand

Robert Scovill showing users the Avid

Proplex switch

Neutrix Xirium Pro

Neutrik 10 pin XLR

l-acoustics-kiva-ii

Cedar dn2