New Gear July 2022 – NAMM and InfoComm Special!

Austrian Audio OD303

The extremely affordable OD303 follows the renowned Open Acoustic technology of Austrian Audio which provides an optimally shaped supercardioid polar pattern across a wide frequency band with excellent feedback stability. Also, holding the microphone close to the head grille (a.k.a. ‘cupping’) does not affect or change the sound. FOH and monitor engineers will greatly appreciate this feature, to say the least!
Equipped with the Austrian Audio ODC50 dual capsule, unique at this price, handling noise and stage vibrations at low frequencies are significantly reduced. In addition, the proprietary 3D Pop noise diffuser, developed by Austrian Audio, reduces noise caused by explosive sounds such as ‘T’ and ‘P’ to a minimum.

New Zealand: Jansen jansen.nz or (09) 377 3663

DPA 4055

No more pre-tailored sound – now you can take sound design back into your own hands. What makes the 4055 stand out from the competition is that it delivers the renowned DPA sound, clarity and linear frequency response, both on axis and off axis. Its low frequency response and dynamics are superb and result in a tight, natural, well-defined sound – the best low-end with detailed mids and highs. The 4055 is one of the only kick drum mics that is not sonically pre-tailored to fit a traditional sound in a specific genre. Its performance allows a professional sound designer to create the exact sound they are listening for, regardless of the music genre. Want more attack? Slide the 4055 into the bass drum and point it directly at the beater. For a super-low-end sound, place the 4055 at the hole, just on the outside of the front head. Here, the level of sub and lows are represented the most.

New Zealand: Direct Imports directimports.co.nz or (06) 873 0129

SSL FUSION and THE BUS+

Out of a swag of beautiful analogue and digital gear on the SSL stand at NAMM, the new THE BUS+ was paired with Fusion, a unit with six completely new analogue colouration tools designed to bring the perfect combination of added tonal character, weight and space to your mix bus or stereo stems, with the detail, warmth and finesse that only real analogue circuits can provide. Fusion includes a Vintage Drive, HF Compressor, Violet EQ, Full-band Listen Mic Compressor, Stereo Imager, and a Transformer.

An update to the industry-standard SSL Bus Compressor, the core design of THE BUS+ remains faithful to the original, while a number of advanced processing tools have been added to create the most versatile Bus Compressor ever. In addition to D-EQ and Transient Expander, THE BUS+ features three unique compression colours; LOW THD, F/B and 4K MODE. Each ‘colour’ offers a different characteristic and can be combined for unique compression styles.

LOW THD MODE introduces a special circuit modification in the side-chain, helping to limit the amount of low frequency distortion compression can create, especially with fast release times. Subjectively, LOW THD ‘cleans up’ the bottom-end, allowing you to achieve ‘cleaner’ gain reduction.

F/B (FEED-BACK) MODE takes the signal feeding the side-chain from a feed-back position (i.e. after the main gain-reduction VCA in the audio path). This results in a more ‘relaxed’ style of compression, in contrast to the traditional ‘grab’ of the Bus Compressor.

4K MODE changes the operation of the VCA from balanced to unbalanced (matching how the Bus Compressor in a 4000-series console was implemented). It also introduces a variable amount of harmonic distortion via the VCA. These two factors combine to allow for a more ‘coloured’ sound. THE BUS+ allows you to adjust the distortion amount which 4K MODE offers. You’ll find there’s a certain ‘sweet spot’ (depending on your mix level) in which your material will become more cohesive, thanks to the added thickness.

New Zealand: Amber Technology www.amber.co.nz or +64 (0)9 443 0753

EAW AC6 and NTX210L

Each AC6 is comprised of six 6” woofers and thirty 1” dome tweeters mounted to a CSA waveguide. Each transducer is individually amplified and processed for an unprecedented level of control and clarity. Adaptive technology allows vertical coverage to be perfectly customised to a venue across the entire 20KHz to 65Hz operating range resulting in even and musical coverage.

A modular design approach provides redundancy and full serviceability from the front of the unit making AC6 the easiest to service column loudspeaker available. AC6 is designed to disappear visually while being rugged enough for portable use, and carries an IP rating of IP54. All wiring is designed to be hidden behind the column and can be passed through to columns above or below it.

NTX210L is designed to help modern production and integration companies successfully conduct more business by being fast to deploy while delivering high performance. Different from other powered line array products, patented Optilogic technology allows each loudspeaker to communicate with the loudspeakers around it. This reduces setup and tuning time and opportunities for errors, all while maximising array performance.

The NTX210L includes Dante loop through, high output per line-length, a clean professional look, and Isophasic wave guide. A passive version is also in the works.

New Zealand: PAVT pavt.com.au or +61 (0)3 9264 8000

RCF XPS Power Amplifiers

Surprisingly for a company known for its powered speakers, RCF released… power amplifiers. The XPS 16K is a 4 x 4000W power amp designed with ready-to-use presets and RDNet integration with advanced tuning capabilities. Onboard DSP handles input mixing, delay, IIR/FIR equalisation, crossover filters, and thermal/RMS/peak limiting. Premium sound quality in a pro audio road-proof amplifier, designed for years of reliable, flawless operation with best-in-class signal-to-noise ratio, ultra-low distortion, and great dynamic range. The 16KD model includes Dante and AES/EBU connectivity

New Zealand: Direct Imports directimports.co.nz or (06) 873 0129

Adamson IS5c and Fletcher Machine

Two major releases from Canadian loudspeaker manufacturer Adamson – one very big, one very small. Both were showcased in Adamson’s demo room at InfoComm 2022, and both impressed.

First up, the tiny IS5c. It’s an ultra-compact, lightweight, passive 2-way coaxial loudspeaker, with a 100° conical dispersion pattern. Designed to produce linear, high-resolution audio throughout its intended bandwidth, the enclosure contains a 1.4” dome compression driver coaxially combined with a 5” low frequency transducer. Demonstrated with subs on and off, you’ll be pretty surprised what this tiny unit can do.

And the big one. 12 pm on Tuesday 8 June in Vegas, the press release hit our inboxes just as the demo kicked off. Adamson have entered the spatial race with the Adamson Fletcher Machine. An entirely new development in object-based mixing, the Adamson Fletcher Machine utilises amplitude and time localisation, so objects are clearly perceived at their intended position, offering the listener a more direct connection with the music. The rendered signals that are sent to the loudspeakers are calculated from the object’s point of view, ensuring the best spatial coherence for most listening positions.

The Stage Unit is a 3U 19” rackmount, capable of controlling either 64 or 128 inputs and outputs, with the compact Traveller Model being able to handle either 32 or 64 inputs, paired with 32 outputs. Each of these are available with hardware configurations operating in AVB/MADI or Dante audio at 48 or 96 kHz. All configurations keep latency at an amazingly low 1.33 ms.

The easy-to-use user interface is based on the digital mixing desk approach and includes a complete set of mixing tools including EQ and compression for each object, up to 4 auxiliary sends and up to 8 VCAs, loudspeaker positioning in 3 dimensions, as well as a unique, high-quality integrated reverb with a vast amount of control.

The Adamson Fletcher Machine can receive OSC and MIDI messages so it can also be controlled using external devices. As well, it can be easily interfaced with tracking systems to accurately track object movements.

New Zealand: Direct Imports directimports.co.nz or (06) 873 0129

Biamp Parlé VBC 2500

Biamp’s Parlé VBC 2500 video conferencing bars have beamtracking microphones, great speakers, and a nice camera, but the absolutely astonishing thing about them is their AI-trained noise reduction. I sat in on the demo, and there is no audio tech on the planet that can do what they did. An AI was taught to distinguish between human speech and ‘not human speech’ and applies an aggressive algorithm to the audio in real time. The live demo saw the remote participants crunching chip packets, using drumsticks on the table, and even operating a drill, and the AI just took it all out, while we could still hear them talking. We urge you to get yourself into a demonstration of their incredible AI noise reduction as soon as distributor Jands can put one in front of you.

New Zealand: Jands NZ jands.nz or 021 674 601

L-Acoustics

It’s not always about massive line arrays. The four intriguing releases from the French manufacturer at InfoComm 2022 were all about compact, with an eye to installation and immersive audio. The miniscule X4i weighs just 1kg and is just 116mm wide and 99mm deep. It’s a two-way coaxial design with usable range of 120 Hz – 20 kHz. When they demoed it, there was a ‘no way – surely there’s a sub on’ moment among the assembled crowd.

Two other products that blend in discretely are Soka and its companion SB6i subwoofer. Soka combines line source technology with a sleek aesthetic, integrating nine 3.5” MF drivers and three 1” HF transducers to impart a wide 140-degree horizontal coupled with a highly controlled 26-degree vertical directivity. Soka and SB6i are an ultra-shallow 99 millimetres, designed to be easily enclosed in-wall or discreetly mounted on-wall, yet are capable of astounding power and bandwidth. An immersive audio installation with these around the venue’s walls would totally rock.

Powering all these extra channels is the new LA7.16i power amp. LA7.16i offers an unprecedented 16×16 architecture in a 2U chassis with seamless Milan-AVB redundancy. Each of the 16 output channels delivers up to 1300 watts at 8 ohms or 1100 watts at 4 ohms.

The L-Acoustics demo room was booking out 20 minutes ahead of each session, but I managed to talk my way in. The L-ISA Processor II was running the new Ambiance Virtual Acoustics System, with a ring of X4i around the room, fed by a grid of ambience mics. The L-Acoustics demo was a masterpiece – more Ted Talk than PA demo. I’ve never seen a product demo so beautifully staged, choregraphed, and delivered. L-Acoustics’ Product & Technology Marketing Engineer Jordan Tani played a flute while walking the room, switching the Ambiance on and off to demonstrate its effectiveness. It turned a draped-off box in a convention centre into a concert hall.

Scott Sugden, Head of Technology and Product Marketing, then took over, talking through the LA7.16i before showing off the X4i in a pair with and without sub; “I’ve convinced my wife to let me install them in our house,” he quipped. Soka and the SB6i then got their turn, and their heritage from Syva is obvious. The whole demo was capped off with a glorious L-ISA mix of a live recording by a band whose name eludes me, but who sounded like a cross between Bon Iver and Grizzly Bear. The whole room was employed in the mix, and it was immersive audio at its best.

New Zealand: Jands NZ jands.nz or 021 674 601

Elation KL PROFILE FC

The KL PROFILE FC is a manual LED framing fixture designed for a wide array of precision lighting applications. With an integrated manual zoom range of 7 to 50 degrees the fixture requires no additional lens tubes, reducing cost, complexity and providing excellent flexibility for any theatre, performance venue or show. The integrated manual Iris allows further beam control.

New Zealand: ULA Group www.ulagroup.com or 09 218 6532

Elation KL PAR FC

The KL PAR FC is a compact full-colour-spectrum LED fixture that provides high output, precise colour temperature control, full-spectrum colour rendering, and even wash coverage. Offering powerful colour intensity and a wide array of saturated and pastel colours from its efficient RGBMA engine, it is also optimised for the tuneable white light requirements of Film and Television.

New Zealand: ULA Group www.ulagroup.com or 09 218 6532

Bose VB-S

Aimed at home users and small huddle spaces, the Bose Videobar VB-S is a compact all-in-one USB conferencing device that’s easy to install and brings premium audio and video to rooms up to 3 × 3 metres. With four beam-steering microphones, a 4K ultra-HD camera, and signature Bose sound, VB-S delivers a meeting experience so clear you can read the room from across the globe.

New Zealand: Bose pro.bose.com or +61 (0)2 8737 9999