Immersive music was the talk of 2022 in both pro audio production and consumer distribution, which led to a wealth of new creative tools, both studio and live sound, and a renewed focus on playback systems, both speakers and headphones. There is no sign of that slowing down in 2023.
The past 12 months also saw the release of plenty of new, affordable microphones, high-end outboard gear, AI-infused plug-ins and advanced means of control. With all that in mind, we present Mix’s selection, listed in alphabetical order, of 23 pro audio companies to keep an eye on in 2023.
APPLE
Twenty years after the introduction of the iPod and iTunes, Apple continues to drive the music industry in a manner far beyond its market share in streaming or downloads. When the company announced in September 2021 that its Apple Spatial service would offer Dolby Atmos downloads, it jump-started immersive music mixing and the construction of immersive studios nationwide.
Meanwhile, Logic Pro X remains the best deal in pro audio, with direct integration of immersive audio tools and workflow options. And on a recent trip to Nashville, every engineer we met had a pair of AirPod Max headphones, and they genuinely liked them for approving the binaural version of an Atmos mix. Expect improvements in quality and resolution across the board in 2023.
AUDEZE
The studio headphone market boomed in 2022, largely fueled by the continued disruption brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, which found engineers and musicians spending more time at home and in other non-professional environments. While Audeze has been a mainstay in the top-shelf gaming market, its presence at the high end of pro audio has been slowly growing, based mainly around its LCD series, and it got a big boost with the 2022 announcement of a new signature line in collaboration with superstar mixer Manny Marroquin, the MM500. The high-end offerings aren’t cheap, but they sure sound good. No doubt a version optimized for immersive music is on the way.
AUSTRIAN AUDIO
For such a young company, Austrian Audio sure has forged a big presence in professional audio. Founded in 2017 by a collection of former AKG employees in Vienna, Austria, the company has made its mark in transducer technologies, namely mics and headphones.
The company won a 2022 TEC Award for its Hi-X65 headphones, and it has four nominations in 2023—for its Hi-X60 headphones, its CC8 cardioid condenser for the studio, and the OC707 condenser and OD505 dynamic vocal mics for the stage. Plus, the company introduced two more mics midyear—the OD303 vocal mic and OC16 large-diaphragm condenser—as well as a series of wireless mic capsules. There seems to be no slowing down.
AVID
Avid has had such a long run atop the pro audio food chain that it almost seems to be taken for granted these days. It’s true that during the pandemic the company remained pretty low key, limiting its presence at trade shows and releasing fewer new products/ updates than usual. But to be fair, work was being done in the background, perfecting the now-well-accepted subscription model and forming agreements to share with other manufacturers.
Now Avid is back and active, with recent big releases in live sound and with its reintroduction of the MBox, with MBox Studio, to go with an extension of the preamp line with Carbon Pre. Look for more integrated tools for immersive mixing in 2023.
DIGICO
It seems as if DiGiCo has always been atop the live sound console market, so it’s easy to forget that the company is only 20 years old, rising out of the former Soundtracs. It’s no accident that in those 20 years, DiGiCo has reached so far into the high end of so many live sound and production markets, from HOW to corporate, from touring to Broadway. The spirit of innovation runs through its technology backbone, with advanced FPGA hardware developed in conjunction with its Audiotonix partners, and it’s there in the advanced toolsets available to engineers at every level. Advances in control and integration, along with shared, central resources, are no doubt coming in 2023.
GENELEC
On travels through Nashville this past fall, Mix stopped in at Jeff Balding’s simple, midsize 9.1.4 Dolby Atmos mix room, outfitted with nine Genelec 8351 Smart Active Monitors around the room and four 8331As overhead, along with two 7370A subs. Man, did it sound sweet. Then we went across the street to Blackbird Studio C to listen to the new Genelec system for Sony RA360. Then to Sound Stage on Music Row to hear its new Genelec-based system for Sony RA360 mixing. All in one day! They’re everywhere! Genelec has been involved in immersive sound for nearly a decade, and it’s paying off with a deep presence in both music and post-production.
IK MULTIMEDIA
IK Multimedia has always developed innovative products, often ahead of their time, yet for much of the company’s 25 years, it has been associated with the artist and musician side of the industry, rather than high-end pro audio. That’s not entirely fair. Quality tools are quality tools, and IK has a huge fanbase.
Recently, pro audio seems to be a priority, particularly immersive music and the MTM Precision Series of monitors. In August, the company took over Studio C at Power Station for Mix’s immersive music event, put up an 11-speaker monitor system, on mic stands in the control room, and was the talk of the show. The future looks bright.
IZOTOPE
In high-end audio post-production, and increasingly throughout music and broadcast, the company name, iZotope, has become something like Kleenex, in that it’s a brand that nearly everyone uses to describe a product category—in this case, the noise reduction and first aid tools of the RX line, recently updated to RX 10. The company does so much more, however, especially with its music mixing (Music Production Suite), mastering (Ozone 10) and analysis/referencing (the new AudioLens) plug-ins.
With its years of development based on AI and machine learning research, we’re predicting that over the next few years, iZotope will help shape the future of immersive audio production, whether in music, post or live sound. It’s that kind of company.
JBL PROFESSIONAL
You can almost hear the drumbeat of JBL coming back into pro audio after a slightly dormant period. With a slew of new releases in its concert and portable P.A. lines, including the rounding out of its flagship VTX Series in August 2022 with the launch of the A6 line array element and the B15 subwoofer, it’s apparent that the company wasn’t idle, just busy. There’s also been some movement with acceptance of the venerable 7 Series, a mainstay in immersive studios for post, by the music industry. It wouldn’t surprise us if control systems were next, as the systems are in place across multiple markets. Could the reintroduction of Intonator be next?
KALI AUDIO
In late August 2022, for the Mix immersive music event at Power Station at BerkleeNYC, Kali Audio partnered up with Focusrite and built a complete 7.1.4 playback system in a cage, incorporating its signature IN-Series speakers, to host presentations on how to tune a multichannel environment.
In the control room, company co-founder Charles Sprinkle, who was instrumental in the development of the JBL M2 Series and its revolutionary waveguide, was showing a prototype for a new 5-inch monitor. Last month, Kali released the IN-UNF ultra-near-field monitor system (with a sub) for desktop applications. All of a family, all sound great.
KIT PLUGINS
It’s a tiny Nashville company and barely two years old, but KIT has sure started out with a nice lineup and made its presence known. Founded by producer/engineer Matthew Kleinman, KIT made the early move to partner up with John McBride, co-owner of Blackbird Studio and one of the world’s major collectors (and renters) of boutique, high-quality vintage gear, to develop its first products, including the Blackbird High Gain Kemper Pack (featuring a treasure trove of Blackbird’s amp collection), the BB N105 analog chain, and the BB Mo-Q, featuring seven channels of legendary Motown EQ, Blackbird has plenty of quality products at hand. More plugins coming soon.
L-ACOUSTICS
There are more than a few established, quality loudspeaker manufacturers out there, but L-Acoustics just keeps on keeping on, continuing to innovate in its loudspeaker design, integration, control and quality, and staying at the top of riders for big-artist, big-show touring. The company was also at the forefront of immersive audio for live events, developing its L-ISA Studio software package that allows producers and artists to create immersive materials in the studio and play them back wherever they can find the playback systems. It’s a natural for club DJs, or for a star in a Vegas residency, and it’s now in Version 2.4. It’s only going to get better— and more accepted—as the market for live immersive audio grows.
COME BACK TOMORROW FOR THE CONCLUSION!
