Tag Archives: Pro Audio

World News

Sound Productions Marks fiftieth Anniversary, Thanks to Elvis

Posted on by Mix Staff
SoundPro's inventory and pro audio offerings have expanded with the times since the retailer's beginnings in 1973.
SoundPro’s stock and professional audio choices have expanded with the occasions because the retailer’s beginnings in 1973.

Irving, TX (February 22, 2023)—Pro-Audio and AV retailer Sound Productions is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this 12 months—and it owes all of it to Elvis Presley. While SoundPro started as a scrappy, forward-thinking backline rental firm and advanced into its present function as an trade mainstay, supplying skilled AVL gear throughout the trade, none of it will have occurred with no likelihood name from the manufacturing group behind The King.

In 1973, Presley had returned to touring, circling the U.S. to nice acclaim and adoring followers, however it was nonetheless the early days of tour manufacturing {and professional} audio. As it occurs, a younger guitar participant, Charles Kitch, was working in a Texas music retailer one afternoon when the cellphone rang—it was Elvis Presley’s tour producer, Charles Stone, asking to lease backline gear for The King’s present in Dallas the following day. Whether the shop’s proprietor was appalled or maybe angling to make more cash, nobody is aware of, however regardless, he refused to lease tools and instructed Stone that Elvis must purchase the gear similar to everybody else. No sale was made…however standing close by, Kitch knew a possibility when he heard one.

Racing towards time, Kitch scrambled to tug collectively the required tools to fulfill the present’s wants—and pulled it off. Amazingly, what began as a single gig became a 30-day tour with Elvis, and that quickly led to different requests for backline gear and tech assist for a number of the largest names in Rock ‘n’ Roll. Kitch’s fledgling enterprise, Sound Productions, was on its method.

Sound Productions Makes the Cut for Fundraiser

In the years that adopted, the corporate expanded into fabricating {custom} digital and speaker methods for touring bands, in addition to custom-designed installs. Some bands and manufacturing corporations wound up shopping for the tools they rented outright—a transfer that presaged SoundPro’s transition into professional audio gross sales. The firm started promoting new and used gear across the nation, and by 1985, it shifted focus to gross sales and distribution. Continuing to develop, in 2012, SoundPro moved to a brand new, bigger location in Irving, TX, and opened a second workplace in Madison, WI eight years later to raised serve its rising buyer base.

Today, SoundPro gives AVL merchandise to various buyer segments, together with companies, bands/artists, contractors/integrators, DJs, homes of worship, reside productions and extra. “We are thrilled to have fun 50 years of serving prospects in an trade that we now have a lot ardour for,” stated SoundPro CEO Joshua Curlett. “With our wealthy firm historical past, we’ll proceed to honor the previous whereas we construct a greater future for our group members, our distributors, and our prospects. As SoundPro continues to develop, I’m really grateful for individuals who have taken half in making SoundPro what it’s in the present day, and I look ahead to what we will do collectively within the years to return.”

The firm will likely be celebrating its fiftieth milestone all year long. An occasion bringing collectively group members, valued prospects and vendor companions is tentatively slated to happen in Fall 2023.

World News

Sound Productions Marks fiftieth Anniversary, Thanks to Elvis

Posted on by Mix Staff
SoundPro's inventory and pro audio offerings have expanded with the times since the retailer's beginnings in 1973.
SoundPro’s stock and professional audio choices have expanded with the instances because the retailer’s beginnings in 1973.

Irving, TX (February 22, 2023)—Pro-Audio and AV retailer Sound Productions is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this 12 months—and it owes all of it to Elvis Presley. While SoundPro started as a scrappy, forward-thinking backline rental firm and developed into its present position as an trade mainstay, supplying skilled AVL gear throughout the trade, none of it will have occurred with out a likelihood name from the manufacturing crew behind The King.

In 1973, Presley had returned to touring, circling the U.S. to nice acclaim and adoring followers, nevertheless it was nonetheless the early days of tour manufacturing {and professional} audio. As it occurs, a younger guitar participant, Charles Kitch, was working in a Texas music retailer one afternoon when the cellphone rang—it was Elvis Presley’s tour producer, Charles Stone, asking to hire backline gear for The King’s present in Dallas the following day. Whether the shop’s proprietor was appalled or maybe angling to make more cash, nobody is aware of, however regardless, he refused to hire tools and instructed Stone that Elvis must purchase the gear similar to everybody else. No sale was made…however standing close by, Kitch knew a possibility when he heard one.

Racing towards time, Kitch scrambled to tug collectively the required tools to satisfy the present’s wants—and pulled it off. Amazingly, what began as a single gig become a 30-day tour with Elvis, and that quickly led to different requests for backline gear and tech help for a few of the largest names in Rock ‘n’ Roll. Kitch’s fledgling enterprise, Sound Productions, was on its means.

Sound Productions Makes the Cut for Fundraiser

In the years that adopted, the corporate expanded into fabricating {custom} digital and speaker methods for touring bands, in addition to custom-designed installs. Some bands and manufacturing corporations wound up shopping for the tools they rented outright—a transfer that presaged SoundPro’s transition into professional audio gross sales. The firm started promoting new and used gear across the nation, and by 1985, it shifted focus to gross sales and distribution. Continuing to develop, in 2012, SoundPro moved to a brand new, bigger location in Irving, TX, and opened a second workplace in Madison, WI eight years later to higher serve its rising buyer base.

Today, SoundPro offers AVL merchandise to various buyer segments, together with companies, bands/artists, contractors/integrators, DJs, homes of worship, reside productions and extra. “We are thrilled to rejoice 50 years of serving clients in an trade that we now have a lot ardour for,” mentioned SoundPro CEO Joshua Curlett. “With our wealthy firm historical past, we are going to proceed to honor the previous whereas we construct a greater future for our crew members, our distributors, and our clients. As SoundPro continues to develop, I’m actually grateful for individuals who have taken half in making SoundPro what it’s in the present day, and I stay up for what we are able to do collectively within the years to return.”

The firm will probably be celebrating its fiftieth milestone all year long. An occasion bringing collectively crew members, valued clients and vendor companions is tentatively slated to happen in Fall 2023.

World News

Sennheiser Announces New Executive Management Board

Posted on by Mix Staff
The new management team of the Sennheiser Group, consisting of Co-CEOs, EMB and extended EMB (from left to right): Markus Redelstab, Ralf Oehl, Yasmine Riechers, Greg Beebe, Daniel Sennheiser, Ron Holtdijk, Dr. Andreas Sennheiser, Steffen Heise, Mareike Oer, Dr. Andrew Fisher
The new management team of the Sennheiser Group, consisting of Co-CEOs, EMB and extended EMB (from left to right): Markus Redelstab, Ralf Oehl, Yasmine Riechers, Greg Beebe, Daniel Sennheiser, Ron Holtdijk, Dr. Andreas Sennheiser, Steffen Heise, Mareike Oer, Dr. Andrew Fisher.

Wedemark, Germany (January 23, 2023)—Sennheiser has announced a newly formed Executive Management Board, comprised of Co-CEOs Daniel and Andreas Sennheiser and leaders drawn from the company’s three primary divisions—Professional Audio, Business Communication and Neumann—as well as internal authorities on Supply Chains, Corporate Functions and Development.

In place since the turn of the year, the new Executive Management Board (EMB) includes Greg Beebe (Executive Vice President, Professional Audio), Ron Holtdijk (Executive Vice President, Business Communication), Ralf Oehl (CEO, Georg Neumann GmbH), Steffen Heise (CFO), Dr. Andreas Fischer (COO) and Markus Redelstab (CTO). Peter Claussen and Thomas Weinzierl, previously COOs responsible for Professional Business and Supply Chain respectively, will participate in the EMB before retiring in 2023 and 2024 respectively.

Mix Interview: Sennheiser Sharpens Focus on Pro Business

Meanwhile, Andreas and Daniel Sennheiser will focus primarily on corporate management and strategy, while other EMB members manage business operations. As an extended management team, Yasmine Riechers and Mareike Oer represent the Corporate Development Office and Brand & Corporate Communication departments.

Along with the formation of the new EMB, Sennheiser also announced that a new circuit board assembly system is now up and running at the company’s main site in Wedemark near Hanover. Further investments in development and the company’s facility in Romania are planned. Additionally, previewing financial year-end results to come later in 2023, the company reported it saw significant growth in 2022, improving on its positive 2021 fiscal year despite global economic and supply chain challenges.

World News

Mix’s 23 Pro Audio Companies to Watch in 2023, Part 2

Posted on by Mix Edit

23 Pro Audio Companies to Watch in 2023

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 the second half of Mix’s 23 pro audio companies to keep an eye on in 2023; don’t forget to check out Part 1!

MEYER SOUND

MEYER SOUND

It would be hard not to include Meyer Sound on any Companies to Watch list, in any year, even a year following the introduction of a new flagship, large-format, linear line array loudspeaker called Panther, where the mandate was to provide the power of Leo in a package closer to the size of Lyon.

That would seem like enough to sit back and take it easy, and sell a few systems, but that’s not going to happen. There’s too much knowledge at the company to sit still, and with a well-deserved position at the high end of post-production, live sound and control systems, it’s a safe bet that 2023 will be another banner year. Don’t count out Constellation, where the possibilities for immersive playback are endless.

PMC

PMC

On that same trip to Nashville this past fall, just a half-block from Jeff Balding’s studio, Mix stopped in at Ryan Hewitt’s new 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos mix room, Stratmosphere, featuring a crazy-good-sounding PMC monitor system built around PMC 6-2 Active Monitors with 8-2 subs in an XBD array up front and PMC ci45 and ci90 speakers hidden in the walls. A few blocks away, two flagship PMC immersive systems fill out the two immersive studios at UMG/Capitol’s Berry Hill facility. PMC was a founding member of the immersive music club, and with the introduction in late 2021 of the new, more affordable PMC6, PMC6-2 and PMC8-2, along with associated subwoofers, the company’s name will only spread wider.

PSP AUDIOWARE

PSP AUDIOWARE

Mix reviewer Michael Cooper has long been a fan of PSP Audioware’s plug-ins, most recently diving in to take a look at Impressor and Saturator. “It’s these two guys from Poland,” he said in pitching the review to a Mix editor, “and they make fantastic products. I would like to play with these two.”

In the same month, at the Mix immersive music event in NYC, noted mixer Ronald Prent casually remarked about “this little company in Poland, PSP,” that was about to come out with a new, simple immersive plug-in that was going to have a huge impact on immersive workflow. That product, we now know, is PSP auralControl, and it just came out to rave reviews. We’re keeping an eye on those two guys from Poland.

SENNHEISER/NEUMANN 23 to watch

SENNHEISER/NEUMANN

Sennheiser and Neumann have been so deeply involved in pioneering research involving immersive audio capture and playback, most notably through its AMBEO development team, that it can become easy to look past the fact that they had released new products. Not so in 2022, when Neumann released its new NDH 30 open-back, reference-class headphone for mixing and mastering, in both stereo and immersive formats, along with the KH 150 DSP-powered studio monitor. Both received instant acclaim.

Meanwhile, at the Mix immersive music event in NYC, Sennheiser showed off the latest iteration of its Dear Reality dearVR immersive headphone mixing plug-in and its AMBEO 2-channel renderer. Headphones and binaural matter. This is very cool stuff. Very cutting-edge. Stay tuned.

SHURE

SHURE

Shure pretty much exploded out of the gate at the start of 2022 and didn’t let up all year, unveiling product after product aimed at every corner of pro audio. January saw the company release the second generation of its SRH440A and SRH840A headphones, while the long-awaited Shure KSM11 wireless vocal mic capsule came out in April, having already hit the road as Dua Lipa’s live mic capsule of choice. For integrators, MXA920 ceiling array microphones arrived in May, while content creators got a limited edition of the MV7 broadcast mic in August. October saw the company unleash a one-two punch: its UniPlex cardioid subminiature lavalier mic for AV conference pros, and the AD600 Axient Digital Spectrum Manager for the touring, broadcast, location sound, theater and HOW markets. It’s a safe bet that Shure has another round of must-have tools in its back pocket, just waiting to be unleashed at the right moment in 2023, so keep an eye on those pros from Chicago.

SOLID STATE LOGIC ssl

SOLID STATE LOGIC

The number and range of new products coming out of SSL over the past few years have been staggering, with everything from audio interfaces and plug-ins to brand-new and updated consoles, big and small. There’s no sign of slowing down following the fall release of Origin 16 at AES 2022.

What grabs our attention, however, is the fact that Phil Wagner, head of U.S. operations, spent much of the past year touting the capabilities of the SSL System T console for immersive music production, despite the fact that it was originally designed for broadcast. That means the technology behind the immersive audio control package is in place, and we’re likely to see much more of it in the year to come, spread across a multitude of products. Can’t wait!

SONY PRO/SONY RA360 23 to watch.

SONY PRO/SONY RA360

Where the heck did Sony come from? Sure, through its various pro and consumer divisions, the company has put a lot of backing behind the development of the RA360 format, and it’s making inroads in both gaming and music. Elsewhere, behind the scenes, the company has done extensive research into the binaural simulation of immersive spaces and released a few creative tools for high-end mixers. Then in the past couple of years, Sony Professional started releasing some pretty nice microphones (the C-100 and C-80), and most recently, a high-end wireless transmitter. We didn’t see this coming from a company that had largely disappeared from pro audio over the past decade, but it’s sure nice to see. Bring on more!

SOUND PARTICLES

SOUND PARTICLES

You can read much more about this relatively recent Portuguese plug-in startup in this month’s View From the Top, interviewing company founder Nuno Fonseca. Just a few years back, Fonseca was an academic, teaching CGI, coding and software-based technologies when he saw that what he was teaching in visuals could be applied to audio. He named his first product, a randomization plug-in that created rich and full soundscapes, Sound Particles. The timing was right, and he found instant acceptance from high-end studios and engineers in sound for film and television. A flurry of new products emerged, and now the company has set its sights on immersive music production. Good things are happening here, where high technology delivers easy-to-use tools.

SWEETWATER

SWEETWATER

Who could have predicted that a small online and phone-based audio retailer from Fort Wayne, Ind., would emerge over the course of the past decade as one of the audio industry’s most prominent success stories, with annual revenues topping $1 billion a year?

Those inside the company likely saw it coming, because the way Sweetwater does business— fairly and with a personal touch—provides a throwback model for the modern age that should be taught in MBA programs across the country. Provide a reliable resource, treat your employees and customers right, and deliver what you say you will. It sounds simple, we know, but founder Chuck Surack and his team have turned it into an art form— and it’s only getting bigger and better.

UNIVERSAL AUDIO

UNIVERSAL AUDIO

The much-beloved Universal Audio, founded by one of the music industry’s original engineer’s engineers, Bill Putnam, and still in the family, has been on a tear lately, releasing a flood of new products, both hardware and software. From the introduction of its Spark subscription plan, to the launch of its first native audio interface, the new Volt 476P, to the recently released Hitsville Reverb Chambers emulation plug-in, there’s been no breaks. It’s easy to forget how central UA was to the introduction and acceptance of realistic emulations and models of vintage gear in software so many years ago. That’s because the company has remained the leader, and there’s no sign that it’s giving up the title.

WAVES 23 to watch

WAVES

If there is any company that has a right to challenge the claim of UA’s market-leading plug-ins, it would be Waves, as we could make the same claim for the longtime Isreal-based software developer. Heck, it was Waves that led the way to its celebrity engineer and producer signature plug-ins, dating back to Jack Joseph Puig and many others. However, Waves does so much more, extending its reach successfully into live sound through its hardware stage racks, integrated plug-ins and mixing/control surfaces. It’s hard to fathom that one company has such a solid footprint in both worlds. But Waves does. Now let’s see what the company does when it seriously dives into immersive music. It should be fun!

World News

23 Pro Audio Companies to Watch in 2023, Part 1

Posted on by Mix Edit

23 Pro Audio Companies to Watch in 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

World News

23 Pro Audio Companies to Watch in 2023, Part 1

Posted on by Mix Edit

23 Pro Audio Companies to Watch in 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

World News

Mix’s Gear of the Year 2022, Part 2

Posted on by Mix Staff

New York, NY (January 6, 2023)—Every year, the editorial team of Mix looks back at the most recent amazing advancements in pro-audio technology with its annual Gear of the Year summary. Some incredible tools were released in 2022, so we’re taking the opportunity to gather up just a few of the must-haves, new aspirational choices and updates that came our way over the previous 12 months. Peruse through and see if you overlooked something crucial, or even whether you agree with us as we take in the Gear of the Year 2022. Don’t miss Gear of the Year 2022 Part 1!

PSP SATURATOR PLUG-IN - Gear of the year
PSPAUDIOWARE PSP SATURATOR PLUG-IN

PSPAUDIOWARE PSP SATURATOR PLUG-IN

Michael Cooper writes: PSPaudioware was one of the first developers to produce a convincing emulation of the sonics produced by vacuum tubes. Two decades later, the company’s new PSP Saturator plug-in lets you drive virtual tubes and diodes, a digital clipper and—best of all—simulations of magnetic tape and tape recorder responses that are so realistic you’ll be wondering where they hid the metal reels. But it gets even better: Place the Saturator in series with the new super-smooth PSP Impressor dynamics plug-in, and you have a killer combo for making individual tracks and full mixes sound huge without blowing them up.

SHURE AD600 AXIENT DIGITAL SPECTRUM MANAGER
SHURE AD600 AXIENT DIGITAL SPECTRUM MANAGER

SHURE AD600 AXIENT DIGITAL SPECTRUM MANAGER

Keeping the future of wireless in mind, Shure designed the AD600’s tuning range to support frequency bands from 174 MHz to 2 GHz, which includes and expands on the frequencies where AXT600, its predecessor, is operable. Compared to AXT600, AD600 boasts faster scanning that finds available frequencies and analyzes RF spectrum in real-time, streamlining site surveys and spectrum management. AD600 also provides the ability to listen to analog signals as well as Axient Digital standard and HD Modes, a new DC power option for remote production, USB connections for external data storage of scans, event logs and other data, as well as Dante connectivity for advanced audio monitoring.

SSL ORIGIN 16 CONSOLE
SOLID STATE LOGIC ORIGIN 16 CONSOLE

SOLID STATE LOGIC ORIGIN 16 CONSOLE

SSL has released a number of quality products in the past couple of years, both hardware and software. Origin 16, introduced in October at AES, offers the same features, hybrid workflows and SSL sound quality as its larger 32-channel predecessor, including a simple signal flow and layout, while also providing features such as channel direct outputs, a fully balanced electronic architecture and precision bar-graph meters. Other features include SSL’s PureDrive mic preamplifier and classic SSL E-Series “242-type” 4-band parametric EQ design. There is also a built-in classic SSL bus compressor with sidechain access and HP filter.

SSL THE BUS+
SOLID STATE LOGIC THE BUS+

SOLID STATE LOGIC THE BUS+

This deluxe version of SSL’s iconic hardware bus compressor maintains the circuitry and controls that have made previous versions of the product so influential, popular and often imitated, while adding modern features and more control. For example, although the signal path is all-analog, the Bus+ knobs are digitally controlled. Also new: D-EQ, an analog dynamic equalizer with low- and high-frequency bands and compression and expansion modes for each channel. Unlike its predecessors, Bus+ offers four different working modes, giving the unit the flexibility customarily found only on plug-in emulations. Classic Stereo; ∑ S/C Stereo (Sigma Sidechain); Dual Mono mode; and Mid-Side.

SMAART V9 (BY RATIONAL ACOUSTICS)
SMAART V9 (BY RATIONAL ACOUSTICS)

SMAART V9 (BY RATIONAL ACOUSTICS)

Rational Acoustics has provided a major version upgrade to the acoustic measurement software platform, with Smaart v9 incorporating a number of new features and improvements. The release also marks a shift to an edition-based product structure. The four editions are Smaart Suite, Smaart RT, Smaart LE and Smaart SPL. Designed for professional users, Smaart Suite is the flagship edition and includes all three Smaart measurement modes: Real-Time, Impulse Response and SPL, all with no functional limitations. Also, for the first time, Smaart will be available in a subscription-based model.

 

SONIBLE SMART:LIMIT PLUG-IN - Gear of the year
SONIBLE SMART:LIMIT PLUG-IN

SONIBLE SMART:LIMIT PLUG-IN

A “Content-Aware” peak limiter plug-in, Smart:Limit is infused with AI, and it lets you master your music to comply with loudness targets for streaming music and video services and broadcast. Smart:Limit’s intelligent limiter analyzes your song as it plays and creates a custom setting. You can then alter the results with its four-parameter Sound-shaping Panel. The Style knob adjusts the aggressiveness of the limiter’s behavior. Saturation increases the perceived loudness while maintaining the peak levels. You get loudness readings in True Peak and LUFS, and you can adjust the main Limit and Gain controls to tweak your master where needed to get in compliance.

SONNOX LISTENHUB
SONNOX LISTENHUB

SONNOX LISTENHUB

Barry Rudolph explains: ListenHub is analysis software to measure, compare or reference an in-progress stereo mix in your DAW to any other stereo source, all in real-time. It can measure an Internet stream or a .wav file playing in your computer, but its primary task is to measure and monitor two critical audio specifications: Loudness in LUFS (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale) and PSR (Peak to Short-Term Loudness Ratio). The plug-in measures your music’s dynamics with an approximate rating in preparation for streaming services that apply loudness normalization to uploaded, mastered audio files.

 

SONY C-80 CONDENSER MICROPHONE - Gear of the year
SONY C-80 CONDENSER MICROPHONE

SONY C-80 CONDENSER MICROPHONE

Sony has been getting back into the mic market. The C-80 is a unidirectional (cardioid) condenser mic that combines the capsule used in the C-100 with the same diaphragm material used in the iconic C-800G. The dual-diaphragm configuration is designed to tame proximity effect, providing consistent low-frequency response even when used up close, or when a singer does not maintain a consistent distance from the mic. While the C-80 is intended for vocal and voice recording, it can also be used on a range of acoustic instruments, as well as for podcasting, webcasting and vlogging applications.

SOUND PARTICLES ENERGY PANNER
SOUND PARTICLES ENERGY PANNER

SOUND PARTICLES ENERGY PANNER

This innovative plug-in uses the intensity of a sound to control its movement automatically, providing any sound professional with a tool that combines dynamics with spatial definition. Key features include: Stereo, Surround, Ambisonics, Immersive and Binaural Outputs; Dynamic Movement, to set how the sounds move, from custom points, speaker positions or to specific directions; Sidechain, for using external signals to control the effect of the plug-in; Visualization Dome, for tracking every movement the sounds are making; Randomization, an option that outputs new results each time you click; and Timing, where you can use attack and release to control how fast you want the movement to happen.

UNIVERSAL AUDIO VOLT 476P AUDIO INTERFACE - Gear of the year
UNIVERSAL AUDIO VOLT 476P AUDIO INTERFACE

UNIVERSAL AUDIO VOLT 476P AUDIO INTERFACE

Mike Levine writes: With its four inputs and outputs (and compressor and vintage mode for added spice), you could use the 476P as a killer standalone preamp feeding another interface in a multi-input session. The headline here is that the 476P, the new Volt flagship—and the Volt line in general—offer UAD’s analog modeling and interface technology for a lower cost per channel than you’d have to pay for an Apollo. If you want UAD plug-ins to go along with it, you can get a subset of them via a Spark subscription. Between Volt and Spark, the price of entry into the UAD world has dropped significantly.

VANGUARD AUDIO LABS V13 GEN2 TUBE MIC
VANGUARD AUDIO LABS V13 GEN2 TUBE MIC

VANGUARD AUDIO LABS V13 GEN2 TUBE MIC

Rob Tavaglione writes: The V13 gen2 is simply a fantastic mic with smart design, quality construction, nearly limitless versatility and a balanced tone that seems to slightly flatter just about any source. I can recommend the V13 as “your first top-shelf mic” for its price/ performance ratio, or as an addition to “complete mic closets.” It might soon be your favorite vocal mic, bar none. Vanguard has hit the bullseye with this one, as the V13 gen2 checks all the boxes of performance, affordability and quality in what might just be the best overall workhorse-of-a-mic that I’ve tested to date.

VOYAGE AUDIO SPATIAL MIC DANTE - Gear of the year
VOYAGE AUDIO SPATIAL MIC DANTE

VOYAGE AUDIO SPATIAL MIC DANTE

This hybrid analog-digital second-order ambisonic microphone builds on the success of the company’s Spatial Mic USB, but brings with it a premium rugged design with a locking Neutrik etherCON connection. With Dante audio networking built-in, there is no need for complex multi-microphone and preamp setups—plug in an ethernet cable and focus on recording immersive audio for VR, surround sound, Atmos, spatial and stereo music, concerts and live broadcasts. Included is the new MicNet control app that lets you remotely adjust connected microphones on the network. The Spatial Mic Converter plugin (VST & AAX) now works for post-processing the entire Spatial Mic family.

World News

Mix Live Blog: By the Students, For the Students

Posted on by Steve La Cerra

On Friday, December 16, the Mercy College Department of Music Production and Recording Arts presented Lies in High Fidelity, a showcase for electronic music composed, recorded and performed by Mercy students. The production was a collaboration between three classes—Electronic Music Production III (a.k.a. MTEC-212), Electronic Music Performance (a.k.a. MTEC-318) and Live Sound Reinforcement (a.k.a. MTEC-345)—and was held in the Lecture Hall of the college’s Main Hall.

Guided by associate professor and program director Stephen B. Ward, associate director Music Studios Sam Stauff, adjunct professor Jarrod Ratcliffe and myself, students were responsible for both sides of the equation—performance and production—and were encouraged to treat the showcase as any professional production would be handled.

Studio night managers AJ Chiarella and Zaire Smith were an important part of the event, with Chiarella directing video for the livestream feed and in-house screen, and Smith solving a multitude of technical issues, as well as wrangling students when necessary(!).

Mercy students used a variety of tools to create their electronic music projects. As Ward explained, “All Electronic Music Performance solo and collaborative performances ended up as Ableton Live sessions. In several cases, the projects originated in other DAWs (FL Studio, Reason, Logic Pro X and so on) and were ported over to Ableton Live to take advantage of its performance capabilities and its easy integration with hardware controllers.

“There were also cases in which students started in Ableton Live but used particular plug-ins in their home setups that we don’t have, so they froze those tracks as audio files,” he continued. “Some performers simply used Ableton Live to launch a stereo mix of the project while they performed live on virtual instruments in Ableton Live. Other students used Live to add live effects to pre-recorded tracks as a way of remixing the project in performance.”

Students in Electronic Music Production also relied heavily on Ableton Live, though according to Ratcliffe, “One student, Stephen Burney, triggered his backing track and played/sang on top with live effects using Mainstage. Another student, Bobby McPadden, had created scenes in Ableton and triggered those live directly from Ableton for his performance. We use a lot of Ableton in the class, but I also like to let my students use tools they are most comfortable with when they are making songs for the showcase.

“A lot of people used a combination of DAWs, some starting with Ableton’s sampler or synths, then moving to Logic or Pro Tools to mix,” he added. “At least one student, José Uezyoga, started in FL Studio for a lot of his sound design, then brought his bounced stems into Ableton Live for performance in session view.”

Noe Defranc performs his composition, “Riot Beneath The Grave.”
Noe Defranc performs his composition, “Riot Beneath The Grave.”

In addition to the audio recordings, students in Electronic Music Performance created video content for the showcase. “The pre-show,” Ward explained, “began with a series of Ambient Music videos from MTEC-318. Students created each of the videos for these projects. The show began with Prologue, featuring the voice-of-god (a.k.a. me), and the abstract video was created in Ableton Live Suite using Vizzie, a collection of video generation and processing plug-in objects included with Live. Many of the students’ ambient videos were also created and/or processed using Vizzie.”

“Most of the students in Electronic Music II worked in full-featured video editors including Final Cut Pro, Da Vinci Resolve and Adobe Premiere,” Ratcliffe noted. “Videos were created after they had mixes of their songs, and they just pulled their mixes into the video editors. The footage was mostly royalty-free footage they sourced online. Two of the students had fairly involved performances and did not make their own videos, so I served as VJ for them, utilizing Resolume Arena Media Server software.”

All of the projects were pre-loaded into two master playback computers, one for each class. This enabled the Live Sound students to minimize changeover time between performers. A few pre-production meetings enabled the Live Sound students to generate an input list and create scenes in their digital mixers (Behringer x32s).

Several performers used live instruments along with their electronic content, so inputs were added for electric guitar, live toms and two vocal mics for announcements (two additional vocal mics were processed live via Ableton or Mainstage; audio from these mics was merged with the backing tracks by the respective performers). I explained to the Live Sound students that even though they did not yet have access to the audio sources, they could still do “grunt work” on the scenes—i.e., naming channels, linking stereo pairs, and turning on HPFs and compressors for inputs where they’d likely need them.

An important component of the event was a livestream broadcast for the Mercy College YouTube channel, and—having been made aware of the perils of creating a livestream mix from FOH by a recent guest lecturer—my class decided it would be a smart idea for them to use a separate console in an off-stage location to mix the livestream (gently nudged in this direction by me, of course).

This opened the door to the concept of audio networking and using a common stage box connected to two consoles via AES50. It was a great opportunity for the students to learn about clocking, shared head amps, local versus remote inputs and more. Prior to the event, they spent a class creating a mock setup so that they’d be ready to deploy the gear on location.

Their planning paid off: Within about an hour of load-in on show day, the FOH console was passing audio. Initially they had some trouble getting the livestream console to recognize the digital stage box, but this was simply a matter of turning the console off and on again. Ideally, they’d have set up the console for the livestream in an isolated room well away from the stage, but they had to settle for setting it up backstage, with student Emma Armus mixing the stream using headphones.

Emma Armus mixes the livestream offstage.
Emma Armus mixes the livestream offstage.

Another task for the Live Sound students was recording the event in Pro Tools for archival purposes, as well as for a possible remix for the YouTube channel. This recording was facilitated by using the x32 USB port, which allowed the mixer to show up as a valid interface in Pro Tools. As soon as the FOH console was up and running, my two students overseeing the recording were asked to create the PT session and figure out how to route the x32 inputs to PT via AES50 (which they did).

When soundcheck began, one of the Live Sound students was attempting to communicate from FOH to the performers on stage when another student suggested connecting a talkback microphone. One mic, one cable and two minutes later they had the talkback mic routed into the monitors and were running soundchecks for each performer, including routing a fairly painless stereo monitor mix.

Mercy Live Sound students at the mix position running the FOH console and Pro Tools.
Mercy Live Sound students at the mix position running the FOH console and Pro Tools.

The Live Sound students encountered a few speed bumps, some of which I allowed to happen so that they would have a solid learning experience, as opposed to me constantly dictating what they should do. They responded like pros, taking the necessary steps to iron out audio issues such as monitor feedback, adding effects to the FOH mix as requested, or tweaking levels. And they finished soundcheck with plenty of time for the dark stage/dinner break.

It was great to see students from all three classes interact and work together with the common goal of making the production a success. As Professor Ward mentioned that evening, “It takes a village to create a really good production.”

World News

Mix’s Top 20 Articles of 2022, Part 5

Posted on by Clive Young

Mix’s Top 20 Articles of 2022, Part 5

New York, NY (December 23, 2022)—Join us as we look back at our most popular articles of 2022, according to Google Analytics. The Mix Top 20 of 2022 lists our most-read news stories, reviews, blog posts, profiles and interviews of the year, so this Top 20 was chosen by YOU, our readers (Don’t miss Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4)! Have a happy and safe holiday break, and we’ll see you here on Tuesday, January 3, 2023 with all the latest pro-audio news!

4. Exclusive: Inside T Bone Burnett’s High-Tech Reinvention of the Record (5/20/22)

By Clive Young. Legendary producer T Bone Burnett revealed the tech behind his new Ionic Original discs—a format, he says, that offers the greatest fidelity and durability ever on an analog record.

 

3. Dead & Company: Keeping It Live (8/11/22)

By Clive Young. Dead & Company FOH engineer/tour director Derek Featherstone discussed the band’s 2022 summer tour, its new Meyer Sound Panther P.A. and his methods for mixing the famously improvisational act.

 

2. Peek Inside Whitney Houston’s Home Studio (4/5/22)

By Clive Young. Whitney Houston had a voice like no other and an award-winning, Russ Berger-designed home studio to match.

 

…and the NUMBER-ONE most-read article on Mixonline.com of 2022:

1. Recording the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Unlimited Love (5/2/22)

By Robyn Flans. We went deep with our five-part coverage on how the Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ hit Unlimited Love album was recorded, kicking things off with guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith sharing how the band mended fences and got back in the studio together.

World News

PRO SOUND NEWS MOVES TO MIX

Posted on by Clive Young

Dear Pro Sound News Reader—

PSN and Mix are merging. We are combining both iconic pro-audio news brands, bringing together the best features of each under the Mix name.

Starting in July, you’ll find all the great stuff you come here for—our Real-World Reviews, our trademark live sound coverage, industry analysis and more—over at mixonline.com.

To be clear, PRO SOUND NEWS is still bringing you the latest pro-audio coverage, just over at Mix. Same staff, same crucial news, different website and magazine.

PSN subscribers will start receiving Mix with its July, 2021 issue. Since we’re cramming two magazines into one, Mix will be growing in size, giving you even more to read and discover.

Also, starting July 6, the Mix SmartBrief email newsletter will increase to FIVE days a week to add all of PSN‘s coverage. Set up your free subscription now at so you can keep up on the latest pro audio news.

We’re looking forward to bringing you more of the great content you read PSN for, so we’ll see you in the pages of Mix!

Clive Young

Content Director, Pro Sound News (and now Mix!)