AMI October 2016 Digital Edition

International TECHNOLOGY AND TRENDS FOR THE PRO-AUDIO PROFESSIONAL www.audiomediainternational.com

October 2016

WATCH THIS SPACE Inside the new Visconti Studio at London’s Kingston University p22

GAME AUDIO

REVIEW

INTERVIEW

Discussing the sound of Batman: Arkham VR p28

Getting to grips with the new Cyclone kit from Rycote p32

A chat with composer Simon Franglen p42

MONITORING ESSENTIALS

X8, LIVE MONITOR - L-ACOUSTICS X SERIES In creating the X Series, we brought all of the experience gained in designing the K2 to bear on a new series of reference coaxials.

Optimized design, ergonomics, acoustical performance and weight make the X Series the most advanced coaxials on the market.

Four distinct enclosures with format, bandwidth, SPL and coverage angles perfectly adapted to short throw rental or install applications, the X Series offers studio monitor sound quality, compact design, consistent tonal balance, no minimum listening distance and exceptional feedback rejection. www.l-acoustics.com

WELCOME EDITOR Adam Savage asavage@nbmedia.com

Experts in the issue

KEEPING BUSY

MANAGING EDITOR Jo Ruddock jruddock@nbmedia.com STAFF WRITER Colby Ramsey cramsey@nbmedia.com

Ebby Acquah is technology officer for the new Visconti Studio at Kingston University and former in-house engineer at Mute Studios

ADVERTISING MANAGER Ryan O’Donnell rodonnell@nbmedia.com ACCOUNT MANAGER Rian Zoll-Khan rzoll-khan@nbmedia.com HEAD OF DESIGN Jat Garcha jgarcha@nbmedia.com DESIGNER Tom Carpenter tcarpenter@nbmedia.com PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Warren Kelly wkelly@nbmedia.com CONTENT DIRECTOR James McKeown jmckeown@nbmedia.com

Press releases to: ukpressreleases@nbmedia.com

David Bell is managing director of White Mark, a specialist in production facilities for music recording and the film and television industries

Audio Media International is published

by NewBay, The Emerson Building, 4-8 Emerson Street, London SE1 9DU, England.

Editorial tel: +44 (0)20 7354 6002 Sales tel: +44 (0)20 7354 6000

Andy Riley is lead sound designer at Rocksteady Studios

Audio Media International ISSN number: ISSN 2057-5165 (Print) Circulation & Subscription enquiries Tel: +44 (0)1580 883848 email: audiomedia.subscriptions@c-cms.com Printed by Pensord Press Ltd Front Cover: Kingston University

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ell, it’s been a busy old month, hasn’t it? We’ve had two revamped trade shows in PLASA London and BPM | PRO – both of which I think made good choices with their new venues – and another in IBC that continues to go from strength to strength with its tried and tested format; we’ve had our own events like the Pro Sound Awards too and a host of nice launches to attend, some of which we’ve written about in this issue. All this has been going on while I’ve been in the process of moving house – good to hear that so many of you agree that switching properties is one of the most stressful things one can do in life, second only to press day on AMI, of course.

Firstly there was the preview of ‘You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966-1970’ at the V&A museum, where Sennheiser has been asked to resupply its clever little guidePORT systems following all the great feedback it received when they formed a key part of the excellent sound design for the

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Remote Speaker Station

Adam Savage Editor Audio Media International

Master Station serves up to 24 remote stations

Connection of User Stations via LAN with PoE switches or via powered daisy chain lines Full color high-resolution displays 48 kHz / 16 bit uncompressed audio 4 Master Stations may be linked

‘David Bowie Is’ exhibition in 2013. If you didn’t get the chance to go along before, you should definitely go and check out the new installation and even if you did make it three years ago, you’ll still enjoy getting reacquainted with the systems just like I did, plus there’s an interesting implementation of the German firm’s new AMBEO 3D audio technology to sample this time too.

Then there was the unveiling of the Visconti Studio at Kingston University.

As just one of hundreds seated in the huge 300sqm octagonal live room clearly impressed not just with the upgrade work that’s been done but with the team’s ability to bring on board one of the biggest names in music production, it was certainly one of my highlights from the past few weeks. For the full story, turn to page 22.

According to some other experts in studio design, however, not all audio students are getting the services they should. An open letter was published recently with signatures from a number of high-profile recording industry professionals on the unsatisfactory state of many newly built educational facilities in the UK. One of these signatories was David Bell of White Mark, who goes into more detail on page 18.

Somehow I think Bell et al would have no problems with the work that has been done over in southwest London, though.

Maybe they should go and take a look?

DIGITAL INTERCOM - CUE LIGHT CONTROL - GPO TRIGGER

Channels for Cue Light Control, GPO Trigger or Listen Only Full duplex intercom channels Program audio feeds over network

4-ch Master Speaker Station

2-ch Beltpack

FLEXUS is designed & manufactured by: ASL Intercom BV, Utrecht, The Netherlands www.asl-inter.com October 2016

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CONTENTS

6 PRODUCT NEWS 6

Shure releases 50th Anniversary SM58

8

JoeCo unveils BlueBox range

10

Yamaha announces TF-RACK

11

Alcons strengthens CRMS family

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18

42

www.audiomediainternational.com

28 FEATURES 20

GEO FOCUS: JAPAN Opinion may be mixed on the state of the country’s pro-audio market but with the upcoming Olympic Games and beneficial legislative changes there are reasons to be optimistic

PEOPLE

22

OPINION John Broomhall on why personal skills as well as technical adeptness are crucial to progression in pro-audio

STUDIO FEATURE Adam Savage visits the new studio at Kingston University, which partnered with one of the world’s top producers for the project

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TECH TALK White Mark’s David Bell tells Stephen Bennett why he feels many new educational centres are not being built properly

INSTALLATION PROFILE We check out the new 1960s-themed exhibition at the V&A, with Sennheiser again providing the ‘Sound Experience’

28

GAME AUDIO Rocksteady Studios’Andy Riley on the sound design of new immersive title Batman: Arkham VR

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COMPANY PROFILE We hear about the new London-based postproduction partnership Mount Audio

INTERVIEW Colby Ramsey speaks to composer Simon Franglen about his recent work on the remake of ‘The Magnificent Seven’

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ALSO INSIDE 12

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COMPETITION: Win a Nugen Audio Post Pack software bundle Find out who won the Rising Star accolade at the Pro Sound Awards and who received AMI’s Best of Show Award at IBC October 2016

REVIEWS 32 34 36 38 40

Rycote Cyclone Zoom H4n Pro Fluid Audio FPX7 KLANG: quelle JBL EON ONE

PRODUCT NEWS MERGING AND B<>COM’S PYRAMIX PARTNERSHIP Merging Technologies used IBC2016 in Amsterdam to present the latest version of its Pyramix digital audio workstation, which now features audio spatialisation plug-ins from b<>com, the French Institute of Research and Technology that offers professional solutions capable of working with the High Order Ambisonics (HOA) format.

In order to facilitate the adoption of ambisonic technology, the teams at b<>com have developed a software suite that can be incorporated into post-production workstations. This suite will allow content creators to position sources in a sound environment and apply spatial processing to them (rotation, focusing, masking). These audio plug-ins carry out most of the processing, from capture to output on speakers or headsets (binaural).

According to Merging, the benefits of the Pyramix workstation include: mixers and plug-ins integrated with immersive 3D Panner up to 30.2 with monitoring; simple and accurate editing of sound and video clips; simultaneous rendering in different formats; and the fact that it is usable locally and/or on a network.

The strengths of b<>com plug-ins are described as ease of use; binaural reference rendering for production and post-production of content in the HOA format; Virtual Studio Technology Interoperability; and audio source virtualisation in High Order Ambisonics. www.merging.com

SHURE RELEASES 50TH ANNIVERSARY SM58 Shure is introducing a 50th anniversary model of its SM58 microphone to honour its five decades of service in the industry, along with a variety of initiatives to engage SM58 fans.

Planned activities include a charitable auction of specially designed SM58 artist editions and a multilingual website packed with historical information, artist photos, videos and fan stories. Shure has also planned some customer engagement activities, including the ability for fans to share their experiences and memorable moments on social media and through a video project submission.

The SM58-50A Limited Edition microphone features all the characteristics and technical specs of the SM58 along with a silver finish and printed denotation of the 50th Anniversary on the handle. Highlighting historically inspired packaging, this model ships with a commemorative certificate, photo print, historical user guide and a celebratory sticker.

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In addition to this anniversary model, Shure will also auction a number of specially designed SM58 artist microphone editions online, with the proceeds going to the charity of the artist’s choice. www.shure.co.uk

www.audiomediainternational.com

FOCUSRITE DEBUTS CLARETT OCTOPRE The Clarett OctoPre, a new eightchannel mic pre with A-D and D-A conversion from Focusrite, is designed to enable the rapid addition of eight mic/line inputs and line outputs, integrating with the company’s Clarett range of audio interfaces, and other interfaces that include ADAT optical I/O. The Clarett OctoPre includes eight of the Clarett range’s ‘Air’-enabled mic pres – the ‘Air’ effect emulates the transformer-based sound of Focusrite’s ISA range of heritage mic pres. The preamps offer extensive headroom, making them ideal for drums or other high-level signals.

Each channel features a balanced path from input to output plus a front-panel switchable electronically

balanced relay-bypassed insert point allowing EQ, compression or other analogue processing to be left connected and brought into play with the push of a button.

In addition to being fed to the A-D converter, the input channels are also available at the analogue outputs, from where they can, for example, be routed to a live mixing console while at the same time capturing the inputs digitally. The analogue outputs, which appear on a rear-panel DB25 wired to the AES59 standard, can alternatively be switched to pick up the ADAT inputs via the D-A converters.

The Clarett OctoPre will begin shipping in November and will carry a recommended retail price of £649.99. www.uk.focusrite.com

NUGEN’S NEW HALO UPMIX UPGRADE Nugen Audio has introduced a ‘significant’ upgrade to Halo Upmix, its plug-in for upmixing stereo audio to surround sound.

With the newest version, Halo Upmix now enables multichannel-tomultichannel upmixing, delivering new levels of versatility and time savings in the production of surround audio.

Available in Avid AAX, VST and AU formats, Halo Upmix automates the creation of a stereo-to-surround, downmix-compatible upmix with unique centre-channel management and spatial density controls.

The latest version of the plug-in adds a new set of algorithms for upmixing from multichannel audio (LCR, Quad (4.0), 5.0, 5.1, 7.0 and 7.1) to either 5.1, 7.1, or 9.1 (7.1.2). This expanded multichannel support means that Halo Upmix users have an even broader array of options for upmixing, while the upgrade also includes other modifications designed to enhance user operability and the interface customisation process.

Earlier this year, the company released a 9.1 option for Halo Upmix that allows the introduction of a vertical dimension into the upmix, generating a 7.1.2 (Dolby Atmos) bedtrack-compatible upmix.

The multichannel-to-multichannel upmixing capability will be a free upgrade for existing Halo Upmix customers. Halo is priced at $499, and the 9.1 extension is $199. www.nugenaudio.com

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PRODUCT NEWS

JOECO UNVEILS BLUEBOX RANGE JoeCo is looking to raise the standard of DAW-based recording set-ups with its new BlueBox range of Workstation Interface Recorders, which it officially launched at IBC. Delivering up to 24 channels of individually switchable mic/line inputs with preamps on every channel, BlueBox acts as a safeguard against unexpected DAW freeze and failure. For location recording, all of the features of the BlackBox Recorder are available to deliver a fully stand-alone, multi-track audio recorder.

The Bluebox range launches with two Workstation Interface Recorders, the BBWR24MP and BBWR08MP. Both 24-bit/96kHz models have been designed to the same standards as the BlackBox range. The BBWR24MP,

whether in a studio environment or on location, provides 24 channels of individually switchable mic/line inputs, while the BBWR08MP offers eight channels of individually switchable mic/ line inputs and 16 channels of dedicated balanced line inputs.

For larger applications, multiple BBWR24MP units can be connected to Mac (via Core Audio drivers) or Windows (via dedicated ASIO drivers) computers.

The BlueBox can either be controlled from the workstation itself with JoeCoControl, or using the JoeCoRemote app for iPad. Both platforms open a wealth of features and functions such as the setting of individual mic pre channel parameters, expandable channel strips and real-time monitor mix adjustment. www.joeco.co.uk

MACKIE ADDS XR SERIES MONITORS Mackie has announced its new XR Series studio monitors aimed at both professional and project studios.

There are two models in the XR Series: the 8in XR824 and 6.5in XR624.

With XR, Mackie says it is delivering an ‘extremely accurate studio monitor design that offers the clarity, performance and modern look to meet the needs of the modern studio’.

Drawing inspiration from the performance and aesthetic aspects of the Mackie HR Series monitors, XR features a logarithmic waveguide, providing acoustic alignment to deliver precision balance between articulate highs and midrange clarity.

Both models are equipped with a high-output 160W power amplifier and premium transducers including a Kevlar LF driver with ‘proven fast-recovery from

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transients, virtually eliminating resonant frequencies’. In addition, and unique to XR, Mackie has developed an ELP Bass Reflex System that utilises an extended-length, internally curved port that promises outstanding bass response and increased output capability.

Both models will be available worldwide from 1 November 2016. The XR824 has a US MSRP of $629.99 and the XR624 a US MSRP of $519.99. www.mackie.com

www.audiomediainternational.com

RØDE REVEALS TWO NEW MIC SOLUTIONS RØDE made two product announcements at the IBC Show: the HS2, a long-awaited update to the HS1 headset microphone, and the Stereo VideoMic Pro stereo on-camera mic.

The HS2 is a complete remodel of the HS1. The revamp begins with the flexible silicone ear strips for comfort and durability, while the articulated arm of the HS1 has been removed and replaced with a fixed arm, allowing the boom arm to be easily moved and shaped into position.

The new strain relief system removes the possibility of damage when pulled on, or adjusted at the back of the neck.

The HS2 also boasts a new 3.5mm TRS connector, with a removable locking nut, making it compatible with the RØDELink Filmmaker and upcoming Newsshooter kits.

Also announced at IBC2016, RØDE’s Stereo VideoMic Pro (pictured) now

features the Rycote Lyre suspension system, which separates the Stereo VideoMic Pro capsule and electronics from its mount, providing isolation from external physical factors that may cause unwanted rumble and vibrations in the microphone – all for the same price as the original. www.rode.com

CALREC EXPANDS BRIO CAPABILITIES

Calrec was at IBC2016 to introduce Br.IO, a new companion for the recently unveiled Brio digital broadcast console that doubles its on-board I/O. Br.IO is a 4U rackmount box which the company believes is an easy and affordable way to expand Brio’s I/O. Like other Calrec I/O boxes, Br.IO offers both primary and secondary connections to a Hydra2 network for full redundancy. Users can connect either copper or fibre directly to the

Hydra2 port on the rear of the console via the optional Hydra2 module.

Combined with an H2Hub, which acts as a portable hub or switch point, multiple Br.IOs can be added to deliver greater flexibility quickly to support a variety of live productions.

Br.IO mirrors the I/O available on the rear of the main Brio console and provides an extra 24 mic/line, 16 analogue out, eight AES3 digital in and eight AES3 digital out. www.calrec.com

MAGDALENA | BERLIN

GS-WAVE SERIES Bringing energy back to a former power plant in Berlin, the phenomenal sound system at techno club Magdalena comprises eight 3-metre GS-WAVE stacks plus extra subs and lenses, and eight tweeter pods above the dance ďŹ&#x201A;oor. This huge installation, driven

by Powersoftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s K Series amps with built-in DSP, provides total coverage of a modestly sized 800-capacity room. Keeping most of its power in reserve, the system can run effortlessly when the club is open for days at a time.

Pioneerproaudio | pioneerproaudio.com | #madeintheuk

PRODUCT NEWS

SPHERE MIC LAUNCH ‘A RUNAWAY SUCCESS’ The Sphere L22 microphone, unveiled

by Townsend Labs as its debut product back in early August, has received an ‘outstanding reception’, the manufacturer says.

The new side-address, large-diaphragm condenser microphone was launched via an international crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo and raised more than $100,000 in the first 24 hours. By the close of the campaign support totalled $317,023 – 789% of the target – with 281 backers from around the world opting to snap up one of the new systems.

Designed to be accurate and flexible, Sphere ‘sets new standards in microphone modelling technology, delivering the real three-dimensional characteristics of the most sought-after microphones ever produced’, according to the company.

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Townsend adds that ‘when combined with the included Sphere DSP plug-in, it emerges as the most comprehensive microphone modelling solution available to date, with a palette of eight classic mics (at time of introduction), and the ability to change polar pattern and proximity control even after tracking.’ www.townsendlabs.com

www.audiomediainternational.com

NEW TF-RACK FROM YAMAHA Yamaha is looking to make its TF series of digital mixing consoles more flexible and convenient with the new TF-RACK, which will start shipping from December.

Housed in a 3U high, 19in rack casing TF-RACK is a space-saving, all-in-one 16+1 stereo in, 16 out digital mixer featuring the ease of setup and operation of the TF series.

It features the same touchscreen as the TF1, TF3 and TF5 consoles, allowing easy, efficient operation with TouchFlow Operation, which combines Yamaha’s Selected Channel and Centralogic interfaces. As with the TF series consoles, a hardware Touch & Turn control on the front panel allows for precise parameter adjustment, while 1-knob Comp and 1-knob EQ mean it is possible to achieve a polished sound with

minimum effort in the shortest possible time.

QuickPro Presets for specific musical instruments and microphones have been designed to provide quick, easy access to settings, while set-ups for any situation can be instantly loaded via a simple scene recall.

The latest firmware for all TF series mixers will be released simultaneously with TF-RACK. As well as providing support for TF-RACK, firmware V3.0 also adds features such as the ability to set up limited-access user accounts for each operator and additional QuickPro Presets developed in collaboration with Ultimate Ears. www.yamahaproaudio.com

PRODUCT NEWS

ALCONS STRENGTHENS CRMS FAMILY Alcons Audio has revealed the CRMSC-SRHOR surround system, a twoway passive-filtered full-range loudspeaker designed to meet the requirements of immersive cinema surround sound formats.

The system consists of one RBN202 proribbon driver for HF and a vented 6.5in midbass for LF reproduction. The HF section has a 400W peak power input, enabling a 1:16 dynamic range with up to 90% less distortion from 1kHz to beyond 20kHz. The patented 90º horizontal dispersion of the RBN202 offers a stable coverage to a larger number of seats in an auditorium; due to the “compression-less” principle of the pro-ribbon transducer, the system has a linear response at any SPL. The CRMSC-SRHOR is designed as a matching surround system for the CRMSC Cinema Reference Monitoring

system, or in any small to medium-sized immersive surround system.

By utilising identical MHF components in a horizontal arrangement, a perfect voicing matching between screen and surround system is realised, resulting in an exceptionally wide and uniform sound stage throughout the entire listening area. The CRMSC-SRHOR can also be used as a main screen system in smaller applications, with low-frequency support.

Typical applications include surround sound systems for small premium commercial cinemas, screening rooms, mix and post-production facilities, and dubbing stages. www.alconsaudio.com

WHARFEDALE PRO INTRODUCES SIGMA SERIES SPEAKERS Wharfedale Pro has announced the immediate availability of its new SIGMA Series of passive loudspeakers – specifically engineered for fixed installations.

With their unobtrusive design, the SIGMA Series is intended for installations where audio quality, rigging options and discreet cosmetics are critical. The range initially consists of four two-way models (the 8in SIGMA-8, 10in SIGMA-10, 12in SIGMA-12 and 15in SIGMA-15) and an 18in subwoofer (SIGMA-18B). All units are available in both black or white finishes.

Each speaker features the latest proprietary Wharfedale Pro driver technology. By using a curvilinear, double-roll surround system for the LF driver, Wharfedale says its engineers have ensured stability for low through to mid-range frequencies. The HF compression driver has a 44mm diaphragm

TASCAM DELIVERS DR-100MKIII RECORDER The newest generation of Tascam’s flagship Handheld Digital Stereo Recorder delivers ‘ultra-high resolution’ recordings up to 192kHz/24-bit resolution with a 109dB S/N ratio.

High-performance dual-mono AKM Velvet Sound converters combined with Tascam’s HDDA microphone preamps deliver transparent recordings, according to the company. It also supports SDXC cards up to 128GB. The DR-100mkIII makes use of dual stereo mics in both AB and omnidirectional patterns for maximum versatility, two XLR/combo jacks, switchable phantom power, and a dedicated input level control for fast,

tactile operation. The recorder’s dual battery technology utilises a built-in Li-ion rechargeable as well as AA batteries, granting extended recording times and the ability to change batteries on the fly.

The DR-100mkIII also features the company’s Dual Recording Mode, which simultaneously captures a lower level safety track, to safeguard against unexpected source level spikes.

The Tascam DR-100mkIII is available now at a street price of $399.99. www.tascam.com

DRAWMER BOLSTERS MONITOR CONTROLLER LINE utilising a solid aluminium rear plate, which assists heat dissipation in demanding environments.

Constructed from up to 18mm of MDF, the height and overall size of the cabinet has been reduced thanks to a newly developed angled-corner port system. These ports have been individually tuned to maximise lowend punch.

The cabinets of the 10in, 12in and 15in models offer dual-angle pole mount sockets, and all the two-way models have comprehensive rigging options as a result of five M8 points. For physical protection, the SIGMAs are coated in chip-resistant Rhino Rock paint. www.wharfedalepro.com

Drawmer has revealed details of its new MC3.1 Monitor Controller, which adds numerous upgraded features “for more demanding recording studio environments”, according to Transaudio Group, the company’s US distributor.

The MC3.1, an upgrade from Drawmer’s MC2.1 Monitor Controller, features a 24-bit/192kHz AES/SPDIF digital input and a mono sub feed from any of the unit’s three monitor pairs with its own on/off switch.

There’s also an extensive assignable cue system, an upgraded talkback system with external mic input and foot switch functionality, a new “mix check” facility and a new monitor level preset

that assures playback at a specific user-defined level.

I/O includes two stereo XLR analogue inputs – one stereo RCA, one 1/8in jack, three separate loudspeaker outputs with individual trim and the aforementioned subwoofer output.

The MC3.1 is now shipping for $999 MSRP/$899 MAP. www.drawmer.com

October 2016

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NUGEN AUDIO COMPETITION

www.audiomediainternational.com

WIN A NUGEN AUDIO POST PACK WORTH OVER $1,000 Mammoth bundle includes mono, stereo, 5.1 and 7.1 plug-ins, faster than real-time options, cross-platform compatibility and more.

Nugen Audio is offering Audio Media International readers the chance to win a Post Pack software bundle. All you need to do is answer three simple questions and tell us what you’d use your new plug-ins for.

The winner will be the participant with the most interesting response.

The Post Pack is a collection of audio enhancement and problem-solving tools for broadcast, film and game audio production. It includes true-peak limiting, a comprehensive audio analysis suite, transparent auto-match EQ and three stereo control plug-ins.

The bundle – worth $1,139 in total – consists of the VisLM 2, LM-Correct 2,

ISL 2, Stereoizer, SEQ-S, Stereoplacer, Monofilter and Visualizer. www.nugenaudio.com

THE QUESTIONS 1. What is the European loudness standard for television broadcast? a) EBoo b) EBU R128 c) ATSC A/85 2. True peak measurement is important for a) Helping to prevent lossy codec distortion b) Avoiding jitter c) Determining short-term loudness

Reinventing the large sound system

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3. Nugen Audio LM-Correct can fix for a) All main loudness parameters b) True Peak c) Both of the above And to enter the prize draw, we’d like to know: How will winning the Nugen Audio Post Pack help improve your productions?

To be in with a chance of winning, send your three answers and a few sentences on how you plan to utilise your Post Pack to Audio Media International staff writer Colby Ramsey on cramsey@nbmedia.com.

The deadline for entries is 31 October 2016.

AWARDS

www.audiomediainternational.com

RISING STAR REVEALED

eorge Murphy was declared the 2016 winner of the Pro Sound Award for Rising Star – sponsored by Harman and picked by the Audio Media International team – at this year’s industry gathering on 22 September.

The Eastcote Studios man received the award from Harman’s Ed Jackson at the annual event, which once again took place at Ministry of Sound in London.

Murphy started out in pro-audio as a freelance assistant at several London studios, before being offered a full-time position at Eastcote Studios, where he has worked on a wide range of projects with artists including Adele, Ellie Goulding, Mark Ronson and Mumford & Sons. He was assistant engineer for the latters third album Wilder Mind.

Legendary Rolling Stones producer Chris Kimsey has worked a lot with him this past year too and has described him as one of the UK’s most exciting young engineers with a wealth of knowledge in digital and analogue, lighting fast Pro Tools technique and a serious understanding of music.

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See below for a full list of this year’s Pro Sound Award winners.

(L-R): Harman’s Ed Jackson with Rising Star winner George Murphy

Live/Touring Sound Sponsored by d&b audiotechnik Engineer of the Year Gary Bradshaw for ELO Best Tour/Production Sound SSE for Reading Festival Best Theatre Sound Funktion-One/Once at Olympia Theatre

Studio Sponsored by Focusrite Engineer of the Year Wes Maebe Best Studio Brighton Electric

Best Broadcast Event UEFA European Championship 2016/ Lawo

Special Awards Team of the Year BBC Springwatch/Autumnwatch Team/Arena

Installation Best Sound (Post-Production) Sound24/Everest/Avid

Best Permanent Installation Project Parc Olympic Lyonnais/Powersoft

Broadcast

Best Temporary Installation Project UK Milano Expo/Meyer Sound

Best Facility Goldcrest Post-Production

Team of the Year Martin Audio for CDD

Best Marketing Initiative Calrec Audio Periodic Table Lifetime Achievement Phil Dudderidge Grand Prix Capital Sound Hire

www.prosoundawards.com

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IBC BEST OF SHOW WINNER ANNOUNCED ith entries spread across numerous NewBay publications, the IBC Best of Show Awards recognise outstanding products exhibited at this year’s show. They were judged according to a number of criteria, including ease of use/maintenance, performance against category standard, richness/relevance of the feature set, value/ROI, versatility and originality.

The winner of the 2016 Award from Audio Media International, along with a comment from the judges, is as follows:

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Studer Micro Series This new digital audio mixing and 14

October 2016

production solution is ideal for users looking for a more cost-effect alternative to one of Studer’s high-end systems, as it offers a lot of the same features and functionality but at a much lower price point. Consisting of the core unit, graphical user interface and optional fader control surface that all come together in a smart compact package, the Micro Series is also suitable for a surprisingly wide variety of applications.

All of this year’s entrants – both winners and nominees – will be featured in an upcoming IBC2016 Best of Show Digital Edition.

www.studer.ch

(L-R): Simon Roome, technical resources manager, broadcast projects, Harman Professional Solutions with Richard Morson, product manager, broadcast, Harman Professional Solutions

Steerable sound isn’t just about being heard, it’s about being understood.

ICONYX Gen5 steerable loudspeakers deliver clarity to every seat.

It didn’t matter how far back their seats were. Or how cavernous the hall was. All they heard – all they felt – was sound that was warm, intelligible and personal. With clear, precisely-controlled sound from Iconyx Gen5 steerable loudspeakers, their seats were the best in the house. To learn more or for a demo, visit www.renkus-heinz.com. ©2016 Renkus-Heinz

renkus-heinz.com/iconyx-gen5

OPINION

www.audiomediainternational.com

SUCCESS AND DOUBLE-SIDED TAPE John Broomhall explains why possessing personal as well as technical qualities is key to progress in this business.

JOHN BROOMHALL

ilverstone racetrack, nine o’clock in the morning and I arrive bright-eyed and hyped with five potential recording rigs for my hosts, the erstwhile Arrows Formula One team, to evaluate. As audio producer for Geoff Crammond’s hugely successful F1 GP simulation game series, it’s my weighty responsibility to undertake onboard recordings of an F1 car over three days of testing. There’s been no time for discussion prior to the visit; time is tight, the pressure is on – it’s now or never.

Trying to ignore the ‘I don’t suffer fools gladly’ tattoo on the comms guy’s forehead, I gingerly lay out my five carefully-considered gear options on a trestle table at the back of the garage as instructed and he walks the line passing judgement on each set-up: “1) No. 2) No. 3) No way. 4) Good idea... but no.”

He picks up number 5. Dramatic pause.

“M-a-y-b-e (phew) – but you’ll need some double-sided tape” (gulp). Apparently I’d not thought of everything and mentally thrashing around for a solution for what seemed an eternity, was forced to come to the embarrassing conclusion that there wasn’t one.

The ensuing life lesson was one I’ve never forgotten as politely frogmarching me into the clinicallyclean space-age white interior of an Arrows Pantechnicon, the uber-prepared Arrows professional

S

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nonchalantly threw open one of a myriad drawers – not just any old drawer, you understand. No, this was the ‘Double-sided Tape Drawer’ seemingly offering in pristine glory every single kind of double-sided tape known to mankind. And as the old platitude goes – ‘prior preparation prevents piss-poor performance’.

I’m over it now but this sorry little saga has since served very nicely as a useful example when attempting to answer the inevitable ‘what makes a person successful in game audio (and the wider creative industries)?’ type of questions I often encounter from university/college students when guest lecturing. Clearly, you’ve got to have the ‘chops’ – for instance the innate and/or schooled ability to craft sound elements and combine them to produce a credible, compelling soundscape.

You need to understand how sound will work with music and dialogue content together with the creative opportunities of using real-time DSP and dynamic mixing. You’ll need some light on why you will do this – say, to help tell the story or sell a scene or create a specific atmosphere. And, naturally, you’ll need the technical know-how on how to deliver all that with today’s game audio middleware. But beyond those rather obvious requirements, what characteristics tend to mark out those who enjoy enduring success whether working in-house or freelance?

Setting the standard Insignificant as they might sound, I’ve found the following extra personal qualities invariably turn out to be of profound importance to an employer.

So yes, in my experience, consistently successful audio folks are certainly well prepared, and they’re responsive and organised. They’re pro-active, working on their own initiative to bring the boss solutions, not just problems. They think it through, are inclined to sweat the small stuff and inevitably turn up to the gig either bang on time or more likely, early. Generally speaking, they have

good communication skills (both written and oral) and moreover, are able to articulate ideas about sound and music to the ubiquitous non-audio-literate client or stakeholder while managing to keep a straight face in response to those inane questions like ‘can you make it a bit more orangey’ or ‘I’m not sure about the saxophone’ (when there actually isn’t one), before being able to come up with intelligent ways to cover off the real sonic issue at hand.

They keep their priorities straight and have realistic expectations of their own talents; they’re not mercurial, they don’t believe the world owes them a living, and however sparkly their career, maintain enough humility to appreciate how fortunate they are to get paid for doing something they love.

From a practical point of view, they’ve learned to analyse large tasks down to manageable chunks and can schedule themselves realistically allowing appropriately for contingencies and dependencies. They give honest assessments of status and provide fallbacks and accompanying risk assessments of each option before the question even arises. Such people aim to under-promise and over-

deliver, and persevere through knockbacks, rejections of their creative work and even the disappointing cancelled project.

Having worked around recording studios and game development, as well as interviewed many an audio denizen over many years, it seems to me that being successful is as much about what you’re like as a person as it is about your creative and technical skills. You’ve obviously got to have those skills but no question, there’s more to the equation. People like to work with people who are sociable, friendly, tenacious, smart, cool-headed in a crisis, reliable, predictable and don’t take themselves too seriously. And if they remember the double-sided tape too, so much the better.

John Broomhall has worked variously as a music writer, sound effects designer, producer, music supervisor and head of audio on more than 40 videogames including Formula One Grand Prix, Guitar Hero, American Idol, Forza Motorsport, XCOM and Transport Tycoon. He is a leading commentator on game audio, cofounder of Game Music Connect and plays a lot of jazz piano.

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TECH TALK

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WHY MANY MODERN EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES AREN’T UP TO SCRATCH Stephen Bennett speaks to White Mark managing director David Bell about why he feels a worrying number of new media centres for students are not meeting the required standards.

omeone said – it was either Whitney Houston or Aristotle – that “the children are our future” and this is as true in the field of audio as it is elsewhere. The training and education of the next generation of young engineers is paramount if the industries surrounding creative practices are to prosper. This concern for the future was expressed in an open letter published recently, with the signatories reading as a ‘who’s who’ of expertise across a range of industry professions, including Richard Boote, the owner of AIR Studios and Strongroom and Ivor Taylor, director of GCRS. The signatories claim that the practical facilities being constructed by the UK-based education sector are falling far short of those required to train the next generation of audio professionals. They write: “In recent years we have become increasingly concerned about the standard of newly built educational facilities in the UK. On a number of occasions, we have been called in to consult on new buildings where users (students and teaching staff) were worried that performance was unsatisfactory and, often, significantly worse than the buildings that were being replaced.”

David Bell, director of White Mark, is also a signatory. The company prides itself on a rigorous scientific approach to acoustic design and has built and

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(L-R): Letter signatories Ben Mason (750mph), Richard Boote, George Apsion (Kore Studios), Ivor Taylor and David Bell equipped some of the most recognised audio facilities in the world, including many in the educational sector. Bell is concerned that this is a situation that has become increasingly problematic and feels that the decision to bring this issue to the attention of the industry was timely and important.

“There are media centres being constructed that cost in excess of one hundred million pounds,” says Bell, “and we were asked to come down and look at one of these. They had been working for some years in what was basically a series of glorified portacabins and they had a range of vintage equipment that they were really happy with including a lovely old console. The new studios had been built in a sort of pentangular shape – because that’s what architects appear to believe is how studios need to be designed – and the main recording studio had the door in the front right hand corner where you couldn’t physically get the console into the room, let alone into a position where it could be used properly.

So you first think, ‘we have really not just fallen at the first step, we’ve actually failed to get out of the blocks!’ And then you think, ‘Why didn’t they come to us, or another recognised studio designer, in the first place?’”

Paying the price Bell believes that this is a particular problem with publicly funded institutions and, of course, it’s the taxpayer or student who eventually foots the bill. Private companies are often more careful with how they spend their cash and likely to consult companies such as White Mark right away. Using a specialist company like Bell’s is often more cost-effective than consulting an acoustic architect or builder who is more used to making buildings sound ‘right’ for day-to-day office or warehouse use.

“People in the educational sector often say to us ‘oh we couldn’t afford you’ – yet, when we’ve done a proper costing, we usually come in with a lower bid than their usual acoustic consultants and builders. Sometimes clients have, or would have, paid twice as much as we would have charged if we had designed their facility,” explains Bell. “They perceive us as expensive and yet what they’re actually doing is often spending silly money on the wrong type of facilities. If they’d gone to a specialist studio designer right away, they could have had something that would be comparable with top-end post-production studios in Soho and,

more importantly, something that was really representative of what students will be using when they go out into the world of recording and post-production.”

The group are calling for a change in how these facilities are designed and built, with new regulations created specifically for the sector. For this, says Bell, we need a better description of what a recording studio actually is.

Bell says that the current specification appears to be derived solely from the Building Bulletin 93 – Acoustic Design of Schools – A Design Guide (BB93) document and is completely unsuitable as a guide to designing industrystandard facilities.

“The idea of watching a student trying to learn microphone placement techniques in a room where there’s more reverb than an average toilet is just sad,” says Bell. “So that’s where our motivation comes from.

We don’t claim to be geniuses, but I fundamentally believe you don’t need to be to do this job properly – it’s dead simple really when you base it all on solid engineering principles and a good knowledge of the requirements of the sector.” www.whitemark.com

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GEO FOCUS: JAPAN

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EASTERN INTENTIONS With influence from foreign businesses now higher than ever, Japanese proaudio companies will be looking to maintain the health of the domestic market now the countdown to the Tokyo Olympics has begun. But what preparations are being made in the Land of the Rising Sun? Colby Ramsey reports.

here are a lot of mixed feelings about the state of the pro-audio market in Japan at the moment. The ‘70s witnessed the golden age of the country’s audio business and a boom in its economy, however pure audio dealerships like those seen in the small town of Akiba – once thought of as an “audiophile’s dreamland” – have diminished to only a handful.

While it also appears to be a somewhat challenging time for Japanese audio manufacturers, the influx of foreign manufacturers operating there and their success working with local PA rental companies to increase awareness of their products cannot be ignored.

According to Takeshi Senoo of Audio-Technica Japan’s pro-audio

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division, this is the case across various areas of the market from live sound to the conference and AV sectors. He believes that times are much harder now for Japanese brands domestically even compared to five or ten years ago.

Yoshiyuki Tsugawa, director of Yamaha’s pro audio business unit, notes that the growth rate of the PA market is currently larger than that of the country’s GDP, and blames the earthquake of 2011 after which “the professional audio market slipped into stagnation as the budget shifted towards reconstruction, quakeproofing and disaster prevention”.

There are some operating in the domestic market that are more optimistic however, including Kazuya Taniguchi, system designer at sound

design and studio build specialist Realsonido. He affirms the belief that many sectors, including music, live sound reinforcement, audio post and broadcast, are gradually improving now compared to five years ago.

Pro-audio product planner at Pioneer DJ, Yuji Murai, is also positive about the future, and suggests the market will grow healthier thanks to capital investment and demand for various events in the run up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Taniguchi believes that there may even be some new laws and regulations introduced in anticipation of the Games, meaning domestic companies will likely have to construct a corresponding system to adapt to the new standard as quickly as possible.

“Demand for high-quality audio venues is also increasing as the number of premium-priced live concerts and music events increases,” Murai explains. “It is because the retired baby boomers and their subsequent generation tend to spend their free time and money on such live events, while for the younger generation, the business for music festivals and events is facing an uncertain future due to a declining birth-rate in Japan.”

Keeping Connected While Pioneer DJ has seen the market for PA/SR active speakers growing in North America, it remains small in Japan albeit showing potential signs for future growth, with a strong karaoke culture holding fast.

GEO FOCUS: JAPAN

Population: 127.3 million

A particular development that Yamaha has noticed is the now mandatory requirement to install voice evacuation systems – which also serve as commercial audio systems for elements like background music and paging – in every facility that accommodates more than 300 people.

“As voice evacuation equipment requires the use of certificated products, the market is in an oligopoly situation by domestic manufacturers such as Panasonic, TOA and JVC,” notes Tsugawa. “This effectively becomes a barrier to entry by new manufacturers, although the price competition with low-cost products made in China is becoming more stringent.”

Despite this assertive approach to new mandatory requirements from some manufacturers, Audio-Technica’s Takeshi Senoo feels that Japanese end users can sometimes be too sensitive to developments in audio equipment, with domestic consumers caring more about the performance, aesthetics and styling of the product than the price and overall value for money.

Contrary to this, recent changes to wireless frequency bands have resulted in many Japanese manufacturers launching new UHF systems as a direct response. Senoo observes the 1.9GHz solution for conference rooms or universities becoming increasingly popular because

of potential interference issues. “Our infrared wireless handheld/beltpack system is ideal for educational facilities where there are many lecture rooms close together that all need a connection,” explains Senoo. “In Japan, we only have 30 channels for UHF wireless use without any license so end users who don’t want interference tend to choose this option.”

Tsugawa at Yamaha Pro Audio also confirms a growing trend towards networking products as Dante rapidly spreads into the live sound reinforcement and venue market, while also gradually increasing in commercial installation equipment.

When it comes to installation, Taniguchi at Realsonido says he has not been installing many Japanese products, as certain sectors of the market such as music and audio post opt for foreign-made products from companies like Avid. While it may prove difficult then for firms like Realsonido to expand into other countries, Taniguchi affirms that his responsibilities lie with constructing audio systems for the domestic market.

Staying Focused Murai at Pioneer DJ also cites the revision of the Law to Control Businesses That May Affect Public Morals as a potential influence of activity in the nightclub business, as

this means they are allowed to open all night and could be a trigger for expansion. He also notes that while active speaker products are being introduced in dance studios and apparel shops more and more due to their ease of use, the markets in Europe and the USA remain bigger than that of Japan in terms of DJ equipment sales.

“As a global company, however, we think it is extremely important for us to succeed in the Japanese market where people are very demanding in product selection,” he says. “We think it is a basic of all business that you have to be an expert in both common demands around the world and different needs arising from cultural differences.”

Murai goes on to advise that for new businesses looking to enter the market, being determined to continue the business with faith is paramount, as opposed to only pursuing shortterm profit. “We witnessed the world give a standing ovation for the great performance that Tokyo presented at the Rio Olympics Closing Ceremony,” he says. “That is the proof that Japan is one of the leading technology powerhouses in the world.”

Looking ahead, Tsugawa evisages an expansion of the live sound reinforcement and installation markets as well as increased

demand for new construction and renovations as the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo draws closer.

interpreting opportunity For Audio-Technica, the install market remains a priority, and it predicts that many Japanese companies might adopt English as an official language while the number of foreigners working for these companies could increase significantly. “In order to satisfy end users’ demands, we may need to develop the conference system with a lot of interpretation options,” Senoo explains. “And in ten years time the UHF frequency band we can use could change, so we need to be constantly developing our wireless products to pre-empt future developments.”

In defiance of these uncertainties in its pro-audio market, Japan and the companies that operate there will undoubtedly be looking to uphold its strong traditional culture, and will continue to push the boundaries when new opportunities emerge.

“In the future we believe that venues for high quality entertainment will be created – that comprehensively combine audio, video and lighting technology,” Murai concludes. “And Pioneer DJ will work to contribute to the creation of this new entertainment culture.”

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LEARNING FROM THE BEST

Kingston University’s partnership with a certain star producer turned a few heads recently, including the one belonging to Adam Savage, who went along to see the finished result of the new Visconti Studio last month. aving been one not so long ago myself, I know how difficult it can be to keep students motivated.

Inspiring a room full of people who would rather be downing jägerbombs than sitting through another lecture must be a tough thing to have to do every day, but somehow I think the new visiting professor at London’s Kingston University isn’t going to struggle to get his students’ attention. That’s because in this case it’s legendary – and this time we do mean legendary – producer Tony Visconti.

That’s right, after spending the past

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five decades working with some of the biggest names in rock and pop such as U2, Morrissey, Marc Bolan and of course David Bowie, Visconti has come on board for a new research and teaching project at the University, ‘The Heritage and Future of Analogue Recording’.

The role will see him recording with students and staff, as well as invited guest artists, in a newly upgraded studio facility on the Kingston Hill Campus now known as Visconti Studio. The partnership also involves the British Library and Science Museum.

Based around an unusual 300sqm octagonal live room – one of the largest

in the country – and stocked with a varied selection of analogue and digital recording equipment as well as a unique collection of instruments including a Hammond organ, Steinway grand piano and best of all a Mellotron – famously used by Sir Paul McCartney to produce the flute-like sound in the introduction to Strawberry Fields Forever – the studio represents a chance for Visconti to pass on his vast knowledge of recording with analogue equipment and help keep these methods alive.

“I’m interested in giving the students a flavour of what the real world is like

in a recording studio,” says Visconti.

“I came from an education where you started as the person who made the tea and worked your way up the ranks and that system doesn’t exist anymore.

I’d like to impart that experience while I’m with the students. Kingston University wanted a state-of-the-art analogue studio and I feel I have to do this – I must be with the student body and show them the traditional ways of recording music.”

Although it’s clear that Visconti’s preferred approach is to do things the old way – and I’m certainly not going to disagree with him on anything to do

STUDIO FEATURE with recording – a quick glance at the gear list (see box out, page 24) shows there are plenty of digital options available in the new-look control room too.

Striking a balance Ebby Acquah, technology officer for the Visconti Studio and former in-house engineer at Mute Studios, where he rubbed shoulders with producers such as Flood, Ben Hillier and Gareth Jones, explains how it was vital to provide a variety of options even if the facility is being hailed more for its analogue offering.

“Going in there you can have digital recording with state-of-the-art plug-ins, full analogue path recording – so you can track on analogue tape and master on analogue tape – or you can have a hybrid of the two,” reveals Acquah.

“A good workflow would be to track to analogue tape and maybe put it on to a computer for editing and then bounce it back down to analogue tape

for your mastering. There are so many combinations of ways that you can work in that studio.”

The building has been used for recording for many years, but several enhancements have been made not just in the control room – which has been heavily upgraded – but the live space as well.

“It’s always been a studio and live room and we’ve improved the inside in terms of we’ve installed a drum isolation booth, which is linked to the control room. We’re going to build another one [iso booth] as soon as budget permits and we’ve also got some Abbey Road-spec gobos from the ‘60s, which we had manufactured so we’re able to isolate sound in the room,” notes Acquah.

“ADG [Acoustics Design Group] designed the control room, which has totally changed. They

“Working here with students at the Visconti Studio – which has the potential to be a first class facility – is going to be a magical time for me” Tony Visconti

completely redesigned the space. It was very difficult to focus on frequencies before because it was almost like it was constantly changing and so John Flynn [ADG owner], who’s a top studio designer, came in and we’re over the moon with the result.”

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STUDIO FEATURE

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Equipment List CONSOLE Audient ASP8024

2x Empirical Labs Distressor 2x UA 1176LN limiting amplifier

RECORDING AND SOFTWARE Apogee Symphony I/O Pro Tools HD3 Logic Pro X Sibelius 7 Waves and Sony Oxford plug-in bundles Studer A827 2in 24-track tape machine Studer A80 0.25in two-track tape machine Tascam DA-30mkII DAT MOTU MIDI Express

EFFECTS Lexicon PCM70 Eventide H3000SE Ultra Harmoniser Roland RE201 tape echo EMT 140/240 Plate Reverb Yamaha SPX2000

MONITORING ATC SCM25A PR Yamaha NS10M Digital Audio Labs Livemix Analog Bundle 10x Beyerdynamic DT150 and 4x beyerdynamic DT102 headphones PROCESSING Drawmer DS201 dual gate Drawmer DL241 compressor Universal Audio 2-610 tube preamp Neve 1073DPA preamp Neve 1073 Mono Module – Mic Pre, 3 Band EQ Avalon VT737 preamp Joe Meek Twin Q preamp API 3124 preamp Neve 1073/1084

The lucky few Undergrads and postgrads as well as masters and doctoral research students will have access to the Visconti Studio, and there are also plans in place to make it available for commercial hire. Taking around a year to complete from the initial conversations to the finished result, the space is a worthy flagship when lined up alongside the University’s other audio facilities, which are pretty well equipped too.

“That control room is for use by Level 6 and 7 students, so third year undergraduates and postgraduates, and we’ve also got three smaller project studios for Levels 4 and 5 (first and second year undergrads), one of which has just been installed with an SSL XL Super Analogue desk,” Acquah continues.

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“So there are a few facilities here but we’re just looking to build them up and improve them at all levels. We’ve also got a 24-seat computer suite and an MA surround sound editing suite.”

There’s also a d&b audiotechnik loudspeaker system in the octagonal room comprising Ci7 tops and C7 subs for when the Visconti Studio team want to turn it into a performance space.

“It’s a really top PA and we had it installed two years ago. We’re running an Allen & Heath GLD-80 desk in there and HK monitor wedges so it’s a good system,” Acquah says.

Its effectiveness as a place for small concerts was demonstrated at the official launch on 19 September, where singer-songwriter Mary Epworth – and sister of Paul, in case you’re wondering – performed a couple of tracks to bring

the event to a close. Visconti was also officially made an Honorary Doctor of Arts in a ceremony – complete with gowns and silly hats all round – on the night. Earlier in the evening though, visitors were played new material for Epworth produced by students under the guidance of Visconti, and were also introduced to the rest of the studio team, which includes director Isabella Van Elferen, project leader Leah Kardos, education officer Alex Evans and enterprise officer Philip Chambon.

The demonstration marked only the start of the upcoming opportunities for students to work closely with the producer – for example, the Visconti Studio Winter School will take place in the week commencing 13 February 2017.

The five-day intensive programme led

by Visconti will see participants record a track with an invited artist while

MICROPHONES ACMH String mic set (quartet) AKG C214 stereo pair 4x AKG C414 AKG D12 AKG D12VR AKG D112 Audix drum mic set 2x AKG C1000 2x B&K 4006 beyerdynamic Opus drum mic sets DPA SMK4061 2x EV RE20 2x Neumann KMC104 4x Neumann U87 2x Neumann KM184 stereo pair Rode NT1 stereo pair 2x Rode NT5 stereo pair Rode NTG2 shotgun 2x Royer R-122 ribbon Royer SF-12 stereo ribbon SE Electronics Titan 2x SE Electronics SE2200A 4x Sennheiser MD421 2x Sennheiser MKH40 12x Shure SM57

engaging in activities such as operating and maintaining tape machines, analogue multi-track recording/mixing and microphone techniques, with a particular focus on recording in the octagonal live room.

“This is a fantastic, unique opportunity for me as I barely made it out of high school and my university education was 50 years in the recording studio. Working here with students at the Visconti Studio – which has the potential to be a first class facility – is going to be a magical time for me,” states Visconti. “I say to the students here at Kingston University, go out and make analogue recordings.

It’s the way music should be heard and it’s a beautiful thing.”

www.visconti-studio.co.uk

From the publisher of Installation, AV Technology and SCN.

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INSTALLATION PROFILE

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TALKING ‘BOUT A REVOLUTION

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Upon hearing that Sennheiser was providing the ‘Sound Experience’ for another exhibition at the V&A on late ‘60s counterculture following the success of the ‘David Bowie Is’ project, we were eager to find out what they had in store for visitors this time. he argument that the events of the late 1960s remain hugely relevant today is an interesting one. Whether we’re talking about global civil rights, multiculturalism, environmentalism, consumerism, computing, some say that our lives are still heavily influenced by what went on in those five crucial years: 1966-1970.

Now in place at London’s V&A Museum, ‘You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966-1970’ features more than 350 objects encompassing photography, literature, music, design, film, fashion and more, with highlights including the suits worn by John Lennon and George Harrison on the cover of Sgt. Pepper’s,

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underground magazines from Oz to the International Times and even a moon rock on loan from NASA. It’s a feast not just for the eyes but for the ears too, with Sennheiser providing the ‘Sound Experience’ for the project. If you were lucky enough to make it to the ‘David Bowie Is’ exhibition in 2013 then you’ll likely recognise the little grey boxes handed to you on the way in – Sennheiser’s guidePORT systems, which enable the triggering and playback of hundreds of carefully chosen audio clips as the visitor moves through the various zones – but this time the company was able to entice us further by revealing it had implemented new AMBEO technology at the V&A for added immersion.

So-called identifiers are mounted inconspicuously next to the exhibits, and some 750 receivers have been placed around the museum. Each identifier transmits an ID code, which automatically starts the appropriate audio as soon as the guest enters the relevant magnetic field. With guidePORT, digital transmission takes place in the frequency range around 2.4GHz on up to 94 different channels. The system was designed by Norbert Hilbich, with Carolyn Downing handling sound design. These clips range from extracts of famous speeches, advertising jingles and, of course, music.

“Without its soundtrack, the exhibition would be nothing,” says Geoffrey Marsh, co-curator of the exhibition alongside Victoria Broakes – they were the pair behind ‘David Bowie Is’ too. “We realised with the David Bowie exhibition that it is possible to make the museum experience a lot more exciting for visitors. One way to do so is by providing them with headphones that play the appropriate song for each topic or space.”

As for AMBEO, the main room at the exhibition where it really comes into play is the space dedicated to Woodstock 1969. Here, a 14.1 system and large-scale projection help recreate key moments

from one of the most famous live events of all time, including the iconic Jimi Hendrix rendition of Star Spangled Banner, in a fully immersive environment.

“It wasn’t just about having a fantastic sound quality at this exhibition,” Marsh continued. “We wanted to convey how the music was listened to. It was a privilege working with the sound engineers who came from Hanover and installed this incredible sound system.

It has an enormous influence on the listeners – it makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck.”

The importance of the exhibition to Sennheiser was demonstrated by the presence of co-CEO Daniel Sennheiser at the preview launch on 8 September.

In a speech to the assembled visitors on the day and talking to Audio Media International afterwards, he explained how the company, which states its mission is to ‘shape the future of audio’, feels it has a duty to support innovative projects like these, and that 1966-70 was in fact a significant period in the firm’s history, making it the ideal branding opportunity as well.

“It’s about being a good citizen, taking responsibility and supporting things like this because it gives us the possibility to expose the brand to a target group that isn’t already a Sennheiser buyer,” he said. “Sennheiser has been around for 72 years and we say we shape the future of audio but it isn’t just a claim, we have proof like the HD414 in 1968, which was the first music headphone of its kind and the different microphones that we’ve developed over time, revolutionary shotgun microphone systems etc.

“Once in a while you have to prove that you are not only just able to envision the future.”

The aim of this particular experience is not just to stir the audiences senses, but to make them think too, and ‘Revolution’ certainly does that.

Co-curator Victoria Broackes concluded: “Every visitor should go home with a question in the back of their mind: what revolution will be next?”

‘You Say You Want a Revolution?

Records and Rebels 1966-1970’ is scheduled to run at the V&A until 26 February 2017, after which it will begin touring internationally. www.sennheiser.com

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FEATURE: GAME AUDIO

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BECOMING THE BAT

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// We speak to the lead sound designer at Rocksteady Studios, which has harnessed the power of VR to develop a new immersive title that carries on its Batman: Arkham series. t is fair to suggest that Rocksteady Studios has had Batman down to a tee for a while now. The Londonbased video game developer has thrived off the success of its award-winning Batman: Arkham series since the first title in 2009, and as many companies look to usher in a new technological revolution with the adoption of VR, Rocksteady is ensuring it’s not left behind.

While Batman: Arkham VR (developed in partnership with publisher Warner Bros. Interactive and available for Playstation 4 this month) is expected to have many visual treats on offer with the new format – which puts players inside the caped crusader’s suit to strike fear into the hearts of Gotham’s criminals – satisfying a number of previously unexplored audio elements was equally as high up on Rocksteady’s list of priorities in creating a fully immersive experience for the player.

Yet according to Andy Riley, Rocksteady’s lead sound designer and responsible for the audio elements of the first two Batman games, their approach and requirements were the same as they would be for any project.

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“Of course when you delve deeper beyond those fundamental tenets of high concept there are huge differences with how the player physically interacts with the game,” he explains. “The most significantly different aspect is that the once detached, voyeur-like player has now stepped through the proscenium and right into the game universe.”

While the previous Batman titles have progressively increased in size – with the last title, Batman: Arkham Knight being a huge, rich, sandbox experience – Arkham VR was always going to be Rocksteady’s most challenging project to date, not to mention a more intensive and intimate experience for the player.

The new way of playing and the sheer scale of the game presented a unique set of challenges that Riley and the audio team had to overcome. For example, Riley says it was particularly important to position the sound emitters very accurately, “even to the point of splitting up the SFX for larger objects into discrete elements which could be placed across the body of the object, allowing us to achieve a much more believable width to many of the foreground objects”.

Playing around Experimentation with new recording techniques and processes was anticipated during the initial phase of the project, and it was Riley who was tasked with leading this initiative and adapting the overall methods to get the desired results. “Take the background ambient SFX for example; in a typical game for us the base 2D layer would be recorded in 4.0 and we have a long-established setup for this workflow that sounds great,” notes Riley, who quickly realised that taking surround ambience recordings and downmixing them to a binaural signal simply wasn’t cutting it.

“We were losing a great amount of the sense of width and immersion that was attractive in the original four channel recordings,” he adds. “So we set about testing a number of different stereo mic arrays.”

To achieve this, Riley and the audio team set up two Sound Devices recorders and five to six arrays all recording simultaneously so that they could easily be A-B’d later. They would then make a test recording that encompassed a range of sounds at different distances and positions, which could then be reviewed

back in the studio on headphones.

“We tested a lot of setups like this and eventually settled on our own adapted version of a Jecklin disk array custom built by one of our senior sound designers, Andrew Quinn,” Riley explains.

The physical construction of the VR device also created a few complications early on in the process, and some specific difficulty was encountered in gauging how a scene or an effect within a scene would play out. “In essence our sound design workflow is still to capture a regular video from the game which we then put into Pro Tools as a guide for designing,” says Riley. “Often we would find that things that were visually inconsequential in the capture were very much foregrounded in the game itself; there was probably a lot more iteration in a short space of time than usual.”

He also describes some challenges that he ran into with the mix itself: “Being inside a virtual world, it is almost impossible to operate complex middleware and certainly not with the fluidity required for mixing!”

Contrary to this, Riley says that the quality of game audio has increased dramatically in the last few years, and believes that the previous Arkham games owe their success in part to the development of high-quality sound over the last couple of console cycles.

“I think audio is now taken much more seriously and I’ve been very fortunate to work at studios where this is the case, none more so than Rocksteady,” Riley remarks. “From my experience, there are simply more and more great sounding games being released.”

Despite the numerous difficulties involved with developing audio for a virtual reality game and the hype surrounding such titles, Riley is confident that we will see the format come into its own in the near future, and it is likely that many sound designers in the industry will also be looking forward to exploring the impending possibilities of virtual reality from an audio perspective. www.rocksteadyltd.com

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MOUNTING CHALLENGES

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Adam Savage chats to one half of this new London-based audio post-production partnership to see what sets them apart from the rest. etting up a new business in an industry already teeming with big competitors is never easy, especially when we’re talking about London’s post-production scene, but that’s just what freelance audio engineer Greg Niemand and his business partner Evan Gildersleeve have done with their new venture, Mount Audio.

Described by Niemand as a small, boutique facility with new premises acquired in Hackney Downs, Mount’s aim is to offer a service that involves more audio experimentation than alternative packages that are commonly seen today whereby meeting ever-tighter deadlines is arguably prioritised over actual sound quality. The company is now fully up and running, with Niemand responsible for much of the sound design work and dialogue editing, and Gildersleeve handling mostly composition.

“We try to stay out of the box as much as we can because there are so many people with sound design packs and all these pre-recorded and pre-made things that are so easy to drop into people’s timelines, especially with trailer sound design. It’s something that I’ve always felt uncomfortable using,” explains Niemand.

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“We try to implement a lot of field recordings and everywhere we can we do a lot of contact mic recordings and [make it so there’s] something unique at the end of it. Because of that it hopefully sets it aside and makes it sound very different.

“With turnarounds and deliveries being so quick it’s something that’s very easy to rest on your laurels a little bit but what we want to do is the exact opposite – we want to get in on a project as early as possible, approach musicians and spaces and record these things that you just wouldn’t normally hear with digital content.”

From a purely pro-audio standpoint

you have to admire the pair’s intended approach, but it’s becoming increasingly rare to find clients willing to allow enough time to really get creative with the sound for their advert, trailer etc. Niemand’s eagerness to achieve a standout sound design whenever possible is so strong that even when given the opportunity to do his thing, he can still find himself wishing he could do more.

“We’ve both got our existing relationships that we’ve been building for five years or so and they tend to organically lead into new relationships or recommendations. We did a really

nice series of short animations with live footage for Persil [the ‘Monster Stains’ campaign that had a run in UK cinemas] and even then we really wanted to reach in and do as much Foley as possible,” he reveals.

Notable new projects since the move include two spots for Glenfiddich’s Experimental Series ad campaign and Chevrolet’s ‘AskManUtd’, which became one of the most shared videos online last month. The pair have also started work on BBC StoryWorks’ latest series ‘Wonders of Mankind’ in partnership with watch maker Vacheron Constantin and director Jamie Muir.

Go-to gear Speaking to Niemand, it seems he’s keener to talk about his vision for the firm’s future than geek out over equipment, but he did disclose some of his choice pieces of kit.

“We both use ADAM pretty exclusively for monitoring. We like the ART tweeters, especially for Foley or those kind of ambiences because that high-end is really responsive. The Roland Juno-106 is also something we reach for regularly and we’re big fans of the Arturia MicroBrute, which is just a nice analogue synth and mono option,” he explains.

“As for recording it’s either the Sound Devices or sometimes I like to go out with a little Zoom H6. My girlfriend’s pretty sick of the fact that whenever we go away I always pack a separate audio bag as when you’re going around you never know what you’re going to get. I have my own library that I’ve been developing over the past few years. It’s a nice little personal touch and a lead-in with clients and directors to be able to throw that stuff in.”

Niemand and Gildersleeve knew they had to bring something new to the table when they embarked on this expedition, and they can be confident they’ve now achieved that, not forgetting loyalty from certain previous clients brought over from the pre-Mount days, too.

“We are boutique and we’re not in Soho so we’ve got to put across something different – a unique soundtrack for each project and you can only do that with relationships really.” www.mountaudio.com

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

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RYCOTE CYCLONE WINDSHIELD KIT

f there’s ever a company that has become synonymous with the type of product it makes, it’s Rycote.

When you think of windshields for microphones, you think of the UK firm’s gear. I’d go so far as to say they’re in the same league as Hoover and Biro, with “It needs a Rycote on it” being a phrase I’ve uttered more than once. Sure, other windshields are available, but the guys from Stroud are pretty much the Daddies (and Mummies) at keeping wind away from microphones.

The company’s Zeppelinesque Modular system (hilariously dubbed Dead Dog or Dead Cat by a generation

I

Promising ‘next-generation wind and handling noise isolation for audio professionals’, does the manufacturer’s high-tech new windshield system have what it takes to impress Jerry Ibbotson when paired with a selection of DPA mics? Let’s find out. of users) set the bar in this field. In recent years its range of products has mushroomed to include Mini Windjammers for handheld portable recorders (indispensable), studio shock mounts and even stick-on windshields for personal mics and lavaliers – the Undercover and Overcover.

I personally am alarmed to look around my various bags and boxes of kit and count how much Rycote gear I have in my possession. A while back I went to Copenhagen to record some material about urban traffic for a BBC radio station. At one point I was cycling through the Danish capital with

a DPA mic stuck to my cheek with a Rycote Stickie/Overcover combination to record a commentary as I wove through traffic. Later, I was again on a bike but this time holding a small Olympus recorder attached to a Rycote Portable Recorder Suspension kit and Windjammer. As odd as my behaviour sounds, using Rycote gear just seemed the most natural thing to do.

So pardon me if I seem strangely enthusiastic about the arrival of a new bit of kit from the Gloucestershire factory.

The Cyclone range is a new family of windshield systems that aim to isolate mics from wind and handling noise.

Key Features

3D Tex material provides ‘excellent acoustic transparency and superb attenuation of wind noise’

Magnetic Z-Locking System for fast opening and closing with just one hand, if required

Takes the existing Lyre technology and incorporates it in a Floating Basket Suspension

Suitable for extreme weather recording

Available in Small, Medium and Large RRP: Small = From £475.20; Medium = £487.29; Large = £499.20 www.rycote.com

Inside the Rycote Cyclone Medium, shown with a Schoeps CMIT5U

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW They combine Rycote’s existing Lyre floating mount technology (used on everything from my portable recorder kit to full-on windshields) with an all-new external cover system. This uses a material called 3D-Tex, which combines acoustic transparency with attenuation of wind noise. In short, wind gets stopped but sound gets through. It’s wrapped around a composite (plastic) chassis with full internal wiring – you plug into the mic from the outside.

What makes Cyclone different is its size.

I’ve been testing the medium model and it’s still tiny compared to previous basketstyle systems I’ve used. In fact it’s not much longer than a mic inside the classic Softie (the one that comes with its own hairbrush for fur maintenance, I kid you not). As I write this, the Cyclone is resting on my lap and, believe me, my thighs aren’t that wide.

The basket comes apart by loosening some locking tabs on the bottom and then pulling the case open. You’re then greeted with what looks like a complex bracket system, complete with red cabling snaking its way up. It’s part shock-mount and part mic-holder, with the Lyre mount at its heart. This is Rycote’s patented floating system that sees the microphone suspended inside the basket. It’s based around flexible sections of composite material and is actually very simple in execution, compared to having a mic sitting in a spider’s web of elastic.

The chunkiest part of this whole arrangement is the section that sits at the bottom of the basket and attaches to the boom pole (or in my case, hand grip).

This also has some shock-absorbing jiggery-pokery going on inside it so the Lyre mount itself is fully floating inside. I had a good peer at the workings and can confirm that it all looks jolly clever and extremely well engineered.

Magic Mics

In Use

I had intended to test the Cyclone with my own staple RØDE NTG 3 shotgun – a mic I tested for Audio Media years ago and then bought – but the nice chaps at DPA distributor Sound Network sent me something else to use: some samples from the d:dicate range.

The d:dicate range is made of a number of capsules and preamps of varying sizes and configurations. If you marry the MMC4017 capsule with the MMP-B preamp, you get a d:dicate 4017B. I won’t run through every combination I was sent to play with but I have to say that even just handling the mics, I was impressed.

The build quality is exactly what you’d always expect of DPA: beautiful.

I tried a little experiment first – hooking the mic to the preamp on my Focusrite Scarlett and setting up Adobe Audition CC to record. I did some voice recording, reading a section of Roald Dahl’s The Twits that had been my eight-year-old’s homework. This was just to test how the DPA sounded in the Cyclone and the answer is – amazing. It was a little flat at the top but then I’d left the high boost filter turned off. A touch of EQ and the voice sounded incredible (not my performance, the mic’s). It was clear

deliberately over-the-top movements with my arm, waving the Cyclone about in a way that would possibly get any boom operator immediately fired and probably never re-hired again. The only significant noise was from my own limb flapping about.

I have since tested the Cyclone on a field recorder and the results were equally impressive. It’s cleverly designed, brilliantly put together and does exactly

DPA’s 4017B

I plumped for the 4017 shotgun capsule and MMP-B preamp, which features two on-board filters than you activate by turning a pair of rotating rings. One is a 4dB boost at 8kHz (in theory to compensate for using a windjammer) and the other is a bass roll-off below 120Hz to reduce wind noise or handling rumble. There’s also a permanent high-pass filter at 50Hz. The 4017B shotgun (technically hyper-cardioid) can handle peak SPLs of 152dB before clipping and is designed for camera systems, ENG or broadcast work and even studio recording. The mic is small – just 210mm long – and fitted easily inside the Cyclone. It plugs into a Neutrik connector, which is already pre-wired into the basket and leads out to another on the boom/handle mount.

The basket then snaps back together and I have already found that the more times you do this, the more it becomes second nature. It’s held together by a combination of magnets and rotating latches and the former mean you can almost throw the two halves at each other and they snap into place. Once the latches are turned, the mic is safe and snug in its new home.

but mellow and almost hypnotic in its smoothness. I’m starting to sound like a Jazz reviewer but it really was that good.

But that wasn’t the real test I wanted to perform. I popped the basket apart from that the mic was exposed. Then I very gently blew towards it from about a foot away. Nothing potentially damaging for the capsule but enough to peak at about -24dB, compared to my Twits reading of -18dB. This was pure rumble – the kind of thing that can wreck any recording.

I then popped the basket back together (a one handed job by this point) and repeated the exercise exactly as before. Nothing. The meters on Audition barely registered anything and on playback all I could hear was my initial breathing, no rumble at all. The Cyclone had killed the man-made “wind” before it could reach the microphone.

I’m sure that a sufficiently strong level of air movement would get through the hi-tech covering, but then, in the real world, you probably have the option of at least shifting the mic away from the direction of the wind. I was aiming it straight into the nose of the Rycote.

How about handling noise or rather, isolation from it? I made some

what is asked of it. It keeps away wind and isolates microphones from both rumble and handling noise. It is also compact and flexible to use. Getting to a mic inside one of these is a five-second job. I’m not sure how it would fare in wet weather, because I tested it at the tail end of the summer of 2016, which was most un-British in its warmth, but it looks like it’s built for it. I still swear by my trusty Softies for day-to-day use but the Cyclone takes things to another level.

As for the mic that I tested it with, well the d:dicate 4017B may have a rather fancy name but it retains all of DPA’s traditional values, like top-end build and design. The modular system of separate capsules and preamps is extremely flexible and, the more I think about it, very clever indeed. But you buy microphones for their sound quality and with the 4017 you get that in spades. Or as DPA might say, s:pades.

The Reviewer Jerry Ibbotson has worked in pro-audio for more than 20 years, first as a BBC radio journalist and then as a sound designer in the games industry. He’s now a freelance audio producer and writer.

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

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ZOOM H4N PRO HANDHELD RECORDER

With the original H4n already a long-serving weapon in his audio arsenal, Andy Coules was eager to get his hands on the new Pro model to see what improvements it brings. aving established itself as a producer of low-cost effects units, Zoom entered the handheld digital recorder market with the H4 in 2006 and since then has produced a wide range of digital recorders widely used by film makers, podcasters, field recorders and anyone who needs a versatile portable recorder. In 2009 it brought out the H4n (the ‘n’ standing for next), which added new features, improving on the original H4 and ultimately replacing it. As a regular user of the H4n since 2010 I was keen to get my hands on the H4n Pro and see what has been done to improve this much loved and widely used recorder.

For those not familiar with its predecessor, let’s run down the specifications. There are three recording modes: Stereo, 4CH and MTR, which enable stereo, four-channel and multi-track recording. Audio can be recorded in either uncompressed PCM WAV (16/24-bit, 44.1/48/96kHz) or compressed MP3 format (48 -320kbps or VBR). Input is via a pair of in-built X/Y microphones (switchable between 90º and 120º ), a pair of combo 0.25in jack/XLR sockets or an external microphone via a stereo mini-jack input.

Storage is via SD or SDHC cards (up to 32GB) and the A/D conversion is 24-bit (x128 oversampling). The in-built microphones can handle signal levels up to 140dB SPL, the XLR inputs can deliver phantom power (24/48V) and the external microphone input can supply plug-in power (2.5V).

On the top panel there’s a 1.9in backlit LCD display, four track/file function selector buttons, input select buttons (with active/level indicators) and the transport controls. On the left side there’s a remote control input jack, headphone/

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Key Features

Built-in X/Y stereo mics adjustable between 90º and 120º

Record up to 140dB SPL

Two mic/line inputs with XLR/TRS combo connectors

New rubberised body with improved 1.9in backlit LCD display

Records directly to SD and SDHC cards up to 32GB RRP: £219.99 www.zoom-uk.com line out mini-jack, output volume rocker, mini USB socket and hold/power slider.

On the right side there’s the SD card slot, record level rocker, menu button and scroll wheel (for navigating the menus).

On the back is the external microphone input jack, a monaural reference speaker, a threaded tripod mount and the battery compartment. On the bottom is a pair of lockable female combo jack/XLR sockets. Power is delivered by a pair of AA batteries or an optional DC power supply; battery life, in regular use is up to 6 hours (or 10 if stamina mode is engaged).

Under the hood there is also a metronome, chromatic tuner, mid-side decoding and an effects unit, which includes compression/limiting, low cut filtering, modulation, reverb/delay and amp modelling. It also provides loop playback, variable playback speed (without affecting pitch) and variable pitch (without affecting speed). The USB port enables direct connection to a computer for file transfer or it can be used as a two-in/two-out audio interface.

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW First impressions It’s impossible not to be constantly comparing the H4n Pro to the original H4n. The Pro is instantly familiar as it looks very similar to the H4n; I had to put them side by side to really appreciate the differences. The body of the Pro is now black and rubberised, the screen is clearer and the back light brighter (it’s now grey as opposed to the original orange); it seems to fit in the hand more comfortably (despite being 14g heavier) and the front and side panels sport a new bezel which neatly guides the fingers to the two volume rockers (i.e. record level and output level). All of the inputs/outputs and controls on the top, sides and back are identical, albeit slightly improved, for instance the volume rockers protrude slightly more and feel firmer to the touch.

The big difference at the base is that the combo sockets are now lockable, which is a great improvement on the original.

In use I could not detect any difference in the user interface – all the menus and options are present

exactly as before and thus the software side of things is identical (although the firmware itself is not contiguous with the H4n). I did a series of test recordings, at gigs and in my home studio, and everything worked exactly as expected – there is no learning curve whatsoever for H4n users.

The microphone preamps on the H4n weren’t amazing but they always did the job – and at that price there’s little room for complaint – so I was quite excited to hear that the H4n Pro has the same improved high-performance microphone preamps used on the H5 and H6. My first impression of using the in-built microphones was very favourable indeed – the recordings were clear and distinct with a very natural sound, and on headphones the stereo field was wide and clear and it almost sounded like a high-quality binaural recording. When I compared simultaneous recordings of the same source the H4n sounded slightly dull and a bit more in the centre of the stereo image; the H4n Pro was wider, clearer and had a little more ‘sparkle’ (although please

take into account the fact that my H4n is now six years old). Bearing in mind the fact that the H4n Pro can handle sound levels up to 140dB SPL with a noise floor measured at -120dBu EIN you can see just how much it’s moved on from its predecessor.

The other big difference between the H4n Pro and the H4n is what you get in the box. The H4n came with a DC power supply, a 2GB SD card, an MA2 mic clip adapter and a USB cable; the H4n Pro comes with none of these. Personally I never used the MA2 clip, I have a drawer full of USB cables and a 2GB card is a bit small for most uses but an AC adapter is always handy (and can of course be bought separately). Not including these items does brings down the cost of the unit and all of the H4n accessories will work with the H4n Pro, so for those upgrading it’s not a big deal.

Conclusion The power of the H4n lay in its versatility – you could shove it in your pocket and record just about anything

you desire, you could clip it to the top of a DSLR and get high-quality timecoded audio or you could plug in your guitar and multi-track to your heart’s content. In some ways the H4n Pro is an incremental upgrade of the H4n, designed to improve upon and replace it in the same way the H4n superseded the original H4. However, the major improvements to the microphone preamps should not only entice new users but might also inspire existing H4n users to upgrade sooner rather than later. I can quite easily see the H4n Pro becoming as much loved and widely used as the H4n.

The Reviewer Andy Coules is a sound engineer and audio educator who has toured the world with a diverse array of acts in a wide range of genres. andycoules.co.uk

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

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FLUID AUDIO FPX7 ACTIVE LOUDSPEAKER

Key Features

Continuing his series of recent studio monitor reviews, Nigel Palmer unearthed a few surprises when he unboxed this new coaxial specimen. nother month, another small active loudspeaker review – if nothing else it’s indicative of what a crowded market sector this has become, especially with twoways built to a price, and there’s good reason for it through the continued rise of project studios.

With design knowhow based in the US and manufacturing in China, Fluid Audio as a company is a relative newcomer to the field. However, there’s no lack of background experience in its founder, loudspeaker veteran Kevin Zuccaro. Of particular note in the product range is an interest in coaxial, or dual-concentric speakers, where “the individual driver units radiate sound from the same point or axis” (Wikipedia). Although this is something I associate with Tannoy speakers I’ve used in the past, it’s an idea with much to commend it still in terms of time-alignment, larger listening sweet spot and a potential for smaller cabinet size. It’s nice to see it dusted off once more in Fluid’s latest offering, the FPX7, which has the additional twists of the first time an Air Motion Transformer (AMT) tweeter has been used in such a configuration, together with DSP control for better room integration.

A

Overview The Fluid Audio FPX7 is a smart-looking and compact loudspeaker with box sides curved on the vertical axis to help reduce internal standing waves, rounded corners and a silver baffle plate set in a black MDF enclosure. Measuring 308 x 217 x 264mm (HWD) and weighing 36

October 2016

7in composite cone, low-frequency driver

Air Motion Transformer (AMT) tweeter

Bi-amplified 140W Class A/B amplification

42Hz-27kHz frequency response (+/- 3dB)

Tweeter high frequency trim control (+2, 0, -2dB) SRP: £385 www.fluidaudio.net 7.5kg, working down from the top of the plate is firstly a power indicator in the form of an illuminating Fluid Audio logo next to a detented fader volume control, which I found worked best in my system at the -6 detent. Below this is the coaxial driver array consisting of a 7in paper cone woofer with a 28 x 43mm AMT tweeter mounted centrally in a waveguide. I’ve now reviewed a number of speakers using Air Motion Transformer technology, and have become a fan – this type of transducer with a pleated diaphragm, in this case made of polyester, potentially offers clarity and imaging without harshness and can provide detail while avoiding consequential listening fatigue. The amplifiers are – perhaps unusually when Class D has become so common in this type of product – Class A/B, delivering 50W for the high frequencies and 90W for the LF. Completing a tour of the front panel is a slot-shaped reflex port contributing to the speaker’s 42Hz27kHz frequency response.

At the top of the rear are the audio inputs: analogue-only XLR (no latch on this, so care may be needed to ensure the plug isn’t accidentally pulled out), ¼” jack and phono/RCA. Next to these are the two DSP control switches: HF Trim and Acoustic Space. HF Trim adjusts the tweeter’s output by ±2dB – I left this in the ‘flat’ position – and Acoustic Space helps tailor low frequency response if there’s a wall behind the speaker by applying a low frequency shelving EQ

below 200Hz; settings are 0dB, -2dB and -4dB, and in the Lowland Masters room -2dB gave the best result. Rounding off the rear panel’s features are a large metal heatsink for the amplifiers (I found this rang acoustically when tapped but couldn’t hear any effect during normal listening) and power input facilities.

In Use Once set up on stands, I played my usual range of reference material through the review pair of FPX7s, and was immediately rewarded with a very usable presentation. The crossover point of the Fluid is 3.5kHz, and it was apparent that work has been done to ensure the transition between drivers is as seamless as possible – it’s within the vocal region and also the ear’s most sensitive area, and I’m pleased to report no obvious problems. Rock, dance music, jazz and pop all played predictably and well on this speaker, with the AMT providing its typically clear presentation – a nice firm feel from the woofer and the promised good phase performance of the array as a whole.

I recently mastered a new orchestral soundtrack for the groundbreaking 1927 silent film Napoléon, and was pleasantly surprised at what the FPX7s could do with it – the need for minor corrections made when I did the work was still audible when playing the unmastered version, and the speaker made a decent fist of handling the extremes of dynamic in the piece. In fact, acoustic music in

general, which can be something of a loudspeaker torture test, came across well – another recent mastering through here, the album The Furthest Tree for acoustic guitar virtuoso Clive Carroll, spoke on all the right levels emotionally and sonically. My one comment would be that there’s a slight but noticeable forwardness in the midrange of the FPX7, but to me this manifests as a conscious design decision to zoom in a little on an important region rather than a vice.

Conclusion Designing loudspeakers to a price point while retaining acceptable performance is a talent not granted to many, but it seems Kevin Zuccaro has it. I always appreciate an unfussy approach, keeping things as simple as they need but no simpler, and I can see the Fluid being the first of a line of speakers to further this particular take on the coaxial idea. The bottom line: if you’re in the market and recording and mixing either at home or in a commercial facility, the Fluid Audio FPX7 is definitely worthy of your attention.

The Reviewer Nigel Palmer has been a freelance sound engineer and producer for over 20 years. He runs his CD mastering business Lowland Masters from rural Essex. www.lowlandmasters.com

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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

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KLANG: QUELLE HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER

Andy Coules has a play around with this compact device, which acts as both a Dante-enabled digitalto-analogue converter and a professional fourchannel headphone amp. aving been let loose on the excellent KLANG: fabrik 3D in-ear monitoring system I was intrigued to be given the opportunity to try out the KLANG: quelle four-channel Dante-driven headphone amplifier.

As its title suggests it fulfils the dual roles of digital to analogue conversion and headphone amplification for four independent stereo signals delivered via Dante. It comes in two versions, compact and 19in rack; the two versions are identical but for the fact that the 19in version fits in a rack and has four XLR pairs for balanced stereo output of the four channels. For this review I took the compact version for a spin.

And compact it is – the front panel is 1U high and just 12cm wide (or 4.7in) meaning you could easily fit three of them in a standard 19in rack slot – not that it has any rack mounting options, it’s designed to be used for ‘drop box’like distribution. The front panel sports four each of volume controls, gain range switches (-12/0/+12dB), 6.3mm TRS female jack output sockets and a signal LED. On the back is a single locking RJ45 EtherCON connector and a 24V DC power input socket. It can also run via power over Ethernet (PoE) and there are two LEDs on the back panel to let you know which powering method is in use. The whole thing is very solidly built and feels rugged in the hand.

Existing Dante users should be familiar with the requirements but if you’re new to digital audio networking

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you’re going to need a gigabit switch free of non-audio network traffic and a networked laptop running the free Dante Controller software in order to set it up. You will also, of course, require an audio source, be it a Dante-enabled digital mixing console or a laptop running the Dante virtual sound card.

For the purpose of this review I used a laptop running Cubase to supply the audio across my home network.

In Dante Controller, the first thing I did was made sure the sample rates on the two devices matched (quelle can handle anything up to 192kHz) and I was quickly rewarded with a green tick that confirmed the connection was established. It’s important to note that once the connection is established it will remain so without the need to run the Dante Controller software again, even if the transmitters and receivers have been turned off and on again.

Thanks to the Dante virtual sound card Cubase soon saw eight new outputs, which I grouped into four stereo outputs so that I could start sending audio to them. It was then a very simple matter to piece together multiple output mixes so I could have a listen. Even at the lowest sample rates the audio was crisp, clear and

had a warmth that I didn’t expect from digital audio; it sounded equally great on my studio headphones as well as via moulded IEMs. The output impedance is less than 1 ohm so it is ideally suited to low resistance in-ear headphones. I powered the review unit via PoE and I noticed that it got quite hot in general use, so decent ventilation will need to be taken into account if you plan to mount it in any kind of portable unit.

Key Features

Four headphone outputs

Dante with eight channel inputs

Volume regulation

Level preselection

Suitable for use with in-ears and headphones RRP: £895-£1,095 www.klang.com

Easy does it Once the connection is made and the audio is flying across the network basic usage is simplicity itself, a fact borne out by the manual, which is just six pages long yet contains all you need to know. The volume knobs feel solid to the touch and make setting a suitable level very straightforward, and the gain range switches enable you to cope with a wide range of input signals and tailor the output level to a wide range of devices. The only minor niggle I had with the user interface was that the knobs are quite large and in very close proximity to the gain range selection switches, which meant I found it very difficult to change the gain range without knocking one of the knobs. This is likely to be an issue for any but the

daintiest fingered so you might want to think about selecting your gain range before setting the level.

KLANG: quelle is an excellent addition to an existing KLANG 3D monitoring system, but it works well as a stand alone unit for simple, efficient and high quality headphone distribution on the live stage, in rehearsal or in the recording studio.

The Reviewer Andy Coules is a sound engineer and audio educator who has toured the world with a diverse array of acts in a wide range of genres. andycoules.co.uk

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

www.audiomediainternational.com

JBL EON ONE PORTABLE PA

Strother Bullins checks out this compact all-inone speaker and mixer system – the newest member of the acclaimed EON Series. ong recognised as a pioneering name in portable PA (PPA), JBL Professional’s EON Series products are everywhere – in clubs, rehearsal spaces, houses-of-worship, theatres and more. Over time, the EON range has been refined to offer more power and performance at an always-affordable price point for an increasingly demanding PPA marketplace.

JBL’s latest EON product, EON ONE, is the best example that I can recall to illustrate this line’s massive appeal.

At 40.8lbs in total, its designers have managed to pack a notably powerfulsounding, configurable-height portable line array and Bluetooth-enabled six-channel mixer with stereo monitor outputs and one knob channel reverb in a scratch resistant, easy-to-carry polypropylene cabinet, all for under $1,000 street. As such, it’s an ideal PPA for one or two musician gigs and a super option for the modern DJ or KJ.

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Key Features

Patent-pending linear-array configuration (six 2in HF drivers)

Unobstructed 10in bass-reflex subwoofer

Six-channel mixer with easy-to-use controls

380W of power, 118dB max SPL

Three listening positions for different environments RRP: £958.80 www.jblpro.com 40

October 2016

Many key features comprise the impressive EON ONE. Once configured (which takes seconds), the first thing I noticed from reference material playback was its balanced sound and notably full, deep-reaching bass response (with a frequency range from 37.5Hz) thanks to its rigid main cabinet enclosing an unobstructed 10in bassreflex subwoofer powered by a Class D 250W amplifier.

Up top, JBL’s Directivity Control Geometry technology employs six carefully splayed 2in mid/ high-frequency drivers, effectively distributing its 100º by 50º coverage pattern; in application, the sound is evenly distributed, whether listening from a distance or very off axis.

Coverage of this quality simply isn’t possible via a traditional “speaker on pole” rig.

EON ONE’s I/O, while limited, is sufficient for most singer-songwriter applications. Channels 1 and 2 provide XLR/0.25in jack combo connectors (XLR is a mic level input, 0.25 is a line level input), while channels 3 and 4 offer a 0.25in balanced TRS jack or RCA jack each. Channels 5 and 6 input is via a 3.5mm stereo jack. No phantom power is provided.

On the move As mentioned above, this setup is a great portable DJ rig. Most private events (weddings, parties and so on) would be well served by EON ONE for playback, vocals and announcements. Not only is it just slightly over 40lbs, it’s weight-balanced and designed in a way to be extremely easy to carry. And it is – I had no problem loading-in this PPA with one hand, up two flights of steps without breaking a sweat. Its portable design is unique to the marketplace and brilliantly designed – especially the main unit’s handle mechanism.

The new JBL EON Transporter is the official transport case for JBL EON ONE systems. It is designed to offer superior protection and easy transportation with its deluxe cover and rolling transport board. The integrated casterboard lets the user roll in and out of gigs quickly and efficiently, making set up and teardown easier than ever.

The cover is made of nylon with thick protective padding and soft tricot interior. Durable hooks and loops with latching clasps keep everything secure during transport. There is a pocket for cables, mics and other accessories and the cover also features heavyduty reinforced carry handles with a polyethylene core.

The JBL EON ONE Transporter is now available priced at £162 RRP. EON ONE’s integral mixer offers solid-feeling knobs as well as two shelf EQs (labelled Bass and Treble) and a medium/large hall-type reverb for channels 1 and 2. Most users would probably not need the reverb, but in small quantity, it sounds nice on acoustic guitar and vocal.

In all, EON ONE is a winner in that it provides the coverage and clarity features inherent in a modern portable line array, more than sufficient power for most club or small venue applications, built-in I/O and mixer and a most attractive price point. If you’ve never previously considered an EON setup for portable PA applications, I urge you to check out EON ONE, as it’s a completely different beast for its moniker.

The Reviewer Strother Bullins is reviews editor for NewBay’s AV/Pro Audio Group. sbullins@nbmedia.com www.prosoundnetwork.com

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INTERVIEW

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TOP SCORER

Well regarded in the industry for his epic movie soundtracks, composer Simon Franglen talks to Colby Ramsey about his latest project, the new star-studded remake of classic Western The Magnificent Seven. then refined by Antoine. We also programmed everything in Pro Tools and there was a team of us working together at my house to network all the computers together, which is the most important thing in my main studio. There are 12 cables in there: eight for the 7.1 rig and four microphone cables. So in terms of everything other than the orchestra, that was the extent of analogue we had going at one time. It was all purely digital and everything non-orchestral was recorded in 32-bit 48k, while the orchestra was recorded in 32-bit 96k at Fox’s Newman Scoring Stage, which has a lovely Neve 88 96-channel desk.

How did you originally begin working on The Magnificent Seven?

Myself and James Horner had worked together for many years, including on Southpaw with the director, Antoine Fuqua, who had asked James to do The Magnificent Seven. I met James along with Simon Rhodes, one of the great engineers of Abbey Road, in London and we spent a week working there while James wrote some themes for the movie.

The next week James flew back to LA, and we were really excited because it’s a cowboy film, which doesn’t come about very often. After I received the tragic news about James’ death, I felt like it would be wrong to just let his themes – as the last things he had written – to just disappear. I spoke to the musical team and said I would like to finish the themes off as James would have wanted and give them to Antoine as a gift, so Simon and I completed a suite of music in the style that we knew James wanted for the score.

I flew to the set in Louisiana where Antoine was shooting and gave him the CD, upon which he asked me to finish the score. It was a labour of love for all of us. James was a wonderful guy and great friend and I felt like it was just something I needed to do.

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October 2016

Could you tell us more about the score itself and some of the techniques you used to produce it?

The score needed to have two sides. The first was a classic cinemascope feel that involved recording a large orchestra.

We recorded everything together as one piece – which is not how things are always done these days – to get that wide cinemascope sound and to get the sound of the instruments to bleed into each other through the microphones.

Secondly, I wanted to make sure the score was grounded and reflected the time period when the film is set. Electronica doesn’t work within a cowboy movie so we used very few synths, and instead I used guitars, percussion and some unusual woodwind instruments to create those rhythmic sounds. We were making the synthetic grooves and percussive tracks that people are used to but with real instruments, and then processing them in Pro Tools.

Where did the mix take place and what sort of setup were you running?

We mixed at my home studio in 7.1, where I used big orchestral sample templates to prepare very highly detailed demos, which were

What sort of recording devices did you use?

Simon Rhodes and myself had a choice of the most expensive microphones on Earth. For the main decca tree, it was Neumann M50s all the way. In terms of the spot recordings and near-field recordings, we fell in love with the Neve RN17s, which are great for individual, detailed instrument recordings. We also used Neve RNR1 ribbon mics and Voodoos on low brass and basses.

So how did the mix all come together in the end?

We were dealing with an 80-piece orchestra, so in terms of mixing we were recording two different sets of rigs. The first was the 96k orchestra rig being sample converted down to 48k, which fed into our ‘pick ’n’ mix’ rig where we mixed it to stems with the synths going in at 48k as well. Then Simon Rhodes was printing 12 to 14 7.1 stems and some stereos as well for use on the dub stage.

We looked at the options and decided, having built guerrilla studios in the past, that mixing at home was possible. There we used Neumann KH420 mid-fields, each sitting on top of Neumann KH870 subwoofers for an amazing 7.1 rig combination.

We then used KH310s for the sides and surrounds.

Avatar was the last film that we mixed in analogue as a crew but since then everything has been entirely in the box. I used an Avid C24 as a mix controller and was taking sounds that the live players were generating and manipulating them through Pro Tools.

I used quite a lot of plug-ins, including [The Cargo Cult] Slapper for multichannel delay and the VSM plug-ins, which I really like. We needed a bit of a contemporary sound so we also used a whole host of different reverb plug-ins along with delay and compression.

Did you encounter any particular problems? If so, what were they?

When dealing with these massive scores on live programming sessions, we did run into some data management issues. The sheer quantity of the material that I was generating every day is something that the software cannot handle properly yet. We were driving the rigs very hard, reaching the capacity of what these systems are able to provide.

There’s a roughness in film music that you don’t get with records. There should always be layers of depth in these big epic film score but you need to be mindful of background noise that can take up precious data and obscure audio in the foreground, like dialogue.

What else have you got in the pipeline?

One current project is something I’m about to deliver in China. Imagine a large dome, about 60m wide and about 20m high, with incredibly beautiful wall mouldings with 260 loudspeakers in a 3D IOSONO array around the edge. I’ve written a fully immersive suite of music using four interlocking orchestras, a 48-voice choir, and loads of bells and synths, the idea being that you can properly walk around inside the music.

Oh, and there’s one more thing – it’s 2,000 feet in the air at the top of the Shanghai tower.

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