Wireworks is having a 35th birthday. So is Ashly Audio. Birthday sounds good for 35. But what if you’re 75? Atlas Sound is going with anniversary. Actually they’re not going with anything, Andy Dixon just mentioned it on the booth, just as he mentioned that the booth next door (IED) was also now an Atlas sibling in the MiTek family.

More to the point, when you have a 75-year track record, you have to keep moving and changing. For Atlas Sound that lately means focusing the Atlas brand beyond sound. For example, while the core Atlas products including speaker and amps continue apace, if you had never been to an Atlas booth in past 75 years, you might not think you were at a speaker company. You would notice the new power products: conditioners, sequencers, supressors, etc. more…

Press release

Powersoft, Italy, a world-leading manufacturer of superior quality power amplifiers for the professional audio market, is proud to announce the official release and immediate availability of Powersoft Audio Suite software at InfoComm 09 (Booth 6384). Audio Suite provides total PC-based control of the numerous parameters found in Powersoft amplifiers and represents the framework control protocol for current and future products. Visually representing all control and signal processing features, the software is downloadable free of charge from the Powersoft website and will allow users to manage and monitor all K-series and remote versions of the Q, D, and QTU series amplifiers. Read on at The Briefing Room

More InfoComm 09 news from The Briefing Room

Partners Brian McCormick and Sean O’Malley, owners since 2007 of Stewart Audio, were eager to discuss this afternoon the fundamental remaking of their company over the past two years. The company still serves its original live-sound amplifier clients, but the new owners, who bought Stewart after lengthy stints in the semiconductor industry, decided to “re-engineer the company and seek new markets,” according to O’Malley.

Thus, today at InfoComm 09, they debuted the company’s new portable (palm-sized) power amps—the AV25 (2-channel Class D amp at 35W and 25W) that weighs less than .5lbs. and is plenum-rated, and other versions of similar size and different power capabilities. Both men say the technology is aimed at the education market—new for Stewart—and is the first of many upcoming moves into new vertical markets. O’Malley suggests that in a difficult economy, the education market is particularly ripe, at least for a certain period of time, as bond and TARP funds for modest infrastructure upgrades begin to circulate in major districts. more…

Bosch brands Midas and Klark Teknik announced at a booth press conference that effective July 1, Midas Consoles North America has been appointed as the exclusive distribution channel for Midas and Klark Teknik in the U.S. and Canada. Based in the Los Angeles-area, Midas Consoles North America is a wholly owned subsidiary of JAM Industries.
The move gives Midas and Klark Teknik direct control of its U.S. distribution channel as it markets the XL8 and PRO6 digital systems in the U.S. market. Midas’ David McNutt said that the existing Midas rep force in North America would be retained. more…

Press release

Ashly Audio is celebrating its 35th Birthday at InfoComm. Central to the history of Ashly Audio is Billy Thompson, the maverick engineer who, in 1974, inspired the five owner/operators of a struggling live sound company to redirect their talents toward the production of live sound equipment. It was Thompson’s passion for designing and building processors and amplifiers of unparalleled functionality, musicality, and reliability that cemented Ashly’s enduring reputation in both the fixed installation and live sound markets. And it was Thompson’s prescience that moved Ashly to the forefront of the digital revolution, where its current array of network-ready products provide solutions of power, reliability, and economy for the modern integrator. Read on at The Briefing Room

More InfoComm 09 news from The Briefing Room

In the EAW demo room, I ran into Jeffrey Cox, who’s here with a brand new title and role as VP of the newly-minted Pro Audio Group, part of a larger LOUD announcement that will be detailed in a press conference at 4 p.m.

It will likely be one of the most dissected announcements of the show, not least because it brings EAW and Martin together under Cox, an arrangement that begs the obvious question (see Jeffrey’s quote on that below). more…

I talked a bit with automatic mic mixer inventor Dan Dugan, and he did a demo of his Model E-1 automatic mic mixer controller. This unit connects to any mixer that has insert patch points and turns it into an eight channel automatic mixer. The operation has gone way past the old mechanical style alogrithms of days gone by. The E-1 shows the gain it’s doing on an LED ladder and keeps a low level background sound constant so there’s no distracting pumping and jumping that you have with lesser auto mixers. Would you expect anything less from the guy who invented the whole concept? The E-1 can be connected in groups of 8 up to 64 channels and no matter if it’s one or several units working, the function is very natural, just like a real, experienced audio guy would handle it.

Once again this year, at InfoComm 08 in Las Vegas, SVC‘s editorial team fanned out to find some of the most important, leading-edge AV-related products debuting at the show, investigating if they might be deserving of our annual InfoComm Pick Hit awards. Read on at The Briefing Room

Legends In Concert, celebrating its 25th year, is the longest running independently owned production show on the Las Vegas Strip. This international award-winning stage spectacular is a live musical celebration featuring the world’s greatest celebrity tribute artists. Behind the scenes, the musicians and sound engineers at the Imperial Palace Hotel & Casino know that there is no substitute for a crystal clear monitor mix. That’s why the team at Legends turns to Aviom (InfoComm Booth C4175) gear for real results. Read on at The Briefing Room

More InfoComm 08 news from The Briefing Room

At InfoComm, Crown, part of the Harman Pro Group, introduced new mega-powered members of its Macrotech i Series of power amplifiers: the 5000i, the 9000i, and the 12000i. These are designed for touring, but they’re expected to find permanent homes in various installations. That’s because Crown’s installation line, CTS, maxes out at 1500W per channel. The Macrotech i Series offers 2,000, 3,000, and 4,000W per channel.

On the other end of the spectrum, Crown introduced a much smaller amp, the 135MA. Designed for audio installations such as smaller retail stores and medical offices, the 35W mixer/amplifier has a three-input mixer (each input has volume control) for a single audio zone.