AES 2009 Pick Hit Award Winners
Dec 1, 2009 4:44 PM
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More than 300 exhibitors were on hand with the latest pro audio gear at the 127th Audio Engineering Society (AES) convention in New York, Oct. 9 to 12. Listed alphabetically, here are our top 10 new product picks for contracting and live sound professionals from AES.
AKG C 747 V11 Mic
AKG updates its industry-standard condenser pencil mic. The new C 747 V11’s enhanced hypercardioid pickup offers improved off-axis rejection for ambient noise and feedback control in difficult environments, a switchable LF roll-off filter, and integrated RFI shielding to screen interference from mobile phones and wireless mics.
CAD Audio 1600VP and 1700VP Mics
The CAD Audio/Astatic Commercial1600VP (hanging model) and 1700VP (56in. carbon-fiber boom model) condenser mics feature remote control of polar pattern. Mic directivity can be changed noiselessly in realtime—even on-the-fly during performances—using a small VPC-1 remote box from up to 2000ft. away.
Community Professional Loudspeaker S4 Software
Offered as a free download, S4 (Subwoofer Steering Simulation Software) runs within Microsoft Excel to help users design a cardioid or steered subwoofer array using Community Professional Loudspeakers’ VLF-Series or any other subwoofer system. Enter basic info and system specs, and S4 provides frequency and phase response predictions in front of and behind the array, so the designer can judge array performance—both in the audience area and on stage.
JBL VertTec Series
VT4886 line array and VT4883 sub
The smallest JBL VerTec series system, the VT4886 three-way passive line array and VT4883 cardioid subwoofer are designed for suspended-array, ground-based, and front/side fill applications. The 35lbs., 22.7”x7.75”x10.25” VT4886 is capable of 137dB peaks from its eight neodymium drivers: twin 6.45in. woofers and a waveguide with four 2.5in. mids and two 1in. exit HF units. The companion VT4883 sub extends LF down to 35Hz.
NTi Audio XL2
Audio Analyzer
NTi Audio’s new flagship handheld audio and acoustics analyzer, the XL2, offers measurement of RTA, sound level, distortion, reverb time, delay time, FFT, and speech intelligibility at performance levels that until recently were only available on large benchtop units.
Shure SRH
Series Headphones
Intended for tough pro audio conditions, the ShureSRH series series features user-replaceable cables and ear cushions, a collapsible design that folds down for travel between gigs, high-output neodymium drivers for monitoring from low-output console headphone amps, and a closed-back, circumaural design for maximum isolation in loud environments.
Soundcraft Vi2 Console
Built in a frame that’s barely 33in. wide, the SoundCraft Vi2 handles up to 96 channels using the standard stagebox and local rack hardware for FOH, monitor, or sidecar duties. Touch the Vistonics master section screen and any eight inputs assign onto the faders for full control of channel parameters, EQ, auxes, groups, etc. Vi2 Show files are compatible with Vi4 and Vi6 consoles and the Virtual Vi Offline Editing software.
Stagetec
Crescendo Mixer
Designed to meet the need for slimmed-down user interfaces, the StagetecCrescendo digital mixing system’s compact footprint provides full 40-bit floating-point processing with up to 300 channel paths, 128 summing paths, and 96 auxes.
Studio Six Digital
Audiotools iPhone Software
Studio Six DigitalAudioTools is a range of audio tools (hence the name) for your iPhone, including pro-grade SPL meters, 1/3-octave RTA, FFT analyzer, ETC measurement, RT60 (in 10 bands), SPL history over time, signal generator, a speaker tester, and a line of I/O accessories, mics, and interfaces. The company is also working on a version of Smaart for the iPhone.
Waves Audio MultiRack
The first processing platform created specifically for live sound, Waves Audio WavesLive MultiRack software lets Mac/PC laptop users (with an I/O device and iLok) run multiple instances of native Waves plug-ins—compressors, reverbs, equalizers, delays, limiters, and more.
