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About Joao Martins

Since 2013, Joao Martins leads audioXpress as editor-in-chief of the US-based magazine and website, the leading audio electronics, audio product development and design publication, working also as international editor for Voice Coil, the leading periodical for the loudspeaker industry. Covering Audio and Video technology for more than 30 years - Broadcast, Film, Computer Graphics, and Music - as founder and editor of several leading publications in Portuguese and Spanish languages, (he's also fluent in French!), he benefits from a broad and rich perspective of those sectors and its multiple verticals. Marketing and Communication Specialist working at the intersection of media and technology for over three decades, Joao Martins started as a musician and studied visual arts and cinema before founding its own (short-lived) advertising agency. After a career in marketing and sales in film, television, radio and pro audio systems, transitioned full time to magazine publishing, founding new

Change and Opportunities in the Audio Landscape

On November 9, 2017, I attended the Futuresource Audio Collaborative 2017 conference, at the Ham Yard Hotel in London. With the topic "A Change is Gonna Come," the conference was a valuable and insightful event. To entice our readers to actually spend the hours listening to those interventions (and for those that don't have the time to do it), I will share some of the key highlights, adding some personal takes on the topics addressed.

Hanging Out at AES NY - Impressions from the 2017 Convention

Barely recovered from a week in New York - at least in terms of catching up with the product announcements - I have left this year's Audio Engineering Society (AES) convention with the feeling that it was just too short. Expectations couldn't have been higher. The 143rd International AES Convention (October 18-21, 2017) was sharing the Jacob Javits Center with the NAB Show New York. So naturally increased attendance was a given, and there were many "synergetic" opportunities to discuss common themes, such as media over IP.

Expanding Horizons in Audio and Voice

It's been an interesting week! Just prior to the IBC 2017 show, Apple made its traditional event for the launch of the new iPhone 8 and iPhone X (and those Augmented Reality demos were amazing!), also debuting the new Apple TV 4K. And before Samsung and all the other Smartphone manufacturers start announcing their own versions of "X" models, we had a series of interesting corporate and technology announcements, culminating by Amazon's announcement of a series of new Alexa-based hardware devices...

Around-the-Neck Wearable Sound

audioXpress closely follows innovations in the truly wireless earbud space, because it simply is one of the most exciting categories in the audio industry right now. Within the headphones category, wireless earbuds are a fast-growing segment. But truly wireless earbuds can be much more. They are truly wearables, which can do a lot more when equipped with the latest connectivity and sensors. But let's forget for a moment the earbuds and focus more on the neckband and those around-the-neck designs.

Amazon Announces New Amazon Echo and Echo Plus Smart Speakers and Introduces New Alexa Products

Amazon is not resting on its laurels in voice personal assistants. The company continues to severely undercut Google's ambitions with the Google Home, Assistant and Chromecast products, while jumping ahead to compete head to head with Apple and undermining Apple's plans for Siri and the smart home. The company just announced a completely revamped line of Echo speakers with lower prices and improved everything, as well as new classes of Echo devices.

Let's Talk about Headphones

I know that the current trend is all about smart speakers, but since we have discussed that topic extensively in recent editorials, I thought the time was ripe to discuss what is happening with headphones, a still-growing market segment showing some signs that deserve attention. In this article I wrote for The Audio Voice newsletter, I address ongoing trends in design choices, user preferences, frequency response curves, and personalization.

iZotope Launches Spire Studio Complete Portable Recording System for Musicians

In a surprising move, audio technology software and processing algorithm experts iZotope have announced a new hardware product. Spire Studio is a versatile, wireless system that enables songwriters and musicians to capture, edit, and collaborate seamlessly – at home, or on the road. Inspired by the recognition that great music can come from anywhere, iZotope designed Spire to go everywhere, offering portable, professional-quality multi-track recording in a sleek, powerful device.

Attero Tech Helps Solving the Audio-Over-IP Puzzle

Attero Tech accelerated the pace of product introductions in direct response to the growing popularity of audio-over-IP and wireless solutions in professional audio and commercial AV applications. The Fort Wayne, Indiana, company has just launched a new website to promote its fast growing catalog of solutions, featuring already many new products recently introduced at InfoComm 2017, including its new Synapse series of high channel density Dante/AES67 audio interfaces.

Voice Application Opportunities for the Audio Industry

In previous editorials, I have highlighted the important role of smart speakers in promoting the user case for voice personal assistants (VPAs) and voice recognition applications - given the ideal combination of far-field microphone arrays with a complete audio ecosystem that encompasses digital signal processing, acoustic echo cancelation, noise cancellation, and many other technologies. This opens significant opportunities for the audio industry, given we understand the challenges.