The audioXpress August 2024 issue kicks-off with Oliver Masciarotte's report from AXPONA 2024, North America's largest event for audio enthusiasts, music lovers, and audio manufacturers. The three-day experience expanded this year to almost every available space of the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center, and manufacturers from all over the world took over more than 200 listening rooms filled with the newest technology in high-end consumer audio products. According to Masciarotte, this makes it not only the biggest yet, but also the best attended.As audioXpress traditionally reserves for the August issue, our Acoustical Solutions Round-Up this year catches up on the latest developments in active acoustics, expands on new acoustic panels and materials, and highlights innovative acoustic treatment and first-approach passive solutions that deserve attention. From textiles to acoustic furniture and acoustic panels, the focus this year is also on sustainable elements that enable a positive contribution to acoustics.
Next up, Philipp Paul Klose reviews the new ARC Studio single-box acoustic correction solution from IK Multimedia. With the ARC Studio, the Italian company introduced a DSP market contender for room and speaker correction, with a unique hardware concept and attractive price point. ARC Studio is a hardware acoustic room correction system that instantly upgrades traditional studio monitors. The solution combines a processor bundled with the company's ARC MEMS microphone and new ARC 4 software. Although ARC Studio was designed essentially for the home studio, that market served by IK Multimedia, Klose also explores the possibilities for stereo system users, seeking playback chain improvements.
Still on the topic of acoustics, in his regular Sound Control column, Richard Honeycutt writes about Active Acoustic Enhancement Systems. The article discusses the genesis of acoustic enhancement systems from which modern active acoustics was born. From the Philips EL 6911/01 Tube Tape Echo machine to the E-Coustic Systems acoustics enhancement system, Honeycutt explores the differences between in-line and regenerative systems to help us understand the foundation of active acoustics.
Moving on to a Development and Design perspective, audioXpress is proud to publish the second article in a new series about the latest generation Automotive Audio Bus (A2B) technology from Analog Devices - recently expanded with the release of the AD2437 chip. After reviewing the 10 years of history and three generations of A2B technology, product development expert Brewster LaMacchia now expands on the alternative power schemes that deserve some investigation for multichannel digital audio applications.
And transitioning to Audio Electronics, this month we have the first of two articles from Charlie Laub about filters for speaker crossover applications. This month focusing on Low-Pass and High-Pass Notch Filters, the article proposes methods for their implementation, and the design of elliptic filters. These filters can play useful roles when sharp high-pass or low-pass band-limiting of audio signals is needed.
Next up, Paul Marchese offers a short but very enjoyable essay titled "The American Wire Gauge Standard and π." American Wire Gauge (AWG) is a logarithmic stepped standardized wire gauge system used since 1857 and is colloquially referred to as "gauge." This article discusses the odd value of the AWG step size and a possible explanation of its value.
And from a DIY perspective, Todd Schneider shares his Super Transformer project, a high-fidelity active direct box that helps solve the common problem of hum and noise from ground loops. The project describes a high-performance, simple, compact, and cost-effective direct box in a traditional guitar pedal board format. This transformer-based direct box (also called DI, which stands for "Direct Inject") is suitable for musical instruments (specifically electric guitar or bass) but also professional audio applications.
And finally, in his Hollow-State Electronics column, Richard Honeycutt remembers Leo Fender and His Legacy, from 1940s and 1950s. Exploring the story of musician, engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur Leo Fender and the importance of his products and designs, Richard Honeycutt departs from his personal journey as a young musician and his first acquaintance with Fender products to expand on his fabulous series of early guitar amplifiers that are highly prized even today.
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