Get Ahead on Cones, Woofers, Compression Drivers and More with Voice Coil February 2020!
Voice Coil February 2020 is now available for download. This edition features an industry update on Speaker Cones, exploring the fabrication, materials, and performance aspects of this critical component in driver design. This is complemented with a comprehensive directory of loudspeaker cone, surround, spider, and other soft part suppliers. James Croft reviews a Self-Sealing Expandable Subwoofer design patent, while Vance Dickason characterizes the LaVoce WAN103.01 high-power 10” woofer, and a Radian 835PB ferrite 1.4” aluminum diaphragm compression driver in Test Bench.
Waves Audio SuperRack Next Generation Plugin Processing Software Runs Native on Windows/Mac
Waves SuperRack is a flagship example of the company's leadership in both audio signal processing technologies and design of software tools that can be used both in the studio and live sound situations. Able to run up to 128 audio channels through multiple instances of Waves plugins with near-zero latency when running in a SoundGrid Audio-over-Ethernet network and a dedicated SoundGrid DSP server, Waves Audio now also announced native CPU processing support for Waves SuperRack.
SabineTek Introduces SmartMike+ Bluetooth Wireless Microphone at CES 2020
Beijing Sabine Technology Co., Ltd, (also known as Sabinetek) was one of the companies to follow at the CES 2020 show, thank to its latest awarded product – the SmartMike+ Bluetooth Wireless Microphone. Twice recognized at the CES 2020 Innovation Awards, the SmartMike+ is a wireless microphone with real-time transmission and synchronization of full band stereo, applicable for recording interviews, vlogging, and more with smartphones.
Continental and Sennheiser Developed New Sound Actuator Solution for Vehicle Audio
One of the key technology demonstrations in automotive audio at CES 2020 was promoted by Continental and audio specialist Sennheiser. The two German companies presented a "speakerless" audio system for the vehicle interior, which Sennheiser claims is able to generate immersive audio by exciting surfaces inside the vehicle to produce sound. The Continental actuator solution - Ac2ated Sound - reduces weight and space by up to 90% in comparison to conventional systems.
Smart Speaker Ownership Reaches 60 Million U.S. Adults
New data from the latest installment of The Smart Audio Report from NPR and Edison Research confirms that smart speaker adoption continues to grow in the U.S. with 60M adults A18+ (24% of the population) now owning a smart speaker. And with spoken word audio listening up 20% from 2014, cutting into time spent with music, it's clear the audio landscape is changing dramatically – driven by technology advancements and content preferences alike.
IsoAcoustics and PSB Speakers Announce Collaboration Ahead of Integrated Systems Europe 2020
IsoAcoustics, the manufacturer of acoustic isolation products for home and professional speakers, and PSB Speakers, the loudspeaker manufacturer recognized around the globe as a leader in high-quality speakers, are joining forces in 2020 to offer a new line of PSB Speakers featuring IsoAcoustics award-winning isolation technology, the first of which is integrated into the PSB CustomSound In-Room Sub (CSIR Sub) to be introduced at ISE 2020, in Amsterdam.
Sennheiser Reintroduces HD 25 Headphones with New Redesigned Headband
For more than 30 years, the Sennheiser HD 25 headphones have been the professionals' choice for monitoring, field recording and DJing - as well as the favorite "light" headphones for many music enthusiasts. Now Sennheiser is launching an all-new HD 25 LIGHT model, which for the first time combines the sound signature of the original on-ear with a simpler headband design. By offering the same sought-after sound performance as the iconic classic, the new model provides an attractive entry into the HD 25 world.
Apogee Introduces Symphony Desktop USB-C Audio Interface
With the new Symphony Desktop, Apogee launched its most affordable Symphony series interface ever. Unveiled at NAMM 2020, the new USB-C compact audio interface combines the flagship sound quality that the Symphony interface range is known for, with vintage mic preamp emulation, Apogee hardware DSP with premium plugins, and an immersive touch screen interface. A powerful, compact recording and music production solution.
RME Announces ADI-2 Pro FSR Black Edition and ADI-2 Pro FS Price Decrease
RME debuted the ADI-2 Pro FSR BE, a black edition of its popular reference AD/DA converter, at the 2020 NAMM Show. The ADI-2 Pro FSR BE features a black front plate and is an all-in-one solution for a host of devices, including a high-end AD/DA converter, a USB DAC, a high-end AD/DA frontend and headphone amp for iOS devices, a multi-format converter with monitoring function, an AD/DA frontend of audio measurement at up to 768 kHz sample rate, and a DSD record and playback solution.
TDK Announces First MIPI Standard SoundWire MEMS Microphone
Among the many interesting demonstrations of new audio solutions for developers presented by TDK at CES 2020, the T5808 MIPI standard SoundWire microphone stands out as a "world's first," using the MIPI Alliance SoundWire compliant digital interface which allows bi-directional data flow. The T5808 is a multi-mode, low noise digital MEMS microphone in a small package, consisting of a MEMS microphone element and an impedance converter amplifier followed by a fourth-order Σ-Δ modulator.