For 2016, our yearly Loudspeaker Industry Sourcebook (LIS 2016) directory gained an entirely new dimension. First, there’s the new website, available at www.loudspeakerindustrysourcebook.com where all vendors, service providers, and industry professionals are now able to continuously update their information throughout the year, while the database driven interface will make it easier than ever for anyone in the industry looking for loudspeaker resources to find what they need.The online directory was recently updated with all the information submitted for our 2016 Loudspeaker Industry Sourcebook print edition, which contains complete listings and the already familiar category indexes, which make this annual publication such an invaluable resource for the industry.
But of course, in the best tradition of the Loudspeaker Industry Sourcebook, the 2016 edition contains more than the listings. In this edition, readers will find a complete series of must-read articles for anyone in the audio industry. Combining the editorial resources of our monthly publications, audioXpress and Voice Coil, LIS 2016 contains the best collection of feature articles, industry reports, and company profiles we could assemble, as well as our annual query about the state of the industry, with contributions from distinguished market executives and professionals.
The 2016 edition includes an analysis on the state of the industry, an important contribution by Jack Wetherill from marketing research specialists, Futuresource Consulting. In this article, Wetherill discusses how new technologies are creating opportunities for loudspeaker manufacturers, as well as a range of challenges.
In another helpful Industry Report, Barry Vogel, Association of Loudspeaker Manufacturing & Acoustics (ALMA) International Association Manager, compiled a series of contributions and considerations from ALMA’s board members, in which they discuss the state of the industry and a topic for the forthcoming ALMA Winter Symposium 2017: the Future of Mobile Audio. As Vogel states, “it is an exciting time in electroacoustics and we haven’t even scratched the surface of the possibilities yet.”
The LIS 2016 edition also includes two articles which we are certain will be highly appreciated. We start with an important initiative this year, remembering the contributions of the Danish Speaker industry in the moment of its 100th anniversary. We also highlight one of the most historical – and currently the longest enduring - of the Danish audio manufacturing companies, Bang & Olufsen (B&O), currently celebrating its 90th anniversary. In honor of the occasion, the company released its most ambitious loudspeaker ever, the revolutionary Beolab 90. In this edition, we are honored to have an exclusive contribution by Bang & Olufsen’s Geoff Martin, who was responsible for the project, explaining how they approached the development of active directivity control in the Beolab 90. As Martin reveals, typically, the process of developing a new B&O loudspeaker follows a standard timeline, refined over decades of creating active loudspeakers, but the development of Beolab 90 was different, integrating technologies that have been used on many earlier B&O loudspeakers and others which were completely new to all the development team.
Of course, this LIS 2016 edition also contains important industry profiles, including on Warkwyn, discussing how this fantastically equipped independent laboratory, now located in Minneapolis, MN, offers transducer and speaker analysis, prototyping, engineering, design, and marketing deliverables. In this edition, Acustica Beyma, the well-known speaker manufacturer from Valencia, Spain, discusses how the company is ready to tackle “New Horizons in Loudspeaker Technology.” Finally, Robert Baum (Principal, Pacific Audio Consulting) explains how his experience last year, attending the first edition of the Loudspeaker Sourcing Show held near Guangzhou, in southern China, was an invaluable one, and why the second edition - Loudspeaker Sourcing Show 2016 - should be even better and highly recommended for successful transpacific manufacturing.
The 2016 edition of the Loudspeaker Industry Sourcebook also includes a series of great Industry Features: Peter Larsen, Loudsoft President, discusses Fast Rub and Buzz Testing; Wolfgang Klippel (Klippel), talks in depth about the Assessment of Transducer Components; Simon Forrest, Senior Marketing Manager at Imagination Technologies, explains the challenges of Wireless Speaker Synchronization and how his company created a solution; Vanessa Rene (Ferrotec), Mike Klasco and Steve Tatarunis (Menlo Scientific) discuss Design Rules for Ferrofluids in Today’s Speaker Applications; while Paul Beckmann (DSP Concepts) presents a simple DSP solution for loudspeaker engineers, even those without coding skills, to employ.
And… as the tradition for any Loudspeaker Industry Sourcebook demands, we have surveyed an expert panel of audio professionals about some of the most important facts and trends affecting the industry. In LIS 2016, we asked them about the technologies, products, and innovations that impressed them the most in the past year; their opinions on growth opportunities at the global or local/regional levels; how loudspeaker manufacturing should react to gain competitiveness; which trends in the consumer space, like wireless connectivity, wearable technologies, or IP connectivity, they think should be a major focus for loudspeaker designers and companies.
We also asked our panel about their view on major technology disruptions, such as USB-C and Apple Lightning connectors replacing the venerable analog jack on computers and mobile devices, digital signal processing, and high-resolution audio, among many other important topics. We are certain their replies will provide an interesting overview and food for thought.
LIS 2016 is now available online here: gotomylis.com
If you would like to list your company in the online directory, fill out the form atwww.loudspeakerindustrysourcebook.com.
The listing is free and by signing up now, you will secure a spot in the 2017 edition.
