Trinnov's new WaveForming technology has the promise of "significantly advancing low frequency reproduction, with the potential of profoundly transforming home theater design guidelines." With the cooperation of industry partners, Trinnov’s intent is to elevate home theater performance through a design-driven approach to implementation, the company explains. Originally promoted under the banner of Multiple Source Multiple Controller (MSMC) optimization, WaveForming explores loudspeaker and subwoofer arrays to help control and "steer" bass reflections in the room, following the same approach that DIRAC has been promoting with is Dirac Live Active Room Treatment solution.
So far, Trinnov has partnered with Krix, an Australian speaker manufacturer, and Sony to deliver this solution to the market. The software is in its final stages of development and will be slowly rolled out as the company's R&D continues to perfect the solution. As the French company explains, WaveForming technology will be made available to all owners of Altitude16 and Altitude32 processors.
As Trinnov explains, WaveForming uses active acoustics to address the formidable challenge of accurately reproducing low frequencies in residential high-performance listening spaces. While integrators have developed multiple approaches to address the overwhelming effects of room modes and standing waves, the laws of physics have limited what can be done through subwoofer placement and fine-tuning levels and delays. WaveForming captures a representation of the 3D acoustic field in the listening area and its algorithm utilizes the subwoofers in place to both steer and actively absorb low frequencies. The result improves the low frequencies impact, with a uniform frequency response and decay time for all seats.
In addition to the public demos at ISE and InfoComm 2023, Trinnov is promoting exclusive presentations to key partners. As a result, over a dozen showrooms are being reconfigured to accommodate the placement of loudspeakers necessary for the technology. These projects span the globe and include showrooms of speaker manufacturers, distributors, and dealers.
"We are pleased to report that the response to our presentation at ISE was instant and highly positive," says Trinnov Audio CEO and co-founder Arnaud Laborie. "During the show and immediately afterward we were contacted by multiple partners indicating their interest in upgrading their showroom environments to enhance their product presentations by incorporating Trinnov WaveForming, with a number already under construction, some of which have already completed the required modifications. To our surprise, the WaveForming demonstration also caught a lot of interest in the pro audio industry," continues Laborie.
Some of these Trinnov WaveForming demonstrations use a 5.8.4 channel configuration with an Altitude16 processor with the +4 channel upgrade. "We were really excited and keen to implement Trinnov's new WaveForming technology into one of our demonstration rooms, just in time for our dealer training in May. The seat-to-seat consistency and dynamic realism it brings are a huge benefit to every viewer in the audience. The results are spectacular and as a result, the response from our dealers is beyond expectation!" commented Michael Cox, Marketing Manager of Krix Loudspeakers.
"If you can impress professionals who calibrate and design home cinemas for a living, then you are on to something. I know I am speaking for everyone who attended the Trinnov Advanced training that what we experienced on our final day was a revelation. Watching movie scenes that we have seen 100s of times left us with shivers and opened mouths. The tactile feel from the subwoofer array transcended our belief and understanding. Frequencies that traveled right through my body created sensations I have never felt. Not just the sheer impact, what we experienced was balanced over multiple rows of listening and subtle frequencies that only enhanced the overall cinematic soundscape. I can't wait for the opportunity to show our clients what is possible with WaveForming," reports Mick Stillone, Director of Sydney HiFi Mona Vale.
"Immediately after experiencing Trinnov's demonstration at the ISE show in Barcelona, we made a commitment to integrate this technology into our European demonstration theater outside Amsterdam, adds Anders Uggelberg, founding partner of Procella Audio. "We have enjoyed a long working relationship with Trinnov Audio and eagerly anticipate being able to showcase for our customers and the European market the major improvement of this breakthrough technology in our reference theater environment."
Procella Audio’s reference theater is located at its Amsterdam offices. The theater, which was used by Procella and Trinnov at previous ISE shows, seats 15 and incorporates a 15.3.10 channel Dolby Atmos immersive audio system. The theater room is being remodeled to incorporate the newly introduced Procella P18Si single 18 inch subwoofer, which will be installed in the front and rear walls.
As Trinnov progresses with more field tests of its WaveForming technology, its R&D team is compiling data from each installation to enable the drafting and publication of clear installation guidelines. The guidelines are expected to become available later this summer. Whilst the recommendations for the ideal configurations are well defined, testing will provide validation for less demanding speaker layouts that will enable implementation in a wide variety of rooms and speaker layouts.
Trinnov WaveForming is part of an ongoing research and a development project that began over six years ago and is likely to keep the Trinnov team busy over the next decade. In the following phase of development, the research team will pursue a more comprehensive approach, with the mission to establish how WaveForming will produce the best results in any existing environment, even without requiring a physical change to the room or subwoofer/speaker layout and placement.
www.trinnov.com
