ALMA, ALTI, and AISE 2019. What Happened in Orlando...

The annual ALMA International Symposium & Expo (AISE) 2019, took place June 9–10 at the DoubleTree by Hilton at Universal Orlando, just prior to InfoComm 2019. Once again, it was the strongest event ever for anyone in the loudspeaker and electroacoustic development in general. This was the first event since the association decided to move away from Las Vegas and CES, and leverage the opportunities of working closer with the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association (AVIXA) and its annual trade show, InfoComm.

In this Test Bench we will be looking at the 29 mm TW29DN-B cloth dome tweeter from the SB Acoustics Satori line of high-end devices. This new TW29DN-B-8 SB Satori tweeter is a wide surround format-type similar to the original Vifa DX tweeter, or the current Scan-Speak D2604 or D2607. However, all of these are 26 mm diaphragm tweeters, and the new Satori ST29DN-B-8 is a 29 mm diaphragm type. This article was published in Voice Coil, March 2019.

This month I am characterizing the SB29BNC beryllium 29 mm dome tweeter from SB Acoustics. This is the second high-end 29 mm beryllium diaphragm neodymium dome sent by SB Acoustics for Test Bench. Features for this transducer include a small format 72 mm diameter injection-molded plastic faceplate, and an 8 mm wide coated cloth surround. This article was published in Voice Coil, March 2019.

Salk Signature Sound announced the introduction of its SS9.5 high fidelity loudspeakers, auditioned for the first time at the AXPONA 2019 hi-fi show in Chicago. Incorporating SB Acoustics Satori drivers and other top shelf components, the newest addition to the company's product line is an affordable, high performance 3-way acoustic suspension loudspeaker design that improves fidelity with linear phase response, lower distortion and wider bandwidth, extending the bottom octave.

Voice Coil May 2019 features an overview of Asian speaker manufacturing outside of China, with a detail portrait country by country. Mike Klasco reports on Loudspeaker Enclosure Materials, focusing on new and improved material alternatives. James Croft reviews a new patented design from Harman to improve reproduction in boundary-coupled systems, and in Test Bench, Vance Dickason characterizes two new 1” compression drivers, one from Celestion, and another from SB Audience, a new brand from SB Acoustics targeting pro audio applications. All this and the usual Industry Watch updates, now ready to download!

Voice Coil March 2019 is now available and this issue focuses on the vital, but seldom addressed, topic of loudspeaker enclosure materials. Mike Klasco reviews and looks ahead at all the materials and design approaches for loudspeaker enclosures, and the edition also includes a complete directory for sourcing vendors in this area. James Croft reviews a Coaxial Centerbody Point-Source (CCPS) Horn Speaker System patent, and Vance Dickason characterizes three new tweeters on Test Bench.

2018 was another record-breaking year for audioXpress.com with visits and users doubling the figures compared to our record year in 2016. Want to know which of the topics and stories published online in 2018 were the most popular? We looked at the most-read articles of 2018 in audioXpress.com (which also includes selected articles from Voice Coil magazine), and we created this Top 10 list of news stories and online articles. Here are the results!

In this edition, audioXpress pays tribute to one of its most esteemed and prolific writers, Ron Tipton (1936–2018). In our cover feature, Scott Dorsey details his fascinating visit to the Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center. Tom Perazella concludes the construction of his flagship Egg Speakers, Andy Lewis explains more about Back EMF, Peter Lehmann shares his time-alignment design for a two-way speaker, and Ethan Winer shares his experience with the affordable LabNation SmartScope USB oscilloscope. And that's just the start of another great edition, now available in print and online.

Once again, audioXpress focuses on loudspeaker building, design, and testing in its September edition. We have three great speaker DIY projects that are certain to inspire our readers, Geoff Hill explains how speaker measurements are evolving under the latest Audio Engineering Society (AES) efforts, and Richard Honeycutt writes about modulation distortion in loudspeakers. We interviewed Crispin Herrod-Taylor, the designer of the amazing SoundBuckets portable speakers, we explain all you need to know about the latest HDMI Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC) specification, and Ward Maas tells the story of Infineon's new energy-efficient multi-level amplifiers.

In this review, Oliver A. Masciarotte shares his experience with the surprising SB Acoustics Rinjani and Ara speaker kits, which feature the high-end Satori TW29R Tweeter, the MW16P-4, and the MW16P-8 midwoofers from the brand. Masciarotte had the opportunity to live for some weeks with these exquisite Rinjani speakers - a name inspired by the famous volcano mountain in Lombok, Indonesia, a place of immense natural beauty. This article was originally published in audioXpress, September 2017.