Sphere Las Vegas Equipped with Powersoft Audio Amplifiers and Haptic Seating

Powersoft supplied 167,000 audio channels of its energy-efficient amplification for Sphere Immersive Sound, the most advanced concert audio system on the planet, part of the the $2.3 billion venture inaugurated September 29. In addition to providing audio amplifiers for the resident Holoplot sound system, Powersoft equipped Sphere's groundbreaking venue with 10,000 haptic seats using its Mover infrasound shakers with patented moving-magnet technology.

Expanding on previous articles about bass shakers and motion platforms, this article from Mike Klasco (Menlo Scientific) looks at exciting evolutions in haptic transducers and actuators that are being used in a growing number of applications - all of which depend upon audio sources for input. The ability to interact with the world through vibration and touch is central to all of our lives, and now increasingly so. This article was originally published in audioXpress, February 2022.

The February 2022 edition of audioXpress is now available and features our annual Market Update on Microphone technology. Vikrant Singh Tomar discusses TinyML and Voice Recognition Technology On the Edge, Richard Honeycutt writes about Quantification of Speech Intelligibility, and Mike Klasco expands on audio applications for Haptic Devices. George Ntanavaras builds a phono and line/headphone amplifier project, Brian Bylenok proposes a refined Current Feedback Headphone Amplifier, and Richard Honeycutt reminds us that Tube Power Amps also have Classes. Now available in print and online.

Celebrating 50 years of The Audio Amateur - the publishing company that started it all for us - and 20 years of audioXpress, we begin 2021 with a great - and expanded - edition. We discuss market and technology trends in Speakers and Transducers, a new MEMS transducer topology for wireless earbuds, and the latest innovations in haptic drivers and transducers. Perry Marshall details his unique dipoles speaker project, and renowned tube expert Menno van der Veen explains all the secrets of the latest Vanderveen Trans-SE10 amplifier. Now available in print and digital

Expanding its efforts in moving magnet linear motors for subharmonic sound reproduction, explored originally in the powerful M-Force transducer and M-Drive amp module (M-System), followed by the surprising Mover, a compact, low-frequency direct-drive/inertial-drive transducer, Powersoft now announces a new solution directly targeted at home applications. The MeMo bundle combines the Mover ultra-low frequency transducer with a fully optimized amplifier, specifically designed to enhance home cinema and gaming experiences.

In the first part of this article, our exploration of bass shakers introduced us to haptic sensations, which add the dimension of structure-borne vibrational energy to audio reproduction. At a concert, we see the performers, hear the music, and feel the amphitheater resonate with the bass. For home theaters, this “tactile” component adds another dimension (sometimes referred to as 4-D) to reproduce the impact of explosions, engine sounds, and thunder through by use of vibration. In this article we will focus directly on those haptic components. This article was originally published in audioXpress, May 2014.