L-Acoustics Reveals New Compact K3 Line Source System

The market leader in touring, music festivals and large scale live music events, French manufacturer L-Acoustics has unveiled the latest reference in its family of sound reinforcement systems. Positioned above the compact Kiva and Kara line arrays, and the massive K2 and K1 full-range enclosures, the new L-Acoustics K3 completes the K Series lineup, offering a versatile solution for a reshaped events industry.

This Test bench measures the massive Eminence NSW6021-6 21" neodymium low-frequency woofer, part of the company's recently announced Tour Grade series. This family of pro audio woofers consists of two 18" options, including the Ferrite Magnet FSW4018-8, and the Neodymium Magnet NSW4018-8 that appeared in the March 2020 Test Bench. The NSW6021-6 is a very high power handling 21" woofer, designed over two years to support the requirements of touring sound professionals who want to move more air, more efficiently, and without failures in a wide range of applications and venues. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, June 2020.

Taking its reputation for impressive power to size ratios to a new level, NEXO has unveiled the smallest loudspeaker ever built by the company. The new ID14 is a 5"-cube, capable of 116dB SPL (peak). Partnered with its ID S108 subwoofer box, it creates an extremely compact high-power 3-way system. Available in black, white or any RAL colour, the ID14 can be used standalone or in a distributed system, for front fill, infill or delays. For installations, it can be a valuable tool to solve architectural challenges in historic buildings.

Vance Dickason characterizes a very high power handling 18" woofer from Eminence’s recently announced Tour Grade pro sound product line, the NSW4018-8. The Tour Grade family consists of two 18" options, including the ferrite magnet FSW4018-8, the neodymium magnet NSW4018-8, and the massive neodymium magnet 21” NSW6021-6, and was developed over two years to support the undisputed growth of professional audio. Applications for the new Eminence NSW4018-8 include use as a bass driver in multiway systems, or as a dedicated subwoofer in bass reflex designs. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, May 2020.

From an overview of the latest headphone test & measurement equipment, to a massive 21" tour-grade woofer from Eminence, a precise, horn-loaded ribbon planar driver from Radian, and a discussion of a controversial and wide-ranging patent on low-mass transducers, there's a lot to discover in the June 2020 edition of Voice Coil. Available now in print and digital. Download now.

In this very strong edition of Voice Coil, focused on up-to-date topics for loudspeaker professionals, we discuss the industry's Asian supply chain, how a new carbon composite dome compares with Beryllium and Titanium products, and James Croft reviews a recent electrostatic loudspeaker (ESL) patent. Vance Dickason focuses his attention on two innovations coming from Eminence, in two extreme product categories. The new Eminence NSW4018-8 18" Tour Grade Woofer, and the new N314X 1.4" compression driver, which is the first to use TeXtreme composite material for the diaphragm. Download your copy now!

Driven by consumer demand for bigger and better audio-visual experiences, the power amp market is on track to achieve a worldwide value of $785 million in 2020, according to a new industry report from Futuresource Consulting. The UK-based market research firm announced a new report focusing on the Professional Power Amplifiers category, following the success of the previous Loudspeakers and Microphones market reports.

Another year, another new owner for Martin Audio, which is about to break the record for the most sold, bought and bought-out pro audio company ever. This time, in another example of the Good 'Ol Boy Network in action, Focusrite plc., which comprises the Focusrite, ADAM Audio, Novation and Ampify Music brands, announced the acquisition of Martin Audio Ltd and associated companies.

It was hardly a secret that Eminence was planning to shake up the pro audio industry with its new Tour Grade - American Muscle subwoofer series. After months of teasing the market and receiving a lot of market feedback, Eminence introduces the company's first pro audio high power woofer family since the 1999 release of the Eminence Kilomax series. But this time, the Tour Grade series woofers are a much more ambitious undertaking, representing an effort from the Kentucky company to define new standards in efficient low frequency reproduction.

Promoted every year by the market research firm Futuresource Consulting, Audio Collaborative 2019 full-day conference on November 7 was invaluable, with Futuresource's leading market analysts and researchers sharing some of the latest stats and trends on the topics in the agenda, combined with great panels and in-between keynotes. This is the second of my reports, originally published in The Audio Voice newsletter.