CAD Audio has a long heritage in microphones. Its parent company, Astatic, began in 1931 as a supplier of crystal mics for radio applications, along with phonograph cartridges and recording heads, and many years later expanded into the commercial audio/installation market. Even today, many of Astatic’s vintage crystal mic models are still in use and prized by harmonica players.
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It’s hard not to like Telefunken Elektroakustik. The U.S.-based company began years ago out of founder Toni Fishman’s love of wonderfully crafted European microphones. He was frustrated by a lack of replacement parts for classic mics, stemming from a vintage Telefunken ELA M 251 he owned, where the plastic ring for the polar pattern switch broke after decades of service, leaving the mic useless for want of a molded plastic part.
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The new SRX800 line of active loudspeakers from JBL Professional was unveiled during Winter NAMM 2015. The series consists of the 12-inch, two-way SRX812P; the 15-inch two-way SRX815P; the three-way 15-inch SRX835P and single (SRX818SP) and double-18 (SRX828SP) subwoofers.
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For years, Yamaha’s digital mixers seem to set a standard by which other consoles are judged. There is no question that the PM1D, PM5D and M7CL are legendary consoles that defined their respective time periods and market segments. The CL and QL series consoles are no exception, and the PM10 Rivage is poised to be another staple of large-scale productions, much like its predecessor the PM1D.
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Sennheiser’s latest addition to its robust wireless line is the evolution wireless D1 (ew D1) digital wireless microphone system. Utilizing the 2.4 GHz transmission range (2.4 GHz to 2.4835 GHz), it comes in configurations for handheld vocal, headset mic, lavalier and musical instrument applications. For this review, I checked out a handheld set and a beltpack/headet mic package.
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DPA Microphones continues to expand and improve upon its microphone solutions for pro audio users. This time around, the company sent me the d:screet 4071 omnidirectional miniature microphone to run through its paces. The 4071 is an update to DPA’s 4061 model, a workhorse praised for its sound quality that gets a lot of use on higher-end theatrical productions.
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In the past ten years, the audio industry has witnessed an explosion of multi-track recording software that has become more affordable and accessible to the average audio practitioner. During this same time period, a number of companies have introduced recording software aimed directly at sound reinforcement engineers.
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QSC started out only making amps. Very good amps. Eventually, the company branched out into speakers, and I was impressed with how their speakers sounded. Now QSC got a digital mixing board, and I’m beginning to think they’re on a winning streak here. In the case of the recent TouchMix digital mixer line, QSC chose wisely again, this time collaborating with legendary mixing console designers Greg Mackie and Peter Watts.
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Some time ago (FRONT of HOUSE, June 2013) we checked out the Cymatic Audio LR-16, a 16-channel recording solution for capturing 16-tracks of live audio from analog boards. At $499, it was priced right, but besides having a 16-rack limit, it also was built in a non-rack configuration — issues when considering gear used in a live environment.
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In-ear monitors are becoming more and more ubiquitous every day and wireless hardware systems are coming down in price, opening the market to a wide range of users, some fairly sophisticated about audio and other not so knowledgeable. In the hands of a trained pro monitor mixer who understands the needs and limitations of IEM systems (and users) the need for an in-line brick wall protection limiter may not be so important.
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One of the most essential, yet often overlooked items in the toolkit of any live sound pro is a good set of headphones. And if truth be told, there are a lot of headphones on the market, ranging from less expensive options to some awful-sounding, yet very pricey models that come emblazoned with the name of some famous music celebrity. However, the headphone needs of a sound reinforcement mixer (FOH or monitors) are quite different from those of a typical consumer — or for that matter, a studio engineer.
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If you ever needed to use a communications headset in a loud environment, you know that any headset that provides isolation is usually rather bulky. These aviation-inspired headsets do a great job for followspot operators working a loud performance, but they can be heavy and cumbersome. Point Source Audio offers a lightweight alternative with its new CM-i3 intercom headset.
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