Road Tests

It seems like only yesterday (well about a year ago) that DPA launched its d:facto handheld vocal microphone, with the intent of putting a studio-quality mic into a live stage package. And now, less than a year later, DPA debuts its second-generation d:facto design — the d:facto II. Clearly, there wasn’t anything inherently wrong with the original design — in fact, the mic was starting to pick up an increasing roster of users, including performers such as Sting, who seemed quite satisfied with the original design. However, the engineering team members at DPA tend to be extremely fussy about even the smallest details, and the new and improved d:facto II was born.

Less than a year old, VUE Audiotechnik was founded and developed by two industry pioneers (Ken Berger and Jim Sides) who are noted for developing highly respected speakers for other manufacturers. And from what we’ve seen and heard so far, VUE may very well be on its way to becoming a standard in audio excellence.

Rupert Neve is one of the greatest circuit designers in the history of pro audio, and his name is synonymous with excellence for recording engineers everywhere. So when Rupert gets involved with a live sound product, we should take notice.

I’m not really sure if this is a review of a product or a phenomenon. Since it was unveiled at the 2012 Winter NAMM Show, the industry has been talking about Mackie’s DL1608, an iPad-enabled digital live mixer, to a level that hasn’t been experienced since the Alesis ADAT hit the streets some two decades ago. Part of this stems from the mixer’s impressive price/performance ratio and part comes from simply offering a cool — and convenient — way of working in the live environment.

“Innovative live sound solutions” and “World’s first smart mixing system,” they say. While a newcomer to the speaker/mixer market, Line 6 has a long history in technology, from its POD-enabled guitar processing to its respected family of XD digital wireless units. And with that in mind, I wanted to investigate these new speakers and mixer.