Road Tests

A potential game-changer for the industry, Behringer’s X32 digital console features 32 input channels (32 mic/line preamps), 16 XLR output buses (plus stereo XLR/TRS outs), multichannel digital I/O (AES50 Cat-5, FireWire, USB), 4-band parametric EQ and six aux sends on all inputs and eight onboard stereo multi-effects processors. Street price is $2,899. I tip my hat to the Behringer group for creating the board’s clean, feature-packed physical layout and intuitive onboard GUI.

Audio-Technica’s ATM510 cardioid dynamic handheld microphone is a rugged, full metal shaft mic fitted with a rare-earth Hi-Energy® neodymium magnet structure that is holstered in an internal shock mount to reduce handling and stage noise. The multi-layered grill provides a great first line of defense against the pesky “plosives” and assists in controlling distortion that may be caused from sibilant sounds and wind noise. MSRP is $169, with street pricing around $99.

For some years now, the Roland Systems Group has enjoyed a great deal of success with its M-series digital mixers. That said, I have never had the pleasure of mixing on one. Which is why editor George Petersen felt I was the perfect choice to review the Roland M-480 V-Mixer digital console. So, what you are about to read are my first impressions of this piece of technology.

Radial Engineering has earned an enviable reputation for the performance of its high quality direct boxes, Now from Radial comes the JDX Reactor™, a guitar amplifier direct box that takes a new slant to capturing guitar tones onstage.

For the last two decades, I’ve been mixing at churches and installing house of worship sound systems (among other audio adventures). During this time, I’ve seen — and heard — a continuous evolution in the microphones that ministers prefer and use. For years, I would typically be asked to set up a stationary wired mic at a podium or — if the pastor/preacher went wireless — they might use a lavalier model.

A continued resurgence in the popularity of passive loudspeaker columns has encouraged manufacturers to improve the art by providing more than just a straight column of closely spaced mid-range drivers. The ability of columns to project sound with wide horizontal and narrow vertical coverage can outperform traditional point-source enclosures, especially in large, reverberant spaces. At the same time, their tall, slim profile helps them blend into the architecture and virtually disappear.

Lectrosonics offers one capsule for their HH transmitter: the HHC cardioid condenser. It is a warm and crisp, open-sounding element that can be best compared to a C-535 without its HPF engaged. However, OEM wireless capsules with the same thread diameter and pitch can be used, including those from EV, Blue, Earthworks, Heil, Telefunken and many from Shure. Audix, Neumann and Sennheiser capsules can be used with adaptors.

My best Christmas present this year arrived a little late, shortly after New Year’s Day. Radial Engineering president, Peter Janis, contacted me by email and asked if I would be interested in testing a new Radial product. He hoped I could relate my opinions to him before the NAMM Show convened in Anaheim, where he planned to roll out the unit. Upon further reading, the email described a new Radial tube DI box called “Firefly” that was being readied for production. As a devoted user of Radial products including the JDV, J48, and JDI direct boxes plus the Tonebone PZ-Pre, I was definitely intrigued and immediately agreed to take part in the evaluation process.

Martin Audio’s DD6 is an ultra-compact passive two-way speaker, uniquely adapted for a wide variety of specialized fill applications with a multi-angle enclosure and several specialized features. It employs a 6.5-inch neodymium woofer with a 1.75-inch voice coil, passively crossed over at 3700 Hz to a half-inch exit neodymium compression driver mounted on a unique Differential Dispersion horn (hence the name, DD6) with 60° of vertical coverage, transitioning from 120° at the bottom for a wide near throw, to 90° at the top for a gradually-narrowing further throw to minimize overlap and combing (or wall bounce) from its neighbor. The unique horn was designed using Martin’s proprietary Boundary Element Method (BEM) modeling tool, and the DD6 is just the first and smallest in a range of models that will offer Differential Dispersion and multi-angled enclosures.