Product Design | Audio Electronics | Acoustics | DIY | Audio Innovations
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Japan Audio Society Certifies New MQA SCL6 Scalable Codec for Hi-Res Audio Wireless Applications |
Japan Audio Society (JAS), an internationally respected audio research organization, has certified MQA's new SCL6 scalable codec for use with its Hi-Res Audio Wireless logo. This new codec carries the technical name of SCL6 and is coming to market as MQair. In the announcement, JAS confirmed that both the new SCL6 (MQA) and LC3plus (Fraunhofer IIS) codecs will receive this new level of certification, created specifically for wireless audio, and expanding the existing Hi-Res Audio certification. Read More
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Devialet Introduces Mania Portable Smart Speaker |
Devialet dropped another surprise product, this time with a new compact smart speaker that is also the brand's first custom-designed battery-operated multiroom wireless speaker. Inheriting technology from the unique Devialet Phantom, the new Mania features adaptive cross stereo that generates expansive 360° stereo sound, with a soundstage that morphs and adapts to any physical space. The Mania is Alexa-enabled and powered by four ARM Cortex-A53 1.4Ghz processors . Read More
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CEVA Appoints Technology Industry Veteran Amir Panush as CEO Effective January 2023 |
After 17 years as CEO of CEVA and more than 32 years with the company, Gideon Wertheizer is set to retire at the end of the year. The CEVA board of directors has unanimously appointed Amir Panush as CEO effective January 1, 2023. Wertheizer will continue to serve as an active member of CEVA’s board of directors and will be employed in an advisory role in the near term to ensure a smooth leadership transition. Read More
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AntennaWare Addresses Body Blocking Issues in the UWB Market |
Antennaware, Ltd., a company that specializes in solving the body blocking problems normally associated with close-range RF designs, has launched a new addition to its Bodywave antenna range that specifically targets the Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) radio market. The company's latest antenna is specifically designed to elevate wearable performance by extending range and drastically reducing drop out. Read More
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Periodic Audio Embraces Direct Sales Model and Drops IEM Prices |
Periodic Audio, the IEM company created in 2016 by consumer-electronics industry veterans Dan Wiggins, Mike Kim, Zeke Burgess, and Ben Webster, announced that the company will move to a direct sales model and as a result will pass distribution cost-savings to its customers. Effectively immediately, Periodic Audio announced a significant price reduction for its line of V3 in-ear monitors launched earlier in 2022. Read More
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Highly Anticipated Return for electronica 2022, November 15-18 |
electronica, the world’s leading trade fair and conference for electronics, will take place in 14 halls on the Munich exhibition grounds from November 15-18, 2022. This is a highly-anticipated return for a show that promises to reengage multiple critical sectors in development and manufacturing, after four years of absence. This year’s highlights in the electronica Conference will deal with Automotive, Embedded Platforms, Sensors, and Wireless Systems and Applications. Read More
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Audio Precision Updates APx500 Measurement Software to Version 8.0 |
Audio Precision released version 8.0 of its APx500 Measurement Software. Significant test time savings and much faster reporting of important measurements are the key features of this upgrade, which also adds an improved Bose SoneTrac method for Rub & Buzz measurements. Version 8.0 features software performance optimizations that reduce unnecessary computation and speed up sequence execution. This results in much faster reporting of important measurements such as THD+N. Read More
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B&C Speakers Confirms Availability of DCX354 Midrange Coaxial Ring Radiator Compression Driver |
Modern speaker arrays demand closer source spacing, higher output, and lighter weight. To meet this continuing challenge, Italian manufacturer B&C Speakers introduced the new DCX354 coaxial ring radiator. A more compact sibling of the groundbreaking DCX464 launched in 2019, the DCX354 comprises five years of R&D, two patents, and a radical MF diaphragm design to achieve what the company describes as its loudest, widest-bandwidth compression driver yet . Read More
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Guest Editorial
Ward Maas
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Warsaw Audio Video Show 2022
An Impressive International Showcase
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When almost 25 years ago, a young Adam Mokrzycki discussed the possibilities of organizing a Hi-Fi show in Warsaw, Poland, he received full support from the audio magazine for which he was writing. "You start your own company and we will support you with advertisements in our magazine. We do printed magazines, we are not show organizers."
Little could he know that that first show, occupying two floors of the Sobieski hotel in Warsaw, would grow to become a show encompassing two hotels and occupying a large part of the business floors of the PGE Narodowy stadium, one of the largest in Europe. This Polish National soccer stadium is also one of the largest venues for entertainment, conferences, and business events in Poland. The Warsaw Audio Video Show is now the second biggest and most important show in Europe, after the High End show in Munich. As the name implies, it is also an exhibition of audiovisual equipment and home theater, which helps explain in part the near 2,000 square meters of exhibition space.
Not only has the Warsaw show grown to a substantial size but unintentionally the importance of that local show has grown to international proportions. Sitting at a breakfast table in the Sobieski hotel, which is still a central hub of activities for the show, Adam Mokrzycki received members of the press from all over the world. We could even find members of the management teams from other large shows visiting this years' event - in its 24th edition and already getting close to its previous scale in 2019. The 2020 and 2021 shows had to be cancelled due to the pandemic, and 2022 was eagerly anticipated by both exhibitors, press, and attendees.
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Warsaw, the capital and largest city of Poland, reflects directly the economic expansion of the last three decades in the country, and the growing demographics, with significant numbers of foreign-born residents, including the recent wave of Ukrainians and Belarusians. |
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Show floor plans for the three Warsaw locations of the Audio Video Show, including the Sobieski Radisson Hotel (top left), the PGE Narodowy Stadium (several floors), and the Golden Tulip Hotel (lower right). |
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And as the Munich High End Show is still the undisputed major show where the world makes their business deals and manufacturers do their product introductions, Poland's Audio Video Show attracts different brands from many local companies and neighboring countries, and a large audience of predominantly consumers, with a remarkable share of younger people compared to Germany or any similar event in the US. It also doesn't hurt that Poland has a thriving economy within the European Union, while Warsaw remains relatively affordable.
In the previous years before COVID, the show attracted a significant number of international companies, tempted to attend and present their latest products to an interested audience. This show in Warsaw has proven to be an ideal testing ground where a very interested audience could be engaged in one of the smaller rooms of the Sobieski hotel, or even in one of the specially prepared studio rooms in the Narodowy stadium.
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Adam Mokrzycki, the creator and promoter of the Audio Video Show in 1997, giving an interview to Polish media. |
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Poland's Audio Landscape
Did things change after COVID? As most European shows have gradually returned to their “normal” this year, all eyes were at the Audio Video Show once more. Could this very accessible show remain cherished not only by Polish consumers but also attract an international audience?
Historically, a lot of small East European companies have been present in Warsaw - exhibitors, distributors, and buyers. This time however no Ukrainian or Russian companies were there for obvious reasons. And yet, the number of handcrafted products, including tube amplifiers in all qualities and sizes, hi-fi racks and furniture, cables and acoustic solutions was remarkable. When focusing on the discovery of the lesser known brands and looking for esoteric products, it was easy to get a distorted impression that, apart from the large international brands, there were no high tech products. That is not true.
Poland is a rapidly growing economy (I saw quite a few more skyscrapers in Warsaw this year, compared to the last time I visited, before COVID) and the technology industries in Poland are doing very well. And audio manufacturing, including hi-fi companies in Poland are also expanding, with dozens of brands exhibiting regularly at the Warsaw show. Two times Expert Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) award winner in a row, Ferrum is an example of a company that has its development and production near Warsaw.
Leveraging the return of the Audio Video Show this year, the company summoned the attending press the day before the show opened. A factory tour of Ferrum left the impression of a young company eager to prove itself. Leaving behind its origins as an OEM/ODM contractor, Ferrum is now fully focused on its own brand of products. With a very high level of R&D skills and production standards, the company fits well in the international hi-fi arena and as an example of a company with a strong focus and obsession for high-quality audio.
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Ferrum, the Polish audio electronics designer and manufacturer promoted a press day before the Warsaw Audio Video Show to showcase its high-end audio products and future plans, which will include a new DAC to be released in 2023. At Ferrum headquarters, CEO Marcin Hamerla, Paweł Gorgoń (left), and Maksymilian Matuszak (right) explained the company's vision for high-end audio electronics. |
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Walking the Show
During three intense days, October 28-30, Friday to Sunday, the Audio Video Show 2022 was again an extraordinary experience with little time to see everything. Even skipping all the established companies that we had already seen in Munich this year (most of which had larger and very well presented rooms, directly appealing to buyers), there were also rooms with interesting combinations of Polish brands and lesser known European electronics and speakers. We often found quite a few unknown brands with intriguing, interesting, or fascinating products... and a surprise or two.
The show extended to three locations, starting with multiple floors at the Sobieski Radisson Hotel, very close by the Golden Tulip Hotel, with eight large exhibit rooms, and accessible by a shuttle, the PGE Narodowy Stadium, with even more demo rooms, the headphone area and the marketplace. Overall, more than 600 brands presented this year, spread over more than 170 presentation rooms. Apparently this year's Audio Video Show could not have arrived early enough.
In the Sobieski Hotel, which emptied seven floors of the right wing of the hotel, there were standard-size hotel rooms packed with stacks of tube amplifiers, loudspeaker enclosures, and accessories. The general impression was that the quality varied greatly from room to room. And one way or another, I got the impression that as the light was dimmed, the audio quality was less.
The other hotel, the Golden Tulip, was the arena for loudspeakers and products that needed or wanted more space. In the larger meeting rooms I found the Gauder and Estelon products showing off with their impressive performances. Not as large as the floor space in the Sobieski but enough to take a bit of the crowd pressure there. And taking the shuttle service to the Narodowy Stadium we had to struggle with the challenge that all the rooms were crowded with an audience that was deeply interested in every product at the show, making brief listening sessions inconclusive.
This stadium offers a few rooms that are normally in use for the AV production of the large events that take place here. They are specially prepared for audio. And yes, you could hear that clearly. These rooms were sought after by those companies showing their reference systems. Last time, The Gryphon reference system was the talk of the town. This year they “only” powered the big Wilson Audio XVX system. They were in good company with products such as the Focal Grande Utopia EM Evo and the impressive Blumenhofer Gioia XXL. As well as the Marten Coltrane Momento 2, the Avantgarde Acoustic Trio G3 iTron, the Raidho Acoustics TD 3.8 and... the Dali KORE.
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The Audio Video Show 2022 received more than 150 exhibitors and 600 brands, which were spread across 175 rooms in three locations in Warsaw. Pictured is one the Soundclub rooms showcasing Marten Coltrane Momento 2 loudspeakers. |
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The Audio Video Show is highly focused on equipment presentations for an eager audience that in most cases remains most aspirational given the prices for many high-end systems. Of course there is a lot to do during the show, with interesting seminars, presentations, special guest appearances, live music, and much more to discover in a vibrant city. Pictured are the Wilson Audio Chronosonic XVX speakers in the Gryphon room. |
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And those were only the loudspeakers. Don't get me wrong, I did not mention a lot of names with solid reputations. Everyone was there. The list of products on the website with the status “This year's attraction” was long, very long. Driving them were a myriad of amplifiers, which were very, very nice. From lightweight to floor testing... And of course, all the sources were available, from fashionable vinyl players to esoteric streaming solutions.
Repeating the formula from previous years, in the headphone zone more than 50 manufacturers and distributors of audio devices from around the world presented their products. Products in every price range: from budget to the most expensive and sophisticated headphones in the world. The visitors of the event also had the opportunity to try out all the presented models of headphones, using their own music players and phones. As a result, the space was always extremely busy. Again, the list of “Don't miss” was large with names such as Warwick, Empire Ears, Hifiman, Ferrum, Abyss, Dan Clark, and Stax.
As a general impression, this show attracts a lot of younger people and this was particularly noticeable in the headphone area. Where normally at a hi-fi show we would see a greying or balding audience, here I saw a much more colorful audience. But everyone was seriously committed to taking the time to hear all the products they wanted. Refreshing!
This show was busy all throughout the three days and until the very last minute. As a recommendation for future visits, I would advise to try to maximize the key auditions on the Friday, when it is less crowded. For me, it was definitely worthwhile!
The organizers of the show are rather modest and have no claims of being the second largest show in Europe, or even the largest show in Poland. And yet, already with the show ongoing it was obviously clear that a full recovery back to pre-pandemic times was guaranteed. If Munich is still the most important show for high-end audio, increasingly trade and business-oriented, the Audio Video Show in Poland is already established as a successful European showcase. Depending on the Ukrainian developments, and the hope that no additional global health pandemics occur any time soon, this show is certain to become an important International showcase.
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Big Diavolo speakers from Polish brand Aida Acoustics, the latest horn loudspeaker design from Blumenhofer Acoustics (Germany), the Gioia XXL, and the also impressive Pirol speakers by Soundspace Systems (Germany). |
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A great combo in a Dutch room, with the Dutch and Dutch 8C speakers combined with the Grimm Audio MU1 Music Player as the ultimate digital music source. |
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The headphone zone in the Narodowy Stadium had equipment available from more than 50 manufacturers from all over the world. Visitors waited patiently for an opportunity to spend some time with the latest and most desirable headphone models. |
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The second largest event of this type in Europe, the Audio Video Show in Warsaw is a large showcase not only for high-end audio and hi-fi equipment, but also an exhibition with lots of home entertainment and home theater systems from the most established International brands, together with a large vinyl market, which increases its appeal for local visitors. |
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Building a Guitar-Controlled Synthesizer: VCA & VCF
By Ethan Winer
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Ethan Winer offers his fifth article on "Building a Guitar-Controlled Synthesizer," where he describes how to make two key modules needed by every analog synthesizer: the Voltage Controlled Amplifier (VCA) and the Voltage Controlled Filter (VFC). For the past four issues he has shared the modules he used for his project that uses an electric guitar instead of a keyboard to control an analog synthesizer. The control voltages that set the volume and filter frequency come mainly from the ADSR envelope generator shown in the June, 2022 issue of audioXpress. But the low frequency oscillator (LFO) from that same issue is also used to provide a tremolo effect when driving the VCA, or to sweep the filter cyclically to add animation. This article explains two different VCA circuits, with a simpler one that works fine for one-off projects where precise unit-to-unit repeatability isn’t needed, and a second circuit similar to the VCA in the original Moog synthesizers, using a topology similar to the Moog VCF. This article was originally published in audioXpress, August 2022. Read the Full Article Now Available Here
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Scan-Speak’s 38WE/8582T00 15” Ellipticor Oval Voice Coil Woofer
By Vance Dickason
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This Test Bench characterizes the 38WE/8582T00 15" Ellipticor woofer from Scan-Speak, using the company's proven oval/elliptical design topology. Having already characterized a number of Scan-Speak Ellipticor drivers since 2018, Vance Dickason notes that as with the 18WE and the 21WE Ellipticor woofers, the 38WE is a seriously feature rich transducer, starting with a nicely configured 10-spoke (five double spokes) cast-aluminum frame and a completely open area below the suspended spider mounting shelf for effective cooling of the motor and voice coil. The motor design for the Ellipticor 38WE is similar to the other Ellipticor woofer designs and is also a Symmetrical Drive (SD) AirCirc multi-magnet design with neodymium slugs even more spaced for improved convection cooling capability. The FEA-designed magnet motor uses an elliptical two-layer voice coil wound with round copper wire on a titanium former. For the cone assembly, Scan-Speak chose a rather stiff black-coated paper cone with a pleated coated cloth surround and a flat coated cloth spider. Like all the Ellipticor line-up, the 38WE has a magnetically attached black anodized aluminum trim ring that can obviously be custom anodized in a variety of colors. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, July 2022. Read the Full Article Now Available Here
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Advancing the Evolution
of Audio Technology
audioXpress features great articles, projects, tips, and techniques for the best in quality audio. It connects manufacturers and distributors with audio engineers and enthusiasts eager for innovative solutions in sound, acoustic, and electronics.
Voice Coil, the periodical for the loudspeaker industry, delivers product reviews, company profiles, industry news, and design tips straight to professional audio engineers and manufacturers who have the authority to make powerful purchasing decisions.
The Loudspeaker Industry Sourcebook is the most comprehensive collection of listings on loudspeaker material in the industry. Purchasers and decision makers refer to the guide for an entire year when making selections on drivers, finished systems, adhesives, domes, crossovers, voice coils, and everything in between.
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