Industry & Product News
Arylic Introduces Up2Stream HD DAC DIY Board with Airplay 2 and Aptx HD Wireless Streaming
Arylic continues to expand its portfolio of home audio and networking solutions, leveraging extensive OEM/ODM experience, designing and manufacturing world-class products for major electronics brands. New in the company's portfolio of DIY Audio boards, Arylic now offers its new Up2Stream HD DAC, a high-quality multiroom wireless audio preamplifier board that supports Airplay 2, aptX HD, Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect, using the ESS9038Q2M DAC for up to 24-bit/192kHz High-Res Audio. Read More
HEAD acoustics Offers Sound Measurements with HoloMetrix Augmented Reality
HEAD acoustics announced a new interesting integration of an Augmented Reality (AR) solution from German startup HoloMetrix to enable highly efficient sound power and sound intensity measurements. The integration with HEAD acoustics’ Artemis SUITE allows the creation of sound intensity maps for fast source localization, with assistance functions that guide the user through the measurements and offer automatic quality checks with acoustic or visual feedback. Read More
Nomono Sound Capsule Completely Wireless Recording Platform Simplifies Audio Recording
Nomono is a Norwegian startup working in the field of audio recording and collaboration tools, with a mission to make audio wireless and immersive. For now, Nomono elected to help podcasters and journalists use their tools to tell audio stories using its integrated hardware and software solutions that are designed to simplify field recording, file management, collaboration and production, while paving the way for a spatial audio future. Read More
L-Acoustics Introduces Soka Colinear Source Loudspeaker for Premium Installation Applications
Adding to its range of solutions designed to meet the demands of the installation market, at ISE 2022, L-Acoustics introduced Soka and its companion subwoofer SB6i. The enclosures join recent products such as Syva, X4i, and the SB10i subwoofer to offer a complete range of solutions tailored to the unique needs of installation applications. Soka and SB6i offer exciting new creative possibilities for sound designers, interior designers, and architects to shape sound and space to their needs. Read More
Sonarworks Launches SoundID Reference Speaker Calibration Software for Multichannel
In a major development, Sonarworks announced the launch of SoundID Reference for Multichannel, the latest addition to the SoundID Reference speaker and headphone calibration product family. The new solution extends the well-known stereo calibration of SoundID Reference to multichannel setups, meeting the fast-expanding requirement of immersive/spatial audio creators, while also introducing new technology to further enhance the immersive sound experience on the whole industry/audio ecosystem level. Read More
Røde Introduces New All-in-One Audio Solution for Content Creators
Røde has unveiled the RødeCaster Pro II, a fully integrated audio production studio for content creators of all kinds. Calling it "its most revolutionary audio innovation to date," the RødeCaster Pro II is not only an update of the company's selling - and inspiring - original design. It is a completely new design that expands the original with groundbreaking new features and creates an even more powerful and appealing all-in-one audio solution for streamers, podcasters, musicians, and all content creators. Read More
Monitor Audio Group Previews Concept 50 Cluster Loudspeaker at High End 2022
As part of the company's 50th anniversary celebration, British manufacturer Monitor Audio showcased a new bold loudspeaker development. Presented as a fully working prototype, the Concept 50 is a three-way configuration loudspeaker with a unique driver arrangement, featuring a new-generation MPD-pleated diaphragm tweeter surrounded by an array of six midrange drivers, suspended on a two-legged cabinet configuration holding four force-cancelling bass drivers. The Concept 50 is scheduled to go into production later in 2022. Read More
Nordic Semiconductor nRF5340 Audio DK Accelerates Bluetooth LE Audio Developments
The next generation of wireless audio projects is now getting on the bench, as developers get access to the first Bluetooth LE Audio evaluation platforms. Nordic Semiconductor has long been a reference in Bluetooth development platforms and has now released its nRF5340 Bluetooth LE Audio DK board, which includes everything required for developers to take advantage of the latest Bluetooth standard, including LC3 codec, low power consumption, and wireless stereo enhancements. Read More
Dynaudio Introduces Focus Active Wireless Speaker Series
After three years, Danish speaker manufacturer Dynaudio had many new products to showcase at the High End Munich show, and its 45th anniversary to celebrate. But it also chose to make the global debut of its completely new Dynaudio Focus wireless speaker series, which combines high-end active streaming, wireless connectivity including AirPlay 2 and WiSA HT Interoperability Certification, in very simple and elegant speaker designs that deliver studio-grade sound quality. Read More
Editor's Desk
J. Martins
(Editor-in-Chief)
High End Munich Show 2022
The Return of Listening Stereo
Following four days of Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) in Barcelona, immersed in pro audio technology, I have just returned on Sunday from High End in Munich, and I can say that this is was — by far — a much more rewarding show. Not that I have a preference between high-fidelity and professional audio. Much of what we do in audioXpress needs to be market and application neutral and we focus on audio technology, products, and people (in general) and that spans from the more mainstream consumer mass-market products, to public address systems and multimillion dollar luxury audio for the ultimate homes. Personally, I have absolutely no preference. I'm fine with listening to Norah Jones and Steely Dan on a line array, or even a wedge monitor. If I'm given the opportunity to hear a million dollar system, I just appreciate it in a different way. It's a professional flaw - I can't help to recognize the efforts in each one.

The main reason why I attend trade shows is to learn about new products/technologies/designs, to feel the business vibes and spot the market trends, and listen to people talk about their companies, their products, and hopefully their passion for music/audio/sound. When a show offers the correct combination, it's always a rewarding experience. And High End Munich — after a 3-year absence — made a great comeback, and was exactly that.

Considering that most of the High End Society production team was having its first real experience at an event like this since 2019, and given all the frustration of previous cancellations, they did a remarkably good job, maintaining the usual high standards and service for everyone. And even with the fact that there were many last-minute cancellations from the US and many already expected from Asia, this was a very strong return to what is justifiably considered one of the best trade shows in the world. The 28,000 square meters available in the halls and atriums of the MOC exhibition complex were just not completely full because of those last-minute cancellations.
Opening day at the High End show and the MOC is busy with trade visitors and press events. There were 470 press outlets registered, more than half of them were people shooting YouTube videos. So, it must be all there...
Turntables, turntables, turntables. Vinyl was everywhere in demonstration rooms, with vintage and extreme high end models alike. Most surprising was the presentation of very sophisticated turntables from major brands, side by side with the ultimate speakers,
The High End show this year was, as the High End Society remarks, an international audio trade show "filled with powerful emotions and pure passion. Not only the great joy of meeting up with people whom everyone had missed for so long, but the enthusiasm for the vast number of innovations on display, provided for a consistently upbeat mood among the exhibitors and 19,767 visitors in the halls and atriums of the MOC Event Center."

I felt exactly that during the four days. The show benefited from a few subtle changes, such as having two dedicated trade and press days, before opening the doors to the public on the weekend. In reality, while constantly busy on all days, I couldn't help notice that activity was more intense on the two first days - meaning this is clearly an event with a strong "trade" mission, and "not just" a local show for the public that some business people also visit (as AXPONA remains, essentially).

Just looking at the official numbers provided by the High End Society, the promoters of the High End show, the results were outstanding under the circumstances. There were 450 exhibitors from 40 countries in 2020, compared to 551 exhibitors in 2019 (530 in 2018). I noticed that many brands from outside Europe simply shared the booth with the local German distributor, and there were obvious empty spaces that resulted from last-minute cancellations. This is certain to return to the record of 2019 next year. Visitors during the four days were 19,767, compared to 21,180 in 2019 (19,899 in 2018), but of those there were 9,472 trade visitors from 80 countries, compared with 8,208 trade visitors in 2019 (7,557 in 2018). Remarkable.
Another upper floor of the High End show, with Berlin, Germany-based Burmester AudioSysteme displaying an astonishing collection of high-end audio components. The company is also renowned these days for its outstanding automotive sound systems for Porsche and Mercedes, among others.
Celebrating a delayed major anniversary, Pro-Ject (founded in 1991) was probably the busiest company at High End 2022, which is not surprising given the clear market interest for its turntables and electronic components. Heinz Lichtenegger, Pro-Ject’s founder, received its distributors from all the world in Munich, and introduced numerous new products and future concepts.
Visitors from many countries did in fact attend High End because they needed the opportunity, and they knew that the Munich show is a unique environment for business and networking — and it was highly missed. And even with all the supply chain problems and the uneven and unpredictable effects of the pandemic still being felt (the reason why masks were consistently used by many, including myself), anyone in the audio industry knows that consumers are eager for audio products, and that they need to meet the demand. Thursday and Friday were busy and all the available restaurants were continuously full with many professional visitors using those spaces as meeting areas - having lunch at 3pm at the High End is a normal thing... just in time for a beer after 4pm.

On Saturday and Sunday, the public created a different kind of flow, with people flocking mainly to the demonstrations areas and leaving the exhibit halls emptier in some areas, except for the headphone hall, which remained consistently busy. The High End clearly created a great format that deserves to be expanded. The World of Headphones, as the promoters called it, was mainly an expansion of the smaller headphone listening areas of previous years (bars, as they called it), with long, tall tables (Apple Store style) for a quick hands-on experience, complemented with more comfortable seating rooms and meeting areas surrounding those tables. A formula that proved very well, creating a nice flow.
Following a room at AXPONA, Credo Audio, a family-owned company, based in Basel, Switzerland repeated the formula in Munich, with almost the same companies and components. The music was good in this one.
Busy demo rooms on public days. This one is from Totem Acoustic, the Canadian manufacturer that promoted an expanded range of loudspeakers for all price ranges, very well received by visitors.
The High End Society says that all available tickets for Saturday and Sunday were sold - there were self-imposed restrictions for health safety reasons. This also confirms what I've noted from previous years. Sometimes the public attendance could be overwhelming, and sometimes there was a public holiday or local tradition that weekend, and attendance could drop dramatically. When it rains, visitors' flow also becomes a challenge for the MOC complex, since the outside areas and the beer garden also cannot be used. This year, the weather was beautiful all four days, so there could easily have been more visitors.

This means that the High End promoters need to make some tough decisions for the future. The first of which being that sooner or later they will need to expand the show area — which is available not only at the MOC but also in the vicinity. Just across the street, the fabulous Motorworld complex is finally open and the space is incredible.

And the main reason why I am mentioning an expansion (which might seem farfetched given the unpredictability of current times) has to do with - for me - the main positive aspect of this year's show. At the end of Hall 1, there was a small area to accommodate what the promoters decided to call IPS – International Parts + Supply. This is a space intended exactly for the technology and services companies that audioXpress and Voice Coil address in every issue, and which are obviously the suppliers for the overall industry, the "finished product" companies. And naturally, during the two first days, that is where I spent more quality time.
Normally, I'm afraid to enter rooms with speakers that are taller than me... unless they are suspended from a truss. But I risked listening to a few this year, and I must say that these luxurious, over 2 meters tall loudspeakers - the top section is even motorized and can be adjusted remotely for the correct coverage in the room - sounded like the real thing. Not like good loudspeakers, but like the actual recording should sound. I didn't expected that. Estelon is a company from Estonia, and it is a great example of high end audio.
Of course, a great attraction on the main show floor was the presentation by Western Electric of its speaker concept designed around the latest 777 rAMT Midrange Driver, with the AirBlade, also designed by E.J. Christensen, on top. The sound was warm and full, not at all harsh, and the speakers' design aesthetics are clearly Western Electric. The US company did a good job at promoting the brand, with the speakers being fed by the new WE 91E Integrated Amplifier in one room, and a separate room for the 300B tubes and other products now available from the legendary brand.
I've noticed that visitors to the IPS area were not only from other exhibitors sending their engineering and managing teams, but also from other companies not exhibiting. There were also many maintenance and systems integrators. DIYers and builders? They should have been there, but they are not considered traders and therefore had limited access.

Maybe the IPS formula makes sense. Maybe not. After the first two days, the area was dismantled and enclosed by panels, taking up valuable exhibit space from the High End show. Most of the companies attending IPS, stayed the rest of the weekend, visiting other exhibitors, but mostly because they kept demonstration and meeting rooms in hotels around Munich. I couldn't help noticing that some cabinet makers or audio electronics suppliers were close but outside the IPS area and remained active all four days of the show, particularly meeting the DIY community.

In general, the idea of a dedicated Parts and Supply section makes sense and was very well received. Manufacturers that didn't participate this year, told me they will be there next year. But loudspeaker driver manufacturers also told me that they would prefer to remain all four days. So, while the concept is valuable, and participants at the "experimental" edition of this first IPS were happy, and reported successful business meetings, there probably is an opportunity here to rethink the two-day model, or even the location. audioXpress, Voice Coil, and the Loudspeaker Industry Sourcebook will look forward to reinforcing the connection with IPS as a media sponsor.
Daniel Weiss (Weiss Engineering) explaining his range of OEM solutions and services for the audio industry at the International Parts + Supply section of the show.
Composite Sound, the new spin-off company from Oxeon of Sweden, manufacturers of TeXtreme technology, had its debut at the International Parts + Supply two-day event. Naturally, Composite Sound was one of the busiest exhibitors, showing its range of Thin-ply Carbon Diaphragms (TPCD) cones and diaphragms already implemented by multiple manufacturers, as well as explaining the tailored engineered approach of its second-generation Composite Sound Metamodal solutions. I am certain audio enthusiasts would love to have seen some of the newest custom drivers that were shown discreetly in this booth.
I don't have the space available to dive into the details of what I could see and hear in Munich this year. I selected a few favorite moments to illustrate these first impressions. Our coverage will continue online in the following weeks and months. Follow this link. I will just say that I was happy to meet the many speaker companies at the show, see that Class-D amplification continues to evolve and is causing much excitement (more to be detailed soon). As a general impression, turntables clearly dominated this show. Not only used as sources for demonstrations, but in the quantity of new products on display. Some personal impressions are noted on the photos.
You Can DIY!
Building a Guitar-Controlled Synthesizer - The Sample & Hold Time Machine
By Ethan Winer
This first article initiates a fascinating DIY journey through the world of synthesizers. More specifically, a guitar-controlled all-analog synthesizer project that includes a "time machine" sample & hold section, input signal detectors, noise gate, oscillators, envelope generators, filters, signal converters, and more. This first module in this article series is a sample and hold circuit designed to translate the guitar notes to equivalent oscillator frequencies. Other synthesizer modules will be featured in separate articles, allowing builders to try the complete project or any of the separate modules. This article was originally published in audioXpress, April 2022. Read the Full Article Now Available Here
Voice Coil Spotlight
Loudsoft Releases FINE Suspension Nonlinear FEA Spider and Surround Design Program
By Vance Dickason
Finite element analysis (FEA) is the process of simulating the behavior of a part or assembly under given conditions so that it can be assessed using the finite element method (FEM). FEA is used to help simulate physical phenomena and thereby reduce the need for physical prototypes, while allowing for the optimization of components as part of the design process of a project. In this short article Vance Dickason offers an overview of the latest FINE Suspension Nonlinear FEA Spider and Surround Design software, created by Loudsoft, the Denmark-based company founded in 2000 by Peter Larsen. This new transducer engineering tool, specific to the development of speaker surrounds and spiders (dampers), allows for the simulation of different types of surrounds and spiders from imported DFX files or created from templates with parameters selected by the user, and then outputs the compliance curves similar to the Kms and Cms curves measured by Klippel DA2 or KA3 analyzers. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, April 2022.  Read the Full Article Now Available Here
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