ORLANDO — Among the many strong new product offerings at InfoComm 2019 at the Orange County Convention Center last week, were a wide range of audio products ideal for houses of worship, particularly in the loudspeaker, subwoofer and amplifier categories.
Beyond the new speaker offerings on display at InfoComm this year, a handful of notable new amplifier offerings to pair with those speakers were on hand.
Among the newest loudspeaker offerings highlighted, in the ongoing effort by many manufacturers to achieve a bigger bang while keeping the same footprint, Danley Sound Labs has achieved that with the FLX12. As explained by Chad Edwardson, director of engineering, the company had for years had a similar product, a two-way speaker with an 8-inch cone. With this 12-inch coax two-way, it can be flown in an array setup, with its rig points, as well as configured with a pole install, combining it with the TH118XL subwoofer, an excellent combination for a portable church. For those interested in adding the FLX12 to their church’s audio system, the speaker is currently available.
For Bose, as featured in their booth space, were a wide array of around 50 new products at the show. Among that expansive selection of products, the 12 models that make up their new DesignMax loudspeaker line offers a number of interesting options for a worship space, particularly the DesignMax DM8S, a 125-watt two-way speaker featuring an 8-inch driver. As an option to pair with the DM8S is the DesignMax DM10S-Sub, a subwoofer capable of being driven by up to 300 watts, using a 10-inch driver, which rates to deliver down to 42 Hz.
For those looking for a more substantial subwoofer to ideally suit their space, particularly one for installation under a stage, Adamson Systems launched the IS219 at the show, a twin 19-inch subwoofer. As Marc Bertrand, Adamson’s CEO explained, this new sub is “catered to the house of worship market, with it being less than 200 pounds, along with it having removable handles (for temporary installations).” The impetus behind the design of the IS219, he noted, resulted from customer feedback, to design a more compact offering – just 20 inches tall - over a subwoofer originally designed as a touring box.
Another company well known for its touring products, Clair Brothers, was showcasing a couple of speaker options for churches at the show, including the kiTCURVE12+, a self-powered two-way array, ideal for churches with 50 to 500 congregants, as well as their new product, the C10, a three-way line array speaker with two 10-inch low frequency drivers per cabinet. The C10 comes with a standard waveguide of 15-degree vertical and 100-degree horizontal, but a range of horizontal waveguides are available in 10-degree increments between 70 and 120 degrees. With that customizable option for the waveguide, it results in a venue-specific speaker, offering even coverage across the audience area, while minimizing architectural reflections and anomalies. The C10 was rolled out in spring and is currently shipping.
Beyond the new speaker offerings on display at InfoComm this year, a handful of notable new amplifier offerings to pair with those speakers were on hand, including Ashly’s new CA amplifier series. Among their 11 new products in their booth, were the six amplifiers that are part of the series, beginning with the CA-502, a two-channel amp capable of up to 500 watts per channel, up to the CA-1.54, a four-channel amp, capable of delivering 1,500 watts per channel. Each of the six amps were completely designed from the ground up, using an efficient Class D design.
As noted by Noel Larson, Ashly’s vice president of marketing and business development, the amplifier line had been in the design phase for the last couple of years, and the end product is an amplifier that “is even more efficient that a standard Class D for heat creation.” The new amplifiers will begin shipping this September.
For churches seeking an amplification solution, but needing it in a compact design, Powersoft rolled out their Mezzo platform of amps, each configured in a 1/2 -rack configuration. Among its eight Class D-powered models (four analog models and four that are paired with Dante/AES67), ranging from the two-channel amp, the Mezzo 322 A, capable of up to 160 watts per channel, to the Mezzo 604 A, a four-channel version capable of driving 150 watts per channel.
Launched at the show, each of the four amps will begin shipping in December. To account for a system that might have a pair of power-hungry speakers, each amplifier isn’t locked into a maximum of 150 watts per channel with its four channel amp, for example, but is instead flexible to where with its power sharing capabilities, one can shift some of the power demand from two of the channels requiring a smaller load, so that the four channels can be powered at 250, 250, 50 and 50 watts, respectively.
Aside from speakers and amplifiers, one headset microphone update was worthy of note on the floor. Too often, one of the main concerns with headset microphones is that damaging the cable will mean having to purchase a completely new headset mic. Understanding the high likelihood of such an occurrence, Audix has recently added the feature to its HT5 headset mic, which has been part of the HT7 from the outset. As noted by Lofty Whitaker, Senior Inside Sales Representative, “When people inevitably damage the cable, you are just buying the cable, and not a whole new microphone. Everybody loves the sound of the HT5, but the form and function definitely got an upgrade (with this added feature).”