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“Get up, stand up, stand up for your right
Get up, stand up, don’t give up the fight…”
Bob Marley
Those lyrics echoed through my mind earlier today as I once again
walked into the Javits. Sunday crowds had diminished somewhat as
expected, but the mood was the same. We’re here to do business,
we’re here to advance the art and science of audio engineering,
and we’re here to be with other folks who share that same commitment.
So don’t try to stop us. Technology doesn’t make audio,
people do—by creating newer and better audio technologies.
Okay, enough sentimentalizing. Let’s be gearheads for a while.
More Monitors
I always check out monitors at AES because I can actually hear something
going on—for better or worse. Show floor demos are chancy.
The M&K booth had their surround set-up and was playing E.C.
live on DVD. I don’t know what the problem was with the high
end but I don’t think it was in the M&K surround rig because
it sounded flat gorgeous when I listened to it last year at the
Village in L.A. Better source, please!
Which brings me to my gripe: why don’t monitor makers at least
(by now) play SOME demo material in a high res format? To me, these
days, one mark of a good monitor is how well it reveals the shortcomings
of 44.1/16-bit digital. Dammit, people could use these things to
monitor 1-inch 2-track analog or DSD, so let’s get with it
and at least get some SACD players on line next year, okay?
That said, those monitor makers who are doing direct digital inputs
are getting the message and upgrading to high res. Genelec now offers
both the 2029B and the legendary S30 (first introduced in 1978)
with the high resolution as the S30D.
If you read Seva’s report from AES Amsterdam, you know he was
blown away by the EMES monitor, the one that produces stereo from
one box. I have to confess I was more tantalized and intrigued than
blown away. By any standards it is a good sounding monitor, with
a nice balance and upper end sweetness, and the stereo imaging is
truly amazing. But is it more (God, I hate this term but use it
anyway) “musical” than my other faves? Not sure, because
again the demo source and room setup imposed limitations. But keep
these guys in mind: this could be the start of something important.
Yes, this one box really does do
stereo! |
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Just down the hall from EMES was NXT,
makers of those astonishing flat panel speakers. These are
not marketed as monitors, for a number of reasons, but the
sound and uniform dispersion really is mind boggling. Check
‘em out if you get a chance. These are catching on fast
in the high quality install market.
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Console – ation Prize
SSL’s new MTP digital console for post |
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This one goes to SSL, because they came
with a big booth and full force display when major competitors
(Sony aside) downsized or dropped out. New from SSL was the
MT Production (MTP) digital board, designed primarily for
high-end broadcast, remote and post applications. It’s
fully loaded with all the features of the MT Plus, and offers
simultaneous multi-channel surround outputs, busses
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and channel structure for 96 clean feeds, 48
mix-minus outputs and multi-track back-up.
Preamp Proliferation
Remember when you used to plug all your mics straight into your
console? You do? Damn, you’re OLD!
We won’t go into the reasons for it here, but preamp mania
continues. The 500 aisle “analog alley” was the hotbed
of action, with Manley, Crane Song, and Great River joined by a
new offering from the audiophile company, Sequerra Labs. They debutede
a gorgeous little---can’t call this one a box---uh, cylinder,
that offers extremely wide bandwidth and low noise, and it’s
made to plug in very close to the mic. This is no-nonsense stuff
for folks with high-res gear and hearing to match.
Speaking of what you can hear and can’t, I had a great chat
with Lynn Fuston of 3D Mastering in Nashville. He’s the guy
who puts out those comparison CDs of various microphones and preamps.
Some have criticized Lynn for his methodology, but he is the first
to admit that these CDs should not be used as the one and only tool
for making choices. Rather, he says, gross differences can be helpful
in narrowing choices, particularly for buyers in the hinterlands
who have no access to reasonable demo facilities. In my book, these
CDs are at least as helpful as the average in-store demo. More to
come on these later, and we may be posting some stuff from Lynn’s
excellent web site in the future.
Back to preamps. A few weeks back I was talking to Russ Landau,
who composed/recorded the music for the Survivor TV shows. For the
Survivor III Africa series, he went off to Africa to record indigenous
music using Earthworks mics, an Apple Power Book running Logic Audio,
and something I’d never heard of: the Sound Devices USBPre
preamplifer. I checked it out at the show, and it is a very solid
little unit that runs off your USB port and delivers real pro specs.
It’s not much bigger than a king size cigarette pack.
If you want more channels and conversion built in, Metric Halo has
a new Mobile I/O, a 1U package that sits neatly underneath a Mac
Titanium Powerbook. This FireWire device offers eight balanced analog
inputs with mic pres, multi-format digital I/O along with word clock
and IEEE 1394 connections. It’s 24/96 capable and comes with
a complete software interface. It’s Mac and Windows compatible,
and Metric Halo claims compatibility with “your favorite software.”
It’s a Wrap
The infamous “Shit on a Stick” sculpture, admired by (L to R) PSW’s Ken Berger, Fletcher and regular contributor Ty Ford. |
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That’ll have to do it for my on-the-spot
reporting. It’s time to get out and have some fun. Note
that all of these reports are merely initial impressions,
and are random in nature. Yeah, I didn’t cover ALL the
good stuff. But we’ll try to pick it up in the weeks
to come. If your favorite gear maker wasn’t included,
be patient or bitch about it to me in the Rec Pit.
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Some final notes. First, a sobering sign of the times was the appearance
of leaflets on the various Javits eaterie tables soliciting bids
for liquidation of a major Boston studio. Moral: stay lean, mean
and smart.
Last, a sample of the times. On New York’s WQXR classical station
(my antidote to screaming sirens), I heard paid spots by the AFM
urging theatergoers to support live music on Broadway. (Push this
button for overture.) Hey, what, don’t look at me!
Check Out The Rest of Bruce's AES Coverage:
Sunday:
Even Mo' Bettah
Saturday: We’re
Here, We’re Happenin’
AES 2001: A Cautious
Odyssey
Tell us what you think! - Join the AES discussion on the RecPit!
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