Martin Audio has announced the availability of its first-ever iOS app, XP Connect, for control and streaming for its BlacklineX Powered series of portable self-powered loudspeakers.
Users have been able to access the built-in three-channel mixer and onboard Bluetooth streaming by utilizing the rotary panel controls on the back of the loudspeakers, and now that functionality can be handled by the app that’s intended to add convenience for users with iPhones and iPads.
Martin Audio product group manager Dan Orton states, “The user base of BlacklineX Powered has grown substantially since launch, and we thought it was now timely to introduce the app to the market, rewarding those users and encouraging others to the virtues of this series.”
In determining the navigation path and user interface, Orton explains that the primary challenges had been usability: “We needed to give full control to the end user, with all the functionality of the back panel and in an intuitive format. For the majority of users it’s a quick and easy way to set up their loudspeakers and deliver a low-scale mix using simple controls, such as input faders, output faders and high-pass filters.
“You can put them into pairing mode for streaming Bluetooth audio, and because we could control the speaker by Bluetooth as well as streaming, it also lends itself to tablet control,” he adds.
The XP Connect app is designed to be intuitive once loaded, Orton notes, and is designed to control a pair of loudspeakers. “If the Bluetooth pairing on the loudspeaker is activated it will automatically find the speaker and ask if you want to connect. Alternatively, in Demo mode the user will be presented with a screen with faders—two channels, Bluetooth the main output fader for the loudspeaker and a clearly visible EQ button. You can set them up as stereo loudspeakers or allow them to work in zones.”
This means that a single connected BlacklineX Powered will allow mute control of all inputs and outputs, with signal level visualization and access to EQ and settings. Two connected enclosures will additionally offer the choice of Stereo or Zone modes, with three-band EQ and the high-pass filters. It allows set up of the XP12 and XP15 in three modes: full range, with sub added in, and with floor monitors.
The app also allows users to store and recall three different snapshots quickly if set up for a FOH application.
Potential users can find their way to the app in a number of ways in addition to gettomg ot at the App Store: “We’ve tagged some metadata so in theory any product search should take you to the app,” Orton explains, “but if you search for XP Connect then that’s the most direct way. We hope it brings benefits to users and encourages others to look at the feature-set and so it also becomes a sales and marketing tool.”
