What to Hear Today in the Audio Demo Rooms: Day 2

What to Hear Today in the Audio Demo Rooms: Day 2

The Audio Demo Rooms are a show unto themselves at InfoComm, and every room has a different story. To get the most out of this pageant, follow the InfoComm Daily’s three-part preview, one for each day of the show.

On the second day of the show, don’t miss the U.S. debut of d&b audiotechnik’s Soundscape demo, which will modify the acoustic environment in Room W232AB. Operating on the DS100 platform, Soundscape delivers an aural perception aligned with what the eye sees—wherever the listener is within the audience. Demos will be multitrack, and when paired with a few dozen speakers around the room (including the new 24S and 21S-SUB), should make for an interesting session at 11 a.m. each day, with 3 p.m. sessions on Thursday and Friday.

In Demo Room W224B, Yamaha and NEXO will present for attendees’ listening pleasure the new NEXO M10 line array, as well as other significant NEXO and Yamaha speakers for the live sound and sound reinforcement markets.


Shure's Christopher NiemannThen, look to Shure (Demo Room W230B) for further edification in the ways of wireless spectrum reallocation. Once each day, the Shure Industry Relations team will give an overview of the latest FCC auction results and what Shure is doing to help users (including rebates). Other demos will cover Microflex Advance Best Practices and Configuration, Shure Networked Systems Software, and MXA910 Ceiling Array for Voicelift Applications. There’s growing interest in the latter, according to Peter Herr, Shure’s Senior Manager of Channel Marketing, particularly in press conference rooms or other spaces where audience questions need to be heard.


Ralph Heinz of Renkus HeinzRenkus-Heinz (Demo Room W224E) is offering a first-ever look at its SA Series amplifiers, which are designed to unify all Renkus-Heinz loudspeakers across integrated connectivity and control platforms. Also new are C and T Series point-source loudspeakers, the powered versions of which will feature the SA625 and SA1250 amps, with connectivity options including standard analog, RHAON and single or dual/redundant networked Dante. Also on demo will be the ICONYX steered array loudspeakers IC Live and IC2, as well as the highly acclaimed VARIAi modular point source line array.

For further probing into autonomous array configuration, visit EAW (Demo Room W231BC), where ADAPTive speakers (Anna modules and Otto subwoofers) and EAW Resolution software optimize a room and fix faults without the need for physical reconfiguration. EAW’s brainy RADIUS Series will also be on show, powered and processed by EAW Focusing and DynO technologies and digitally enhanced with Dante networking and iOS-based prediction, control and monitoring. Fancy new features for Mosaic software will also be demoed, alongside QX point-source loudspeakers and SB subs. “We are looking forward to showcasing everything we’ve been working on—not only in the form of physical product, but also important services such as Applications Engineering—to better serve our domestic dealers,” explains Adam Shulman, Director of Marketing and Applications Engineering.

Over at Community (Demo Room 224C), check out a demo that rolls through I SERIES compact, point source, subwoofer and weather-resistant loudspeakers. Then, for the grand finale, Community tilts everything on its axis with the bold new global preview of the new I SERIES Modular Vertical Array 600.


Crestron's Fink (left) and Paul ShinerAlso making a big new debut are the new Vector performance loudspeakers from Crestron (Demo Room 225AB), which are ready to take aim at large commercial spaces like auditoriums, lecture halls and divisible rooms. The coaxial offerings start at six inches and go up to 15 inches, with a dual 18-inch sub option as well. Crestron will also do some of that fashionable automatic room attribute testing with its Avia Audio Tool, which has the helpful ability to perform nightly evaluations and send pass/fail reports to technology managers.


Bose Professional's Robert KosmanBose Professional (W224H) busts out a new category-creator, the EdgeMax, in ceiling premium loudspeakers featuring proprietary Bose PhaseGuide technology. EdgeMax EM90 and EM180 models not only fill rooms with coverage patterns typical of larger surface-mount speakers, but they make architects happy with their in-ceiling aesthetics of in-ceiling models. Other new products being demonstrated include the new Panaray MSA12X modular steerable array loudspeaker, ControlSpace EX conferencing solution and MB210 compact subwoofer.

Kirsten Nelson is a freelance content producer who translates the expertise and passion of technologists into the vernacular of an audience curious about their creations. Nelson has written about audio and video technology in all its permutations for almost 20 years; she was the editor of SCN for 17 years. Her experience in the commercial AV and acoustics design and integration market has also led her to develop presentation programs and events for AVIXA and SCN, deliver keynote speeches, and moderate and participate in panel discussions. In addition to technology, she also writes about motorcycles—she is a MotoGP super fan.