109th AES Convention Report, Part 6

Welcome to our sixth report in Sweetwater’s continuing series from the floor of the AES 2000 Convention and Show in Los Angeles.

This year’s AES show has been a turning point for the kinds of products that are getting the greatest amount of attention from the public. We are still seeing some of the massive large format console desks pioneered in years gone by, but gone are the big multitrack tape machines with their glowing VU meters and roll-around autolocators. We recognize that an era has passed, even for the very companies that ushered in their existence. Many of the companies that annually exhibited their products at AES are not here. AMS/Neve is still here with an impressive display, as is Solid State Logic, with their beautiful booth. However, folks are not gawking at the 15′ wide analog consoles anymore. Instead, they are enamoured with the smaller digital desks sporting CRT displays and trackballs. Where have all the knobs and buttons gone? Where do the second engineers sit? We are witnessing the changing of the guard. Clearly, the companies that embrace the digital age are the companies that are enjoying continued success. The rest… well, you might remember the story of the majestic Bison.

The companies that are changing with the times have some very special new products on display. Let me tell you about some more of them:

DBX

Once again, dbx has risen to the challenge to produce a product well suited for the digital workstation environment. This year they offer the 376 Tube Channel Strip with Digital Out. This 1U rack design features a tube preamp section, 3-band parametric EQ section, compressor, de-esser and AES/EBU and S/PDIF digital outputs. This piece boasts the warmth of the tube with the proprietary dbx Type IV conversion system. It has a 1/4″ high-impedance jack on the front panel for instrument input, with a mic/line switch, LED metering, phase-invert switch and 48v phantom power. The rear panel has both mic (XLR) and line (TRS) inputs and outputs, insert jack, wordclock sync I/O and digital outputs. Additionally, the 376 offers selectable sample rates of 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz and 96kHz, selectable dithering and noise shaping, and separate analog and digital output controls. This new Tube Channel Strip has a real “bang for the buck!”

AKG

The offerings from AKG include a new microphone targeted for the voice-over market, and a couple of new and inexpensive wireless choices. The C4500B-BC is a single pattern, large-diaphram condenser microphone. The unique design of this new large-diaphram condenser is the fact that the main axis for sound entry is in the front of the microphone, rather than the side. This design is to allow the talent to position the mic optimally without impeding their vision. The C4500B-BC has been designed with shielding against external electrostatic and magnetic fields, making it perfect for use around a video display monitor. The C4500B-BC has a cardioid pattern with a reduced proximity effect. This mic has a switchable 20db internal pad and a 6db per octave low-frequency roll-off as well. It comes with a spider shockmount and windscreen.

AKG is showing a couple of new wireless microphone products. They have introduced the WMS40 low-cost UHF wireless system. It boasts more than 30 hours of operation from the same set of batteries! It has adjustable squelch, status indicators and Surface Acoustic Wave filters for interference-free operation. The receiver has XLR and 1/4″ output jacks and can be rackmounted with the optional kit. The WMS40 is available in both handheld and bodypack configurations, and may be the most affordable UHF wireless system in it’s class.

Also introduced at this year’s AES 2000 is the AKG PR81 Portable Receiver. Designed specifically for video and TV applications, this portable wireless mic receiver is built from a rugged and durable high-impact plastic. It is compatible with all of the WMS Series UHF wireless systems. The PR81 has 15 selectable channels and a 4-level diversity antenna system. It offers mini-XLR output and uses standard AA dry or rechargeable batteries.

GEFEN SYSTEMS

Gefen has introduced their new members of the EX-TEND-IT family of products. Gefen is known for their devices that allow users to extend the distance between their CPU and their keyboards, mice and monitors. Now, they offer units that support USB devices. The CAT5-3000 KVM/USB Extender is a dual monitor and USB extender in a single rack unit. It is targeted to the audio and video workstation user. The CAT5-3000 allows up to 300-foot peripheral extension using standard CAT-5 cables.

Another new Gefen product is the DVI-100, which enables a 300-foot connection between a digital monitor and computer video graphics card, without the loss of video quality. The unit uses a fiber optic cable, and allows extension of keyboards, printers, and other peripherals using CAT-5 cable. Gefen is also showing their USB-241 KVM Switch, which allows a user to work on up to 6 USB-compatible computers from the same keyboard, video and mouse, and their USB-100 S/R, which extends any USB peripheral device by up to 300 feet using standard CAT-5 cables.

AMEK

Rupert Neve has designed another legendary product for Amek. This year it is the Channel in A Box. This 1U rack unit is essentially a single channel strip from a very high caliber “in-line” console. It incorporates a precision switched gain microphone preamplifier, a transformer-coupled line input amplifier, high and low pass filters, 4-band equalization, and a full-featured compressor. The mic preamp offers a stepped-gain control and a continuously variable trim. The EQ section is similar to the “9098i Console” with familiar features like “Glow” and “Sheen.” The compressor is an all-analog design with a musicality known in all of Rupert Neve’s designs. It allows two or more Channel in A Box units to be linked for multichannel operation. It features all XLR connections and a character that we’ve come to expect from Rupert Neve and from Amek.

TC ELECTRONIC

TC is showing their new Triple-C multi-band compressor. This just might be the most versatile compressor ever created! It combines the multi-band compression from the Finalizer Series of products, with traditional full-band compression, and envelope compression for special effects and percussive work. This 1U unit has a very comfortable and familiar user interface with traditional knobs usually found on dynamics processors. It also uses the high-resolution LCD display as found on other TC Electronic products. This allows a graphic representation of what you are effecting with the controls. All effect parameters can be accessed via MIDI and there is a pedal input for bypass. The unit offers digital s/pdif inputs and outputs along with analog I/O on balanced 1/4″ jacks. It also offers a sidechain input and output that can even be used for stereo coupling. Whether mastering, mixing, tracking or playing live, this Triple-C has a few dynamics tricks that are just what you need!

This puts a wrap on another edition of the AES 2000 report. See you back here again Monday with another edition from the floor of the 109th AES Convention.