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Daniel M. East reports on the 2005 New York AES Conference, Jacob Javitz Convention Center, New York City
With nearly 20% more in attendance over last year's event and plenty of product news for the professional audio markets, the 2005 Audio Engineering Society's New York event was a mix of mics, modelers and momentum in the industry with panel discussions and sessions for the studio, live sound reinforcement and broadcast industries. Clearly, pro-audio is alive and well for its audience of some of the industry's best engineering talents along with students, producers, musicians and advanced home users visiting the conference.
Mac-Friendly Items
In terms of Apple-specific items, IK Multimedia offered demos of their very nice modelers, a new studio reverb as well as their new StompIO controller and Apple's own booth/theater offered daily tutorials and demos with a standing room only setting. Cakewalk offered demos of their new Sonar 5 Producer and Studio editions while Mackie presented its cross-platform FireWire 1200F allowing up to 28 mic inputs and offering different headphone mixes for each listener along with 2X2 MIDI interface and Onyx's quiet mic pre-amps. A very compact, multi-featured tool that will become available after the first of the year with an estimated street price of around $2,000 US. Although not Mac-specific, Mackie's "Big Knob" (pictured above) also received a TEC Award for Best Ancillary Equipment. A favorite new product was Bias-Inc.'s new Master Performance Suite that is not only full- featured, but is part of the Pro XT 5 package (will be sold separately) which includes Peak Pro 5, the Master Perfection Suite plus SoundSoap and SoundSoap Pro for around $1200 US. Look for a complete review coming soon.
Hardware Spotlight
In the hardware category, it seemed like the year of the microphone with new offering for nearly every application. Telefunken North America (established in 2001 and a separate entity from the original legendary manufacturers in Europe) has a new R-F-T M16 Mk II studio condenser microphone that performs just like their $7,500.00 model, but several components for this are now made overseas and they can sell it for $1,500.00 with all the sound and quality that earned them a TEC Award nomination this year. With so many microphones, it was difficult to choose a "best of show," but I very impressed by two package options for both studio and live applications. The Audio- Technica AT2041SP Studio Pack for recording offers two quality condenser, one large diaphragm and one small, but the hardware and cases to go with them allowing for a huge range of applications, both separately and collectively. For live applications, Audix's outstanding i5 and D6 drum mics are bundled in their DP Elite 8 package that also features three SCX-1 condensers for cymbal micing and D2/D4 drum mics with clips and case for around $2,600.00 US. While I personally feel that these packages don't always work well and that each instrument/ voice should have the appropriate device for their timbre, these packages are very good quality and more cost-effective options for those who prefer a stand-alone solution of this type. Audix also showcased their latest RAD360 UHF wireless packages that offer a full 50mw output compared to less than 30mW by most other brands. For live consoles, the talk of the town was DigiDesign's Venue and new updates to ProTools as well as new plug-ins for the console from the Drawmer TourBuss suite.
The Year of The Ear
With the focus being on hearing issues and awareness by the industry relating to damage and loss, The Grammy organization/NARAS, The H.E.A.R. Foundation, House Ear Institute and MusiCares teamed up to offer free ear impressions for custom-fit hearing protection and personal monitors, free hearing screenings and health support for musicians/engineers.
With the hot- button issues of both prolonged exposure and impact-related hearing loss a major focus of media attention, these organizations showed an outstanding sense of community and responsibility by working together to show just how well people can address their hearing issues and to save the hearing they still have in some cases. In addition, H.E.A.R. and H.E.I. have organized an incredible online auction featuring a huge range of incredible audio products to help raise money as part of the TEC Awards and The Mix Foundation. Excellent stuff for the musician or engineer looking to bid on some very high-end products at great auction prices including products from Sony, EMU, Genelec, Aphex, Future Sonics, Tascam, DigiDesign, and a TON of celebrity contributions for the collectors out there. Visit H.E.A.R. online for details.
TEC Awards 2005
With the focus on "noise induced hearing loss," the 2005 TEC Awards had to overcome some rather involved and ironic technical difficulties; however, they were laughed off for the most part and the awards banquet had some great highlight/lowlight moments including Ð on the top end Ð the Hall of Fame award presented to engineer and producers Arif Marden from his long-time friend and fellow "Turk," Ahmet Eregun, while on the other end, a surprise performance by a slightly off-key and seemingly confused Chaka Khan.
Also on the highlight side, audio innovator, guitar legend and namesake of the popular Gibson model guitars that bear his name, the one and only Les Paul stole the show when he picked up the Gibson Les Paul Custom sunburst from the president of Gibson USA who was presenting it to honoree, David Byrne (accepted by Lauri Anderson). Paul gave it the visual once over and sort of smirked in disapproval of its slightly flashy features; then, he flipped it up on the podium to check to see if the neck was straight! This brought major laughs, cheers and applause - not bad for a 90-year-old genius. Clearly, all in good fun...and it was, indeed.
For more about the TEC Awards, visit: mixfoundation.org or see a complete listing of winners.
Moving Forward
With 2006 promising to be a major trade-show monster from events like NAMM, CES, Macworld Expo, and ICEIS in the first quarter combined with reports of major product releases from all corners of the technology industries, AES seemed to be the barometer for the up- coming season indicating a great forecast for those at the helm of the studio, live and broadcasting businesses. While some would have you believe that Macs have taken a back seat in the professional audio game, what I saw couldn't be farther from the truth with literally thousands of iPods of every kind, iBooks, Powerbooks, iMacs, Power Macs and even Mac minis overwhelming the site of most PC- based booths at the show. One final highlight - not actually part of the show - was the MobiBlu DAH-1500i digital audio player seen on the necks of a few of the attendees that reportedly sports the very same SigmaTel amplifier CODEC set found in Apple's iPod shuffles, but also offering a built- in voice recorder/mic, FM receiver and OLED display. The tiny cube- shaped player was an interesting standout for an item not actually on display at a booth for the show.
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