I WONDER HOW many people, like me, find themselves once a year standing on the travelators of the Messe, thinking to themselves, “Here we are again. Frankfurt. How many times is that? 1994, 1998, 1999... 2011, 2012. Wow, am I that old already?” I don’t relish the annual schlep to Germany, and it’s not just because it reminds me of my own mortality. There are easier events to navigate – and you can interpret that as you will.
“It was Yamaha that stole the show: I don’t think I’ve seen that many people at a Frankfurt press conference before”
However, this year was a genuine surprise and a real thrill. Of course, we had our new-look publication to wave around, and I would like to thank everyone who has sent me words of congratulations and other practical observations on the look and feel of PSNEurope. We’re taking it all on-board. It was Yamaha that stole the show: I don’t think I’ve seen that many people at a Frankfurt press conference before. The CL range (p5) will certainly have rival compact desk manufacturers looking at their price points. And well done to DiGiCo for a suitably irreverent press call immediately after! Another headliner was Nexo with the STM launch
(p15) plus the raft of MLA sales announced by Martin Audio (p4). More subtly, Audinate announced an unprecedented number of products adopting Dante... while we await news of Ravenna at NAB this month (p42) and AVB at InfoComm in June (p50). What you won’t find in this issue is an AES preview, I’m afraid. Three weeks to go before Budapest, and I have nothing but a calendar of events to show for it. And I thought they were going to fix things in Europe. Dave Robinson
Twitter: @psneurope IN THIS ISSUE...
NEWS 4-5 Martin Audio, Yamaha at PL+S 6 Industry appointments 8 Key pro-audio events and expos
TECHNOLOGY 10 Product review: SoundField ST450 12 New products
Prolight + Sound review Highlights from another busy show p15
STUDIO 23 COVER: Wisseloord official opening 27 Yoad Nevo moves to online mastering 28 dizplay: Riding the economic downturn in Lisbon 31 Feature: Classic outboard and modern versions
BROADCAST 35 4G bandwidth auction delayed until Q4 39 Commentary: Analogue and digital together 40 COVER: Live reporting embraces HD Voice 42 NAB 2012: Show preview
LIVE 44 JBL’s VTX flying high across Europe 45 Audio Alliance celebrates 10 years 47 Saturday Night Fever kicks off with L-Acoustics 49 COVER: iLive on tour with Rodrigo y Gabriela
INSTALL 50 Audio-Video Bridging back on the radar 54 London office for Incus AV 56 Fountain installation for World Water Day 60 Feature: Hotels
BACK PAGES 65 Hither & Dither 66 Interview: Burkhard Elsner, Mega Audio