l National approval standards: these create new hurdles and barriers for manufacturers
l Energy: PA companies will have to become more conscious of how much power they use, even facing the possibility of fines
l Lighter weight, more power, greater efficiency: the curve continues
l DSP: advances in processing and digital audio transmission will directly affect amplifiers. Onboard DSP allows for signal processing, including FIR filtering, and networking
l Remote control and supervision: interfaces must become seamless, reliable – and fast
technology: how far will the
increase in power go? We believe that the undisclosed capabilities of Class-D technologies to drive very unconventional loads would be the next step – together with the multichannel trend. Consider this, too: the power-to- size ratio would be very interesting if power modules with
There is still plenty of headroom for amplifier power increasing. But one of the physical limits which we have to beat now is the standard 230V/16 A mains plug. Although Nexo was to my knowledge the first pro-audio manufacturer to introduce a multichannel power amplifier with two mains cords for
statement in terms of interface: its 8,600W of power in 2-ohm or 4-ohm applications is controlled without any knobs or switches on either the front or back of the chassis. Parameters are accessed via a screen and gain slider reducing, according to Camco “wear and tear factors on moving parts while delivering a forward
“High power with low weight is one of the major requirements for touring amplifiers. Unfortunately it’s not clear to everybody what ‘high power’ stands for, other than a nice value in the spec-sheet”
Martin Traut, Dynacord
very high performance could be integrated into high-power, self-powered cabinets.” “Plateau? Not at all,” adds
Nexo’s Joseph Carcopino. “From our 30 years of knowledge about speakers we know that the power handling capacity of speakers is increasing at a very regular rate.
increasing input power, we see today the manufacture of three- phase amplifiers that will again raise the maximum input power for an audio amplifier.”
ENGINE ROOM The market never stands still. Camco’s new Vortex 8 Silver Series, for example, makes a
thinking approach to function, safety and plain good looks.” But standalone amplifier
makers are in some ways swimming against the tide. “With both amps and processing being integrated together and into speakers themselves, how do amplifier manufacturers not directly
linked to speaker brands keep ahead of the game?” asks MC2’s Waring Hayes. “By making their amplifiers sound the best and bring out the best in any speaker system. By playing harder – and sounding better while doing so – and protecting better to get more out of the speakers while not stressing them further in the process. The only way to do this is to know more about the speakers’ capabilities – not just suggested crossover frequencies and corrective EQ and phase settings, but the mechanical characteristics and both long and short-term maximums. “This closer relationship
between amplifier and speakers is achievable in a closed system such as a powered box, but much harder to establish in a situation where the amplifier and speaker system are unrelated and ‘know nothing’ of each other. Some manufacturers have attempted to improve this state of affairs by offering the ability to include more driver-related parameters in the