www.psneurope.com
April 2013 l 67
installationfeature
OLD TECHNOLOGIES don’t always die. They can be improved and continue to exist in a specialised little niche or be reinvented. Both scenarios apply to the column loudspeaker. The sound quality of the basic concept has benefited greatly from the use of higher mid- range and high-frequency devices but the real revolution has been in the addition of digitally controlled beam steering, allowing the vertical output to be finely adjusted and directed to cover specific parts of a building. Digitally controlled beam
steered columns have been on the market for approximately 15 years, with EAW, Duran Audio, Renkus-Heinz and Ateis International the prime exponents of the art. Like their more passive relations, they have found favour among installers working in buildings with high levels of reverberation and reflection. Ancient churches are an obvious application; columns can be fitted discreetly among the columns and wall decorations and then pointed to deliver sound to a precise point in the building. Modern architecture is another beneficiary, especially with the continuing fashion among architects to use glass and metal. Even so, beam steering appeared to be a specialist market that had enough players to satisfy demand. Meyer Sound’s entry into this small, almost arcane field last year raised both its profile and questions about where and how much further the technology can go. Meyer launched the steerable CAL (column array loudspeaker) at InfoComm 2012. The range comprises the CAL 96 (96 channels with transducers including 24 4” drivers and 72 20mm tweeters), 64 (64 channels, 16 4” drivers, 48 20mm tweeters) and 32 (32 channels, eight 4” drivers, 24 20mm tweeters) and is Meyer’s first loudspeaker product to feature AVB (audio- video bridging) inputs. CAL has already notched up
installations in Germany, Canada and Australia and been recognised with a TEC Award during January’s NAMM show. The big question is why Meyer decided to put in over two years of research and development to enter this well-subscribed market. There are a number of reasons, says John Monitto, the company’s director of technical
Beaming into the
future
The tight-knit beam steering column loudspeaker market expanded last year when Meyer entered the fray with its CAL system. That has refocused attention on this specialised sector, which, as Kevin Hilton reports, is not resting on its laurels
Ateis International Messengers have been installed at Frankfurt Airport
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