52 l August 2013
www.psneurope.com
installationfeature Amplifying
With Crown,
Lab.gruppen and QSC among those launching their most significant ranges in some time, 2013 is shaping up to be a landmark year for standalone amplifiers. But what’s behind this sudden splurge of creativity, asksDavid Davies?
FINDING A sufficiently strong news point for PSNEurope’s amplifier coverage during the last few years hasn’t always been straightforward. There have been some notable product launches, of course, but relatively few that would warrant the epithet ‘groundbreaking’.
No such issue in 2013 – a year
that is rapidly shaping up to be a line in the sand for standalone amplifiers, especially those geared towards the install market. Highlights so far include Crown’s DriveCore Install Series Power Amplifiers, QSC’s PLD and CXD amplifier families,
Lab.gruppen’s sub-£1,000 IPD series and ‘decentralised’ LUCIA installation amp, and Powersoft’s newly expanded Ottocanali series and forthcoming, solar- powered DEVA solution. Increased competition in the install market is generally felt to be one important factor behind the recent explosion in new
Yamaha has recently added four eight-channel products to its XMV amplifier range
product releases – but arguably more significant still is the ability of more efficient, primarily Class D topologies to reduce energy consumption and, therefore, overall cost of use. As QSC’s VP marketing, Gerry Tschetter, observes, what we are witnessing is “likely a convergence of economics and technology”…
JEWEL IN THE CROWN? Kicking off the year, Crown’s DriveCore Install (DCi) Series of power amplifiers first saw daylight at ISE 2013. Crown’s
performance-boosting DriveCore technology is familiar from its touring products, but as Daniel Saenz – Crown’s business segment manager for install sound – confirms, it is “relatively new to install”. Now, with DCi, the technology reaches fruition in a 12-strong range of Class D amplifiers featuring powers ranging from 300 to 600W (into 4 and 8 ohms and 70V RMS and 100V RMS). Incorporated into DCi, the
DriveCore IC chip combines the amplifier drive stage into the power output stage along with additional audio signal functions – “yet is about the size of a postage stamp”, remarks Saenz. “By using the one IC interface, you are able to replace about 500 parts, yielding a much simpler design.” In terms of delivering
efficiency for install applications, DCi has several key benefits, says Saenz. Firstly, its ability to
Introduced at Prolight + Sound 2013, AFMG’s FIRmaker technology – which uses acoustic optimisation algorithms to generate system FIR filters precisely tailored to a given venue – has already attracted licensing interest from loudspeaker manufacturers such as VUE Audiotechnik. In amp world, Powersoft is one of the technique’s earliest adopters, with FIRmaker software now able to be loaded into Powersoft’s flagship product lines, the K Series of amps and the latest DSP4 processing board for powered loudspeakers.
POWERSOFT INTEGRATES FIRMAKER, GOES SOLAR-POWERED “Loudspeaker companies as
well as system users worldwide can now immediately combine the power and flexibility of our product line with the substantial performance enhancements to modern line arrays offered by FIRmaker,” said Powersoft managing director Claudio Lastrucci. It’s by no means the only
current R&D effort for Powersoft. The company has lately expanded the Ottocanali Series with three new 8-channel power amplifiers for fixed installation – Ottocanali 4K4, Ottocanali 8K4 and Ottocanali
12K4 – with output as high as 12,000W over eight channels for the largest model. Then there is DEVA, a
multimedia device for audio messaging and video capture that integrates solar power, wireless capability, lighting and a Class D amplifier in a compact weatherproof enclosure. Designed to be self-sufficient, DEVA’s intended applications include theme parks, public gardens, transport hubs, construction sites and car parks. “There has been a lot of curiosity in the possibilities of DEVA,” says pro audio BU
creativity
offer direct drive ‘constant voltage’ capabilities for 70Vrms and 100Vrms amplification without the need for a step-up transformer means increased quality in distributed audio applications. Secondly, all amplifiers in the range are only 2U rack spaces high, thereby helping to minimise installation space. Last but by no means least, the DCi Series is hailed as Crown’s ‘greenest amplifier line ever’, sporting a PFC power supply and a selectable powersave auto-standby mode where the amplifier will power down after 30 minutes of no input signal and consume less than 1W. Beyond the rollout of a range
that also incorporates Harman’s HiQnet protocol for networking monitoring and control, Saenz confirms that “as far as new product development goes, we [at Crown] will be focused on install for the next 18-24 months”.
RECONNECTING WITH THE ‘GRASSROOTS’
Lab.gruppen has also been actively consolidating its install presence in 2013, with two significant ranges debuting in recent months. Showcased at Prolight + Sound, the IPD Series of networked and DSP-enabled amplifiers is adept at live sound and install duties. Hot on the heels of IPD,
Lab.gruppen selected InfoComm to launch the LUCIA decentralisation amplifier – a product that marks a more concerted step into compact, localised AV install. The initial impetus for IPD,
Stefan Feistel demoing FIRmaker
manager Luca Giorgi of a product that is due to begin shipping in September.
says Mark Flanagan, marketing manager for TC Group’s Install & Tour brands, was an acknowledgement of “recent polarisation for
Lab.gruppen in the touring market. Increasingly, we found ourselves occupying a position that was almost entirely in the top-end of the touring audio market and had all but left our roots behind – that of serving the thriving grass-roots live music scene, small venues, modest touring bands and suchlike.” The result of
Lab.gruppen’s ensuing deliberations is a range that brings features from its high- end products to a sub-£1,000 price point. There are two power configurations, IPD 1200 and IPD 2400, with power outputs (at 4 ohms) of 2 x 600W and 2 x 1,200W, respectively. Both models are built around a DSP engine equipped with 40 real- time, multi-slope parametric EQs, along with adjustable gain, input delay, output delay, and high-pass and low-pass filters adjustable to any frequency. Networked monitoring and control via computer or iPad, a four-channel input matrix,
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