34 l February 2014
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livereport Self-power
John Meyer at the TEC Awards 2014
THIS YEAR marks Meyer Sound’s 35th anniversary, and also the 25th year since the company introduced its first self-powered loudspeaker, the HD-1 studio monitor. The company has since pioneered self-powered systems for concert applications, and has the industry’s most extensive portfolio of self-powered solutions, including the newest LYON linear line array loudspeaker system, launched at ISE 2014 (and features on p29).
1970s
Glyph: The quadraphonic Glyph sound system installed in a California nightclub brought its designer John Meyer to the attention of regional McCune Sound Service (now McCune Audio/Video/Lighting), who was looking for talent to help it design better sound systems. While at McCune, Meyer realised the common variability of the equipment was a logistical nightmare for sound companies, and decided to find a better solution.
JM3: The JM3 loudspeaker was named after its designer John Meyer during his time at McCune. The
JM3 speakers, ready to go! (From the McCune archive )
three-way, tri-amped system enclosed the power amplifiers and all of the electronics associated with the loudspeakers in an equipment rack with no controls beyond an on/off switch. The settings were all calibrated at the shop.
In the 1970s, sound companies were building most of their own loudspeaker and console equipment specifically for the type of music they’re supporting. To configure a system for a show, technicians had to combine amplifiers and speakers and make all of the proper electronic settings. The degree of success depended largely on the technicians’ experience, and it wasn’t uncommon for shows to
be interrupted or end prematurely by failure of the sound system. Self-powered systems were the solution presented by John Meyer, Meyer Sound co-founder and CEO. It was a controversial move at the time, as self-powering was a brand new concept in live sound. By advancing self-contained loudspeakers with built- in amplifiers for recording studios, large concerts and beyond, Meyer believed self-powering would eliminate heavy, expensive amplifier
& self-belief
A look back at over several decades of pioneering self-powered technology
1980s
racks and large loudspeaker cables, thereby lowering costs. Without the need to calibrate gain and crossover settings, these self-powered systems would also be much easier to use. However, the biggest motivator for Meyer to build self-powered systems was their sonic advantages, as his goal has always been to build high- quality linear systems that would deliver a consistent performance show after show and reproduce a variety of materials with extremely low distortion.
The industry has come a long way since the 1970s. Self-powered systems have proven their worth and are here to stay. From palm-sized loudspeakers to large-scale arrays, self-powered systems are heard around the world, in diverse applications from theatrical tours to museums and stadiums. Last month, John Meyer was inducted into the TEC Awards Hall of Fame during NAMM 2014. Here’s a look back at some of the key developments in 35 years of his work.
833: The 833 was the first studio monitor designed and manufactured at Meyer Sound. Although it came with control electronics, it was not self-powered. In fact, issues surrounding proper amplification of the 833 provided more motivation for pursuing John Meyer’s vision for self-powered systems.
“We hired an agency to research how people felt about powered speakers for sound reinforcement. They came back and said nobody wanted them”
John Meyer, 1993
HD-1 (above): Meyer Sound originally developed the HD-1 studio monitor as a fully self-contained, self-powered system to be used as an in-house test source. The late Grammy-winning engineer Roger Nichols was the first engineer to use HD-1 monitors for a recording – Flying Cowboys by Rickie Lee Jones – and he inspired Meyer Sound to release the monitor as a commercial product. The HD-1 is still used today in the most demanding live mixing and recording environments, such as the Michael Bublé tour by FOH engineer Craig Doubet.
ACD: The design of the ACD studio monitor came from John Meyer’s research at the Institute for Advanced Musical Studies in Switzerland. The ACD featured a rack that contained its amplifier and dedicated signal processing, all of the settings for which were factory-calibrated.
Meyer Sound is born: The growth of touring led to the birth of new loudspeaker companies devoted to manufacturing equipment for the industry, reducing the need for sound companies to design and build it themselves. John and Helen Meyer’s formation of Meyer Sound in 1979 was a classic example of this shift. Shortly after Meyer Sound was founded, John Meyer was awarded a patent on his discovery of a horn design and the subsequent method for producing low-distortion sound.
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