Milan-compliant solutions
L-Acoustics has shipped one of the first products developed to be fully compliant with Avnu’s Milan protocol requirements which were announced at InfoComm 2018. The new multifunctional P1 AVB processor and measurement platform is Milan-compliant as are the L-Acoustics Avnu-certified LA4X and LA12X amplified controllers.
“Milan represents the next step up in AVB interoperability certification,” said L-Acoustics director of electronics Genio Kronauer. “Products like our P1 that are recognised by Avnu’s new classification will not only mean that they can connect with other brands’ Milan-certified products, but that they are guaranteed to communicate fluently and be fully compatible with each other.”
L-Acoustics’ design engineers worked closely with their industry counterparts at d&b audiotechnik, Meyer Sound Laboratories, and others to collaborate openly on how to successfully ensure that their products “spoke the same language”, Kronauer said. “It’s quite unprecedented that some of the biggest names in pro audio came together on their own to jointly make this a reality. This depth of communication between each of these companies’ products is a huge win for all of our installation and touring customers.”
The P1 processor is a unique, three-in-one unit that serves as a front-end processor, an audio matrix and bridge, as well as a system measurement and tuning platform, all in one convenient, robust package. The P1 takes the complex and hardware-intensive task of system optimisation and streamlines it to a single piece of hardware, fully integrated with the industry-leading LA Network Manager software platform.
As a signal processor with equalisation, delay, and dynamics, its four analogue line inputs with premium A/D conversion assure the utmost sound quality. Integrating 20 inputs and 16 outputs in one rack space, the P1 can matrix, bridge, and distribute AVB, AES/EBU and analogue audio. Time-aligned redundant signal distribution guarantees artifact-free sound with the click of a button. Exceptional demand shown by early orders indicates that the marketplace recognises the current and future value that P1 will add to the L-Acoustics toolkit.
Updates to LA Network Manager will leverage P1’s four microphone pre-amps to create an analyser that is aware of all system parameters. This technology enables system tuning without additional noise.
Avid L-ISA partnership
Meanwhile, L-Acoustics has announced the development of an AAX DSP version of its L-ISA Source Control plug-in for the popular Avid VENUE | S6L console’s control surface, allowing sound engineers an expanded range of consoles in which they will be able to use a familiar workflow to manage immersive environments easily and intuitively.
L-Acoustics’ L-ISA ecosystem consists of a comprehensive toolchain that can handle multidimensional audio projects at any stage. With the L-ISA plug-in for S6L, users have access to all “source object” controls, including pan, width, distance and elevation, as well as a designated aux send, and all L-ISA parameters can be stored in the console’s snapshots engine and recalled in the same way as other console parameters. This integration offers many benefits in terms of show portability and live interaction, and the loudspeaker layout can easily be adapted to location changes while maintaining the spatial properties of the mix.
In addition to the L-ISA AAX DSP plug-in, L-ISA can also be integrated into industry-leading Pro Tools via an AAX native plug-in, opening up L-ISA’s 96-input multichannel mixing capabilities in the Pro Tools environment for sound design and other applications.
“The L-ISA Source Control AAX DSP plug-in allows engineers to control their L-ISA mix directly from an S6L console,” said L-ISA director of R&D Guillaume Le Nost. “As a result, sound engineers are able to use a familiar workflow and a single interface to manage an object-based mix easily and intuitively, for a variety of loudspeaker configurations, from frontal layouts to surround or 3D.”
“With more tours and musicals using immersive audio and surround sound to engage audiences, live sound engineers need an easy, intuitive way to manage the added layer of complexity this brings to the audio space,” said Avid director of live system product management Al McKinna. “These new plug-ins from L-Acoustics and Avid’s other development partners provide the most elegant, integrated and streamlined solution for immersive mixing, giving users hands-on control of immersive audio solutions and access to powerful new tools for mixing in these new formats.”
L-Acoustics’ L-ISA technology has already become the market leader in multi-channel sound reinforcement, finally making multi-layer, object-based sound design possible for live and creative events. With L-ISA quickly gaining momentum among artists and sound professionals alike, L-Acoustics is increasing the scope and networkability of L-ISA with a rapidly expanding universe of high-profile partners that have adopted the technology. In addition to Avid, these include: DiGiCo, which natively integrates L-ISA Source Control functionality via Desk Link into its SD range of mixing consoles; Blacktrax, a vision-based tracking system that connects to L-ISA technology via the RTTrP open-source protocol; and KLANG:technologies, a pioneer in the design of 3D in-ear monitor mixing systems.
Q-SYS platform interoperability
L-Acoustics has also announced integration between the L-Acoustics LA4X and LA12X amplified controllers and the Q-SYS Platform from QSC. This integration allows users to control and monitor the LA4X and LA12X through Q-SYS easily. Now system designers can architect high-performing and fully scalable media-rich environments using the familiar and intuitive Q-SYS Designer Software and native user control interfaces, while offering the audio quality delivered by L-Acoustics sound reinforcement systems.
Whether addressing the demands of conference facilities, houses of worship, theatres, or educational institutions, installation markets demand versatility, ease of use, reliability, and interoperability. Over the years, integrators have looked to both L-Acoustics and QSC for solutions that fulfill these increasingly stringent and complex requirements.
“It was only natural that our companies combine forces to make implementation of both QSC and L-Acoustics market-leading technologies simpler and faster,” said Jeff Rocha, director of product management for L-Acoustics. “QSC shares our unwavering commitment to easy connectivity and system interoperability. With the control and monitoring integration of our amplified controllers into the Q-SYS Platform, the system designer sandbox just became a lot more fun and creative.”
“By supporting third party devices integration by companies like L-Acoustics, we are able to showcase the power and versatility of the Q-SYS Platform,” said Greg Mattson, product manager for installed systems at QSC. “Utilising mainstream technologies on an open platform has allowed manufacturers and independent programmers to easily build plug-ins and scripts to make integration with Q-SYS even easier. This is a true testament to the power of a software-based audio, video, and control paradigm.”