Bo and Gang
The E.A.W. RoadShow Demo consisted of two segments. The first half was a discussion on perminantly installed sound systems, such as distributed systems for paging and backround-foreground music playback systems. While educational it was really a refresher course for the next segment about line arrays.
Both E.A.W. representitives are very knowledgeable in their respective fields. Dave Raneses in the commercial installation division and Bernie Broderick for the pro sound stuff. I had previosly met Bernie when he tought the "L" Acoustics V Dosc class at the "L" Acoustics factory in Oxnard Calif. He is a very good speaker and is really good at taking complex physics principals and teaching them to the acoustical types.
The pro stuff discussed a new direction that E.A.W. is progressing towards. That is a digital focusing system that is proprietary to there products (of course). This processing system designed by a gentleman by the name of Dave Guness is a result of the analyzation of compression drivers, horn flares and speakers.
One would ask - Whats to analysise?
Mr.Guness takes the compression driver and bursts a tone thru it and then measures WHY there is a lingering,time delayed spread of the frequency that is burst. In coarse terms why does the driver not reproduce the frequency and then immeadently shut down?
What happens inside a compression driver is a mass of air gets rarified and trys to escape thru a lesser area. The lesser area of pinhole sized expulsion orifices then lead into the throat of the driver.
What Guness did is identifiy these specific anomalys of the product componets (be it compression drivers or speakers cone ripple or horn mouth anomaloys) and then ELIMINATE these artifacs thru software interface. It was not discussed how Guness does this, but I suspect it is thru a series of node and anti-node out of phase signals injected the same time as the source is making sound.
Essentially using constructive interfearence induced thru software and digital processing to fix driver anomalys.
Think about it.
You now can take ANY componet and as long as it will produce the same anomoly repeatedly you can correct and adjust its acoustic problem. At this point in time the only product using this technology is E.A.W.s NT Series self powered box. The insider audio guys have dubbed it the UPA Killer. (Look out Widget !!!!!).
Listening to these NT Series boxs was a real treat.It is the best sounding speaker that I have heard in my life-Bar none! I would have to compare it to my Meyer HD 1 Studio monitors except the NTs would get a shitload louder than my Meyers. This Guness Focusing technology is slated to be used in the older E.A.W. 760 line array system for large concert rigs. Personally I thought the 760 rig sucked (and told Bernie so), but I will give it a second chance listen with this Guness Focusing software implimented.
Now while the NT rig was really impressive,it was nothing compared to what was yet to come. They had this little bullshit looking plastic speaker collumn.Looks like one of those Bose stalks. This was their DSA system. Directional Steering Array. It was oriented in the horizontal plane due to the ceiling height of the room. It consists of 8 - 4 inch woofers and 8 - 3/4 or 1" ??? soft dome tweeters. Each speaker componet has its own self powered amplifier for use of the Guness Focusing. This is what I came to hear.
IT IS FREAKING AMAZING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It will throw the sound within a 30 degree range to whereever it needs to be. Again the box was mounted horizontal. Woofers to the left and tweeters to the right in the enclosure. Standing on the far left side of the room 12-15 feet back from the speaker on the initial startup-all I could hear was bass. As Bernie manipulated the software all of a sudden the sound (playback music) became compleatly full range audiable. I mean crisp hi"s. good low end (not rock and roll by any means) but nice for playback. After Bernie focused the sound around the room at the 12- 15 foot depth, he then proceeded to change the conversion (low to hi distance interface) from 2 feet in front of the speaker to past the rooms depth of about 36 feet.
I was truely blown away.
Now I was experiencing waves of sound. Sorta like walking in and out of sound thru a tunnel. Except I was not moving! The implimentation possibilitys of using a system like this are far reaching. Theater applications where the focusing technique could be used as a special effect such as a big truck racing towards you dead center no matter where you are seated in the theater. Hanging a system high in a facility like this where sight lines need to be considered and the pullback of the speaker is not enought to physically do the aiming. All you would have to do is use the focusing feature to aim the sound towards the area where it needs to be.
I really believe it is a glimpse of the future in audio. Not cheap and again just another tool for your audio toolbox, but a new one on me.
If you get a chance to see this demo, I say go and enjoy. And say hi to Dave and Bernie from me.
Best regards, Oldmics
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Originally Posted by Oldmics
