Show Reports

In a world under pressure to reduce its carbon footprint, there is a growing need for virtual seminars and exhibitions. While this is possible in some cases, the power of the internet is still insufficient to allow us to use all of our senses when analysing new products and technologies. The whole manner of touching, seeing and getting to grips with a product up close and personal cannot be replicated on a 17-inch screen. However, just as 2009 saw a rationalisation the way we do business, it also ensured that fitter exhibitions and conferences – such as Integrated Systems Europe and Pro Light & Sound – strengthened their respective positions while more peripheral and national events fell by the wayside. The survival of the fittest is most certainly on in this dog-eat-dog world.

 

Dramatic reductions in corporate budgets have seen those holding the purse strings demand changes in the way that we now do business. Just as collaboration and conferencing services enable employees to work remotely, staying connected to co-workers, customers and partners, presentations and demonstrations can be aired as personal meetings without the need to get in a car or go to an airport. Accordingly, ‘green’ initiatives, such as video conferencing, reduce carbon emissions and staff overheads while creating a demand for new boardroom solutions. And manufacturers have responded with products to meet this demand.

The pre-registration figures for ISE 2010 made great propaganda for ISE organisers, running 17 per cent ahead of 2009. More than one third of these registrations were from new visitors, largely prompted by the show’s educational seminar programme. Many sessions continue to be free, which more often than not, were manufacturer biased, such as the uncompressed multichannel audio distribution over IP hosted by Aki Mäkivirta from Finnish speaker manufacturer Genelec. Those chaired by consultants, such as Roland Hemming, which were not sponsored usually came with a price tag. Recognising that each attendee has different priorities and time constraints, the sessions varied in length from informal, stand-based talks lasting for roughly half-an-hour to full-day seminars on topics such as project management and emerging A/V technologies. ISE’s two supporting associations, InfoComm International and Cedia, hosted numerous sessions covering a diverse range of topics, from technical to business-focused, while the ISE hosted a number of free seminars in the ISE Theatre.

Like Frankfurt Pro Light & Sound, the R&D cycles of many manufacturers now revolve around the ISE dates in early February, which is a staggering achievement bearing in mind the initial 2004 ISE in Geneva welcomed around 4,000 visitors. ‘We’re witnessing world premieres here in Amsterdam in addition to European premieres,’ said MD, Mike Blackman, in his bullish opening day speech. ‘Last year we described the industry as resilient and robust in the face of global recession. This year we can also claim that we have grown to become the essential event for the European community.’ As the show closed with Mr Blackman announcing that 28,489 attendees had passed through the doors over the RAI PA system, most exhibitors had not only decided to return for the 2011 event, but also taken bold decisions with regard to non-participation in other key European trade shows.

The remit of the A/V consultant and contractor continues to evolve, with the need to offer ‘complete solutions’ at the point of tender, creating an increased need for knowledge of products and techniques. ISE’s offers to help them extend their services and, in doing so, gives them a distinct advantage when tendering for a project. Audio continues to be the poor relation to video and the control, video and projector screen booths such as AMX, Barco, Christie Digital, Crestron, Da-Lite, Extron, Kramer, Mitsubishi and Panasonic, dwarf the adjacent audio exhibits. However, the once limited numbers of audio suppliers dotted around the ISE floors this year showed significant maturity. It is now more of a case of who doesn’t exhibit in Amsterdam rather than who does, giving a decent snapshot of the industry. ‘We’re experiencing the rising prominence of companies that are coming from the pro audio sector,’ continued Mr Blackman.

Networking DSP devices continue to entice, with Biamp Systems showing Vocia for the first time at ISE. The Portland based manufacturer’s latest networked media system includes combined distributed processing and page routing, in addition to networked control and audio. QSC Audio rolled out the Q-Sys platform for its European debut, while Australian Monitor showed further developments to the Revolution Series, MediaMatrix promoted the Nion N-Ware touchscreen technology and Symetrix highlighted its Symnet scalable solutions.

Elsewhere, everything from digital consoles to microphones and amplifiers to loudspeakers was on display. Some manufacturers had clearly given their product catalogue some thought before checking it into the flight case to Amsterdam – while a minority demonstrated the shotgun approach of showing complete ranges. Products such as intercoms and consoles remain peripheral at ISE, in contrast to their dominance in the theatrical, touring and broadcasting domains. However, the TM Audio booth in hall one was home to native manufacturer ASL Intercoms and UK digital console manufacturer Allen & Heath, who premiered the iDR-16 MixRack and iLive-R72 rack-mountable Control Surface, which combine to offer a saving in production space. In addition, DiGiCo was on the same booth with its SD7, SD8-24, SD8-36 and EX007 consoles. Further away in Hall 10, Midas was celebrating the early days of new ownership under The Music Group by displaying the XL8 and Pro6 consoles. Yamaha, meanwhile, rolled out the latest M7CL-48ES console with EtherSound capability through the SB168-ES stagebox, whose 48 internal mic preamps have been replaced with two EtherSound ports

Having exhibited at Plasa for more than 30 years, Sheffield-based manufacturer Cloud Electronics had made the switch – preferring Amsterdam in February to London in September. ‘It was a no-brainer,’ professed MD Simon Curtis, showing the new MA60 media player alongside the established DCM1 digital zone mixer and CXV-425 four-channel amplifier. ‘Last year was rough for everybody including ourselves, but we have designed some new products from the ground up and are looking forward to gaining market penetration with them. I have met quite a few new installers in addition to some of our regular customers and distributors. So far I have been pleased with the turnout.’

UK manufacturers are something of a rarity these days, but another one had joined Cloud Electronics at ISE for the first time in the form of MC2/XTA Electronics. ‘It’s been a great show,’ professed sales and marketing manager, Bill Woods. ‘We’ve seen a good mix of distributors and lots of system integrators who we wouldn’t have met normally. Visitors to the stand are truly international including Japan, India, the Middle East and South Africa.’ The focus of attention in the XTA rack was the Dante networking of Audiocore products such as the DP448 and 424 processors, while the MC2 rack was highlighting the E90 and newest Ti1048 amplifiers.’

Conferencing solutions were in abundance. Taiden was exhibiting for the fifth consecutive year and marketing director Nicolas Mreches was full of praise for this years’ event, while highlighting the new HCS-5300 digital infra-red wireless conferencing units and transceivers: ‘We’ve been busy for all three days with serious buyers wanting demonstrations and quotations. There have been no time-wasters here.’ beyerdynamic’s MCS-Digital wired Revoluto boardroom system continues to attract attention and this year was no different: ‘We’ve taken two booths at Pro Light and Sound in recent years, to showcase both our microphone and conferencing solutions in different halls,’ commented marketing manager Karin Hoehing. ‘However, we’ll just be taking one booth there in future for the microphones, because the boardroom installers come to ISE rather than Frankfurt. This means we can focus our efforts for Revoluto here in future rather than both.’

Bosch Security Systems premiered the CS900 Ultro discussion units, as senior product marketing manager Terence Ng, from the Singapore office, explained: ‘It is the successor to the CS800 system but is still compatible with it. However, we have improved the acoustic performance of this unit, while adding quite a few new features in the new ergonomic design, such as a patent pending Possible-To-Speak indicator, which gives a visual indication of when the microphone is available to switch on, and also optional locking clamps to ensure that discussion units cannot be detached. Furthermore the Control Unit offers a built-in digital acoustic feedback suppressor and MP3 recording via SD card, which allows up to 64 hours of recording.’ Elsewhere, AKG (CS5), Ateis, Audio-Technica, Creator (WiFi 6102/04B models from the CR-series), DIS (6990), RCF (Forum), Sennheiser (SDC8200), Shure, Televic (Confidea) and TOA (TS770 and infra-red series) all showed fully working boardroom applications, in order to properly demonstrate their qualities. Paging mics also attracted plenty of attention, with Brähler demonstrating the latest DigiMic and RCF showing the BM3003 model.

New amplifiers were in abundance, with networked class-D models very much in vogue. It seems decades rather than years since the old industrial designs really did mean ‘fixed installation’ on account of their non-portability. On show were tried and trusted designs from Australian Monitor (AMD), Camco (Vortex and Tecton), Cloud (CVX-series), Crown (CTS and XLS), Duran (Uniamp), Ecler (Ampack), Equipson (SLA series), Extron (MPA401 series), Lab.gruppen (PLM Dante networked and FP+ series), Martin Audio (MA-series), MC2 (E-series and Ti1048), Powersoft (K-series), QSC Audio (Powerlight), RCF, TOA (DA Quad series), Wharfedale (S-1000, 2000 and 2500 models) and Yamaha (PC 3301N, 4801N, 9501N, P35003, P5000 and Tn series). For all their hardware, sales managers were keenly demonstrating networking monitor and control by virtue of the software that comes with them, courtesy of plug in cards. Amplifiers without Ethernet ports or Dante networking capabilities are virtually extinct, it would appear. ‘The ISE show has become the most significant show for us in Europe, because we are increasingly living in an integrated world and that is driving our business,’ Lab.gruppen marketing manager, Tim Chapman, announced. ‘Touring may still be the bedrock of our business but the potential of the install world is enormous.’ Extron is a relative newcomer to the amplifier fraternity, but technical sales manager Biju Pillai was keen to demonstrate the green virtues of the new MPA-401 series. ‘They’re what we class as Energy Star Qualified, which means that they are on stand-by when not in use, consuming no power. We’re conducting seminars allowing our customers to listen to the difference, as hearing really is believing.’

Martin Audio and Meyer Sound have been the only consistent loudspeaker presence at ISE, but they have lately been joined by others offering floor monitors, line arrays, portable, ceiling and wall-mounted speaker solutions. Many were new faces, including HK Audio, previewing its new Vortis series alongside the more familiar Cadis and Lucas cabinets. ‘It’s been an interesting show,’ confirmed export manager Christian ‘Super’ Stumpp. ‘We’ve met a few new interesting people, and the second day was definitely busier.’ In close proximity, EAW was showing its latest MicroSub, MicroWedge and NT250 subwoofer, and bussing interested delegates and EAW customers to a nearby demonstration for the KF740 line array. Kling & Freitag made it a hat-trick of ISE appearances this year, showing just two products – the Sonas 5 cabinet with varying lengths of wall brackets together with the unobtrusive wall-mounted Sonas Sub – proving less really is more. ‘We’ve had little contact with new customers,’ confessed MD Jurgen Freitag. ‘Our marketing emphasis remains fixed on Pro Light & Sound.’ Like the German manufacturer, French debutant L-Acoustics also kept to a simple booth format, showing a single paintable XTi series cabinet. ‘It’s more of a discussion area, in which we can meet old and new customers,’ confirmed marketing manager Stéphane Ecalle. ‘There has been a very good attendance and we’ve met a lot of new people who were already familiar with our brand. We didn’t just show up though – we made a lot of preparations in advance.’

Playing on home turf, Alcons displayed both its general products and A/V lines – including the CRMS three-way reference cinema sound system and LR7 micro pro-ribbon line-array. ‘ISE was able to attract potential customers that we would not have met at other shows,’ said MD Tom Back. ‘It speaks for itself that the CRMS system attracted a lot of attention, with many home-theatre and sound-for-picture integrators visiting the stand to have a look and listen to this new reference system. Also, visitors were very impressed with our pro-ribbon sound quality from the VR8 monitors. We’ll be back at ISE in 2011 for sure.’

Dutch distributors TM Audio and IEMKI Roos were tasked with having to keep two international, and arguably, competing brands happy for three days. ‘There’s no conflict between Nexo and ourselves,’ grinned DASAudio’s Jack Palacio. His words were echoed by Nexo’s Denis Baudier. Indeed, while DAS Audio was demonstrating the Avant, Arco and Artec series, Nexo was promoting its latest PS R2 series. The TM Audio booth welcomed Renkus-Heinz from California, to promote IC Live, Rhaon and Iconyx. ‘We’re demonstrating both line array and point source technology for systems integrators and consultants,’ confirmed export manager Karl Gustav Kahlua. ‘What I am surprised about above all else is how extremely focussed these target groups of visitors coming to our booth actually are. These are professional buyers with tenders and projects, who all have individual challenges, which require tailored solutions. This is where we come in by lending them our 30-odd years of experience and solutions.’ Their opposite corner ‘colleagues’ Martin Audio once again showed the AQ series of installed sound cabinets, the unique Omniline and AM cinema series and the award-winning Engineer processor.

Loudspeaker specialist Technomad showed a sample of its wares for its first appearance at the show, including the Schedulon automatic MP3 player/recorder with an internal clock and the weatherproof Vienna speaker, which was being doused with water in a tank to attract the attention of passing traffic. ‘We’re exhibiting in Europe for the first time in order to find potentially new representatives and dealers,’ confirmed Rodger von Kries. Community speakers have been doing the rounds in Europe for almost four decades and have a head start on them when it comes to selling weatherproofed speakers, such as the successful Wet series, but placed a greater emphasis on the Entasys column solution this year. It’s a long time since Gerrit Duran introduced the Axys Intellivox speaker to the market in the mid 1990s, but sales and interest in column speakers has literally exploded in the past few years, with most manufacturers including Ateis (Messenger G2), EAW, Equipson (CS series), JBL, Tannoy (Q Flex) and TOA (SR-C) all now offering some form of column speaker systems for various applications. Bosch unveiled a series of intelligent active directional column loudspeakers with the advent of Vari-Array, which can be configured and managed via proprietary software. Finally, Meyer Sound teased their customers by premiering their CAL (column array loudspeaker) in a clear display cabinet, which will be available in three formats later in 2010. It would appear that loudspeaker developer has given up on the hope that architects will one day create their designs with acoustic parameters in mind.

Meyer Sound has long been a strong advocate of technical training and seminars – but refreshingly without the too familiar manufacturer bias or hype. Together with Harman Professional and Avid, the Californian manufacturer recently joined the AVnu alliance and sat on a panel at ISE, focusing on the adoption of the Audio/Video Bridging (AVB) standard for universal distribution of high-resolution digital audio and video signals. ‘By leveraging the ubiquity of mainstream Ethernet and fully supporting it today, we have an open, non-proprietary standard that benefits both end-users and hardware manufacturers,’ explained Meyer Sound executive director of digital products, John McMahon. ‘We’re getting together here at ISE and working with our AVnu Alliance partners to raise AVB technology. We want to assure others that AVB will be both inexpensive to implement and accessible at all levels of the professional A/V industry. Over time, we want to develop new standards that will enable time sensitive applications over 802 networks.’ Shure and Barco are the latest manufacturers to confirm their membership to the AVnu alliance.

Meyer Sound’s booth won praise from attendees and competitors alike, with a Zen-like feel to its design. Product wise, it was kept simple too with the UP-4XP, MM-10ACX, MM-4XPD and XP speakers being shown, together with the Galileo 408 processor under the collective banner ‘thinking sound’. Spanish loudspeakers being offered to the fixed installation market included the creatively designed Ecler Audeo cabinets, Equipson Studio, WND and award winning IC6 Pro ceiling speakers and MasterAudio’s Excellence, LN and Pro series. From Italy, RCF was showing the Monitor Q and Acustica C3108 speakers, while FBT was exhibiting the Contractor Series catalogue of more industrial designs. Acoustic Design wall- and ceiling-mounted installation and Wideline line array systems were promoted on the QSC booth, Alcons continue to promote its ribbon designs, while Wharfedale placed its emphasis on the Diva8, Titan MkII, SiX and SHO speaker cabinets. Yamaha neatly exhibited two-way speakers from its Commercial Audio range, such as the CM10V model, while TOA showed its F-series of wall-mounted speakers and took the wraps off the Type-C array system, and canny Belgians Apart Audio offered beer, chocolates and the new Mask 2 speakers. Ateis and Soundtube pitched up in Amsterdam for their debuts, with the former promoting the Orbit omni-directional line array, and the latter premiering the SM1001p subwoofer and the 31-EZ speakers. Genelec confirmed that its emphasis was more on fixed installation contractors in the professional rather than residential market, while launching the 4000 series and 8260DSP monitor system.

Furman Sound continued to wave the flag for the importance power conditioning: ‘It’s like installing an insurance policy into the rack of any project,’ quipped Furman Sound’s John Benz. The newest P-6900AR and P-2300IT units were being shown among the other sequencers and conditioners. SurgeX raised awareness in a less subtle way, conducting tests in the form of power surges on its booth to demonstrate how the SX1213 and D6000 units can protect equipment. Cabling was restricted to German manufacturers, Klotz ais and Sommer Cables, together with Liberty, all exhibiting full ranges of fibre-optic, multimedia, video and speaker models rather than stage boxes and multicores.

Although there were a number of wireless microphone systems on display on the AKG, Audio-Technica, Mipro, Sennheiser, Shure and TOA booths, it was goosenecks, boundaries and lavaliers that were more in evidence. Clockaudio’s Retracta series for table-top applications – like its SEC09 – certainly attracted attention with its LED on-off push button mechanism, while beyerdynamic launched the sleekly designed Td-B boundary as part of its Stegos series. This is a show that brings AKG CU700 shotguns, Sennheiser Tourguide and Guideport, Audio-Technica Unipoint and 4000 series upgrades together with Shure Microflex goosenecks into the limelight of attendees.

ISE does not simply serve the industry – like the technology it sources, it is defining it on an annual basis. Nor does it expect a deluge of visitors to simply roll in; it pro actively seeks them and drags attendees away from their hectic businesses in remote locations. Demonstrating the BVRD2M voice alarm mini-router, UK voice evacuation specialist Baldwin Boxall was exhibiting for the first time. ‘We’re extremely pleased with the new contacts that we have made in Amsterdam,’ confirmed MD Terry Baldwin. ‘But as a result, I think that it will be our last visit to Pro Light & Sound this year.’ He wasn’t alone in this sentiment. In many ways, this signifies the end of an era for shows such as Plasa and Pro Light & Sound, who bolted new facets to their MI and discotheque formats without really catering for the new markets they wished to serve. The fixed installation market has long existed in Europe, but it wasn’t properly defined or united prior to the creation of ISE. The growing number of exhibitors coming to Amsterdam now realise that they can solely market specific products to consultants, architects and systems integrators working in the fixed installation market. Having reached this conclusion, they have come to the realisation that the need to display the same products in Frankfurt is largely redundant. For live sound touring and MI portable systems, Frankfurt will continue to reign. However, such a clear divide is a benefit to all and takes a lot of pressure off those companies who previously placed all their marketing, sales and R&D cards on the Frankfurt outing.

‘We are delighted to have again hosted a record-breaking event here in Amsterdam,’ commented Mr Blackman following the show. ‘To have posted a substantial increase in attendance after such a tumultuous business year is a reflection of the long-term strength of our industry, and a vindication of our marketing programme. Perhaps just as importantly, the remarkable percentage of rebooked space for ISE 2011 demonstrates that our exhibitors did not merely have a busy show – they enjoyed three days of substantial new business opportunities. This confirms our belief that the market for professional A/V and electronic systems integration still has plenty of growth potential for the future.’

Having paved the way for systems integrators to come to Amsterdam with a rich programme of seminars and classes, the exhibition now promotes a diverse blend of solutions for any application imaginable. The next problem is that three days is hardly enough for the attendees to absorb it all – a fact that was highlighted by Zio Technologies’ Parag Vadodaria, who was one of many high-profile faces who had taken the long-haul flight from the Middle East: ‘I really want to absorb as many of the classes as possible, but that makes it impossible for me to meet all my suppliers and see what’s new on the show floor,’ he said. ‘I wish there were five of us here at the show, but it’s hard to bring others here as we’re so busy back in UAE at present.’ Perhaps a pre-show education programme or an extension to this being a four-day exhibition is the answer.

Published in PAA May-June 2010    

www.iseurope.com