AudioMedia - June 2008 - (Page 62)

06|08 AM Future is John Meyer has remained an audio innovator for more than 30 years with his scientific, often unconventional approach to loudspeaker design. Since forming Meyer Sound Laboratories with wife Helen Meyer in 1979, the Berkeley, California-based company has broken new ground in a number of ways, beginning in 1980 with the UPA-1 loudspeaker, that features a patented trapezoidal enclosure that has become an industry standard. Other firsts include the Source Independent Measurement (SIM) system, acoustical prediction software, and, most notably, the self-powered professional sound reinforcement loudspeaker. We recently sat down with John Meyer to discuss recent advancements in loudspeaker design and what could be in store for the future. AM: In today’s market, line array systems seem trending towards being smaller and lighter in certain markets. From a design standpoint, how do you accommodate that demand, yet still deliver customers the high SPL and even coverage customers are looking for? JM: The main advantage that we have today in terms of designing and manufacturing smaller, lighter systems, is the variety of new materials that are available. Some examples are lighter materials such as the use of Neodymium in drivers, some of the new plastics that are available, as well as the improvement of electronics in power supplies have let us design smaller and lighter without compromising the acoustic performance of the systems. Other design aspects that we always take into consideration are, of course, the physical size of the line array. We understand that every venue has different structural requirements – some need lighter systems than others, sometimes it’s a space issue, so we always think about the solution or solutions that we will need to accommodate different situations. However, in terms of delivering customers the coverage they need, it’s the self-powered design of our products and their ability to optimise the amplifier/driver relationship that makes a big difference. Today, one can look at drivers and amplifiers as a system – you don’t need to worry about amplifier racks anymore and it’s no longer difficult to add equipment if you need it. Because everything is self-powered, it’s really simple to add whatever equipment you need without reconfiguring everything. The The way forward for Meyer Sound Meyer AM: What are some of the more perplexing challenges faced by your engineering team these days? JM: That’s a good question. I’d say some of our more recent challenges are things that we see in the MM-4XP, a 4x4-inch miniature self-powered loudspeaker. The fact that we were able to make the MM-4 self-powered is pretty remarkable; we had to incorporate an amplifier that was the size of the package, and while the finished product was two inches deeper than the MM-4, it’s pretty incredible because it’s powered by 48 volts. AM: What technological developments are on the Meyer Sound horizon? JM: Creating self-powered systems has really been a stepping stone for us to design and create more complex systems. Something we’re exploring right now is wave field synthesis, which will allow us to create more spatially interesting acoustical environments. AM: Compare your experience designing the Glyph loudspeaker system in the 1970s to designing loudspeaker systems today. My, how times have changed! JM: Well, the Glyph was really a scientific experiment to test the viability of horns and how they could work for PA. What’s the same today is that we always start with a similar approach, because we know that if science serves as the base of our research and development efforts, we will create products that will truly perform and function in the way that they are designed and intended to perform. It’s not just about making new loudspeakers; it’s about making the best loudspeakers. We also feel i t ’s extremely important to address the needs of our customers and the challenges they face; as a result we will invest time to create solutions that will address much more complex problems or specific issues. ∫ HEATHER JOHNSON talks to John Meyer about what the future might hold for Meyer Sound Laboratories. AM: With a broader range of venues and engineers using line array systems, how are you building ease-of-use into your line array technology? JM: When it comes to our line arrays the ease-ofuse benefits of the products mainly result from the fact that they are self-powered. The ease of use of the products, combined with their power, is what’s contributing to the use of line arrays in not only a broader range of venues, but a broader range of applications as well. The linear systems that we’ve created are optimised for being plugand-play; they are very straightforward so all you really need to do is plug in and go. In addition, we have the Galileo Loudspeaker Management System, which has been designed to make it very easy to ‘dial-up’ the size of the array and drive line array system with audio. The evolution of digital audio technologies has also had a tremendous impact on sound design; our MAPP Online Pro tool is an example of this. Because it’s an extremely accurate acoustical prediction program, it makes things significantly easier for sound designers as it gives them the ability to predict the performance of a sound system before they step foot in the room. In addition, by using the Remote Monitoring System (RMS), extensive status and system performance data is directly delivered to the operator from every installed speaker, which makes it nearly effortless to supervise a sound system. These tools, combined with the self-powered loudspeakers, enable a huge shift away from how things used to be, when everything involved in putting a system together was a balancing act. For example, it’s much easier to set systems correctly because the ideal spectrum has basically been analysed, making it easy to identify where t h e r e ’s n o t enough power and to make c h a n g e s ve r y quickly. 62 AUDIO MEDIA JUNE 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AudioMedia - June 2008

AudioMedia - June 2008 Contents Recording Post Broadcast AES Review What's Up UK? Geofocus: Australia For the Record Special Report: Videosonics Newstalk: DPA New Microphones Novation SL Compact Allen & Heath IDR-8 Eastwest Quantum Leap SD2 & Goliath Final Cut: Indiana Jones Merging ADR Module Koolworld SSL Duende Good Product Sampler: Microphones Video Guide AMSR Meyer Sound The Blue Planet Live! Royer Labs Mics R-121 & R-122

AudioMedia - June 2008

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