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The past weeks have been hectic for the audioXpress team, meeting our regular and unrelenting editorial schedule, our travel schedule, and trade show attendances. While I have been on a non-stop US tour for two weeks straight after an intense five days of IFA in Berlin, our technical editor Jan Didden was exploring the fascinating world of high-quality media production at the IBC 2023 show in Amsterdam (report coming next).

I want to mention this for two reasons. First because there are a lot of stories that we simply didn't have time to explore and that we still must write - but they are coming. Second, to advance that audioXpress is supporting an important event for product developers focusing on Bluetooth LE Audio that will take place in California’s Silicon Valley, December 1-2. It's going to be an exclusive gathering of all the key suppliers of the enabling technologies for Bluetooth LE Audio products, meeting product developers, designers, product managers, and C-level executives in the consumer electronics space. More details will be available soon on the audioXpress website, as soon as registrations are open.

That was one of the reasons why, immediately following CEDIA Expo 2023 in Denver, CO, we have spent an intense week of meetings with key technology vendors in the Silicon Valley area - and everyone knows how hard it is to manage more than two meetings a day in the Bay Area... Particularly during the week that Apple was announcing a new iPhone and Salesforce promoted a major convention for 50,000 people, on top of everything that usually takes place in the area!

Anyway, I'm using the mention as a heads-up for any company active in the space that would like to participate in the Bluetooth LE Audio developers event. Reach out to my email. The event is promoted by the Audio Product Development Alliance (APDA), in association with HPN Global Meeting Services.

Uptown Denver

Just in time for this newsletter, we received the final report from Emerald Expositions, the owner and promoter of CEDIA Expo (and the new Commercial Integrator Expo), which confirms our overall impressions that the place was bursting with activity. Not only from the regular interactions between integrators and the many vendors that traditionally exhibit at every CEDIA Expo, but there was clearly a lot of action taking place behind the scenes as we could spot many technology suppliers, engineering services, and even manufacturers in meetings with the brands in this segment. Clearly a good sign that the residential integration sector and home audio technology is on a path to growth and more innovation.

What we can report from the show floor this year is that there were many, many new products being launched, and that most manufacturers were clearly positive with the attention generated from both press and professional attendees.

CEDIA Expo is the annual event for CEDIA association members, promoted independently by Emerald Expositions. One show, two different entities.

For the first time, Emerald Expositions promoted a side show - Commercial Integrator Expo - which was justified with the growing convergence between the residential and commercial installation segments. Well… it doesn't seem the formula was exactly well understood: of those exhibitors that normally take center stage at InfoComm every year, only a small fraction exhibited and using small 10'x10' or 10'x20' standard booths. Given that the Colorado Convention Center is a large facility, this new area should have contributed to expanding the exhibition area compared with 2022 in Dallas, TX. But looking at the areas available in the large hall, it was clear that it didn't happen, although it contributed to a slight increase of the exhibition space.

Overall, CEDIA Expo 2023 and Commercial Integrator Expo 2023 received 15,541 total combined registrants from 21 countries, with a verified attendance of 12,848 industry professionals at CEDIA Expo 2023 and Commercial Integrator Expo 2023. The co-located events featured 340 exhibitors with 154,400 net-square-feet of exhibits and welcomed more than 32% first-time attendees and 94 first-time exhibitors. Compared with 2022, that's a slight increase from 11,946 attendees (very visible the first day), exhibitors (317 in 2022), and even net square-feet of exhibits (143,000).

Commercial Integrator Expo didn't exactly contribute greatly to expanding the scope of CEDIA Expo. Yes, audio manufacturers can show commercial speakers, as they always did, as if that made any difference.

I believe the training and certification sessions were well attended (we didn't even get close to those rooms on the lower floor, except on the last day). So were the content sessions, which inevitably addressed the topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the custom installation industry. As with similar installation industry events, such as Integrated Systems Europe and InfoComm, there were plenty of networking and special events held at the show, including the inevitable awards parties.

We spent most of the time on the busy and vibrant show floor, and attending great demonstrations in the vicinity hotels, some of which we are not even able to report until probably next year. Let's just say that there were many impressive demonstrations on every front, from speaker drivers to DSP and anything in the audio chain. I have selected a few images to illustrate some of the highlights of our activities on the audio front.

In general, a large section of CEDIA Expo continues to be for home automation and smart home solutions, side by side with displays and projectors, and the rest being the audio companies offering both installation speakers and electronics, or home theater solutions. Emerald says that "Audio continues to be a dominant product category at the show, as leading audio manufacturers demonstrated their latest loudspeakers, amplifiers and signal processing solutions in demo sound rooms on the show floor and in the convention center’s meeting rooms." From my impressions of the occupied areas, there was a balanced 30/30/30 distribution for each product segment, with the remaining 10% being the technology suppliers with which we normally spend more time - when we are allowed.

Crestron debuted its Crestron Home OS4 and received total attention from professional integrators. The updated platform refines the smart home experience, which is an evolution in the right direction that the industry welcomed.

On the CEDIA Expo show floor, one could find Focal Utopia speakers being demoed in an open space, and barely no one really wanted to sit and listen. Instead, everyone wants to measure up how much it takes to carry a pair of those to the customer’s home.

In the same week as CEDIA Expo, Sonos debuted Move 2, the next generation of its original Move portable speaker. The much-improved speaker was obviously a highlight at the show, which demonstrates how much Sonos is committed to the residential integration space. AVA, the Swiss-American manufacturer of connected home products, was one of the integration partners, with its advanced remote controls.

This demonstration followed the same well-paced and deeply engaging format as similar demonstrations we have seen from Paul Hales, speaker engineer, founder, and CEO of Theory Audio Design, Theory Professional, and Pro Audio Technology. For CEDIA Expo 2023, the focus on new Theory products and its full-system design approach was again surprising for its tremendous efficiency in creating an immediate emotional connection. It worked at InfoComm, and it excelled at CEDIA Expo, where Theory stole the show with the best demonstration of high-performance speakers for residential and commercial installations. New pendants, in-wall, and architectural subwoofers, every single product demonstration was effective, convincing, and engaging. Paul Hales did it before at QSC, and I'm certain we are going to see many of the Theory and PRO speakers showing up everywhere

My second biggest positive surprise at CEDIA Expo 2023 was a demonstration of what Origin Acoustics did with the original Amina invisible speaker panels. Following a licensing agreement with the British company, the Amina panels have been re-engineered and tuned by the American company in the new BLENDS Invisible Speaker Series (BLENDS stands for Boundaryless Listening Experience with Natural Depth Sound). They can be invisible, but most importantly they sounded astonishing in a home listening environment, which is something that I would never expect to say.

Of note is the divide between the activities of CEDIA Expo, a "platform where residential technology integration, design and construction professionals connect, learn, and engage," and the activities of CEDIA, "the association for smart home professionals," which is very likely regretting not being in control of its own event (not that they would say that in 2020, when the global pandemic hit). One thing that I would say is that CEDIA, the association, needs to be more in control of many vital aspects of the event, which clearly would also help Emerald to keep the momentum going for the future.

CEDIA Expo 2024 and Commercial Integrator Expo 2024 are scheduled to remain at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, and will take place September 4–7, 2024 - which is partially conflicting with IFA Berlin (September 6-10, 2024). That is a shame, because the convergence and cooperation between the two events makes complete sense, I believe. Not that it matters much to the US attendees, but it certainly matters for exhibitors and many manufacturers. It's already bad enough that next year we will be forced to leave the NAMM Show (January 25–28, 2024) and fly directly to Barcelona for ISE 2024 (January 30-February 2, 2024). I guess many companies will simply decide to exhibit in just one of those shows, and it's not in their best interest.

The ultimate $1 million US demo theater presented by Trinnov Audio, which teamed up with Ascendo Immersive Audio, Barco, Kaleidescape, madVR Labs, Seymour-Screen Excellence, and Officina Acustica was the showstopper at CEDIA Expo 2023. The full-featured immersive cinema demonstration was the first opportunity for Trinnov Audio to demonstrate its WaveForming technology to the US market. I can only say that I was deeply impressed with the results of the system to cancel room modes and the unique sound qualities showcased by the whole system. An unforgettable experience. A technical article about WaveForming will be coming soon to audioXpress magazine. Pictured is the whole team present at the special press session, the day before the show opened.

Another demo room that had continuous lines at CEDIA Expo 2023 was the first fully digital Audio-over-IO home theater, designed and built by StormAudio alongside technology partners Seymour-Screen Excellence, Grimani Systems, and RowOne Entertainment Seating. A great demo that basically reflects the momentum for the AES67 interoperability standard in the custom integration industry.

This is a topic of a more in-depth article that I am writing. But because it represents an important moment for DTS and all the team involved for more than a decade with DTS Play-Fi wireless audio technology, I need to include it in this short report. Following presentations at CES 2023 and IFA 2023, I finally had the time to sit with DTS and enjoy a demonstration of the official launch of immersive audio support for DTS Play-Fi Home Theater, now supporting up to 12 channels of discrete sound. Originally launched in 2021 with support for 5.1 surround sound, this latest update enables playback of immersive sound formats like DTS:X, Dolby Atmos and IMAX Enhanced from DTS Play-Fi compatible TVs to discrete speaker layouts, up to 7.2.4. All simply using the Wi-Fi radio built into every smart TV as the source. TPV will be the first partner to launch the latest DTS Play-Fi Home Theater enhancements on select 2023 Philips TVs.

Pictured is Dannie Lau, general manager, DTS Play-Fi and Networked Audio Division at DTS and Justin Gibbins, DTS lay-Fi Product Manager at Xperi.

The DTS Play-Fi Home Theater demonstration was effective and impressive, showcasing how the whole solution over standard Wi-Fi works seamlessly. Customizable from a simple wireless soundbar connection to a truly immersive setup with discrete speakers, surrounds, and subwoofers, up to 7.2.4, DTS Play-Fi Home Theater provides all the flexibility for consumers, including using the TV’s internal speakers as part of a home theater system.

CEDIA Expo 2023 was also an important moment for the WiSA Association, showcasing new wireless multichannel technology designed specifically for soundbars and a growing roster of WiSA-enabled speakers, TVs, and projectors. From Platin Audio, the WiSA booth had the latest Milan 5.1.4 Soundbar System, the first in the industry to incorporate WiSA DS Technology to wirelessly power four channels of surround and true Dolby Atmos up-firing audio and a subwoofer from a single transmitter module.

Historic Moment for Immersive Audio Systems

There were many fabulous presentations and demonstrations that made CEDIA Expo 2023 really memorable. But the real reason why I reserved this week's editorial to discuss the show has to do with what for me was the major announcement of the show. It's in fact the result of a tremendous effort promoted by CEDIA (the association) in collaboration with the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), promoters of the CES show.

The major announcement was the publication of the "CEDIA/CTA - RP22 Immersive Audio Design Recommended Practice" document, the first recommended practice to define an objective set of performance criteria for home audio systems and immersive audio system design. A document that many audio professionals will undoubtedly be reading attentively by now and will be consulting many times in the near future.

The involvement of the CTA in this effort is particularly worthy of note, given the divergence of directions that audio reproduction is revealing in mainstream consumer electronics, with the whole hype around "spatial audio,” in contrast with the committed and incredibly scientific approach that the residential integration industry is adopting.

As Daryl Friedman, global president and CEO of CEDIA says, ""RP22 is nothing less than game-changing for our industry. It will benefit integrators, manufacturers, and of course, homeowners who can be assured of the same high audio standards no matter the room. My sincere thanks go out to CEDIA’s volunteers and staff who worked tirelessly for years to make this dream a reality."

Commenting on the new recommended practice for immersive audio design (RP22), Arnaud Laborie, CEO, Trinnov Audio, states: “RP22 represents the first time that so many key concepts are assembled in a coherent and practical way, and it introduces breakthrough concepts such as performance grades and unified speaker layouts for immersive sound. This is THE audio design reference document for our industry."

These detailed guidelines for immersive audio experiences in the home were the result of more than three years of committed work from a team of industry experts, representing film studios, audio manufacturers, residential technology integrators, and acoustics consultants. "By combining input from content creators, device makers, and system designers, RP22 presents a consensus that honors artistic vision while acknowledging physical and budgetary constraints," the CEDIA announcement details.

RP22 identifies 21 different performance parameters that can be predicted during system design for home/private cinemas, theaters, screening rooms and mastering environments. These performance parameters can then be tested and verified before system sign-off. Using these metrics, it sets criteria for four different levels of system performance, which consumers can also use to define what they want from an audio system.

The new RP22 document updates existing recommended practices for home theater audio design, and has already been endorsed by most major manufacturers, including Dolby Laboratories. It details speaker layout recommendations for the immersive audio formats, including Dolby Atmos, DTS-X, Auro 3D, and more, including expanded bass management guidance, coverage patterns and “seat to seat” variation targets.

Peter Aylett (Officina Acustica), the RP22 workgroup chair, explains that this document "remains neutral with respect to products and formats and is adaptable to a wide range of room sizes and budgets. My hope is that RP22 will lead to a shift away from a product-centric mindset, towards engineering design credibility."

The full CEDIA/CTA - RP22 Immersive Audio Design Recommended Practice documentation is available for free to CEDIA and CTA members at https://cedia.net/advocacy/rp22.

In this fascinating article about common sound theory misconceptions that exist in the audio and hi-fi communities, René Christensen debunks three of them. Starting with group delay and phase delay and why it is incorrect to say that phase and time are the same thing, what actually happens when a loudspeaker driver moves outward and inward, and the effects of polarity and phase flip. True reference material with detailed mathematical expressions and numerical analysis. This article was originally published in audioXpress, June 2023.

Read the Full Article Now Available Here

This Test Bench characterizes the SB29SDNC-C000-4 29mm cloth dome tweeter from SB Acoustics, a shielded neodymium motor driver with a compact 72mm diameter injection-molded faceplate and large surround, featuring a copper cap shorting ring on the pole piece, internal pressure equalization, and a flow resistor for non-resonance cavity coupling. With this characterization, Test Bench now offers a large overview of the innovative tweeter designs launched over the more recent years by Sinar Baja, all designed and developed by former Danish Vifa/Scan-Speak engineers Ulrik Schmidt and Frank Nielsen at Danesian Audio. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, July 2023.

Read the Full Article Now Available Here

audioXpress October 2023: Digital Login

Audio Product Design | DIY Audio Projects | Audio Electronics | Audio Show Reports | Interviews | And More. Read Table of Contents

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