L-Acoustics has released the LC16D network audio converter, designed to simplify the process of interfacing legacy digital formats with the Milan AVB time-sensitive network.

LC16D is a high-capacity AES/EBU- and MADI-to-Milan AVB audio network converter housed in a compact and rugged 1RU chassis. With up to 80 legacy format inputs and outputs, LC16D can interface with up to 128 channels to and from the network. It offers dynamic mapping of audio channels and comprehensive synchronization options, all controlled via an intuitive, embedded web interface. LC16D features flexible power options, with the innovative use of Power over Ethernet and seamless Milan AVB audio connections, providing robust redundancy features as standard.

The LC16D is simple to use; the embedded web interface enables full control and monitoring from any device with a web browser and internet connection. The ten user configurations make storing and loading different channel mappings easy, while comprehensive clocking options make synchronization effortless and distribution of clock sources across connection formats possible.

The unit acts as a bridge between legacy digital formats and a Milan AVB network, offering expanded connectivity and audio interfacing options in a budget-friendly format. It has a wide range of applications in the rental, corporate, and fixed installation markets, as well as for broadcast, residential, and recording studios.

At festivals, large-scale broadcasts, or other special event applications that use several interfaced digital consoles, LC16D’s integrated asynchronous sample rate converters on each AES/EBU input eliminate the need for complex synchronization management, allowing digital consoles to continue using their independent clock domains. This simplifies the connection process and creates a plug-and-play AES/EBU-to-Milan AVB interface while also expanding the connectivity capacity of the drive system.

The LC16D can be used as a floating converter for fixed installations deployed anywhere a legacy digital connection needs to interface with a Milan AVB network. The combination of AES/EBU and MADI inputs allows any digital console to be connected simply and efficiently, while the converter’s outputs can be utilized to generate and distribute additional feeds as required.

“The first ever network converter from L-Acoustics, LC16D bridges legacy formats to the future of networking,” said Scott Sugden, Director of Product Management, Electronics at L-Acoustics. “The powerful, feature-rich, and cost-effective LD16D will ease and accelerate the adoption of the Milan AVB protocol.”

LC16D will ship in Q4 of 2023. View the LC16D launch video at: https://youtu.be/cDb0aHHFXNM

Last month Wellcome Collection hosted the Land Body Ecologies Festival. This is a free four-day event exploring environmental and mental health topics by incorporating elements of sound, touch, taste and vision. The festival, which included art installations, workshops, talks, films, and performances, focused on the connections between mental health and our ecosystem. The Land Body Ecologies (LBE) research group is led by Yorkshire, UK-based multi-disciplinary arts studio Invisible Flock and other partners, who were recipients of the Wellcome Trust’s prestigious Hub Award. The festival was produced by Unbox Cultural Futures and Invisible Flock.

“The focus of all of our work looks specifically at the natural wild and the environment: the ways in which we interact with it and the ways we perceive it — or maybe don’t perceive it,” explains Invisible Flock Technical Director and Co-Founder, Ben Eaton. “We are interested in how artists can raise awareness, but also how they can move beyond that stage and become active participants and generators in finding solutions, or contributing advanced research when it comes to climate considerations.”

BOALNO: REINDEER IN THE ROUND

Boalno, a featured exhibit of the Land Body Ecologies Festival by Invisible Flock, utilised immersive audio as a sensory vehicle to transport museum guests to the Arctic landscape, atop Boalnotjåhkkå mountain when the Sápmi people of Sweden corral some 3,000 circling reindeer each year. The exhibit was carried out in the Reading Room of the Wellcome Collection and featured sixteen L-Acoustics X8 coaxial speakers configured in a 360° array on a horizontal plane.

Invisible Flock’s Technical Director Ben Eaton and Creative Director Victoria Pratt captured the sound of the reindeer corral over a two-day period using a combination of ambisonic and parabolic microphones, recording into a Sound Devices MixPre 6, and then spatially manipulating the audio files using L-Acoustics’ L-ISA Studio software suite. The final runtime of the exhibit was condensed to approximately 20 minutes to provide visitors with a breathtakingly accurate sonic rendering of the annual herding event.

Surrey, UK-based DeltaLive provided a range of equipment and sound installation services during the LBE festival, including for Invisible Flock’s exhibition, Boalno. Stephen Hughes, Account Director at DeltaLive, explains the interface and processor set up: “We had a Mac Mini running Reaper with the Boalno session and an RME MADIface AVB card, going into an L-ISA Processor. We only needed 16 outputs for the session, so the L-Acoustics LA7.16i amplified controller was perfect.”

Formed in 1989 and dubbed ‘The Beatles of the Philippines’, Eraserheads have recorded seven studio albums — four of which have gone multi-platinum. Fronted by charismatic vocalist Ely Buendia, Eraserheads disbanded in 2002 but continued to tour, staging a series of reunion concerts across the globe throughout the mid-2010s.

Almost three decades since the 4-piece alternative rock outfit’s inception, and 13 years since its last large-scale reunion, Eraserheads recently took the stage at the SMDC Festival grounds in Parañaque, Manila, performing for a legion of 75,000 fans in an enormous open-air concert. The show was a multi-sensory concert that included pyrotechnics, a holographic projection of the late Filipino rapper Francis M, and special guests performing live with the band.

Buendia unhesitatingly requested an L-Acoustics concert sound system for both on-stage monitoring and main PA systems. The band members, who have had successful individual careers, had experience working with Philippines L-Acoustics Rental Agent partner, Forscink Inc. and trusted them to supply audio for this important reunion performance. Concert promoters WEU Event Management asked Forscink to design a concert sound system that would cover the vast concert area with a powerful audio system that would deliver clear, powerful sound — even over the pyrotechnics — throughout the planned three-hour show.

Justin Santos, System Engineer at Forscink, worked with L-Acoustics application engineers to design the system. “A legendary rock band like the Eraserheads must have a loud, powerful system with great clarity,” explains Santos. “We modelled many system options in Soundvision in order to find the one that would do justice to the timeless, nostalgic music of the Eraserheads.” Concert Front-of-House engineer Sho Hikino and monitor mix engineer Xyron Ocampo were all familiar with L-Acoustics systems, which made for a smooth load-in and show management process.

The main PA system deployed for the concert consisted of 15x L-Acoustics K2 with four K1-SB subwoofers per side. Side-fill systems were delivered by 12x Kara boxes per hang on either side of the stage, while front-fill consisted of the 12x Kara enclosures. A pair of delay towers placed 90 metres from the stage carried 12x K2 and 4x K1-SB each while a second pair positioned 170 metres from the stage carried 9x K2 per hang. 24x SB28 subwoofers delivered low-end rumble for the massive audience. A combination of LA8 and LA12X amplified controllers powered the entire system. Forscink called on L-Acoustics Certified Rental Partners at PMX and Pro Beatbox to supply portions of the massive sound system.

“The sound system did not disappoint,” concludes Santos. “Fans and organisers left the show happy and satisfied. I’m pleased at the consistency of tone between the K2 and Kara, which gave the audience the same listening experience from front to back. It was a spectacular night.”

Last week, at a private event held at the Hollywood Bowl, L-Acoustics announced the new L Series with its patented Progressive Ultra-Dense Line Source (PULS) technology. Bringing line source technology to its pinnacle, L Series ushers in ultimate power, control, and consistency in line array design. Having debuted at the BRIT Awards with pilot phase partner Britannia Row/Clair Global, on tour with Helene Fischer and pilot phase partner Solotech, and at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival with support from RAT Sound, L Series will continue its pilot phase validation with PRG, Tokyo Sanko, Novelty and Winly, before it becomes available in production this fall.

L-Acoustics introduced the modern line array concept in the ‘90s, and three decades later, this technology is still the standard for live events around the world. “L Series is a breakthrough concept in concert sound that is made possible through the culmination of 30 years of intensive R&D in software modelling, loudspeaker technology, and electronics,” says Germain Simon, Director of Product Management, Loudspeakers at L-Acoustics. “When we analysed hundreds of projects using line source array across all genres and venues, we realised that most audience geometries and array shapes followed a similar trend. This led to the understanding that a fixed element with pre-defined progressive angles would provide incredible gains in quality, efficiency, and sustainability.”

L Series comprises two elements that are designed to work together or on their own: L2 above and L2D below. One L2 or L2D element provides the same contour as four K2 elements in a format that is 46% smaller and 40% lighter. The audio benefits of L Series encompass industry-leading SPL per size, unparalleled consistency over the audience area, and improved rejection everywhere else. Accompanying the audio benefits, L Series revolutionises deployment with a smaller, lighter footprint that reduces truck space and requires fewer elements, cutting the number of actions needed to load in and out.

The power density of the new L Series is unprecedented. Each element contains eight three-inch high-frequency drivers with eight ten-inch low-frequency drivers, complemented by four side-loaded 12-inch drivers with front and back exits to deliver efficient, high precision broadband coverage with a choice of cardioid or super-cardioid patterns. L Series also features L-Acoustics Panflex technology, which provides sound designers with quick access to a choice of four horizontal directivity patterns: 70° or 110° symmetrical, or 90° asymmetrical on either side. Each L2 element includes four Panflex modules, while L2D contains two Panflex modules on the top elements, and two fixed L-Fins progressing from 110° to 140° on the bottom elements.

Josh Lloyd, Britannia Row Head of Engineering and Special Projects, led the BRIT Awards’ team from design to delivery while continuing his tenure as the BRIT Awards Music FOH Engineer. “L Series was truly impressive in terms of its coverage consistency, it was nearly impossible to hear any transition between elements of the array,” he commented. “The tonal consistency was incredible — every listener had the same audio experience. The cardioid behaviour of the box meant that once moving out of the coverage zone, it was difficult to tell if the system was on!”

“At the BRITs, where we hear presenters, acceptance speeches and a wide variety of musical performances, gain before feedback wasn’t a worry. The broadcast team received inputs that were uncoloured due to the remarkable off-axis performance. L Series sounded incredibly musical, delivering output and punch that do not seem possible, based on its size.”

The operating efficiencies of L Series originate from its shape. With no inter-element angles, a pin-less auto-lock rigging system, and a single cable connector, repetitive load-in-/load-out actions are drastically diminished. This creates a set-up environment that reduces errors and leads to a stunning three-fold decrease in loading time versus a similar K2 configuration or up to five times faster than Kara II.

L Series is just as impactful on the environment as it is on deployment. Starting with material savings: 56% less paint; 30% less wood and 60% less steel. L Series is frugal in resources. Clocking in at 30% less volume and 25% less weight as compared to an equivalent line source array, L Series is also frugal in truck space and consequently in fuel consumption. The impact of the L Series is already being felt by Solotech on tour with Helene Fischer: “Our L2 system uses a fraction of the truck space as an equivalent K1/K2 system would have,” explains Holger Schader, Senior Consultant Concert Touring and Special Events at Solotech. “We used just one truck instead of two trucks for the audio on this tour. Load in is also easier and more fail safe because we only have four elements to connect instead of 16.”

Adding to system efficiency, L Series is driven by the new LA7.16 high-resolution touring amplified controller, which supports L2 and L2D with 16 channels of high-power amplification and processing. LA7.16 comes in a new LA-RAK III touring rack offering 48 channels of amplification in a Milan AVB-ready package with more than 60,000 watts of power in 9U. Leveraging the high-resolution amplification of LA7.16 and the advanced Autosolver tools, L Series output can be perfectly modulated to achieve results that are impossible with traditional line array technology.

With L Series, L-Acoustics also introduces the new Clamp1000, which can carry up to four L2/L2D. It can also be used with Kara II, K3, or K2, supporting up to 16 K2. Using Clamp1000 users can rotate a flown line array from the ground, drastically saving setup time and the number of motors needed.

“The team of L Series, Clamp1000 and LA7.16 with its best-in-market amplification efficiency, along with advanced Autofilter processing, will make immersive audio deployments with L-ISA technology faster, easier, and more budget-friendly,” explains Simon. “And these benefits also extend to traditional stereo projects where the pressure to create quality sound with less people and less time is ever-present.”

In January of this year, L-Acoustics began a comprehensive L Series pilot phase with partners Britannia Row and Solotech. Between April and October, the pilot program will progressively include six leading certified partners around the globe: PRG and Solotech in the Americas, Britannia Row/Clair Global and Novelty Group in EMEA, and Tokyo Sanko and Winly in APAC will be deploying the new technology for various live events in October of 2023 when the pilot phase concludes. Additionally, L-Acoustics deployed L2 and L2D at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach in California with support from RAT Sound and AEG Presents.

“We were privileged to be the world’s first to deploy L Series last February at The BRIT Awards 2023. The process was seamless, from initial training and warehouse prep to system deployment at the O2 Arena,” said Lez Dwight, Director of Britannia Row Productions.

“L-Acoustics is a long-term partner, and we are quite proud to be the first company to pilot L Series on tour with Helene Fischer, for whom we are providing audio, lighting, and video,” says John Probyn, Head of Business Development, Live Productions Division, Europe, Solotech.

L Series ships in Q4, 2023.

Watch the L-Acoustics Keynote where L Series was unveiled.