Audio-Technica completes 2014 Microphone Seminar Tour
Published: ASIA
ASIA: Hosted by European product manager Alexander Lepges, Audio-Technica South East Asia (S.E.A) has completed a series of three seminars discussing surround sound technology and the future of wireless. Taking place in Singapore, Bangkok and Jakarta, the sessions were organised in conjunction with regional partners, Vichai Trading (1983) Co in Thailand and PT Kairos Multi Jaya in Indonesia. Over 250 system integrators, consultants, dealers and end users attended overall.
‘With the microphone seminars, we wanted to share some of the unique expertise that Audio-Technica has gathered thus far,’ explained Teng Shaokai, regional sales manager, Audio-Technica (S.E.A.). ‘Next year is an important year for Singapore as we are hosting the SEA Games. We hope that through sharing our experiences in the Summer and Winter Games, broadcasters will gain a different perspective about sound. In addition, we also wanted to clarify some doubts about digital wireless systems that many end-users had in mind.’
The manufacturer has been heavily involved with the Games since 1996, reportedly deploying as many as 3500 microphones to capture sound in each sport. It has therefore gained significant expertise in the sound design of live broadcast sporting events.
‘Sound conveys emotions and what we aim to do is evoke emotions in people who watch the Games at home, for them to feel like they are right at the heart of the action,’ commented Mr Lepges. ‘There is no right or wrong way to do surround sound. We just want to show you how Audio-Technica does surround sound, and to inspire everyone to try and find even better ways of doing it and feed that back to us.’
Also up for debate were the comparative benefits of digital and analogue wireless microphone systems. Mr Lepges introduced System 10 as a device that overcomes the bandwidth limitation of the UHF-TV-channel range by making use of the 2.4Ghz frequency spectrum. A-T’s new ATN971 Dante enabled microphone was also a significant talking point of the seminars. As the first mic to introduce General Purpose I/O via Dante, it is capable of triggering a local mute or can be used in remote mode to trigger contact closures on compatible Dante devices.