Toronto Audiofest 2022 For a long time, my day-to-day work in music production was all I needed to escape the constant turmoil of current events worldwide. Lately, those events are more than just concerning, they’re […]
Tag Archives: Merging Technologies
New York, NY (November 5, 2020)—Two weeks after a massive three-day fire ravaged the Nobeoka City, China factory of semiconductor producer Asahi Kasei Microsystems, pro-audio manufacturers around the world that are dependent on AKM’s high-end audio chips are still looking for information and determining their next steps.
AKM produces a variety of ADCs, DACs, ASRCs and Receivers for numerous pro-audio and high-end consumer audiophile manufacturers, including Solid State Logic, TASCAM, miniDSP, Merging Technologies, SPL of Germany, Focusrite, RME, Schitt Audio, SMSL, Monoprice and others. All of AKM’s audio-related chips were produced at the now-closed factory.
That all of AKM’s audio-related manufacturing could be wiped out in one fell swoop blindsided many of its customers. “We were unaware that only one facility manufactured the AKM DACs and ADCs—that shows how small our industry really is,” said Hermann Gier, managing partner of SPL of Germany. AKM officials have said publicly they hope to be operational again in six months, and the company is expected to engage independent fabrication houses in an effort to keep production going, but nothing concrete has been announced.
AKM Factory Fire—A Pro-Audio Industry Disaster
“I still have close to zero information as far as the AKM prognosis is concerned,” said Chris Hollebone, sales and marketing manager at Merging Technologies. “As far as we are concerned, we are taking stock, literally, over the weekend and trying to ascertain whether an order that was about to be delivered was destroyed in the fire or might still make it…. We have enough parts in-house to keep us going for a while, but not knowing when any production might start may cause us headaches down the line. It is a bit like COVID-19—very hard to predict!”
Paul Youngblood, director of Product Marketing at TASCAM, admitted “This has all happened so fast that all we can say is we are still in the process of analyzing the situation.” A spokesperson for RME echoed that sentiment, stating that company was “currently still ascertaining information, and it’s too early for them to comment.”
SPL of Germany’s Gier noted that his company was “fortunately…in a comfortable position,” adding that while it uses AKM converters in a number of products, including its Crimson, Madison, Phonitor range of headphone amps, and the new Marc One interface, among others, SPL has stocks in-house that it estimates will last between six months and a year, depending on the product.
That hasn’t stopped some from trying to capitalize on the situation, however. Gier noted, “It is unfortunate that stock brokers take advantage of situations like this, making it increasingly worse by charging ridiculous prices for remaining parts. We already rejected various unethical offers; now it looks unlikely that our industry can sustain production and keep the prices stable.”
For now, the pro-audio industry awaits news from AKM.
Asahi Kasei Microsystems • https://www.akm.com/us/en/
Rastatt, Germany (September 2, 2020)—Electronic Studio Basel (ESB) at the Basel Music Academy in Switzerland is being outfitted with Lawo IP technology for recording contemporary electronic compositions and to train future prospective sound engineers.
The new audio mixing system, which was installed by Swiss system integrator SLC Broadcast, includes two identical 24-fader Lawo mc²36 consoles and corresponding interfaces (supporting MADI, Ravenna, AES/EBU, analog operation). The two stage boxes each provide 32 mic/line inputs, 32 line outputs, eight digital AES3 inputs, eight digital AES3 outputs, eight GPIO, a Ravenna port and a MADI tie-line port (SFP).
Also part of the upgrade are Horus and HAPI audio interfaces from Merging Technologies.
Lawo Routes for Radio Network
Great importance was reportedly placed on the scalability of the components during the selection of equipment for the upgrade. From small mobile recordings to large live concerts with parallel recording, the audio systems are required to use the same digital interfaces and network topology. For large ensembles with simultaneous recording, all components — including virtual soundcards on laptops — are called into use.
For around 150 years, the Basel Music Academy (Musikakademie Basel) has been a center of excellence for musical education at all levels. The academy places a high value on the use of current technology and equipment in its audio training, especially in the areas of recording studio technology and sound reinforcement.
A broad spectrum of studies, research and further education are offered under the Basel Music Academy umbrella, from early to new music, audio design to jazz, through the Basel School of Music, the University of Music FHNW (Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz – University of Applied Sciences North-West Switzerland) with the Institutes of Classical Music, Jazz and Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, as well as the Institute for Further Education, improvisation.
Lawo • www.lawo.com