During the facility tour, guests were given an exclusive look at the processes involved in making a DPA Microphones product. Culminating in a live, hands-on workshop at the Nørrebro Theatre in Copenhagen, attendees were presented with demonstrations by a singer/actor and a band of DPA's collection of microphones.
"The conference was a huge success as it allowed those attending to really get to know the DPA Microphones," says Christian Poulsen, CEO of DPA Microphones. "The company has changed a great deal in recent years thanks to the introduction of a new management team and significant developments in R&D that have led our product range in new and exciting directions. We held this conference because we wanted our distribution partners and invited guests to get a real sense of the DNA of the new DPA - a company with true forward vision."
Among the guests was Akira Fukada, inventor of the surround standard Fukada Tree, who himself learned something at the event. "Being able to participate in the conference was a great honour and a very stimulating experience," he says. "I now understand the direction in which DPA is aimed and I learned about the quality control of these wonderful products. DPA is an indispensable microphone for my music production, and I look forward to new developments at DPA Microphones."
Also in attendance was sound engineer Chris Ekers, who was involved with the London Olympics 2012 Opening and Closing Ceremonies. "I use DPA microphones all the time for theatre and classical opera work, so I know what they can do," he explains. "However, I was very interested to see the production facility and learn more about how the mics are made. I was amazed at the amount of work and care that goes into each microphone. I met one lady who had personally touched every DPA 4060 miniature microphone ever made - and that must be an awful lot of microphones."
Ekers added that the seminars and demonstrations were extremely useful, even for an experienced engineer. He also enjoyed meeting the DPA team and learning more about the company's approach to design and manufacturing. "This is obviously a young and vibrant company with lots of good ideas for expanding its product range in an intelligent way," he adds. "It was a privilege to be invited to DPA's Partner Conference. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and DPA's hospitality."
His views were echoed by Rui Lisboa, DPA's Portuguese distribution partner. "I was surprised to learn that every DPA microphone is hand-crafted, and also amazed by the rigorous test procedure each one goes through," he says.
Sound engineer Bernard Schmid, who attended the partner conference as a guest of DPA's Austrian distributor, adds: "For me, the practical demonstrations were the most useful as these gave me a chance to compare different models. I have been using DPA microphones for many years, yet I still learned a new and easier way of hiding a miniature microphone in the hair."
Other attendees included artist and sound engineer Seigen Ono; Takeru Yamazaki, product manager at DPA's Japanese distributor Hibino Intersound; and Chul Hoon Choi and Soo Hwan Kim from DPA's South Korean distributor Best Leading Solutions.
"It was a fascinating experience and I came away with a much better understanding of DPA, its business philosophy and its approach to R&D and product design," says Soo Hwan Kim, sales manager at BLS. "We got a few hints about some of the new products that are coming along next year and these look really exciting. DPA already has a strong reputation for quality, but seeing the care that goes i
