"There seems to be an AES habit of starting round the edges because you already know who's in the middle and you'll get to them eventually, but there's a lot of cool stuff from small companies in the end booths that kind of sneaks in from the outside. So, even as in some ways a peripheral participant, we've been very much part of it."
Outboard was making its exhibition debut at a West Coast AES show, and was also continuing its habit of participating in surround sound technical forums at the highest level. On this occasion, it was MD Robin Whittaker's second successive appearance at the Live Surround Symposium, an initiative unmirrored in the European conventions. This one brought together experts in the field to plan, execute and discuss a 9-output channel mix of a live band - through a DiGiCo console, no less.
Outboard is distributed Stateside by The 1602 Group, but Whittaker explained that although TiMax has a good relationship with Broadway theatres through 1602, the company would like to spread the product family into the wider world of installation and contracting. "It's kind of a bi-market approach we're looking for," he said. "We don't have a presence in contractor installation here, so the ideal would be to complement 1602 with additional representation strong in that area. Hopefully appearing at AES will help us to find that opening."
