However, EAW drew genuine intakes of breath with the - for once - justified expedient of white drapes over a mysterious bulging chassis, which turned out to be the UMX.96 digital mixing console. The model ID may not be as exciting in itself, but the arrival of a totally unexpected new player on the digital live console pitch certainly stirs things up plenty.
The formation of Loud Technologies in September 2003 has clearly influenced the kind of technical cross-fertilization behind the UMX. Teams involved in the product have included the DSP team at Acuma Labs in Victoria, BC; the analogue team in Woodinville, WA, for noise performance and frequency response; those in Whitinsville, MA, behind speaker processing and modelling inside the console, alongside the SMAART software team; and the Loud operation in China that now manufactures all the circuit boards.
Over the last two years, a group led by EAW's Touring Sound product manager Jamie Anderson and Live Sound product manager John Boudreau, has consulted with leading US sound companies - originally leading to a prototype of the UMX being shown behind even thicker white drapes at the NAMM show in Anaheim. Feedback from such encounters led to several stages of ergonomic refinement in the console, a process that broadened Loud's perspective considerably from the initial digital sound reinforcement foray of Mackie's TT24 mixer.
Inevitably the UMX.96 has its own networking protocol - but it's got some way to go before public exposure of its full specification and capabilities, according to Loud's senior VP of marketing, Ken Berger. We're promised more insight and explanation at NSCA next spring.
"We believe in adding value," said Berger shortly after his launch speech. "There are some people who, going back a number of years, believe that the industry wanted a one-stop shopping solution - sometimes single-branded, even. That's not what we're trying to do here. We will offer more parts to the system, and all of them will need to be viable products standing on their own.
"If some guy wants EAW speakers, Lab Gruppen amps and a DiGiCo console - great. If he wants the UMX.96, Crown amps and VerTec speakers - great. None of our products are designed to be incapable of integration. On the other hand, wherever we can we will build capabilities into our products that will really enhance their functionality when used together - not to lock other brands out, but to make truly amazing things possible across our technology."
John Boudreau, who played a major role in the design of the UMX.96, co-presented the desk at the Javits Centre. "There are things about it that go back to what Greg Mackie taught me about mixer ergonomics," he said after the launch. "Those apply no matter how big or small the mixer is. Certainly the TT was a journey into digital with those principles, and much of that has come through on the UMX.96.
"There's an effort to avoid bank switching on the channel section, for instance, and to give access to the user in a couple of simple steps. However, the master section of the UMX is a completely new undertaking into how to provide a user interface that's more appropriate for a larger level of mix environment."
The UMX.96 has several distinguishing features, but three in particular stand out. The user interface includes a very large touch-screen and dynamic encoder - a large knob in the centre which can be customized to match engineers' tactile expectations exactly, particularly to accommodate the habit of tweaking-without-looking. Also, SIA's SMAART acoustic measurement software is incorporated into the console's electronics, bringing full v
