Functionality and quality, can not miss

By Santiago Jaramillo H.

When asking Juan Montoya, sales manager for Central and South America of the Bosch company, about what aspects should be taken into account when choosing a good portable audio system intended for use in centers or buildings of commercial order, this industry professional said that the first thing to take into account is the same reason why the system is being purchased, and that is usually to reproduce the human voice and music in a clear, intelligible and appropriate way.

The previous one "is the primary factor and if this is forgotten in the equation when choosing the system, very unpleasant surprises can be brought. For this reason it is clear to know what the purpose of the equipment is and according to this to acquire it with the power and adequate coverage for the site, and that it finally accommodates the particular acoustic characteristics of the place and not the other way around, "said Montoya.

The representative of the Bosch company also emphasizes the fact of not forgetting the aesthetic part. "In these sites a lot of money has been invested in architects who visually seek to make the place as pleasant as possible and a lot of money is spent after the pursuit of this goal, so the audio equipment that is placed must also have a pleasant visual appearance, which is neutral and does not contrast too much with the site around, but which in turn shows modernism and technology."

Meanwhile, Nelson Canter, deputy manager of the company Soundesign Ltda., agrees with Montoya when he emphasizes that "in the selection of an audio system it is important that minimum sound pressure requirements are met and that it is a system aesthetically according to the space. Currently the speaker designs of the different manufacturers allow to have a great variety of options, such as colors, shapes and sizes, however, portable systems must be comfortable to transport, adaptive in their way of locating and directing, with a variety of anchors or accessories for their installation ".

Already moving on to the topic of innovation, and taking a look at the latest trends in portable audio systems, Nelson Canter explains that it is clear that over time the dimensions of the speakers are smaller and it is a notorious trend in fairs such as InfoComm. "Line Array type speakers as tiny as the K-Array marketed by Sennnheiser, compact in-line arrays such as the Meyer Sound Mine, give us great sound pressure and uniform dispersion at a great distance with very small elements, the tendency is to use speaker arrays of small diaphragms, 4 or 6 inches, this we also see in speakers such as the Bose L1 or in similar products such as the Entasys of Community", points out our guest.

It also highlights that "new Xovers and filters applied to these products achieve that the audio quality is obtained in the best possible way, approaching the idea of Plug-and-Play, which although honestly in audio will never achieve this, since the acoustics of the place and the type of sound material reproduced are the most relevant aspects that affect the final perception of the audio system, and these will have to be adequate and adjusted particularly for each event, but the truth is that with these new technologies, the interaction and modifications that must be made are already minimal and the system sounds excellent once out of the box".

In the same way, he explains that in Limiters significant advances have been made in terms of "temperature sensation of the components and reaction to anticipated peaks so that the protection of the system and the endurance to prolonged uses and greater demands of the equipment have been overcome more and more".

Already in the aspects that should be inevitable in portable audio systems for the commercial sector, Montoya points out five essential points:
*Sound pressure and adequate coverage
*Appropriate aesthetics according to the place to be used
*Easy transport
*Easy connection and set-up
*High reliability

Meanwhile, with regard to the main challenges of the segment, the representative of the company Soundesign Ltda., warns that "it is complex to ensure that temporary installations do not affect the aesthetics and presence of a space, therefore, the biggest challenge is to distribute power and power wiring in spaces with little distribution of electrical fluid outlets".

Montoya, for his part, adds that among the difficulties that these systems have to solve to a greater extent is the mismanagement by people without greater technical background in audio, who must produce high-level events, in addition to the acoustics of these places is not the friendliest for the reproduction of high quality audio, since they are usually sites built with highly reflective materials, which generate very high reverberation times.

On the other hand, and when asked about the recommendations that could be given to the final client who is interested in the implementation of a system of this type, Juan Montoya indicates that it is always very important to get advice from companies that know the subject and that they can present them with several options.

"Asking and comparing carefully is one of the main rules, since many times the specifications of some companies are handled in a way that for the non-expert in audio they generate perceptions that are not so real, or are skillfully exaggerated to hide certain details. Reading specifications is a very complicated thing within the audio world, and it is full of tricks and commercial gossip that makes the ordinary person unable to easily get the real bases to fairly compare several options, so it is best to ask for performance and specific results and not simply rely on internal numbers and specs that can be manipulated. " says the Bosch representative.

For his part, Nelson Canter recommends not to close yourself only to the most used in the market or to what everyone offers, "you have to give yourself the possibility of knowing other systems and making decisions by technology and innovation and not only by price".