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TOP 10 LIVE SOUND PICKS

Wireworks' (www.wireworks.com) K2500 Portable Handheld Printer ($299 list) can print on yellow or white heat-shrink in five diameters. It can also print

Wireworks’ (www.wireworks.com) K2500 Portable Handheld Printer ($299 list) can print on yellow or white heat-shrink in five diameters. It can also print on white self-laminating cable markers, as well as adhesive labels in four widths and up to 20 color combinations. It prints up to six lines of text from six to 72 points, can download characters from an Excel spreadsheet and has 10 resident barcode fonts.

Crest‘s (www.crestaudio.com) new XR-M rackmount mixer ($2,600 list) becomes the new standard for IEMs-in-a-rack. It provides 12 mono or six stereo mixes from 12 mono and four stereo inputs, with a built-in splitter and ground-lift switches. Each aux bus pair has a Global switch for level and pan for stereo mixing. Each channel has 4-band EQ with swept mids and highpass filter.

Drawmer‘s (www.drawmer.com) new DS-501 PowerGate ($900) adds “Peak-Punch” to the classic DS-201.

Midas’ (www.midasconsoles.com) new Legend 3000 provides two independent mixers in one for separate FOH and monitor control throughout: two faders per channel and six EQ filters, 12 auxes and 10 VCAs that can be assigned to either fader. With eight subgroups, six matrixes and four stereo effects returns, it comes with 24, 32, 40 or 48 channels ($29k to $42k list). Mic pre’s are derived from the XL4; EQ comes from the XL3. Snapshot automation will be compatible with the Heritage 3000 so it can be used as a sidecar.

Nexo‘s (www.nexo-sa.com) latest speaker is the GEO S-805 (about $1,500 list), a very small, full-range, two-way line array module. Patented new technology includes a unique bent diffraction slot horn with a special exponential flare in the non-coupling plane, and a phase device to improve the woofers’ coupling at higher frequencies. The S-830 is a similar 23-pound near-fill enclosure. The CD12, a DSP-driven, dual-12 supercardioid subwoofer, is also offered.

PreSonus (www.presonus.com) introduced the CL44 Quad Compressor and the GTX44 Quad Gate (either is $599), with DSP sidechain for digitally controlled analog dynamics processing. Both are full-featured, with eight knobs per channel, including high/lowpass sidechain filters. Also new is the half-rack Acousti-Q Tube Blender ($299), a dual-input acoustic instrument preamp with a notch filter, low and high EQ, plus swept mids. A footswitch changes the output level to go from strumming to picking.

Sennheiser‘s (www.sennheiser.com) HD280 Pro headphone ($199) is a closed, circumaural 64-ohm design with 30dB isolation, high output and a robust collapsible design, with swiveling ear cups — sure to become new favorites for live sound. It’s also available with a supercardioid dynamic boom mic for intercom applications, in single- or double-muff versions.

Shure‘s (www.shure.com) new ULX wireless systems tune across six TV stations with a new auto-scanning feature to find open channels, with up to 20 per group. Standard ($1,050 list with an SM58 capsule) and Pro ($1,312 or $1,388 with a Beta 87 capsule) versions are available. Both are half-rack, but the Pro has a metal chassis with front panel lockout, volume pot, RF metering and adjustable squelch.

SLS Loudspeakers’ (www.slsloudspeakers.com) LS8695 two-way Line Source column speaker ($3,195 list) is a foot wide and 55 inches tall, with eight 6.5-inch woofers and nine 5-inch ribbon drivers. Power handling is 1,600 watts peak, with a sensitivity of 104 dB and a maximum SPL of 128 dB. It has 120° horizontal dispersion and only 1° vertical above and below the column ends.

AKG (www.akg.com) re-released the C 451B ($549), adding a touch more 10 kHz to its legendary rising response. Its cardioid capsule is now fixed, with a second slide switch for a 10 or 20dB pad, in addition to the 75 or 150Hz low-cut filter. Also unveiled: the C 900 vocal performance condenser mic ($250), the C 430 condenser overhead ($238) and the D 409 dynamic instrument mic ($198).

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