John Gatski is the Publisher & Executive Editor of Pro Audio Review.
There is something about buying a new piece of audio gear. It’s that emotional connection all of us audio fanatics feel when we first see a new product. Imagine that same feeling at a trade show, like the annual AES, where there are hundreds of new products on display from the various manufacturer booths. Man, that is nirvana for me.
As you read this column, our crew of PAR Excellence Award judges will be under the intoxicating spell of pro audio electronics — searching for the hot new products to bestow our award. The PAR Excellence Award began in 1996 as a way to recognize the new products at AES that were being shown for the first time.
Over the years, many manufacturers have told me they really appreciate our award because it is based on the potential of a product’s usefulness to pro audio — and because it acknowledges the design effort that goes into making a good product.
I recently took a look at the products that were awarded the PAR Excellence Award at the 1996 AES. Looking back, what is interesting to me is how the products reflected PAR’s horizontal readership. There was gear, software/peripherals for studio, live, post, broadcast, installation and contracting.
For example, JBL’s HLA touring speakers received an award, as did QSC‘s Powerlight 8.0 amplifier, in the live product category. For broadcast, there was the intuitive 360 Systems Shortcut editor, which is still easier to use than most workstation software. The contracting side was represented by such products as the Rane Balance Buddy and Audio-Technica’s introduction of Uni-Tools. And Furman's why-didn't-we-think-of-that “Plug-Lock” power strip was also an easy pick. The high-end for film, broadcast and music applications was represented by such new products as the Euphonix CS3000 console and Pro Tools’ Version 4.0.
In 1996, there were state-of-the-art-product award winners that are, of course, no longer made today: Sony’s PCMR500 lower-cost studio DAT, for example. And remember all those multitrack MiniDisc desktop machines that the big boys brought to market in the mid-1990s? Try finding one of those today.
The PAR Excellence Awards are essentially an innovation’s barometer of what is happening in pro audio at the time, and when a product goes on to great success in the market, it kind of validates our little ‘ol award. Look for the 2007 winners in the November issue.
Problem Solved
Have you noticed that in today's DVD players (and Blu-ray and HD DVD, as well), all functions and setups are video menu-dependent? In my high resolution monitor rig, I use an Esoteric Audio DV-50 high-end player for reference listening of my finished high-resolution recordings on DVD-A, DVD-V, DualDisc and SACD. Almost always, however, especially with DVD-As and DualDisc, you need to see the menu in order to select the right option for Group (which contains either the stereo high-res track, the PCM-multichannel high-res or Dolby Digital multichannel track). You don’t know which Group contains the correct track — unless you have a video monitor connected.
I have come up with a way to view those critical video menu options without hooking up to a bigger LCD or CRT that I don’t have room for in my rack.
I bought one of those portable DVD players, a $120 closeout Craig seven-inch LCD. I run a composite RCA-to-1/8th-inch video cable from the Esoteric player to the video input of the portable DVD player and, viola, an instant compact monitor to allow me to select the required option from the on-screen menus. And, since it runs from a battery you don’t have to hog up outlet space for the wall-wart — except to charge the battery once in awhile. What a smart guy I am.
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