EAW Focusing Now Supported by Lab.gruppen and d Powersoft Amps

EAW last year entered into a strategic partnership with Lab.gruppen and Powersoft, whereby those manufacturers would integrate proprietary EAW DSP algorithms into a subset of their product lines. As the first fruits of this partnership, the three brands announce that the latest software upgrades for Lab.gruppen's PLM (Powered Loudspeaker Management) Series amplifiers and Powersoft K Series DSP amplifiers introduce support for EAW Focusing, an industry first.

Jeff Rocha, EAW's vice president and general manager, stated, "Our partners, Lab.gruppen and Powersoft, have developed new firmware for their DSP-enabled amplifiers that allows direct importation of standard EAW Greybox files -- the very same files that you can currently load into an EAW UX8800 digital signal processor. This brings the power of EAW Focusing to a wider range of hardware platforms and provides a huge advantage for end users in terms of compatibility and consistency. Any files that we have created to date and any files that we will create moving forward will be fully compatible with both manufacturer's DSP-enabled amplifier platforms. Some of our competitors maintain independent libraries of hardware specific processor settings for their products, which often requires compromises in the settings to tailor the filters to the feature set and capabilities of the other manufacturer's product. But by partnering directly with Lab.gruppen and Powersoft, we've been able to work directly with them to re-architect their firmware such that either manufacturer can directly load the same native EAW Greybox as the UX8800."

The latest version of the Lake Controller Software (V5.7), featuring accompanying firmware for both Lab.gruppen's PLM products and the LM 26 digital audio loudspeaker processor, was developed by engineers at Lab.gruppen and Lake, working alongside EAW engineers and leading end users. The software is designed to offer greater flexibility and compatibility for end users, further optimizing system audio performance. New levels of functionality are provided as PLM Series products now support a new processing module type. The new module, among other benefits, is capable of supporting EAW Focusing through the direct recall of EAW Greybox files into any PLM Series device via the Lake Controller software.

This feature unites the loudspeaker optimization of EAW Focusing parameters with th Lake Mesa EQ input stage on the PLM Series platform for the first time, to offer a fully integrated system solution for sound reinforcement. Users can now recall Greybox output processing files directly into PLM Series and then create groups and carefully tune even the largest EAW loudspeaker at any granularity, all via the Lake Controller -- negating the additional expense and inconvenience of a separate system EQ processor.

Håkan Gustafsson, product manager for Lake, stated, "The supporting of EAW Focusing, coupled with the Lake Mesa EQ and the powerful performance of the PLM Series, means that we can provide the end user with the kind of functionality that is simply unrivalled in the world of pro audio."

Powersoft has adjusted the firmware in K Series DSP amplifiers to accommodate EAW's specific requirements. Users are now able to obtain Greybox files from EAW and load them into the Powersoft K Series DSP platform. File upload and system management happen with Armonía Pro Audio Suite software, Powersoft's user interface. Both the latest Armonía version as well as the required amplifier and DSP firmware are available as free downloads from the Armonía Support Forum within Powersoft's website.

"EAW users benefit greatly from Greyboxes residing inside K Series DSP," noted Thomas Mittelmann, Powersoft's business development manager. "The close cooperation of EAW and Powersoft engineering is manifesting in product now playing together like it was made for each other. Powersoft's greatest fortes, performance and efficiency, paired with EAW Greyboxes means system integration at the highest level. Most obvious from the smallest possible amp racks, most audible from optimal tuning, and most practical in terms of system safety, control, monitoring, and overall coherence, the advantages for the EAW user are indisputable.

"Fully supported by both EAW and Powersoft all the way from system design to after-sales service, our partnership is set to include the most important ally number three: the customer. There is good reason to be excited -- the future is bright."