In tandem with the recent release of LA Network Manager 3, L-Acoustics has introduced the M1 suite of measurement and monitoring tools.
The M1 suite reckons to be an industry first, pairing system measurement and control software to work natively as a single tool, offering an original, reliable, and more efficient method of calibration. Useful for duties from data acquisition through system tuning to live monitoring, M1 employs on the manufacturer’s Milan-certified P1 processor and amplified controller hardware to provide a streamlined system calibration process as well as real-time performance monitoring.
Ideal tuning of a venue requires both data capture and analysis. For most available systems on, calibration processes typically involve estimating optimum EQ and alignment settings, measuring these setting via mic placement, then capturing the data. For each setting, mic placement and capture must be performed multiple times to obtain measurements throughout an entire venue. Any adjustments made to EQ or alignment would naturally require the user to repeat the mic placement and capture process.
Alternatively, M1 is a dual-channel FFT measurement platform that automates this process – sequentially muting and unmuting different parts of the system that need to be measured, capturing audio, labelling measurements, and storing data to the proper groups automatically. With M1, mic placement and capture throughout the venue is done only once. Data is acquired and compiled in the software, and measurements can be visualised individually, as spatial averages and sums of elements. If adjustments to EQ are needed, they can be done virtually, and subsequently analysed and optimised within M1, meaning that the user attains the best calibration for the venue much faster. And once the measurements have been captured, the sound team can even leave the venue and finish the calibration offline, freeing up time and resources for the set-up of other production elements.
All data capture in M1 is storable. If the user has a ‘eureka’ moment at some point after calibrating a venue, M1 allows adjustment of calibration settings virtually in the control software and uplodaing to the venue for automatic improvement from anywhere in the world. Every adjustment ever made is tracked in the software and can be recalled and reanalysed.
When calibration has been completed and a performance begins, M1 provides live system monitoring via a Real Time Analyser (RTA), evaluating the behaviour of the system and keeping it optimised at all times. During a show, atmospheric conditions like humidity and temperature can fluctuate; content can vary from pianissimo to forté; crowds ebb and swell, affecting room excitation. Each of these variables can lead to changes in system performance. To compensate, M1’s RTA gives a graphical representation of the behaviour of the system, while LA Network Manager continually monitors changing atmospheric conditions and proposes corrections accordingly.
The measurement and control tools within M1 are natively integrated; any changes made to one tool are reproduced in the other and automatically optimised.
‘M1 with LA Network Manager is really the future of system calibration and monitoring,’ asserts L-Acoustics Product and Technology Outreach Manager, Scott Sugden. ‘By integrating a comprehensive measurement platform into our amplifier control software, we very effectively help sound professionals save time, decrease error, and concentrate their skills on creating amazing experiences for their artists and audiences.’
More: www.l-acoustics.com
