Sennheiser is repositioning its business units, in a move that will see the company ramp up its pro audio activity internally and seek an investor to prop up its consumer electronics offering.

Sennheiser’s business is split into two divisions- professional and consumer – with the pro segment made up of three strands: pro audio, business comms and high-end microphone brand Neumann. It is these three arms of the business that Sennheiser will now look to develop, with an investment partner on the consumer side of the company freeing up vital resources.

“In all of these areas we see great potential for growth”, said Andreas Sennheiser, co-CEO of Sennheiser. “At the same time, they are characterised by different customer groups, customer requirements, product life cycles and market dynamics.”

“To be best able to exploit the potential in each of these markets, we are concentrating our own resources on the three business areas in the professional division and are looking for a strong partner to invest in our consumer business,” added Daniel Sennheiser, co-CEO of Sennheiser. 

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With talks set to begin shortly with potential partners on the consumer electronics side of the business, the firm is pledging to invest significantly on the pro side, specifically in its R&D and marketing efforts. This, the company said, will enable Sennheiser to grow at ‘an above average rate’.

“Whether in the studio, concert hall, conference room or auditorium, in the pro world, Sennheiser stands for a superior audio experience, the highest reliability and the best customer understanding,” Andreas Sennheiser added.

According to Daniel Sennheiser, the repositioning will deliver significant growth across all verticals.

“All business units are to emerge strengthened from the planned repositioning,” he said. “With a strong partner at our side to invest in our consumer business, we will be even better equipped to play to our strengths  – and to continue to bring the benefit of these strengths to our customers.”

Andreas Sennheiser added: “For over 75 years, Sennheiser has stood for excellent technology and unique audio experiences. In doing so, we always focus on the needs of our customers. And we will continue to do so in the future.”

Sennheiser’s repositioning of its business units and redistribution of resources follows last year’s announcement that it would be cutting 650 jobs by 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The staff cuts were revealed in July 2020 when its 2019 financial report was published.

The company’s financial results for the fiscal year 2019 showed that the firm generated turnover of €756.7 million, which is €46.0 million or 6.5 per cent more than in 2018, while EBIT of €18.5 million fell short of the previous year’s level of €21.2 million.

Its pro division generated turnover of €363.3 million, up 9.2 per cent on the previous year. This increase was driven predominantly by the product categories of live music, studio recording and business communication.

The consumer division generated turnover of €393.4 million. However, while turnover grew by 4.1 per cent, or €15.4 million, this was significantly below the growth of the headphone market as a whole. 

Though the company’s 2029 fiscal year results were described by the company as ‘mixed’, the pandemic dealt a major blow to turnover and earnings. Subsequently, it was confirmed that 650 jobs – around 300 in Germany – would be cut over the next 18 months. Key areas affected are Sennheiser’s corporate functions, such as supply chain and operations, according to the company.

Daniel Sennheiser said at the time: “We look back on a rather mixed fiscal year 2019. In addition, we face major challenges this year due to massive changes in the consumer market and the declining demand for audio products because of the COVID-19 crisis. In order to position the company for a successful future, we will adapt our organisational structure to the changing conditions and align it with the new requirements.“ 

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Audio Media International is excited to introduce Questions For Katie, a new monthly feature in which mastering engineer and AMI columnist Katie Tavini answers your questions on all things audio. 

Kicking off next month, AMI readers are invited to ask questions of the acclaimed mastering engineer, who has worked with the likes of Mercury Prize-nominated artist Nadine Shah, We Are Scientists, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sonic Boom Six and many more. From studio tips to dealing with the challenges of the music business, Tavini will answer your questions on all matters audio.

To get involved, simply tweet your question to @AudioMediaInt and @KatieTavini with #QuestionsForKatie or follow us on Instagram at @AudioMediaInt and/or @KatieTavini and send us a direct message.

You have until Tuesday, January 26 to send in your questions, with answers to be posted on the AMI website on Monday, February 1.

You can read Tavini’s latest AMI column ‘We need a more honest discussion around mental health’ here.

https://www.katietavini.co.uk

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The post AMI introduces Questions For Katie, with Katie Tavini appeared first on Audio Media International.

Jerry Ibbotson works out the kinks with this compact wireless microphone system…

—

This is showing my age, but do you remember Sony’s original Walkman Pro cassette recorder? This little baby was beloved of radio documentary makers in the days before DAT, Minidisc and then solid state. It might not have had the ultimate quality of a reel-to-reel Nagra but you could put it in your coat pocket. It’s come to mind just now because I’m mulling over the very blurry line between pro and consumer kit.

A cynical radio station engineer once told me that things like the Sony were professional because they’d been painted black and had the word “Professional” written on them. So where does gear like RØDE’s Wireless Go fit in? It’s a wireless microphone system that is tailored towards DSLR shooters (a corner of the market I’ve looked at quite a few times in AMI over the years). It’s easy to use but claims to offer excellent results, so is it professional or consumer? And does it matter anyway?

The kit comes in a neatly packaged box, akin to a new phone. Slide it open and you get the small receiver, the combined mic/TX, an audio lead and two USB C charge cables. There is also a pair of small, clip-on windshields for the microphone (one to wear and one for spare).

The initial instructions are minimal: there is an illustrated quick guide on the box, but further information can be downloaded from RØDE. You turn each of the units on by pressing a soft-touch button. The TX has two blue lights that show that the battery is charged and that it’s connected to the receiver. It also has a socket to plug in an optional lavalier mic (on a 3.5mm TRS minijack). Of course, there’s also the built in omni-directional condenser microphone, which I assume most users will go for.

On the identically sized receiver is a small, colour LED screen which shows the amount of charge in the batteries of both units, the signal strength between the two (the 2.4gHz transmission system claims a range of 70m, line of sight) and the audio output level to the camera or recorder. This is adjusted via a three-stage control on the bottom of the receiver.

The built-in mic has a maximum SPL of 100dB and a frequency range from 50Hz to 20kHz. It’s designed to be clipped onto clothing like a conventional personal mic, except it’s a small square slab, rather than a microphone. But there is, of course, no wiring leading anywhere. It may well be visible to the camera/viewer but it’s small and neat enough to be barely noticeable.

On test, I opted to use it with an audio recorder rather than a camera, as I wanted to be better able to monitor the sound and also wanted the recording quality to be as strong as possible (my SLR is competent with sound but not much better). I used my Roland R26 which has, amongst other things, a minijack input. 

With everything hooked up, the first thing I noticed was the strength of the audio signal coming through to the Roland – a promising sign. I set the recorder going, pulled off my headphones and went for a wander with the mic unit clipped to my shirt, just below my chin. I left the room and chatted as I walked about.

The recording was excellent. The mic has a very strong sound to it and didn’t show any signs of picking up rattle as I moved around. Even when I was in another room, there was no drop-out and the level and quality were consistently good. Given this is running on a wireless system, I might have expected some deficiencies but there weren’t any.

The Wireless Go is not aimed at sound recordists working on big budget productions in film or TV. Its target users are vloggers, YouTubers, onstage presenters and the like, and for them it offers a one-box solution to better audio. Given the number of YouTube videos my kids have made me endure where the mic is clearly camera mounted and several feet from the presenter, I’d say it would instantly improve most recorders by several hundred per cent. It’s a novel approach, putting the mic and transmitter together, and for those target users it should be a great addition to their arsenal of kit. It’s more visible than a small personal mic but I don’t think that would be an issue to the final audience in these circumstances. Plus there is always the option of using a separate lavalier.

RØDE have done it again. They seem to have single-handedly colonised the world of prosumer audio kit with more and more products that offer quality sound without the cost, faff and intimidating complexity of higher end gear. I can think of a number of uses for the Wireless Go beyond those I’ve already listed and certainly away from just video sound. If you need a small wireless mic solution that’s literally press-and-go, it’s worth a look.

Key Features

> Ultra-compact form factor

> Digital 2.4GHz transmission

> 70m line-of-sight range

> Dual-purpose clip-mount

RRP: £199

www.rode.com

The Reviewer

Jerry Ibbotson has worked in pro-audio for more than 20 years, first as a BBC radio journalist and then as a sound designer in the games industry. He’s now a freelance audio producer and writer.

The post Review: RØDE Wireless Go appeared first on Audio Media International.

Top recording artists are being invited to make music in the north Norfolk countryside at a new studio which has been built on an old RAF base.

Twins Dane and Kyle Corby, 32, and their photographer brother Calum, 28, have spent about £30,000 on equipment at the Lightning professional recording studio at Scottow Enterprise Park, at Badersfield.

The building they now rent used to be where their father, Danny Corby, a warrant officer, once worked when it was part of the RAF Coltishall airbase.

The twins, who are both musicians and play in the four-piece band Tearaway, have named the studio after The English Electric Lightning plane, which was based at RAF Coltishall.

“It’s a good location, out of the way, and quite tranquil,” said Kyle. “Established artists can come here and be left alone, as well as local bands.”

The studio is fully equipped with a range of hardware and software, and offers recording, mixing, music production, sound design, voiceover, mastering, photo shoots and video production. It can accommodate single artists and bands and boasts a selection of instruments, such as electric and bass guitars, a drum kit, amps, keyboards and synths.

The studio’s decorated with original billboards featuring bands such as ZZ Top and Whitesnake, and recording artists will be able to use special items, including Ed Sheeran’s pop guard, bought at a charity auction, and amps used by Deep Purple and Black Sabbath.

This story was originally published on 25/10/19 via northnorfolknews.co.uk.

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Stephen Bennett works out the kinks with this versatile new desktop mixer for use in the studio, post-production, on stage, and for podcasting…

—

Anyone who’s been even remotely involved in audio production will have come across Solid State Logic (SSL). Famous for their large format, digitally controlled analogue mixers, the company’s first foray into smaller consoles was the X-Desk and its associated X-Panda sidecar. While these products feature SSL’s ‘SuperAnalogue’ circuitry, they have no microphone preamplifiers, EQ or effects on board and are basically high-quality audio routers and balancers. This is not to say they are not useful – they feature plenty of ins and outs for recording and mixdown and are compatible with SSL’s X-rack series and other outboard. I successfully use an X-Panda myself for recording, as a keyboard mixer and for summing stems to inject some of that SSL mojo into my recordings.

The company are now under the umbrella of Audiotonix and the SiX desktop mixer under review is a more traditional product altogether, with its relatively low-cost reflecting SSL’s access to its new owner’s high-quality manufacturing facilities. It’s small but, as the cliché goes, perfectly formed, measuring just 310mm by 270mm including the side panels that can be removed for rack mounting. It weighs a sturdy 3.5kg, so it’s not going to be dragged off the desk by cables and its steel chassis gives confidence to its build quality. The power supply is external and while some people don’t like these, I think that for a device that is likely to be installed and left in-situ it’s perfectly acceptable, though the SiX does cry out to be used on location.

An external PSU should help keep noise levels down as well and, on the positive side, it does have a locking plug. As you might expect from its name, the SiX sports that very same number of fader-controlled input channels and features the same SuperAnalogue circuitry as its larger brethren. The specifications are impressive – the maximum output level is +27dBu with a dynamic range of 112dB and the SiX’s frequency range extends from 4Hz to around 100kHz, which may seem overkill for us humans, but SSL say that this improves transient and time domain behaviour and in-band phase-shifts. The company has also taken care with the electronics in the signal pathway, eliminating electrolytic capacitors and using DC servo-coupling instead. All inputs and outputs are balanced. What these impressive specifications mean in practice is that the SiX is easily comparable with the clean and ‘weighty’ sonic properties of my own SSL X-Panda.

Anyone who has used an SSL will be familiar with the look and feel of the knobs and the long-throw faders which are precise and feel sturdy in use. The two microphone/line/Hi-Z instrument channels feature a useful and useable one knob compressor, a well-chosen and nice-sounding two band EQ, insert sends that double as feeds for recording and two stereo foldback cues with independent level and pan controls. The remaining four channels consist of two stereo line inputs with just cue sends. Two stereo external inputs are also provided, which can be routed to various parts of the signal flow and there are also two mix busses available. Each input channel has Pre-Fade Listen (PFL) and the microphone channels have high pass filters. Eight-LED bargraph meters, sensibly labelled with dB values, proved perfectly adequate for monitoring signals. The only thing missing is a phase switch but as I tend to sort those issues out in my DAW, I didn’t personally find it an important omission.

The monitoring section of the SiX rivals some standalone devices for versatility. Two sets of monitors are supported, and the user can choose to review either of the mix busses or the external inputs. The cue sends can be monitored on the single headphone output and, while there’s no talk-back microphone (a strange omission in my opinion), you can use an external one – there’s 48v phantom power available as well as SSL’s famous Listen Mic Compressor (LMC). Although this was originally designed to level out problematic performer mixes, you can also route the foldback channel into an input so you too can emulate the drum sound that made Phil Collins famous. A useful mono button lies alongside a Dim switch – which lowers the level to that set by the Dim knob – and a Cut control.

The output section consists of a decent sized 11-segment bar-graph meter scaled from -21 to +24 dBu and a 100m fader that can control cue summing, external inputs, and the stereo insert point as well as the mix bus levels. One of the features that’s going to be a major selling point of the SiX is the inclusion of a pared-down version of SSL’s G-Series stereo bus compressor. It only has two controls – Threshold and Makeup – and has a fixed ratio of 4:1 alongside, as SSL say, a “carefully selected attack and release times to suit a wide variety of mix content.”

In practice it certainly does that SSL-compressor ‘business’ and adds punch and ‘glue’ to the output. I rarely move the attack and ratio controls on my X-Rack version, so these seem sensible choices and the resulting processing is scarily comparable to my own compressor. The compressor’s gain makeup bargraph is also adequate for the use to which it is being put. The rear panel sports the foldback and cue outputs, the monitor and main outputs and the two mix busses on balanced ¼” jacks (the main mix bus is on XLRs), while the inserts and alt-inputs are all available via d-sub connectors.

Because of the small stature of the desk, it took me a while to find my way around but once familiar, it’s a doddle to use. I couldn’t resist having a go at using the LMC as a drum mic squasher and the mix bus compressor is probably worth the price of entry on its own. Sonically there was nothing to complain about; the Six sounds like a ‘proper’ SSL. The two microphone preamplifiers allowed even modest microphones to shine (as all quality ones do, and my SM57 sounded great here on snare) and the input channels’ compressor meant that I didn’t need to patch in my usual 1176 for vocals. The EQ is useful, but I suspect it’ll get most use when dropping stems through the SiX for G-Series processed mixdown.

The SSL SiX is much more of a mixing desk than it first appears and there’s nothing here that would make you question its sonic quality. When you consider that you get a couple of SSL microphone preamplifiers with their own compressors, several channels of SuperAnalogue circuitry, a flexible monitor controller, a 12-channel SSL summing mixer (using the alt inputs) and ‘colour’ and G-series compressors thrown in, the SiX starts to look like a veritable bargain.

Sure, it would be nice to have more input and output channels and microphone inputs, but this diminutive mixer packs a punch well above its weight and offers the soloist, duo or podcaster everything they need to help make sure their recordings sound as good as those they’d get in a studio using a SSL large format desk. If I have one criticism, it’s that I would have liked to have seen a USB audio interface built-in‚ but having so few physical outputs alongside the use of d-subs means that it is relatively simple to connect the SiX to a suitably attired audio interface.

With a flexible monitoring section, a fantastic mix compressor and channel EQ and a flexibility that defies its size, I’d go so far to say that the SiX is the best mixing desk I’ve used in this price range – and I can’t wait to see where SSL go with these kinds of devices. As Harold Macmillan would have said had he been an audio engineer, “We’ve never had it so good!”

www.solidstatelogic.com

Key Features

> SuperAnalogue audio performance

> Classic SSL Channel Processing

> 12 Input Summing at Mixdown

> Completely balanced signal path

Pricing: £1,198

The Reviewer:

Stephen Bennett has been involved in music production for over 30 years. Based in Norwich, he splits his time between writing books and articles on music technology, recording and touring, and lecturing at the UEA.

The post Review: SSL SiX appeared first on Audio Media International.

Under the banner ‘Inspire’, the pro audio industry returned to New York City’s Javits Center for four days this month as leading audio innovators shared their knowledge and experience alongside the latest gear.

“The program rocked, and the exhibits were packed with people. Everyone was very excited to be there,” said Agnieszka Roginska, AES New York 2019 co-chair and AES president-elect. “No time in AES’s history has seen a more diverse, innovative and forward-looking program.” Convention co-chair and AES secretary Valerie Tyler added, “We expanded the comprehensive technical program to include more genres, a broader range of new technologies and a wider breadth of voices than ever before.”

“We’re so proud of the team that came together to make this convention a reality,” said Jonathan Wyner, the third of the Convention’s co-chairs. “From the technical program to the exhibition hall, the interests of every attendee were met. Expanded topics drew new attendees and let long-time attendees expand their horizons.”

The Convention’s wealth of opportunity – more than 750 of professional audio’s leading innovators presenting in the more than 330 sessions in the All Access Technical Program and the 130 sessions on the Exhibition Hall’s Inspiration Stages and in its topical Theaters, alongside 236 exhibiting brands – was evident in the registration numbers, according to Colleen Harper, AES executive director. “Registration for the Audio Engineering Society’s 147th International Pro Audio Convention again topped 14,000,” she said. “That includes a 20% increase in individuals opting for an All Access badge for the full Technical Program. The AES and our events are more relevant than ever to an industry where technology and its application are in a constant state of change.”

Console maker API’s presence at AES New York 2019, where the company celebrated its 50th anniversary, was felt. It was “a great show for API,” said the company’s owner and president, Larry Droppa, “aided by the museum display in our booth, which provided not only a history lesson for the younger generation, but a chance for our contemporaries to reminisce over the ‘glory days’ of tape-based recording. Attendees were enthusiastic about the state of the industry. We were particularly pleased with the number of student groups and younger audio engineer/producers who value the listening process as much as the advances in technology.”

Showing further appreciation for AES’s nurturing of the audio professionals that are the future of both the Society and the audio industry, Genelec’s marketing director Will Eggleston summed up AES New York 2019 by declaring, “The AES audio community is alive and vibrant, indeed. It’s so great to see so many enthusiastic young audio professionals participating and doing so many cool things.”

On the AES event calendar for 2020 are the AES Academy in January in Anaheim, the AES Worship Sound Academy in Nashville in March, the AES Vienna 2020 Convention in May, the Audio Educators Conference in Murfreesboro/Nashville in July and the AVAR Conference in Redmond, Washington in August. AES New York returns to the Javits Center October 21 – 24, 2020.

www.aes.org/events

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Solid State Logic (SSL) has announced the first preview of its ORIGIN analogue console at AES NY 2019.

As the latest in a long heritage of SSL studio mixing consoles, ORIGIN has traditional analogue studio workflow at its heart whilst providing the perfect partner for a modern DAW driven ‘hybrid’ production studio. According to the company, the traditional design looks back to the ‘origin’ of in-line consoles for signal flow inspiration, but blends cutting edge analogue developments to deliver a unique sonic signature that is “still unmistakably SSL”.

ORIGIN is a purely analogue, inline, dual channel design console with 16 buses, E Series EQ and the classic Bus Compressor. The new PureDrive mic pre inherits the clarity and purity of previous SSL Mic Pre designs, that can also switch character to a warm, harmonically rich and driven tone that varies with mic pre gain. The new mix bus and mix amp architecture delivers a low noise floor along with a large headroom for a summing bus, that retains the classic SSL sound while bringing the breadth and space of analogue summing to mixes. Balanced insert points per channel path, dedicated channel direct outputs, stem-ready 0dB fader bypass switches, and a new configurable centre section, make it an ideal way to add console workflow to a modern production studio.

“This really is the culmination of everything we have put into analogue console design over the past four decades,” said Niall Feldman, SSL director of new products. “ORIGIN is the studio console we would have created then, for the way we work today – it is quite simply a new analogue classic.”

“Music production is core to our origin at Solid State Logic,” added Nigel Beaumont, SSL managing director, “and it’s important we utilise this unique heritage to continue defining new products that are more accessible to the growing studio market. It allows us to deliver next generation consoles such as ORIGIN, with the right features at the right price point, and of course, with that unmistakable SSL sound.”

https://www.solidstatelogic.com/studio/origin

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German manufacturer RME has announced that its audio interfaces are compatible with the latest macOS Catalina 10.15.x which was released this month.

Since RME drivers are written in-house and not outsourced to third party developers, RME’s users are able to update their firmware immediately and continue working without interruption or delay.

Recently, several pro-audio manufacturers and interface manufacturers have issued warnings to customers advising them not to upgrade their operating software, presumably due to compatibility issues with the new OS. Other companies have issued announcements referencing possible delays in supporting the new operating system, or even loss of data.

RME interfaces compatible with Catalina include: Babyface Pro, Digiface AVB, Digiface Dante, Digiface USB, Fireface 802, Fireface UC, Fireface UCX, Fireface UFX II, Fireface UFX+, MADIface Pro, MADIface USB and the MADIface XT. Apps must be fully 64-bit and drivers should be “notarized” as required for operation with Catalina OS 10.15.x.

RME’s non-USB interfaces, including the PCle, Thunderbolt and FireWire, have beta drivers available for download now.

“One of the cornerstones of our company has always been customer support and dependability,” said Derek Badala, director of sales, Americas, for Synthax, RME’s US distributor. “We are proud to say that all of our drivers are written in house — unlike many of our competition. Further, updates are automatically handled by FPGA technology, which is present in all our interfaces. The combination of these things — along with our known product dependability — means that our customers will continue to experience superior performance without interruption.”

rme-usa.com

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TASCAM has launched the Model 16 all-in-one compact mixing studio, designed to take live multi-track recording to an affordable new level with the ease and feel of an analogue mixer, coupled with the recording quality of a modern digital recorder. 

The Model 16’s 14 inputs provide easy top panel access for microphones, line inputs, and instruments. Channels 1-8 feature premium XLR mic inputs utilising TASCAM’s Ultra-HDDA (High Definition Discrete Architecture) microphone preamplifiers with 48-volt Phantom power. This setup allows combinations of vocals, drums, mic’d instruments, and more to be connected along with direct output instruments such as keyboards, bass or acoustic guitar, multi-effects, electronic drums or any line sources.

Channels 9-10 and 11-12 feature a single XLR mic input, each with stereo 1/4” line inputs. Channels 13-14 feature a stereo RCA and mini jack input. Or, alternatively an external Bluetooth device can be connected to the Model 16’s wireless channel for controlling streaming audio volume via the Channel 13-14 fader control.

The internal 16 track multi-track recorder records WAV files (up to 48kHz/24-bit) directly to SD, SDHC and SDXC cards. Punch in/out is available for up to eight tracks simultaneously, a versatile feature for songwriters and solo artists alike.

The Model 16’s robust built-in USB Audio Interface can send/receive (16-in/14-out) audio data with up to 24-bit/48kHz recording quality — to and from a wide range of popular DAWs, including GarageBand and more. Via USB, external tracks can be summed to a single or stereo paired Model 16 fader to control custom or stereo sub-mixes for drums, vocals and more using one or two faders. 

Using the onboard channel Mode switch, each channel (or stereo paired channels) can independently select the input source to fit the recording or mixing environment or setup. The input source for each channel can be selectable as live, internal multi-track recorder (MTR), or USB for increased flexibility in signal path processing and workflow.

Each channel strip features 60MM faders ,a 1-knob compressor for inputs 1 through 8, 3-band EQ with a sweepable mid-range frequency and 100Hz Low-cut Filter (3-band only on channels 9 through 14). Model 16 has a built-in effects processor with selectable and editable effects (reverb, delay, chorus, flange).

Three AUX Outputs are offered on each channel for flexibility in monitoring and effects routing — MON 1 [pre], MON 2 [pre/post], and FX [post]. Selectable Mute, MAIN/SUB, and PFL switches are available on each input channel for versatile audio and signal routing options during recording or mixing.

Hi/Lo shelf and wide/narrow-Q semi-parametric EQs (for Main and Monitor outputs) provide additional tweaking options for dialling in the perfect final mix. MAIN Output via XLR balanced and SUB Output via TRS balanced connectors, 12-segment L-R paired LED Output Level Meters and a Stereo Headphone Output. The unit can also be rack mounted with an optional rack mount kit.

https://www.tascam.eu/en/model16.html

The post TASCAM introduces Model 16 all-in-one mixing studio appeared first on Audio Media International.

Blue Microphones has announced the new Yeti X USB microphone for gaming, streaming and podcasting.

Yeti X features Blue VO!CE technology, which enables content creators to dial up professional vocal effects and custom presets at the push of a button. The four capsule condenser microphone array is designed to deliver superior focus and clarity, with high-res LED metering providing visual, real-time feedback for vocal levels, and a multi-function smart knob.

Yeti X is plug ‘n play on Mac and PC and includes advanced Blue VO!CE audio software, a suite of broadcast vocal tools and effects designed to achieve professional on-stream sound quality. Creators can quickly access presets for broadcast, radio voice, male and female voices, and professional effects including noise reduction, expander, gate, de-esser, EQ, compression and limiter.

Yeti X was custom tuned to deliver superior, broadcast-quality sound for professional-level gaming, Twitch and Mixer streaming, podcasting and YouTube productions. A four-capsule condenser array provides clearer, more focused audio for Yeti X’s four pickup patterns. Cardioid mode captures sound sources that are directly in front of the microphone, omni mode picks up sound equally from all around the mic, bidirectional mode records from both the front and the rear of the microphone, and stereo mode uses both the left and right channels for capturing for capturing immersive audio experiences.

Yeti X features an 11-segment LED meter that goes from green to red, so streamers can check and adjust their vocal levels at a glance and easily maintain professional sound quality while live on camera. An illuminated multi-function smart knob provides precise control over mic gain, mute and headphone volume. The smart knob also controls the blend of microphone signal and computer sound, so creators can quickly adjust the amount of computer audio versus microphone audio that is heard in the headphones.

“We’re excited to introduce Yeti X with Blue VO!CE technology and continue the evolution of our renowned lineup of USB mics,” said John Maier, president and CEO, Blue Microphones. “We created Yeti X based on feedback from content creators all over the world, who need fast and easy-to-use tools that help them sound their very best. Yeti X with Blue VO!CE gives creators the ability to quickly and easily customise their sound using high quality effects and presets. Additionally, new features like high-res LED metering and a multi-function smart knob make it easier than ever to deliver professional results for gaming, streaming and podcasting.”

Yeti X is expected to be available at UK retailers in October 2019 at an SRP of £159.99.

bluedesigns.com/yetix

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