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 Famed jazz venue Yoshi's most recent venture, in San Francisco's Fillmore Heritage Center, carries on the tradition begun by Founder Yoshi Akiba and her partners Kaz Kajimura and Hiroyuki Hori in 1973, when they opened a tiny sushi restaurant and jazz club in Berkeley. The new location is a 28,000-square-foot, two-story, state-of-the-art venue that features the best of local, national and international jazz artists, with seating for 417 in the jazz club and nearly 371 in the restaurant and lounge. In order to keep the intimacy that helped make the original Yoshi's so popular, JK Sound, the Bay Area sound systems company that co-designed and installed the new venue's P.A. system, turned to EAW®'s Strategic Engineering Group to do critical custom modifications to the EAW AX396 3-Way Full-Range Installation Speaker, thereby rendering a new model dubbed the EAW AX-SY 3-Way Full-Range Installation Loudspeaker. Once again, the Strategic Engineering Group came through, assuring that the new Yoshi's had great sound and clear sightlines
Michael Lacina, President of JK Sound, and Tom Schindler of acoustical consulting firm Charles Salter Associates, collaborated on the design and componentry of the new system. It was determined that an L-C-R array design would provide the desired coverage, using three pairs of EAW's AX396 speakers with EAW's UX8800 Digital Signal Processor.
The AX396 pairs were to be oriented such that their 90-degree pattern axis was vertical and that the 60-degree pattern axis was coupled, rendering an overall horizontal coverage of 120 degrees for each of the left, center and right speaker pairs. This was the goal of Tom Schindler's design: to provide a true L-C-R listening experience for the entire audience.
 However, they encountered the perennial conflict of visual aesthetic versus optimized acoustic performance. "The design called for two AX396 90 x 60 degree cabinets side by side with the vertical dispersion at 90 [degrees] and the combined horizontal dispersion at 120 [degrees]," Lacina explains. "The front dimension of the AX box is 2' x 3'. Acoustically, one would want to arrange the boxes vertically side by side so that the high-mid components have minimal distance between them. But aesthetically, one would want the smallest vertical profile possible so that the speaker would loom less large over the performers' heads."
The solution, they decided, was to strip out the low-frequency woofers from the AX396 altogether and hide these components in the proscenium directly above each L-C-R Mid High pair. Long time JK systems engineer Brad Katz came up with the idea to marry the side-by-side 60 x 90 mid-high horns together in one cabinet, thereby simplifying the complexity of the speaker installation. The new design greatly reduced the vertical and horizontal profile of the speaker arrays, creating a sleek, compact and powerful system. Lacina presented the idea to both Kenton Forsythe, founder of EAW and its Senior VP of Engineering, and Joe Fustolo, EAW's Director of the Strategic Engineering Group. They agreed it could be done, and that there was also an opportunity to minimize the distance between the acoustic centers of the adjoining mid-high components. Thus the AX-SY was born.
A final tweak to the design was a 30-degree angle at the top of the cabinet to get the speaker up as high above the stage as possible. To handle the lows, now that the woofers had been separated out, Forsythe, Fustolo and Lacina decided on the EAW SB625z Medium Format Subwoofer, a compact but powerful dual 15", for the mid bass, which was to be placed above each pair of high-mids. Then between each of the L-C-R dual 15" mid bass cabs, there would be two dual-18 subwoofers, all hidden from view behind an acoustically transparent scrim in the proscenium.
 "The beauty of the design is that all of the big low frequency boxes are completely hidden behind the scrim, so the P.A. would look petite but sound huge and effortless," Lacina explains. Yoshi's would also add other groundbreaking elements to its sound system, including the first installation of EAW's then-brand new MicroWedge, which turned out to be so successful (thanks to its small footprint, large output and high phase coherency) that Yoshi's purchased a dozen more MW12s and MW15s for their Oakland venue. And the installation would also be the most extensive use at the time of EAW UX8800s, with a total of five units providing 40 channels of processing output. Thanks to the resourcefulness of EAW's Strategic Engineering Group and the hard work of Lacina, Brad Katz, and the rest of the JK Sound team, and Tom Schindler of Salter and associates, the newest Yoshi's lives up to the goal that had been set for it from the beginning: to be one of the best places in the world to listen to live jazz.
 It's a wrap!
Thank you for attending EAW's Demo Room at InfoComm 2010. The show was a resounding success for everyone and it was great to see all the familiar faces.
Each of the 12 demos brought in 50+ people who were interested in the 20 new products that EAW introduced. The stars of the show were the dual 21-inch SB2001 subwoofer and the QX596 3-way loudspeaker.
If you didn't get a chance to stop by our demo room, click on the links below for more information on EAW's brand-new product offerings.
KF Series
JF Series
QX Series
SB2001
NTS250
Thank you again for making this such a great event!
The temperature has dropped in Vegas but the EAW demo room is still hot! There are four remaining demos today taking place at 9AM, 11AM, 1PM and 3PM. If you get a chance, come by and see the EAW crew and 20 products developed just for you!
Joe Fustolo, Jeff Rocha, Dan Boothe & Dave Raneses
watching "Wally" prior to the first demo!
Day 2 was a huge success for EAW. Over 250 people came by to check out the new gear. The highlights of the day were the NTS250 cardiod/hyper-cardiod and the QX596.
Today is the last day of the show with demos at 9AM, 11AM, 1PM and 3PM. In case you don't get to stop by take a look at some photos...
Everyone listening to Toto's, "I Will Remember" on the KF740 / SB2001
Jeff Rocha presenting the new NT products:
JF26NT, JF29NT, JF56NT, JF59NT, KF200NT, KF364NT and KF394NT.
We all knew that launching 20 new products at InfoComm would be a gargantuan task. However, with the heavy lifting behind us and awesome sound in front of us, it was worth every minute.
The JF8, JF10, KF394NT and QX596 are the noted crowd-pleasers while the JF29NT, JF59NT and KF200NT are impressing people all around due to their compact size and clarity.
As if launching 20 new products wasn't enough, EAW, last night announced a strategic partnership with Lake, Lab.gruppen, and Powersoft in which all manufacturers will integrate EAW DSP algorithms into a portion of their product lines.
If you're in Vegas and need a break from the tradeshow floor, swing by N114 and join us for some listening!
EAW today announced strategic partnerships with Lake, Lab.gruppen, and Powersoft whereby all manufacturers will integrate proprietary EAW DSP algorithms into a subset of their respective product lines. Additionally, in Q3, 2010, Lake, Lab.gruppen, and Powersoft will announce separate agreements expanding the partnership to enable EAW to sell a selection of their respective product lines as components in EAW system sales.
"At the onset, the integration of EAW's lauded DSP, most notably Focusing™, will ensure seamless integration and optimum performance of EAW loudspeaker systems matched with Lake Processors, Lab.gruppen Powered Loudspeaker Management™ (PLM™) systems, and Powersoft amplifiers," commented Jeffrey Cox, LOUD Technologies' Pro Audio Group VP. "And once the sales component of the partnership is implemented, EAW will proudly offer a range of amplifier solutions from the best in the business," added Cox.
"An EAW and Powersoft relationship is a natural," explained Thomas Mittelmann, Powersoft Business Development Manager. "We stand fully behind it because it's truly market-driven and will reward the trade with specifically tailored system solutions. And once we finalize the sales component of the relationship, the trade will be rewarded with even broader access to Powersoft amplification in EAW system sales," added Mittelmann.
Klas Dalbjorn, Lab.gruppen and Lake Product Research Manager, explained, "We strive to make our processing solutions the easy choice in professional sound reinforcement and we are happy to have reached this agreement that allows us to support EAW grey box files with Focusing in our PLM Series and Lake Processing products."
"Additionally, Lab.gruppen and EAW are working to expand the relationship to allow EAW access to Lab.gruppen products in providing complete system solutions; expect a market announcement on this expanded partnership during the 3rd quarter," said Michael Munch, Lab.gruppen's VP of Strategic Product Management.
The companies expect the EAW DSP integration to be complete in Q3, 2010.
With InfoComm 1 Day, 7 Hours away - the pressure is on as EAW gears up to introduce 20 new products to the pro audio market!
All of the products are hung, the boxes are stowed and the tuning has begun. We hope to see you in Demo Room N114... if not, check back for more photos from Las Vegas!
Bernie Broderick, EAW Technical Training Manager checking out the gear
Joe Fustolo, Bernie Broderick, Dan Boothe and Jeff Rocha tuning away
EAWC Product Manager, Dave Raneses frying in the 112 degree sun
We can't lie - it's taken many Iced triple Grande 1 1/2 raw sugar, extra ice, light vanilla, no whip lattes to get us through the day
This would be your KF740 / SB2001 Face
New Resolution, Pilot and Greyboxes are now available. Click Here for downloads.
* New Resolution v 1.1.0.4 with many new features
* New EAW Pilot v 1.1.56 with minor changes but most importnantly new build 96 FW for 8800 that vastly improves UNet stability. Another release will be coming within a month that will support the new products being shown at InfoComm.
* New Grey Boxes file that includes SB1001, SB1002, SB2001, KF860 and KF861 greyboxes. Within a month, we will also be adding KF740+760 and KF740+730 greyboxes. Please be patient.
 EAW launches its new QX Series loudspeakers, optimized for installed system applications that require precise directivity in a powerful low-profile form. Engineered and manufactured at EAW's Whitinsville, Massachusetts facility, the QX Series provides size-efficient yet very high output point source clusters. The series is particularly geared toward medium-to-large-sized spaces including sports arenas but is also designed for a wide range of other venues requiring high power and consistent coverage in a compact housing, including houses of worship, outdoor stadiums, performing arts venues, theaters and clubs.
The passive, wired-for-biamplification QX Series draws on the knowledge and engineering resources gained through the development of EAW's lauded AX Series, maintaining its reputation of "big horns in compact packages." The natural sound of the QX Series is unmistakable, and its ability to create custom, seamless arrays is unmatched. All full-range models have squared, symmetrical, dual-trapezoidal enclosures to provide extensive array flexibility. A centrally located co-axial MF/HF horn and two pairs (four) of phase-aligned neodymium 12-inch low frequency transducers team together to ensure that the entire frontal area contributes to horizontal and vertical pattern control capability. The result is an extremely natural sounding loudspeaker with excellent pattern control and low distortion.
Jeff Rocha, EAW Senior Director of Engineering, stated, "Our new QX Series models offer high-end acoustical consultants and large design system contractors the ultimate in output and efficiency in a compact package. The aim is always to provide great-sounding solutions for a wide variety of applications, responding to direct input from leading contractors and system integrators in the field, and the QX Series delivers on that promise."
 The five new models include the QX596 (dispersion pattern: 90 degrees x 60 degrees), QX594 (90 degrees x 45 degrees), QX566 (60 degrees x 60 degrees), QX564 (60 degrees x 45 degrees) and QX544 (45 degrees x 45 degrees). All units measure 27.96" x 27.96" x 23.95" and weigh 130 lbs. A variety of installation applications and accessories provide added flexibility for the installer. As always, optimized processor settings for the UX8800 Digital Signal Processor will be available for download at www.eaw.com.
EAW's new QX Series loudspeakers will be available August 2010. For more information, please visit www.eaw.com.
 Join VP, Jeffrey Cox, Engineers Kenton Forsythe, Jeff Rocha, Nathan Butler and Dan Boothe and Technical Training Manager, Bernie Broderick as EAW introduces 20 new loudspeakers to the market at InfoComm 2010.
Swing by Demo Room N114 and be one of the first to check out the latest additions to EAW's critically-acclaimed product line. New products include the JF8, JF10, JF26, JF29, JF56, JF59, JF26NT, JF29NT, JF56NT and JF59NT, KF200NT, KF364, KF396, KF364NT, KF394NT, QX544, QX564, QX566, QX594 and QX596.
Location:
Las Vegas Convention Center / Demo Room N114
Dates:
Wednesday, June 9 - Friday, June 11
Demo Times:
9:00AM - 10:00AM
11:00AM - 12:00PM
1:00PM - 2:00PM
3:00 - 4:00 PM
We look forward to seeing you here!
EAW®, announces two new additions to the KF Series, along with three comprehensively integrated NT variants. Designed for an extremely wide range of applications, the new KF Series offerings deliver a scalable solution for corporate A/V events, small-to medium-sized live sound reinforcement, performing arts venues, houses of worship, retail spaces, ballrooms, theaters, theme parks and more.
Engineered by the same Whitinsville, Massachusetts-based design team responsible for EAW's critically acclaimed KF Series, the new KF and KFNT make up a series of ultra-compact, three-way loudspeakers that deliver premium performance in designs that offer a lightweight solution. The complete range includes two externally powered models (90-degree x 45-degree and 60-degree x 45-degree) and three comprehensively integrated models (NT versions of the two previously described, and a 10-inch / 8-inch coaxial model). At the heart of the new KF Series product line is a core cabinet philosophy that allows users to utilize universal hardware accessories to tailor their KF product to meet the specific needs of their application.
 The new KF Series models include the KF364 and KF394, packing even more capability and application flexibility into the ultra-compact series of premium 3-way loudspeakers. The integration of premium neodymium components, a co-axial mid/high frequency component and world-renowned crossover design into an adaptable enclosure offers unprecedented utility. When used in conjunction with EAW's UX8800 Processor and its proprietary EAW Focusing, the KF Series provides the pinnacle of performance in any venue.
The new comprehensively-integrated KFNT models include the KF200NT, KF364NT and KF394NT. Like the non-NT versions, these units feature outstanding capability and versatility in a compact housing. Aside from classleading neodymium components and co-axial mid/high frequency components, they feature EAW Focusing processing, software-accessible DSP and the proprietary U-Net network. A variety of available accessories offer the ability to tailor each of the new KF and KFNT products to any application. All new KF and KFNT models natively offer both portable features and M10 installation points.
For contractors and system integrators who require added flexibility, available universal accessories include trim plates that hide handles, adjustable U-brackets, quick release flytrack segments that integrate into any enclosure
and adjustable legs for use as a stage monitor.
 EAW announces ten new additions to its celebrated JF Series of high-definition two-way loudspeaker systems, including four comprehensively integrated NT models. Designed by EAW's Whitinsville, Massachusetts-based engineering team for a wide range of contractor and system integrator uses, the new JF and JFNT Series are scalable, compact lightweight loudspeakers ideal for a multitude of small and medium-sized sound reinforcement applications.
The newest additions to the JF Series of two-way loudspeakers include JF8, JF10, JF26, JF29, JF56 and JF59,packing even more capability and application flexibility into the ultra-compact series. New comprehensively integrated JFNT units include JF26NT, JF29NT, JF56NT and JF59NT.
The JF models include low-directivity eight-inch and 10-inch systems and four 12-inch and 15-inch systems (60-degree x 45-degree and 90-degree x 45-degree versions of both sizes are available). The integration of lightweight, premium neodymium components and legendary crossover design into an ingeniously adaptable package offers unprecedented utility. When used in conjunction with EAW's UX8800 Processor and its revolutionary EAW Focusing™, the JF Series provides the pinnacle of performance in any venue.
The four JFNT models (comprehensively integrated versions of the 12-inch and 15-inch JF models) elevate the notion of power and utility. They offer 1500 Watts of fully integrated amplification, revolutionary EAW Focusing processing, EAW Pilot™ software-accessible front-end DSP, proprietary U-Net™ audio and communications network, and the JF Series adaptable enclosure design. This provides multi-channel digital audio transmission with remote software control and monitoring capability. Contractors have the ability to initially install standard JF models for their clients, and then at a later date, upgrade those cabinets in the field to the NT model.
The entire product line is architected on a core cabinet philosophy that allows users to utilize universal hardware accessories to tailor their JF product to meet the specific needs of their application. For the ultimate in flexibility, a variety of available accessories offers the ability to tailor the new JF Series products to any application. All JF and JFNT models natively employ a combination of portable features and M10 installation points. Available universal accessories include trim plates that hide handles and provide a connection point for adjustable u-brackets, quick-release flytrack segments that integrate into any enclosure and adjustable legs for use as a stage monitor.
For contractor and system integrator applications such as corporate A/V events, small-to-medium-sized live sound reinforcement, performing arts venues, houses of worship, retail spaces, ballrooms, theaters and theme parks, the new JF and JFNT Series are the perfect solution.
The new JF Series of 2-way loudspeakers redefine the concept of application flexibility. All JF models feature premium neodymium components and legendary crossover design in an ingeniously adaptable package that offers unprecedented utility. The JFNT models additionally feature 1500W of amplification, EAW Focusing processing, software-accessible DSP and the proprietary U-Net network.
The new KF Series of ultra-compact, three-way loudspeakers deliver premium performance in designs that offer a lightweight solution. The complete range includes two externally powered models (90 × 45 and 60 × 45) and three comprehensively integrated models (NT versions of the two previously described, and a 10 inch / 8 inch coaxial model). At the heart of the new KF Series product line is a core cabinet philosophy that allows users to utilize universal hardware accessories to tailor their KF product to meet the specific needs of their application.
The new QX Series is the optimal solution for installed system applications that require precise directivity in a powerful compact form. This series is comprised of the QX544, QX564, QX566, QX594 and QX596. All full-range models have squared, symmetrical, dual-trapezoidal enclosures to provide unlimited array flexibility. A centrally located MF/HF horn and a quartet of 12-inch low frequency transducers team together to ensure that the entire frontal area contributes to horizontal and vertical pattern control capability.
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