2016

172nd ASA Meeting, Honolulu, with Presentations by AFMG®

2016-11-22 10:00

From Nov 28^th to Dec 2^nd the 172^nd Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America will take place in Honolulu, Hawaii. This is the 5^th joint meeting of the ASA with the Acoustical Society of Japan. The ASA gathers people in all areas of acoustics from around the world biannually for a week of academic and practical knowledge exchange.

AFMG^® is happy to be represented directly by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Ahnert from Berlin and additionally by our North American team. Wolfgang Ahnert (co-author Stefan Feistel) will concentrate on theoretical background questions being taken into account for optimizing AFMG’s Simulation Software. Main topics of his lectures are:

Important features of new microphone data bases being used to take the acoustical feedback with loudspeakers into consideration using our simulation tool EASE^®.
Configuration and optimization of subwoofer arrays in EASE^® Focus 3.

Ana Jaramillo and Bruce Olson take a close look at real life applications of simulation and acoustical optimization software. Main topics are:

Meeting the requirements of rooms used for multiple purposes – in this case music performance and instruction in a school
Comparison between the design and simulation of a new sound system for the House of Representatives in the State of Minnesota with the measurements after installation.

So AFMG contributes broad-based to the meeting sharing their wide knowledge and experience.

If you’re interested in more details please have a look at
http://acousticalsociety.org/sites/default/files/HI_full_program.pdf

Wolfgang Ahnert / Stefan Feistel:

Wednesday Morning, 30 November 2016, 11:00 am:
“Acoustic Feedback considerations in simulations of sound systems in rooms” (3aAAb5)

Wednesday Afternoon, 30 Nov 2016, 2:45 pm:
“Subwoofer Array Modeling and Optimization” (3pEA6)

Ana Jaramillo / Bruce Olson:

Monday Afternoon, 28 Nov 2016, 1:45 pm:
“Modeling of venues for music practice and instruction” (1pAAa3)

Tuesday Afternoon, 29 Nov 2016, 3:20 pm:
“Prediction of speech intelligibility through the use of simulation tools” (2pAA7)

AFMG Marketing & Sales Team Welcomes a New Member

2016-10-01 10:00

Inka Danielmeyer joins AFMG Marketing & Sales Team.

Inka Danielmeyer joins AFMG M & S Team.

AFMG is pleased to announce the addition of Inka Danielmeyer to our team as a sales engineer beginning this month. Ms. Danielmeyer’s educational credentials and industry experience make her ideally suited for this customer-focused position. She is a degreed engineer in sound and image technology, and has more than 11-years consulting experience in the audio industry. Expertise in international marketing and sales, as well as in product management are also valuable skills she brings to AFMG.

We are looking forward to working with Ms. Danielmeyer on future projects as our company continues its commitment to providing outstanding service to our users.

Presentation by AFMG North America at ICA 2016

2016-09-12 10:00

AFMG’s North America team members Bruce Olson and Ana Jaramillo presenting their paper at ICA 2016.

AFMG NA's Bruce Olson and Ana Jaramillo

The International Congress on Acoustics, ICA, is held every 3 years in a different location world-wide. This year the conference took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina from September 5th to 9th. AFMG’s North America team members Bruce Olson and Ana Jaramillo were invited to chair a session and present a paper at this event. The session entitled Challenges and Solutions in Acoustical Measurements and Design included 26 peer-reviewed papers that were presented during the first two days of the conference with presenters e.g. from the US, Russia, Argentina, Japan, and Germany.

Ana and Bruce’s paper “Measurements for simulation of speech intelligibility in spaces with conflicting requirements” can be found in the proceedings on the ICA website.

The Teatro Colón

Following ICA, the satellite symposium ISMRA, International Symposium for Music and Room Acoustics, was held in the city of La Plata. Ana Jaramillo was also invited to be part of the international advisory committee for this event.

Highlight of the event was a visit to the famous opera house Teatro Colón where sound engineers and acousticians from across the globe could enjoy the remarkable acoustics and architecture.

German Federal Minister Honors AFMG at Innovation Day

2016-06-06 10:00

AFMG’s Managing Director Dr. Stefan Feistel, German Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Sigmar Gabriel, Moderator Stephan Pregizer (left to right)

AFMG's Stefan Feistel and German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel

Berlin, June 2nd, 2016: The Innovation Day is a famous networking event for small- and medium-size high-tech companies in Germany. Once every year the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs hosts this combined conference and exhibition in cooperation with the renowned AiF Projekt GmbH, an organization carrying out SME funding programs on behalf of the ministry.

This year, AFMG’s Managing Director Stefan Feistel had been invited to give a short interview at the side of Federal Minister Sigmar Gabriel directly following his opening speech. The talk focused on a 2-year R&D project for which AFMG and its sister company SDA were awarded a government grant. The research work dealt with the modeling, optimization, and configuration of robotic line arrays.

Stefan Feistel explained to the audience how quickly the pro-audio industry has been moving forward in the last years toward more flexible, more powerful, and more intelligent loudspeaker systems. Digitalization, as well as automation, are rapidly making their way into every industry. And clearly, line array technology is seeing the same changes. New simulation and optimization functions, such as AFMG's FIRmaker, can improve the system performance dramatically and modern communication interfaces facilitate seamless integration among all components.

AFMG is proud of having been engaged in this event and gladly underlined the success of the on-going support activities of the German government for innovative companies in all business areas.

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AFMG at InfoComm 2016

2016-05-30 10:00

Come and See the New Features of EASE Focus 3 – Hear about AFMG’s Plans for the Future

AFMG has won the game well before approaching Las Vegas this year! The new version 3 of our renowned direct sound simulation software EASE Focus was released in early March 2016. Since then, more than 20 000 users have downloaded the software. This is 10x the rate of downloads typically measured.

The new development concept underlying the EASE Focus 3 release has immediately proven to be a game changer. We have seen almost no installation issues or bug reports despite the tremendous number of new installs made in the first two months. This is a very good start taking into account that a large part of the EASE Focus code base has been redesigned. The new technology platform and development approach applied to EASE Focus 3 also provide the basis for the expected new versions of other AFMG programs such as EASE. These will greatly benefit from the broad experience gained with the release of EASE Focus 3.

Visit our booth at InfoComm 2016 to see and hear for yourself!

AFMG InfoComm 2016

AFMG Realigns Marketing & Sales Team

2016-05-26 12:05

AFMG announces the following changes to its marketing and sales team: Thilo Schütz will leave the company in June, Pedro Lima and Martina Lange joined the team recently.

	Thilo Schütz leaving AFMG For more than five years Thilo Schütz headed AFMG´s efforts of building and growing its marketing and sales department. During this period the AFMG brand was significantly strengthened, new products were introduced worldwide, and the turnover increased remarkably. Now Thilo is looking forward to new challenges and projects. He will leave the company as of June 30th this year. The management at AFMG is thankful for Thilo’s great work and his many contributions to the company´s success.
AFMG will continue to expand its staff in Berlin and abroad and is glad to announce that the team will be strengthened by two recognized experts in their fields.
	Pedro Lima joining AFMG marketing & sales team Having worked for several years as a product specialist for AFMG and as a regional representative in Brazil, Pedro Lima has now joined the marketing & sales team of AFMG as a sales engineer. Since Pedro also worked directly with AFMG’s software development team for more than six years he will assume a number of product management duties, as well. AFMG is very happy to welcome Pedro in his new position.
	Martina Lange joined AFMG as product development manager Martina Lange joined AFMG as of March 1st in the position of a manager for product development and QC. Martina brings more than twenty years of experience in the fields of project management and IT consulting to AFMG. In her new role at the company she will be supporting the marketing and sales team from within the R&D team as well as managing relationships with development partners of AFMG. Already now, after only a few months, the positive impact of Martina’s work has become apparent in AFMG’s daily business.
These additions reflect AFMG’s continuous growth process and the accompanying need for close integration of product development, support, and marketing. A high degree of communication and interaction among all teams and partners is essential for the success of AFMG’s sophisticated software solutions and services.

Lange joined

EASE Focus 3 Loudspeaker Database Growing Fast

2016-05-16 16:50

Number of EASE Focus 3 Downloads within the First Two Months

Released on March 10, 2016, EASE Focus 3 has been breaking its own records in the first few months on the market already. Although at AFMG we know that there is a large and active user base, we have been overwhelmed by the community’s enthusiastic reaction to the new version. EASE Focus 2 typically counted about 1000 downloads per month. Now EASE Focus 3 has been downloaded by more than 20 000 users within the first two months only!

Probably the most important reason for EASE Focus’ unsurpassed success is its universal support by most of the world’s leading loudspeaker manufacturers. In the past, EASE Focus 2 had already been adapted by about 60 professional brands as their simulation and optimization tool of choice. Almost all of these brands have immediately made the transition to EASE Focus 3. More manufacturers are working on adding new or updating existing GLL system definitions. At this point, AFMG is happy to announce the sale of another 120 licenses to 10 loudspeaker companies since the release of EASE Focus 3. Judging from the very positive feedback that we received from both users as well as manufacturers, we expect the loudspeaker database to keep growing strongly over the course of the year.

AFMG With New Booth Design at ProLight + Sound Show 2016

2016-03-21 16:50

A preview of AFMG's new booth design at ProLight + Sound 2016.

The industry's leading fair in Frankfurt, Germany, is making fundamental changes to their concept in 2016. Along with this go changes to the halls in use which have enabled AFMG to take a fully open island booth this year. Our re-design will involve proven concepts along with new, more open, light-weight design elements.

Next to a different booth design, AFMG will be presenting EASE Focus 3 which has been released just recently. This new software release offers a long list of added features compared to the well-known version EASE Focus 2, most notably subwoofer arrays. More than that, EASE Focus 3 also comes with significant performance improvements and an overhauled data handling concept underneath.

Be sure to check this out yourselves...You will find us in Hall 3.1, Booth G30.

We are looking forward to meeting you!

Full-Fledged Sound System Simulation by EASE® Focus 3 - Software Launch on March 10

2016-03-01 13:24

EASE Focus 3 is AFMG's free software for direct sound simulation of complex sound systems supported by over 60 manufacturers.

Berlin, Germany – March 1, 2016 – After two years of development and extensive Beta testing, EASE Focus version 3, the latest upgrade to AFMG’s renowned EASE Focus product line, will be released on March 10 this year. It implements long-awaited features, one of which is of highest practical relevance: modeling of subwoofer arrays. Users can now define and optimize any subwoofer arrangement and automatically compute the needed delays. The new complex summation feature even allows analyzing the interaction between flown tops and subs on the ground along with many more new and helpful features.

While EASE Focus 3 continues the proven look and feel of its predecessor version 2, the range of new features is considerable. Most notably, moving and stacking of loudspeakers was made much easier by a new snap function, the polar entry feature provides the option to insert venue coordinates directly as read from laser distance meters, and performance improvements throughout the program make it possible to simulate up to 40 sound sources in a single project.

But it is not just the obvious feature set that makes the new version valuable for all users and licensees. Internally, EASE Focus 3 was also prepared for future extension. A communication interface for data transfer to DSP platforms was built in, a plug-in architecture for rigging safety calculations has been set up, and a robust multi-threading calculation engine lays the foundation for managing large-scale projects and FIRmaker optimizations quickly and smoothly.

Last but not least, the new version comes for free to all users and to most current licensees of EASE Focus 2. This means that anybody can take advantage of the new features right away. Most importantly, almost the entire GLL loudspeaker database spanning more than 60 brands will remain fully compatible and accessible.

AFMG’s managing director Stefan Feistel comments: “We are very happy to finally be able to announce this software release. EASE Focus 3 is an important upgrade for the end user just as it is a major milestone on our company’s development roadmap. And we won’t stop here – we have already made detailed plans for the 3.1 update. Thanks to all of our users and to the many supportive loudspeaker companies for driving the software forward.”

A Look Behind The Curtain

In the past years, AFMG has been investing large amounts of time and effort into the implementation of the latest programming platforms and quality control mechanisms. The company states that the now established software engineering process prepares the ground for AFMG’s future product development resulting in shorter release cycles, higher reliability and lower maintenance effort, seamless integration and data exchange between AFMG programs, as well as support for different operating systems and languages.

With EASE Focus 3, AFMG releases the first program that implements the new techniques and modules on a broad scale. With this and the next product releases users can expect the above advantages to become visible and benefit from them directly in their work.

Availability and Downloads

As EASE Focus 3 is free software for the end user, the program will be available to everyone with its release on March 10, 2016. AFMG will offer the download of the installer on their webpages (see link below). In addition, supporting loudspeaker manufacturers will make the program available bundled with their loudspeaker data as well.

New Features & Functionality in EASE Focus 3

Redesigned Calculation Engine
Evaluate superposition results for spatially distributed sound sources	Complex Summation Investigate the interaction between separate sound sources especially in the low and low-mid frequency range by enabling “Complex Sum” in the “Options” window. All mappings will now clearly show the influence of polarity, phase, and placement of your systems on the audience areas. Adjust your settings and re-calculate in order to minimize negative effects.
	Performance Improvements & Result Caching Due to the high simulation quality provided by AFMG’s award winning GLL data format calculations performed by EASE Focus can take quite some time. To allow a fast preview of the results, EASE Focus, which now supports up to 40 sound sources, displays results in a coarse resolution first, then calculates at increased mapping density. EASE Focus 3, in addition, now caches results calculated for separate sources. Since the final result is the superposition of the outcome for each source alone, only the source that has changed needs to be recalculated. This greatly speeds up the tuning process within EASE Focus 3.
Subwoofer Arrays
	The new “Complex Sum” calculation setting allows effective simulation and tuning of basically any arrangement of subwoofer arrays. Place and stack your loudspeakers freely or insert a preconfigured array. Then tune them to deliver the desired radiation pattern.
Specify basic parameters to create a linear subwoofer array automatically, including suggested delays.	Pre-configured Arrays While inserting a new sound source you may specifically add subwoofers as a subwoofer array. EASE Focus 3 treats such an array as a single sound source, offers different parameters to conveniently configure it, and automatically computes suggested delays. In version 3.0 EASE Focus supports adding linear subwoofer arrays only. Additional pre-configured setups like cardioid and end-fire arrays are planned for future versions.
Arrange subwoofers freely, set delays, and model the radiated sound field.	Manually Placed Arrays Independently from preconfigured arrays, EASE Focus 3 provides the option to enter any arbitrary subwoofer array setup manually. Combined with the new stacking feature, typical cardioid and other setups are quickly entered this way. Additionally, the free placement of subwoofers can accommodate for local conditions such as varying riser spacing, a flight of stairs in the way or the like.
Enter gain and delay values as well as the polarity setting in order to adjust sound sources relative to each other.	Gain, Delay, Polarity for Single Sources Several additional fields have been added to the loudspeakers’ properties window. You can now specify the broadband gain, delay, and polarity for each individual loudspeaker. These fields complete the list of parameters generally available for typical loudspeakers. They are included in the reports delivered by EASE Focus and will help your technician reliably setup the system. The new settings are particularly useful when optimizing subwoofer arrays.
Use the feature “Move Active Sound Sources” to displace or aim entire groups of loudspeakers.	Move Active Sound Sources “Move Active Sound Sources” in the “Edit” menu is a powerful new feature that allows you to easily move and turn all active loudspeakers at once. This is especially useful when editing larger sound systems or manually placed sub arrays.
The snapping function allows stacking loudspeakers easily and according to the physical dimensions of their enclosures.	Stacking Loudspeakers Stack loudspeakers with a snap! When inserting a new sound source or arranging sources in your project the source you are currently adjusting will automatically “fall” into position according to its geometrical dimensions and the dimensions of other sound sources that might already be placed underneath. – Stacking speakers has never been easier.
Simplified Configuration of Line Arrays
Use a single keystroke to align a sound source physically to a user-defined lower or upper height limit.	Snap to Mounting Height The new “Snap to mounting height” shortcut will help you to quickly and exactly align a system with the upper or lower height limits, e.g. the rigging or stage height. A colored bar displays the limits in the side view. It turns red, if your system exceeds the limits. Limits can be set globally in the project and overridden per line array or loudspeaker.
Select specific array properties to be copied.	Extended Copy & Paste Make use of comprehensive copy + paste options to transfer exactly specified parameters from one system onto one or more others. This way, configuring multiple systems in a larger setup has become more precise and error-proof as well as a lot faster.
Select the number of line array cabinets per amplifier channel.	Gain Grouping Typical passive line array systems link several cabinets to the same amplifier channel. To reflect this type of setup in EASE Focus 3, AFMG has introduced gain grouping. When “Enable Grouping of Cabinet Gains” is activated the group size can be selected. EASE Focus will deactivate the gain boxes in the interface for all but one cabinet of each group. The values are automatically copied to the other cabinets to simplify data entry.
Hovering the mouse over the side views or the splay angle dropdown list will highlight the area covered by two adjacent line array elements.	Overlap Regions Overlap regions help you to effectively set the splay angles of your line arrays. When hovering your mouse over the side or the level view, blue areas will highlight the corresponding sections in the different views. Also, the splay angle setting in the line array’s properties windows is marked in bold. This way, you can easily determine which splay angle to taper in order to influence a certain region which might have too much or too little SPL.
Use the same x-axis view section for “Side View” and “Levels” view.	Synchronized View Limits To keep the overview of a system in the tuning process it can be helpful to see both the side and the level view at once. As a handy feature you can now align the zoom factor and the X position of both panels by checking “Synchronize X-Axis” in the “Options” window.
Miscellaneous Other Advancements
Enter distance and angles for each point of the venue relative to a reference position.	Polar Coordinate Entry A common way for setting up a system on site is the use of laser distance meters and inclinometers. EASE Focus 3 now supports configuration of audience zones and areas in the same way by switching to the new “Edit relative to reference point” mode. In this mode, EASE Focus assumes the operator to be standing at the beginning of the audience zone. The distance and angle to each start and end point of the corresponding audience areas can now be entered exactly as read from the meter. To allow making measurements from the stage or handheld the height of the reference point can be set individually.
Improved filter, search, and navigation options when selecting GLLs from the database.	Managing GLL Files EASE Focus 3 now has a full-fledged database engine handling the GLL files. The feature is particularly useful for users working with a large number of GLLs. It allows importing, searching & selecting, exporting and deleting of GLLs along with the typical browsing options of databases.
Select a reference receiver to define the target frequency response for FIRmaker.	FIRmaker Target Curve A very common wish of any FOH technician is to make the whole audience have the exact same listening experience as he is having at the location of the console. For FIRmaker enabled loudspeaker systems it is now possible to select a reference receiver for the optimization. The FIRmaker algorithm will then compute FIR filters specifically for the setup defined in EASE Focus that best match each point in the audience to the system frequency response at the front-of-house.