AES Virtual Vienna Convention
AES 148th Convention Online Event
Europe's preeminent professional audio technology event for 2020 will now be online.AES Virtual Vienna 2020 continues the finest traditions of AES Convention Technical Programs, but in an online format adapted to the realities of a world practicing social distancing. Core audio topics and the technology of today and tomorrow will be explored. Audio elements and workflow solutions for new distribution platforms will be illuminated. Representing cutting edge developments in the science of audio, the latest research and the application of such research will be presented. Virtual Vienna will include video presentations of Papers, Workshops, Tech Tours and other technical program content along with live- and forum-based dialog with presenters. Regardless of their level of expertise, Virtual Vienna will let audio professionals build their skills and enhance their careers across the full gamut of audio specialties - recording and production, acoustics and psychoacoustics, sound reinforcement, archiving and preservation, networked audio, product development and audio education, along with student and career development sessions.
The On Demand resources will be available until June 30th 2020!
General Information
Dates: June 2nd 2020 - June 5th 2020
NOTE: The On Demand resources will be available until June30th 2020!
Our Workshop SessionsWorkshop 1: Quality Assurance of Live Sound Reinforcement Equipment
by Robert Werner on Wednesday, 3rd June at 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm (Central European Summer Time)
This workshop presents practical approaches for efficient and objective quality control of stage loudspeakers and other sound system equipment using electro-acoustic test systems in rental and live production business context. It suggests fundamental guidelines for scalable test scenarios addressing topics like test environment, hardware setup, test signals, result parameters, limit setting, data management, diagnostics and root cause analysis. Focusing on the trade-off between accuracy, robustness and usability, the workshop is driven by the goal of keeping complexity and effort (time, handling) as low as possible for reliable and trouble-free operation in every-day business.
Sound reinforcement equipment for live events such as concerts and music festivals is subject to significant and frequent stress related to storage, transport, rigging, fierce climate conditions and demanding workload over many years. These influences are especially critical for the weakest and most exposed part of the audio chain – the loudspeakers. While the transducers and assembled systems like subwoofers, line array elements or floor wedges need to pass thorough objective testing at the manufacturer to ensure product quality, performance and reliability before they are sold, usually only basic functional tests are performed in daily business at rental and live production companies. While subjective listening tests at human ear-friendly levels can be sufficient for detecting major failure after a production, they cannot ensure the overall audio quality at realistic playback levels degraded by transducer, enclosure or electronics defects resulting in distortion, rattling, rubbing, buzzing, air noise, coloration or limited peak SPL.
Please see more information about the workshop here.
Workshop 2: Creating Audio Products with Maximum End User Value
by Wolfgang Klippel on Friday, 5th June at 12:00 am – 1:30 pm (Central European Summer Time)
This tutorial addresses the value of loudspeakers and headphones as seen by the end-user and investigates the relationship between performance (maximum SPL, audio quality, power consumption, reliability), size, weight, cost and other non-technical aspects of the product. The discussion starts with the definition of the target performance in the final environment (e.g. car) at the beginning of the product development based on a metric of perceptual and physical characteristics. Standard measurements play an important role for selecting optimal hardware components and designing optimal transducers and complete systems by using modern numerical simulation tools (e.g. BEA, FEA). The tutorial also shows simple ways of best practice for quality assurance in transducer and system manufacturing.
The organization of end-of-line test and especially the setting of meaningful PASS/FAIL decides about the quality of the product shipped to the customer. The cost generated by failed units and form the field rejects complained by the customer can be reduced by searching for the root cause of the defect and fixing the problem by tuning the production process. Finally, the tutorial discusses new opportunities provided by digital signal processing and electrical control for in-situ monitoring and improving the performance, endurance and reliability of the product in the final application.