The following commentary from Dr. Christian Heil, CEO of L-ACOUSTICS and
inventor of the V-DOSC® speaker system and Wavefront Sculpture
Technology® (WST), was excerpted from an interview given at
the PLASA Show (London) in September 2000
At L-ACOUSTICS, we are known for what we do and not for what we
say. We haven't used the usual lines of communication in order
to make ourselves known, because to a large extent it's the industry
professionals who have voted with their ears, via their purchase
decisions, and placed L-ACOUSTICS products in the leading role
they enjoy today. In expressing myself within the pages of the
pro audio press, I wish to clarify a number of points to avoid
the propagation of misinformation, and allow those who are interested
to better understand L-ACOUSTICS.
In
order to place my comments in the proper perspective, we must go
back to the beginnings of V-DOSC, precisely seven years ago. During
the summer of 1993, L-ACOUSTICS launched a new breed of sound system
based on principles that had fallen into disuse as they were not
considered applicable in the domain of high-end audio. What L-ACOUSTICS
offered is not only a new look at these principles, but also the
scientific expertise to establish the working limits of a line source.
This was the origin of the coupling criteria of Wavefront Sculpture
Technology (WST) which would eventually revolutionize the sound
reinforcement industry.
The
commercial introduction of this system, however, turned out to
be a delicate operation, as it put the prevailing ideas of the
day into serious question. Until the advent of WST, no one had
experienced a Fresnel field (near field) and a Fraunhofer field
(far field). No one else was talking about the propagation of
a cylindrical wavefront or the decreasing of sound pressure level
by 3dB per doubling of the distance or angular coverage in fractions
of degrees. Basically, everyone was interested in the individual
properties of loudspeakers, but L-ACOUSTICS introduced the idea
of a collective concept associated with a group of modular speaker
elements. It was an entirely new discussion - a different way
of working - and the results went beyond the scope of what was
currently accepted in the industry. New ideas are sometimes difficult
to embrace, and so we sought to find a way to slowly introduce
this technology, while getting it to be progressively accepted
by the major players in the pro audio field.
Therefore
we opted for a measured distribution of the V-DOSC system within
the rental market, with particular emphasis on education and technical
support. The V-DOSC Network was built up bit-by-bit, adding a
few new members each year. The companies that purchased V-DOSC
systems were welcomed by L-ACOUSTICS and L-ACOUSTICS US for their
capability to integrate new technologies, for the quality of their
staff, and for their high degree of representation within the
rental market.
Companies don't invest in new technology for the sake of a manufacturer:
they make a strategic technological choice that offers the greatest
overall return on their investment. The Network is about having
the appropriate partners in their respective market segments,
who are able to stimulate and respond to demand as it arises.
Indeed, a large part of the success of V-DOSC can be attributed
to the Network.
Another
contributing factor to the acceptance of V-DOSC and WST is the
focus on training of specialized personnel to operate this technologically
sophisticated system. But sophisticated doesn't necessarily mean
complicated. As I said earlier, when we're dealing with directivity
that is accurate to a fraction of a degree, as well as a radically
different way of working both in the near field and the far field,
it's important to be able to rely on competent people who are
not only aware of such technology, but who have also experienced
and mastered it. So we place great emphasis on Certified V-DOSC
Engineer (CVE) Training Seminars, an important source of scientifically
tested information regarding the set-up and operation of the system.
Once these operators have been taught how to use the tools that
we put at their disposal, operating a V-DOSC system is actually
quite simple.
As
a result of the success of our approach, other manufacturers eventually
saw they had no choice but to get in line with their version of
the concept. What is distressing is to see certain companies who
not only imitate beyond what is flattering, but also are attempting
to appropriate the nature and origins of our concepts for themselves.
Fortunately, some maintain their proprietary concepts and specifications.
There is a difference between reality and marketing-speak. Our
experience with V-DOSC is backed up by facts and extensive work
in the field, not just promises.
The
Principles of Line Source Array |
It
is important to understand that there is a big difference between
a line array and a variable curvature line-source array (WST).
This may initially appear to be mere semantics, but it takes on
greater importance when one looks at the technology employed for
these different products. Line arraying is the process of mounting
loudspeakers one on top of the other. Nothing revolutionary there.
What is characteristic and specific to our principle is that the
system has been designed in such a way that the separate sound
sources behave as a continuous line source, similar to a flat
isophasic (constant phase) ribbon, which can be bent in order
to shape the radiated wavefront to specification. This makes it
possible to maximize intelligibility and deliver remarkably homogeneous
sound pressure level (SPL) over the exact audience geometry.
Originally
presented in 1992, the conditions of WST cover the waveform dispersion
patterns and are achieved through our patented DOSC waveguide.
While other systems might approach the operating principles of
WST, they actually manage to accomplish this only for one part
of the audio spectrum, and do not manage to achieve coherent operation
in the high frequency range, which is the most difficult part.
Other products may offer correct functionality across the whole
of the audio spectrum, but cannot generate a cylindrical wavefront,
which is the key to long distance intelligibility. Then the attempt
is to create the impression of full-spectrum performance. It is
my feeling that unless the consumer exercises great care, they
could end up with a popularized version of our technology, entailing
a significant corruption of the principles of operation and inevitably,
reduced performance.
Seven
Years of Experience and Evolution |
The
development and success of V-DOSC has been the fruit of long,
hard labor, led by a highly motivated and professional team. And
since its introduction, V-DOSC has been further improved as a
result of the input of sound engineers and service providers who
are actively participating in maximizing the potential of this
product.
The
V-DOSC system didn't wait to evolve: every year we put forward
developments that are the result of the enormous diversity of
operations that the system is subjected to. Be it in amplification,
processing, construction quality, variety of presets, technical
support, modeling tools or rigging, the current vintage contains
many enhancements when compared to the original 1993 version.
These improvements constitute a significant advance over newly
emerging systems.
The
V-DOSC Network is a force of more than 60 suppliers of highly
specialized services located all across the globe and market leaders
among the best in their field. Together they form an extremely
structured, organized and well-informed Network that offers more
than 2,500 interchangeable V-DOSC cabinets. Our plan is to have
the international supplier Network completely built up by 2005.
Thus we will have achieved our objective within the rental market:
a global representation of a unique and uniform system linked
to the rental market through a strong and reliable Network of
professional service providers.
Beyond
this prolific rental activity, L-ACOUSTICS is committed to strengthening
our presence in the permanent installation market. We offer a
concise but complete range of innovative products, and have added
additional WST products, namely ARCS and more recently, dV-DOSC.
This enables us to offer consultants and contractors a large number
of appropriate high-performance solutions. In addition, we continue
to work on further developing our proprietary modeling techniques
in conjunction with industry standard modeling software.
L-ACOUSTICS
is the first and only manufacturer to offer its customers the
principles of Wavefront Sculpture Technology and the benefits
of line source technology, while also delivering a turnkey system,
technical support, modeling tools and a strong distribution Network.
As
I mentioned at the outset, I hope this is informative in understanding
the history and goals of L-ACOUSTICS. It saddens me to hear our
industry predicting line array "wars", but I do believe
that only a few of these products will achieve sufficient momentum
to prosper in the marketplace. My hope is that the audio customer
is the real beneficiary of these forces of competition.
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