Behind the Rack
Behind the Rack is the AV industry podcast where Pro AV, broadcast, and live production come to life. Hosted by Hugo Chevrette, Franco Caruso, and Vincent Simoneau, each episode dives into the latest audio, video, and broadcast technology trends, while sharing real-world experiences from integrators, tech specialists, and industry leaders.
From new product launches and system integration tips to AV industry trends, audio solutions, and video workflows, the hosts keep the conversations casual, practical, and easy to follow. Expect honest insights, a few rants, and plenty of useful takeaways that go beyond what you’ll find in spec sheets or trade show booths.
Whether you’re an AV integrator, dealer, broadcast engineer, or just passionate about pro audio and video technology, Behind the Rack helps you stay connected, learn something new, and see what’s really happening behind the rack.
Behind the Rack
Ep.7 - Matched Audio Systems: Simplifying Loudspeaker & Amplifier Design in Pro AV
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Designing Pro AV audio systems wasn’t always straightforward — especially when it came to pairing loudspeakers and amplifiers. In this episode of Behind the Rack, Antony Chliaropoulos joins the conversation to explain how matched audio systems have changed that.
We discuss how system design has evolved, why manufacturer-tested pairings reduce guesswork, and how modern tools help integrators deliver more consistent results. Drawing on years of experience across professional audio brands, Antony shares perspective on what this shift means for dealers, integrators, and end users alike.
This episode covers:
• Loudspeaker and amplifier pairing fundamentals
• Why matched systems reduce risk and complexity
• System consistency, performance, and support
• Lessons from real-world Pro AV deployments
A practical, experience-driven conversation about simplifying audio system design in today’s Pro AV landscape.
This was telling us how on the Evolve series, there's like a little um call it like a slant on top of the subwoofers. As a DJ, you know, the subwoofer is often used as the drink table for a lot of people. But because of this little slant, you actually can't put a low ball glass on the subwoofer.
SPEAKER_02:Like it doesn't allow, so like it'll slide off. It's so smart, right?
SPEAKER_03:Like more sticky subwoofers, that's for sure. No more sticky subwoofers. Like I said, you know, we're that's it's so smart, and it's little things like that that make all the difference. We're really trying to get cigars and scotch a lot in this room, but it's been a battle.
SPEAKER_00:So we're we're gonna get it. If you want me back, I'm gonna I'm gonna tell your management like there must be a bottle of glad fidget or something.
SPEAKER_01:I like what you even before, even before the first podcast, they were especially him, they were already talking about having cigars in Skype. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hope we're not eating it.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Hey, the night is young.
SPEAKER_04:Today's podcast, we have Anthony from QAfinity talking to us about two brands that have come from a long time coming, Electro Voice and Dynachord, and how it's so much easier to pair speakers and amplifiers. And we're gonna dive deeper into some of the product lines and technologies that Eevees and Dynachord are bringing to the industry. So grab your headphones, pull up a chair, and join us for some sometimes nerdy, always fun conversations, all happening behind the rack. Anthony, welcome to our uh our podcast. Really nice to have you. Great to be here, guys. Thank you. And it never was like that in the past. We've known each other for a while, and it's and it was never as easy as it is today. And I think Eevee and Dynacore have have done a lot to help dealers and even end users, whether it's through the Bosch line or whatever. But before we get into that, why don't you tell our our uh our audience a little bit about yourself and uh about uh your background?
SPEAKER_00:Sure. Well, thanks for having me, guys. Um my name is Anthony Clearopoulos. Um since uh April of last year, I'm the key accounts manager for the Key Infinity brands in Canada. Um SFM being my key accounts, right? So um basically my responsibilities are to cover all of the brands, meaning Electrovoice, Dynachord, Bosch PA conferencing, and RTS Intercoms. Um and I've been with the these brands for uh a total of about 15 years. Um and uh, you know, happy to be serving the customers again in Canada as always, and represent re-representing uh Electrovoice and Dynacord back in my portfolio is really, really cool because that's where I came from, right? Um so early on, uh being a musician and starting in the MI retail, um, I really gravitated towards Eevee as my first kind of like love of a product, if it is, you know, or or nerding out on products, stuff like that. I always identified with uh Eevee's sound uh and and really how they progressed over the years with some of the uh innovative products. Right. So thanks again for having me.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. So if there's anybody who can appreciate the evolution, it's it's you.
SPEAKER_01:Talking about evolution, I mean, uh I've known Anthony since 2003 because as he was mentioning, he came from the MI retail market or business. And uh as I mentioned in the first podcast, I I worked at Steve's music and I he was basically there when I when I started working. We were working in the PA department, and he was I would say the yeah, he was the uh senior salesperson on the floor, and he basically teached me how to sell wireless microphones at the time and mixer and speakers. So he's one of the first persons who who basically got me into that business. So I'm very, very happy to have him on the podcast tonight. Uh, and also very happy to to have him as a as a professional in the industry and being able to work with him. That's cool. I didn't know that until today.
SPEAKER_04:Me neither. And it's such a small world, like it's it is, it is, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:I recognize early early on he you he's so I mean uh in it's a long time ago, right? You mentioned 2004. I was like, oh my god, that's that is a long time. But uh I recognized an eagerness, uh, an excitement that uh Hugo had. And uh, you know, back in those days, we there were a lot of people that passed through was kind of like a a cool breeding ground, right? So, but I did recognize early on that uh, you know, Hugo had a like a an excitement and uh a real like um uh interest, passion, and a curiosity. That's uh so for me that was great because I knew that uh in our department with you know that would be good for the customers and everything, right?
SPEAKER_04:So he still has it. That's how we're all still in this industry. He still teaches us, he still teaches us uh quite a few things. Yeah. So tell us a little bit about let's say the journey that Eevee's done throughout the past and and where where they were and where they how they've come today.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. I mean, uh you know, so my perception uh even before I joined that that what was then the Bosch group, right? Um it was a really um engineered approach to uh the the Pro Sound products. Um everything from the microphones to the the speakers. I did notice first thing that struck me was a kind of a signature sound. Um and being in that in my retail space, it was easy to compare one to another. I was doing demos all the time, setting up these uh in-store demos. Uh, and I did notice a kind of a signature sound for Eevee. Um over the years, uh, it was like um you know, the there was never a time you know that I noticed that there was a standstill. There was always a progression of things. Um really early on, like I don't remember a powered box before. I remember I think it was the SXA360, which SX300 was super popular. It was like a really big seller, 12-inch two-way. Um, and then, you know, a powered box, great. And then further on, there would be a lot of processing and the amplifiers that were sometimes EV branded or Dynachord branded, um, that all really had this great sound, uh, you know, some smooth, very smooth high-end, non- non-aggressive, uh, which really kind of uh spoke to me. Um, and then moving on as far as that what they did uh basically taking into account the users of the systems, right? They always started to come up with new innovative ways to make things easier to get that sound. Um, you know, your first um, you know, your first goal is to make sound, continue to make sound over a long period of time, meaning don't blow up your system. And then in the end, you hope that it make make good sound, right? Um so Eevee always over the years had this consistent advancement of features that were not only innovative to the quality of sound, but uh innovative in the applications, how taking into account how the users really react to it, and then coming all the way to now where you have the systems that look at everything. They're really, really easy to deploy. They sound good without too much fuss. Uh, and that's really a key that I think is consistent all the way through. It used to be hard to match an amp with a speaker and hope that you have the right power with not too much or not, or maybe not too little power to power your system. Um, and then going forward, just giving you the tools to make it really a lot easier, and as you mentioned, kind of in the beginning of the thing, uh, you know, much more forgiving uh to make it easier to get a good quality sound without too much fuss. I think that's right now where we stand, it's a really good collection of features that that uh make it easier to uh deploy the systems, easier for our dealers to install the systems, really uh really easy to make them sound good, uh, and sometimes not really needing too much DSP or after processing to make it sound good in the beginning. If we can do it mechanically, it though those those innovations are still there, right?
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, that makes sense. That makes sense. And I and I think um this I think there was a huge separation. I think it was when Bosch, now it's Keenfinity that has pretty much the the old Bosch group, I guess. Is that is that right? Yep. Okay. And I think it was when Bosch uh prior to Keenfinity kind of started separating the divisions, right? They started saying, okay, let's separate the electronics from the speakers, and then they they kind of started organizing it differently.
SPEAKER_00:Is that is that I think the Bosch years basically kind of focused the engineering-driven side of things into a more um the mark marketable uh side of things. So whereas we, you know, sometimes over the years, uh Eevee may have had additional products that kind of maybe do a little bit of the same thing, and it may not have been always clear which was the best uh option. Uh I think the Boss years came in and they basically gave some a little bit more structure to let's give you an offering of good, better, and best. Uh, and then maybe focus that and then all of the energies basically went into getting those, you know, those uh kind of uh options that are easier to choose from. Yeah, right. Um, so I think maybe that's that's part of the influence that Bosch had on the on the gang. But then again, you know, it's always been you know that e that core of EG EV engineers and product people that that really drove it, um, along with the resources from the from the big owners, right?
SPEAKER_03:I was lucky enough to see the uh facility in Burnsville, and it's an incredible facility. I mean, the amount of RD and the way the building is laid out, yeah um, it's a testament, I think, to the engineering that's involved. Like you said, if you make the product sound as good as possible mechanically and then perfect it, you know, digitally, I think that's that's what sets these guys apart from other people. I'm so jealous.
SPEAKER_04:The anaconic chamber.
SPEAKER_03:I got to visit the anaconic chamber and it was uh I definitely took a selfie in there. I'm not gonna lie. Yeah. It was a bucket list thing, and it was a great experience to see the Burnsville facility. That's amazing.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I remember the first time I was there, uh, which was before I joined Bosch, and uh it it it had the same mark on me. And the amazing, amazing group of people that are there, many who are still there. There's always, you know, there's been a lot of changes over the years, but there's a really amazing um group and kind of philosophy uh that that uh that comes out of that uh Minnesota, Burnsville, Minnesota um uh facility there, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:And just the passion that you saw through all the employees that were there. I mean, we did demos, they have an amazing like showcase area. I think they call it the Academy now, correct me if I'm wrong. Yeah. They have an academy room with basically almost every single model uh readily available on the market that you can hear and test and and do A B testing with. And we were lucky enough to even test the line arrays in the parking lot. Oh man. I mean, you just saw these are employees that are playing around with this gear every single day, and they were just as excited as as as we were to hear it and play with it and test it and show us the features. And to me, I think that's what made the biggest mark was just the passion uh from the engineers and the product specialists uh that we saw during that trip. And it was just they left the mark for sure. Yeah, that's amazing.
SPEAKER_04:And I know there's there's there's there's a lot of um evolution in the products. Even um when I was selling EV back in uh back in the days, uh now they're getting into like column speakers and which is even battery operated speakers. That's that's something.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I mean the innovation goes, I think, I think there is there's less of a um the goal is not to be first, it's to be it's to do it better.
SPEAKER_04:That's right.
SPEAKER_00:Um and so and the market sets the trends. Uh and sometimes we have to listen to the market and say, well, this product exists because, well, the people demanded it. And so we're gonna put our EV stamp on it. Um so uh in stuff like the uh you know the LRC, you know those uh those uh passive line arrays, yeah, uh, or the Everse uh 8 and 12 now, um, battery operated, very, very uh impressive uh small format speakers. Again, we're looking at a feature set, it solves a problem, uh, but it still sounds awesome. And when people um hear those, those uh uh specifically the Everse 8 uh and 12, uh they're just blown away at how great they sound. And then they say, well, yeah, this is battery operated, and um, you know, you can string Bluetooth to it. And so again, another example of uh innovation and just basically, I mean, I'll say it, doing it better than what's out there. Uh not accepting something that's out in the market and say, let's do ours too. It's how can we make this an Eevee product through and through, right? Um, and then it's about doing it better.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, before you know, before being the uh the brand manager for uh Electro Voice and Dynachord, I was actually a user, so I've I've purchased a lot of the product and got to play with it. Um and something like the Everse when it comes to battery-powered, especially from the mobile DJ standpoint. Um yes, there were speakers. Yes, there were battery-powered speakers, but what Eevee did to those battery-powered speakers at the Everse series was unheard of. You know, it's kind of ironic, unheard of. But it's it's uh it's true, you know, something like the quick smart app. That's something I tell everybody about, and we should be talking about even more. The application to control a battery-powered speaker. I mean, from a mobile DJ standpoint, you know, uh a battery-powered speaker is often used in locations where A, there's no power, B, you need to really set up quickly and take down extremely quickly. So, for example, like a wedding ceremony, right? Often in these remote places, very difficult setups. Um with the everse 8 and 12, it sounds amazing. You're not worried about battery life. The quick smart app, I can put a speaker near, let's say, you know, the front where the bride and groom are standing, uh, so it's facing the crowd, but you won't see me in the images because I don't have to be there controlling the audio, controlling the Bluetooth, the streaming. I'm doing that all from my iPad or my my cellular device, and it's so easy to do. And the best part is you can match because it's available in black and white. You know, a lot of brides these days and grooms too are saying, hey, you know, what does your system look like? Not even what does it sound like, what does it look like? So it's important to be blending in. So yeah, you want that little speaker that's discrete but powerful enough and easy to use for situations like I just explained. And um, you know, you guys, I think, have the best application on the market. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And even just to the fact where you have that same uh quick smart app uh covering a number. So you have you can have your devices, your list of devices in Everse and Evolve and ZLX G2 all in there, and then you can connect between the systems, right? And it just makes it a lot easier to manage. How many times have you had this Bluetooth app that like you're you're just racking your brain to try to connect? It connects easily every time.
SPEAKER_03:Or a different app for a different product series, or like this is one app for all the product series, and it's true. Like, uh, I'm not lying. I've literally done that where I've gone from an e-verse at a ceremony setup, uh yeah, everse from ceremony setup to an evolve system for a cocktail setup where you need, you know, the subwoofer, whether it's an evolve uh 30, 50, 70, 90 now, so 15 inch or 18-inch subwoofer, believe it or not. Same application. So I'm doing cocktails, I've got a trio, I don't even need a mixer anymore. Yeah, everyone's plugged into, let's say, a 50, which has the mixer incorporated into the subwoofer, and I'm controlling all the inputs from my phone from the exact same application. There's no two different iPads for the two different speakers, like it is so easy to use. You've got less equipment, less cables, less labor, and it's just easy to use and it sounds amazing.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Um if you haven't experienced the Evolve 50M with the Quick Smart app together, it is pretty so I'm a musician uh and I'm maybe plagued. I think maybe it's by my own design that I am always doing the cis the sound while I'm playing and singing, right? Um uh and I I, you know, the the first time I tried the 50M, I own a 50M and did it all off of my iPad, um, switching back and forth from lyrics to the QuickSmart app. Um, and just the ease of use for how you select a channel, and there is actually a fader motion on the app, right? Uh, it's just intuitive and uh it made it uh a snap. And I did um a three three-piece band liking a drum set um and uh an auxiliary return for our monitors, all with uh two Evolve 50s and my iPad.
SPEAKER_03:Without an instrumental mixer, yeah. It's I mean, you can't do many products.
SPEAKER_04:One thing I can't stand, just my little rant for the episode. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Okay, we haven't had the Vince Rant in a long time. Let's go. It's always Franco ranting. I'm happy Vince is able to rant this stuff.
SPEAKER_04:Is having an app per series like other like other like in any any other type of like whether it's residential AV or commercial AV, you have to download an app for this, and then you're like searching and it's and it's not sh popping up, and you realize, yeah, I have to download the whatever evolve. I'm just giving you the I'm just using EV as a the evolve versus the everse app. That gets me like crazy. And I think just having all three, like you said, yeah, in the single app is so much more accessible for everybody where they're not fumbling or especially especially at a wedding and stuff like that. You don't want to start no, it needs to be generally speaking. Yeah, generally speaking, they're gonna set it up beforehand anyways.
SPEAKER_03:Like, you know, that we really're wedding planners that change things at the last minute and you have to change your whole setup. That that never happens.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, but that's crazy. And I remember selling a ton of ZLX for bars and stuff. Imagine having an app now and having to adjust versus like climbing up and uh having to adjust all the time.
SPEAKER_03:And even the evolve uh now. So I think on and correct again, technical details sometimes have to be confirmed, but you have uh eight inputs, right? So let's say you have a mixer, eight inputs. By linking now two evolve 50Ms or 70s or 90s, uh you can actually get up to I believe 16 inputs. So CatSix capable linking both units, and you're able to have 16 channels.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And on the Quipsmart, quick smart app, you just swipe left, swipe right for the make the channels that are on your left evolve and your right evolve, right? And it just makes it super easy.
SPEAKER_03:And it's easy, it's super easy, and they've thought of everything in terms of design. Um, uh, you know, one of the product specialists was telling us how on the Evolve series, there's like a little um call it like a slant on top of the subwoofers. As a DJ, you know, the subwoofer is often used as the drink table for a lot of people, but because of this little slant, you actually can't put a lowball glass on the subwoofer.
SPEAKER_02:Like it doesn't allow so like it'll slide off. It's so smart, right?
SPEAKER_03:Like that's it's so smart, and it's little things like that that make all the difference. Is it by design? Apparently it's by design. The other thing too cool, you're you know, like a lot of speakers, the digital display is actually vertical to the back of the speaker. So you have to get directly behind the speaker at eye level to see the settings and play with your gain, the mode you're on, so on and so forth. On the Evolve series, it's actually placed at like a 45-degree angle, so that all you have to do is peek behind and you actually see all your input levels and all the settings. So that's by design, that's smart. People have thought about that to make it easier to use and applicable to everybody.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and coming full circle on to what I was saying before, you know, the application and the users contribute to, you know. Uh everything we hear, uh, you know, we we try to work it into the product as a practical feature. Um, some of them, like the, you know, what you're talking about, the slant on the subwoofer. Maybe we'll get the engineering guys to confirm whether that is 100% true. But I I'm just gonna say that is, uh, and we'll we'll own it. But it but yeah, there are a number of things that work themselves into the products that are by design and that are made to make it life easier with using our products. And and it's I think it's one of the strongest um like overall goals that we've kind of added to our to our um product design, right? Absolutely.
SPEAKER_03:Shows no more sticky subwoofers, that's for sure. No more sticky subwoofers, no more cables. Like I said, you know, we're we're living in the reality where a lot of event designers are asking what is the setup gonna look like over how powerful is it, how loud is it? Um, so to show up, you know, at an event with an Evolve 70 or an Evolve 90 now, or any of the Evolve series, really, you know, matching the color scheme, whether it's white or black, no cables to be seen, super sleek, and to be able to control it at a distance, you know, like these are all things that are really important, especially when we're catering to the really high-end uh events, you know, as a mobile DJ. Um, and you know, we're talking about how Electro Voice puts so much effort into making things easy uh and applicable for so many people, but so does their line card. Like I don't know if you guys had a chance to look at everything, but there's a product at every single price point, you know, starting from Aviva now, a new powered uh speaker series that that is at an extremely affordable price point for an entry-level musician or DJ that's starting all the way up to uh ZLX, ELX, EKX, ETX. Like there's so many options, no matter what your application is. So it really is a nice portfolio uh to match any of the consumers' needs, which is really important. So I'm I'm team EV for sure. Very cool. Yeah. It's not like I'm the brand manager or anything. I'm a bit biased, but it's yeah, it's okay. Rather be honest with the people.
SPEAKER_01:Not that you're wearing uh I'm not wearing an EV shirt, right?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Uh you know, yeah, sorry, coming back to the uh ease of use. And so if we if when it when it comes to if I may kind of bring it over to the install lineup, um so that what we need to think about is not just the cost of ownership now, uh so for the customer who purchases the system, but the installers need it needs to be easy for the installers. So uh, you know, SFM uh dealing is it's you know, you deal with the dealer base, right? And our dealers and our integrator partners are are are are the important link to our end customers, right? So if it's easier for uh you know to design into the product something that will make it easier for an installer on the top of a ladder, uh, you know, putting ceiling speakers into an opening um and holding a drill or uh having a number of things in his hand, um, you know, like in the Evid uh the Swift Lock system. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So in the Evid CG2s, uh, where you have basically you're able to kind of bring your uh speaker up, uh make your connection, and then just pop it in and have the dog ears uh flip out and and put it into place. That's a one-handed operation. That's something that by design was built into the speak the the you know, purposely built into that speaker design, um, and then even to down to the design of the grill, right?
SPEAKER_04:So yeah, the bezelist design and absolutely because I you know I I could I can see that. I I in my past life, how many ladders have we been on?
SPEAKER_03:Seriously, yeah. Yeah, I knew you'd resonate with that. We've all resonated, we've all seen our our life flash before our eyes, I think because we've all been in those situations.
SPEAKER_04:And I and I guess I guess we don't realize it, but when you've been in that situation and there hasn't been any ev evolution in that type of thing, there's two there's two things. One, it could give the brand or the series a bad, bad rap just because you're so fed up and you're having a bad day and you're like, you know what, I'm not gonna use these speakers anymore. So just having that gives a better perception and you feel more comfortable and all that stuff. But the other thing too is uh obviously you have the dealers that are are very business savvy, calculate their time and going in and out of a uh a job and stuff. But you're wasting a lot of time if if you're not efficient in terms of your install, you're wasting a lot of time just for installing a speaker and having that uh the Swift lock system, huge. Huge, it's life-saving, literally. Yeah, it's life saving. That's amazing.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, we're thinking about stuff like that all the time and how to make it easier and how to make it better, right?
SPEAKER_03:So even on like the EVIT surface mounts, for me this stood out. Uh, you know, uh on the EVIT surface mounts, the way, and please correct me if I'm wrong, uh, but the way it works is typically on a surface mount speaker, you've got your your positive and your negative terminal, right? So as an installer, there's always you know the scheduling conflict. Do I go in before the painters? Do I go in after the painters? All of a sudden they're delayed. What happens? You get pushed, you've already started another job. Everyone knows exactly what I'm talking about. What the EVIT surface mounts, which is really cool, is that the connection point between the cable and the speaker is actually done on the mount itself. So you don't have to make, you're gonna make your hole, you pass your cable, but you terminate the cable to the mount. Now, at this point, the speaker's not on the wall yet. So you've just got this nice plastic mount on the wall. Call it like a ball mount if you want to call it that, and your connection point is already made. Now, let's say the painter's got to come in and paint the entire room. Well, we all know you don't want to put ceiling speakers in or surface mount speakers in because accidents happen. In the box of the Evit surface mount speakers, it actually comes with a paint cover. So on the mount itself, you just put the paint cover, your cable's already terminated, your mount is protected, the painters come in.
SPEAKER_00:There's a bubble level in the mount. There is a bubble level in the mouth. You can mount it level, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Right? Yeah, so you don't have to pull out the torpedo level out of your back pocket. You put the paint cover on, the guy comes in or girl comes in, paints the room, and then after that's done, you remove the paint cover and you just slide the speaker onto the ball mount and your connection's done. That's all you have to do. So there's no re-measuring, re-terminating the cable. Someone covered the cable in paint.
SPEAKER_04:Holding the speaker while they're trying to terminate. Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_03:Holding the speaker or having someone else hold the speaker while you're trying to strip the cable and put it on behind. We're all laughing because we've all been through this stuff. We're all laughing. But these are things that make a difference. Yeah. To your point, even labor, labor cost, uh, functionality, even keeping employee and employee retention. Oh, yeah. If you're able to keep it easy for your employees, people are gonna want to work harder for you. So it's uh it's all little things like that. I mean, we can go on for hours in terms of how every product is innovative in these little approaches, but that's that's what makes Electro Voice different.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I'm really happy they did that, especially with the Evids. Like the Evids has been around for a long time. Yeah, but uh having uh having the Swift lock system is uh really cool and the Evid surface mount speakers.
SPEAKER_03:That that is a and the G2, the diameter of the hole. I sound like I'm selling the product now. I'm not selling the wearing the jacket, so we're in the jacket, yeah, and a little bias from the brand manager. But just to talk about another innovation, like even on the G2s, um the hole diameter is the exact same for three out of the four models for the four, the six, and the eight. So what that means is when you're an installer, you're not changing your bit size or your whole saw. It's the exact same diameter. So in terms of install speed, it's a lot quicker. Your measurements are gonna be the same, your symmetrical rows are the same. Like it it it changes the game in terms of uh of installation. It's little things like that. Again, we can go on for hours, but it's really, really well thought out.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. Um staying in the uh integration. I'm really happy to see the v series because that's something I think was kind of lacking, I would I would say for a long time.
SPEAKER_00:It's definitely a um the v-series uh is definitely a something that's uh filling a gap, let's say. Um but once again we did it to the point where it's we're not just gonna fill the gap because there's a gap there and put out some kind of product which may or may be just like something else. Um we did it the right way. Uh we put a lot of the additional technologies into the v series as far as the amplifiers go. Uh now with the the addition of VZX, um uh which is the controller part of it. Yeah. Uh now it falls into a specific uh category which keeps it cost effective, but offers, I think, more feature set than anything out there in the in the in the market. Um and uh once again, the app that cut that accompanies it is really, really well designed, makes it very easy to to uh configure um and to uh you know uh you know put proper settings in there um without having to go through software, software updates, firmware updates, everything is web-based.
SPEAKER_03:Nice put in the IP address of the VZX and you have access to the full interface.
SPEAKER_00:So you can make all your your changes or adjustments as easy as putting in the IP address, which is yeah, and somebody with a little bit of experience can be trained on the entire system very, very, very quickly, right? So um if you have your your techs that are designing these systems and they're going in and they're um you know, setting up there, there's even um uh new importation of speaker presets and those things, which is including, you know, uh FIR presets and uh you name it. So uh it makes it easy to go into the catalog of Eevee and say, um, you know, oh, like I can pair this with this in in this zone with these speakers and have processing built in. Um even though the speakers are made to sound good without processing, now you have the ultimate you know performance for for every zone in your thing. So that's something that's really uh uh I'm so happy to see that addition to our product line uh in the Dynachord brand. Um, and something that's really gonna um help our integrators kind of fit you know fill some spaces where where we were not the solution, the go-to solution before.
SPEAKER_04:Or the complete solution, anyways, where uh it wasn't uh the VZX, anyways, was that was the one I was specifically talking about.
SPEAKER_01:Talking about uh amplifiers, I uh I think you uh ElectroByce and DynaCard as some uh proprietary technology uh in terms of uh a I mean saving power, uh managing power between different outputs. Maybe you want to elaborate a little bit about this?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, sure. So there's uh you know, again, so coming back to uh making it easy to do business with is is you know cost of ownership as well. So uh if we talk about the um ecorail, uh where uh you know in a in a multi-channel uh amplifier, um not all the not all the zones are working all the time. Uh so eco-rail can bring you to a basically a standby operation uh where your big power requirement channels don't have to be active, uh, but your background music can stay active uh on the while your amplifier is operating at a 50% level, right? So the cost of use over if you're too if you're if this is in a restaurant or a uh you know a high traffic uh installation, like a mall or department store, stuff like that, uh, you know, those cost savings over somebody can look at your uh power analysis and look at that cost saving over a number of years, and it it's significant, right? Um uh and so and then coming back to you know, make it easier uh offering options to the customers to uh make it easy to match your speakers to the amplifiers. Um you have uh what we call power tank. Yeah, power tank, exactly. Where not every one of your channels needs to be an equal amount of power, uh power draw. Um, but but you know each channel can be individually analyzed and give only the power it needs. Uh uh you know, keeping in mind that to not go over the total power for all the zones, right? So uh again, uh helps with cost of ownership, help with um, you know, design, ease of design, and and a lot of other factors.
SPEAKER_01:Eco-energetic footprint uh is gonna be something very important in the years going forward. Uh so I and even some some of the the the big RFPs for government and for schools, and they're gonna look at the the foot, the sorry, the energetic footprint of the solutions, and it might even become one key differentiator between your products and the competitor.
SPEAKER_04:So pretty cool. That's a huge difference. That makes a huge difference. I really like the fact that uh you can compare, you can the most frustrating thing is designing a system and you're limited by the amount of channels, like and you have to get another amp because you're just just missing, but you know 100 watts there. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, how many times did it happen where exactly to your point, you're you need to get another amplifier, and now you're changing your whole rack configuration, changing your cabling, your cable runs. Yes, but now with power tank, you know, you've got that flexibility. And you're really using, you know, if you calculate like dollar per watt, you know, as they call it in the industry, you're using every single watt now because of the capability to share the power between all those channels.
SPEAKER_04:And sometimes you can't daisy chain, sometimes you can, but sometimes you can't daisy chain.
SPEAKER_03:So then you have to look at either mixer or processor or whatever it is, or but even when you're we're talking about like 70 volt systems or eight ohm systems now, a lot of the amplifiers in the Dynachord lineup, you know, are flexible.
SPEAKER_04:Oh, even as low as the I think the L series and the C series.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, you can go, you can take each one of your channels on a multi- multi-channel amp, uh, and go take one channel in 70 volt, uh, the other channel in uh low impedance, um, and you know, completely individually uh, you know, design the channels that way. Um, and it it just, you know, it saves you a lot of uh worry, but it saves you a lot of design work. And a lot of times when you don't have the perfect option, well, then you're saying, well, because of this big zone here, I need to go with a really bigger amplifier, but the customer is paying for a whole bunch of wattage they're not going to use, right? Uh so uh it just gives makes it a lot easier to give the right solution in the right application, right?
SPEAKER_03:And even when it comes to DSP, uh something like the IX lineup, the DSP is actually built into the app.
SPEAKER_04:Well, a lot of the even the C series and the L series and and onwards, I mean, that back in the day that that saved me a lot just because you don't want to have to sell an external crossover just for your uh uh passive sub or whatever. You have it built in. So you could even do, you know, do so much with just the built-in, the the uh just the built-in stuff, anyways.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and uh, you know, direct doc Dante connection in the iXamp uh with another uh whole you know uh opens up a whole bunch of other possibilities uh as far as just uh you know um not needing additional hardware to be able to make your connections to audio, right?
SPEAKER_04:So yeah. And uh speaking of DSPs, I know it's been a while, but uh the MX MXE5, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, um yeah, it's I mean it's uh standalone DSP processor, um a high-end DSP processor, right? So um really when you need the offering of of the highest quality uh standard and um really uh open architecture DSP. Um uh so the MXE5 uh uh processor is is something that's become a staple in our lineup under the Dynacore brand. Um and with all of the flexibility that you can do in the Sonic U software environment along with MXE5, uh it makes it a super, super powerful processor. Um and now basically the equivalent of the of the power in the MXE5 can be available in the uh the iX amps as well. So again, offer giving you a number of different options. Sometimes, sometimes you have existing amplifiers uh or amplification, which could be in any third party or whatever, uh and you just need to up the game, the processor game. Well, then you can go through the processor and the MXE5 alone. But if you are making any new design you want to do, add add the processing built into the amplifier, you have that option as well. So it's really giving those options uh to the customers and to the designers of the systems, right?
SPEAKER_03:I'm relatively new to like DSP setup and configuration. Um, and I had the privilege to go to Straubing in Germany, uh their headquarters. Uh Anthony was on that trip as well. Our technical application group uh also attended that training. Um, and it was just nice to see, I have to say, and this I mentioned to everyone in Germany, hopefully they're watching, um, but the way they received also our feedback, you know, being in the industry for so long, SFM with multiple brands, seeing different applications, whether even our you know, post-sale support, uh, our technical application group has such incredible experience and valuable knowledge. Um, and it was so refreshing uh to have a group like the engineers in Germany listen, ask the questions, and be so receptive to our feedback. And it's it's cool because even after that training, you know, I'm seeing updates to SonicQ and I'm like, hey, we spoke about that possible update, you know, in Germany and they actually included it or they made tweaks to it. And that's something, you know, again, a testament to the brand, right? They're listening to the people that are out in the trenches that are actually doing this work and have all this valuable knowledge, and they're not just keeping it to themselves, they really were receptive to it. And that that means a lot, especially as a distributor. Um, so thanks to everyone at Electro Voice for Yeah, the gang scrolling is a big part of our history out there as well.
SPEAKER_00:They've been around for a long time. Um, they've contributed to designs in both the EV camp and Dynaccord, right? Uh, and uh, you know, those guys are just uh barn on the top, the top of the top uh as far as uh engineering goes. Um, and uh we're key in a lot of the development of these uh, you know, features over the last decades, right? So um, yes, that was uh it was a great personal experience for me being being part of the company for so long. I never had the opportunity to go to Straubing and uh uh meeting up with those guys and and uh in in their own home uh was was a really exciting part for me. It was a great trip.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, but there's nothing like large pretty large corporation listening to feedback and implementing features based on feedback you gave them like a couple of weeks ago. Um, this is again a testament uh brand. Yeah, to the brand. Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:There's nothing more frustrating than companies that don't always listen. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:It's uh you can name a couple of them.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, but but especially when you're getting good feedback, like constructive feedback and not just rants all the time and complaining. But when you're getting constructive feedback from uh people that use your products, like like most of us here who've like who have a bit of a passion for the brand and stuff like that, it kind of uh it's kind of disappointing sometimes that uh uh the brand just doesn't take the the feedback and for the better, right? For the better.
SPEAKER_03:So yeah, and it was you know, on a personal note, even for myself, and this is kudos to the the the tag group that we have here at SFM. Uh obviously I I work with them very often, uh, but in a different type of environment, right? It's you know, corporate at you know, in the office, quick conversations. But to have spent those, you know, four days in Germany with them, uh it it was incredible to see the amount of knowledge that these guys have. You know, and I'm not just blowing smoke. It was really impressive to see how individually all the guys that were present there, the level of knowledge and the amount of experience they have. Now I understand why they have the reputation that they do.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, and that was reciprocated by the the the team down there. They saw uh they saw the potential of of what the the the tag team at SFM uh you know with all of their experience and their knowledge, it's a great collection of knowledge. Uh this was they saw that as a great opportunity to share uh and to and and to take you know snapshots of their experiences, how we do it here in Canada or you know, in North America, etc. And and then you know uh try to try to find ways to work it into uh to making the products better.
SPEAKER_04:It's great to see uh uh a brand like Eevee evolve uh throughout the year. Exactly. Um and um and be resilient uh throughout the years. You know, we see brands come and go, but Eevee has uh has stuck around for a long time and uh they've evolved. You know, it's it's not just the same old, same old, and you know, some some products stand on their own ground with their old stuff and it and they survive. Eevee is one of them where I've had guys just call me just for to change the woofer after 25-30 years, and that happens. But um, and it's nice to see all the new products and all the feedback they're getting to kind of hit those those pain points and make the user experience and the integrator experience so much better.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I mean, been around for a long time. Uh actually 2027 will make will be the centennial of the founding of ElectroVoice, right?
SPEAKER_07:Very good.
SPEAKER_00:Um so you guys we've all heard the story, I think, I believe, uh in uh in in 1927. Um the uh the founders of Electro Voice basically uh were commissioned to make a PA system for uh the famous uh football coach Newt Rockney. Uh and Newt basically contributed the name when he said he called the system, the PA system, he called it his electric voice. Um so that became Electro Voice, the name of our company. Wow. Uh and so 99 years old right now, let's call it in 2026, right? Uh so yeah, uh you don't you don't last that long unless unless you've been doing a lot of things right. And uh, you know, um as as a uh EV representative, uh I'll I'll I'll I'll uh I'll what do you do there, you know, uh pick the suspenders. You know, we're proud to wear the badge and and and to to wear the the the 99 years um uh you know on our sleeve and and and show that that you know that's uh uh it it takes a long time to develop uh technologies the right way and I think you know there's another a hundred years uh uh coming.
SPEAKER_04:So thank you. And I I think we thank you and and the rest of the EV team just for the passion because I think that also helps bring uh and carry a brand. Because without I don't think uh those brands uh last very long. Thank you very much uh for uh for stopping by on our podcast. I hope we I I think we didn't discuss all some of the other brands uh under the Bosch Bosch banner, but um or under the Key Infinity uh banner, but uh we hope uh you'll come on our podcast.
SPEAKER_00:Uh yeah, I'd be love to come back anytime you guys need me.
SPEAKER_01:And uh you know the story Anthony doesn't live very far from here, so I suspect he's a phone call away from the next podcast. Exactly.
SPEAKER_00:What are you guys doing tomorrow?
SPEAKER_03:But we'll definitely have you on. It'd be a pleasure to be on and talk about it's my pleasure too. The other brands as well, RTS, Bosch Conferencing, Bosch PA.
SPEAKER_04:And we have a lot, I have a lot to pick on your brand for RTS, so it'll be uh I think it'll be a function.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, RTS by itself. I mean, we were having a training earlier today, and tomorrow and uh the day after. RTS by itself is we could do a podcast on it, like just that brand. It's so rich, so many users, so such a complete line of products, also by itself. So yeah.
SPEAKER_04:And that famous question, what are you doing about comms? Again, we'll keep that for another podcast. That's yeah. Thanks again, Anthony. Much appreciated, and uh yeah, we can't wait to uh to have you again.
SPEAKER_05:I'll be a love, I'll be a sunshine.
