Industry Event One-two Punch

The gears are always turning at Shively Acoustics International (SAI) and the lights – and sounds – are never out. Nevertheless, spring is when things really start moving each year in the wider audio industry as convention season hits its stride, something that’s always good for business. For Shively Acoustics, April saw a trip back to familiar ground in the Midwest for a pair of back-to-back events.

Impressive stuff! (Photo: SAI)

First stop, Chicagoland, for the Audio Expo North America – better known as AXPONA – in Schaumburg, Illinois, from April 10-12. The expo didn’t disappoint for SAI president Roger Shively, who put in the legwork to properly explore it all, “from the extraordinary to the otherworldly”, as he said. Meetings upon meetings upon meetings – we like that – but still plenty of time to cut the chatter and just listen: in particular, to GAIT’s innovative GlasXfi speakers built with glass domes and cones, to the “fine quality” of Swiss-made Piega speakers, and to the dual concentric field coil loudspeaker from Jones and Cerreta that was “impressive in many ways”, an awestruck Roger reported.

But really, we do love to talk, too, especially when it comes to continuing business and industry relationships. Among the “hours of meetings” on the docket, we made time in Schaumburg to strengthen SAI’s existing connection with trade organizations within the industry, among them ALTI and AXPONA itself, where we’d like to see more Automotive included in the future. Roger also met with MeierWerks in his capacity as advisory board member to discuss future design work. Looking to new ventures, things are cooking, as always: all we can say now about the latest is a new project with a high-end loudspeaker manufacturer.

Out on the exhibition floor — literally: SDV Zone (Photo: SAI)

As soon as things there died down, SAI hit the road to Motown. SAE International’s World Congress Experience, WCX, returned to Detroit’s Huntington Place from April 14-16. The good news from Roger: the show was bigger, better, and livelier than last year, with a “revitalized” exhibition floor.

Acoustic and audio system simulations played a larger role, as iteration and revision continue shifting from physical vehicle prototypes to faster, less costly virtual models. A “constant topic of discussion” was the Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) and the ultimate goal of managing a fully software-defined control and entertainment system. Particular highlights here were the technical papers “Acoustic Simulation for a Vehicle Audio System Across the Full Audible Frequency” and “Software-Designed Meets Software-Defined: Integrated Product Engineering for Holistic SDV Lifecycles”.

Meetings and talks abounded, as they always do for us in Detroit, this time with Pioneer, Stellantis, and Dassault Systemes, among others. And of course, there was a walkthrough of Huntington Place in of itself, as it will also be the location of the upcoming AES International Automotive Audio Conference this summer from July 29-31, for which Roger is returning as conference chair  – gee, have we mentioned this event in the blog yet? 😉

We are thrilled to announce that we have received 37 technical papers and 12 workshop proposals for the conference, some of which look like prime candidates for AES special issues. Things are shaping up for a great conference, so, if you still haven’t, register to attend now! Registration will remain open all the way through the show. See you there? Yes? Yes!

AES Automotive Audio has a NEW website:

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auto.aes.org

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AES Automotive Audio has a NEW website: 〰️ auto.aes.org 〰️

But before that, don’t miss us at another event from the Audio Engineering Society, the AES Europe Convention on Intelligent Audio one month away in Copenhagen from May 28-30.

But even sooner than that. . .

What a time to be Live

After a brief hiatus in March, the APDA Webinar series is back for a Bluetooth double feature at the turn of April and May. First, open webinar #16 went live only yesterday: “Bluetooth LE Audio, Auracast, and Product Development Strategies” with Josh Toole, CEO and Principal Engineer at global engineering services firm and embedded wireless connectivity specialist Cloud2GND — watch it now while it’s still hot!

If that leaves you wanting more, you’ll not have to wait long, as the Audio Product Development Alliance is continuing straight away next week on May 5, with APDA Webinar #17: “Bluetooth Wireless Evolution and Auracast Roadmap” with Henry Wong, Director of Market Development at Bluetooth SIG. This one is a can’t-miss, so join us next Tuesday at 12:00 pm EST and learn all about the potential applications of Bluetooth LE Audio and Auracast for a variety of audio products. Catch those and all past APDA Webinars on YouTube @AudioProductDevAlliance.

It’s (a)LIVE!!!! ■

Shively Acoustics International — Modern Audio Solutions, Worldwide