ANAHEIM, CA - How many times have you reached for a cable only to find it has the wrong XLR connector on the other end? In direct response to high professional and consumer demand, Neutrik, designer and manufacturer of the XX series XLR cable connector, introduces the world’s first unisex 3-pin XLR connector, convertCON®, at Winter NAMM 2009 (Booth 6428, Hall A).

convertCON (NC3FM-C) is a new 3-pin male and female cable connector in a single housing. convertCON is also available with black chrome housing and gold contacts (NC3FM-C-B). By simply sliding the housing back and forth, convertCON is transformed from a male to female connector. This new male/female cable end XLR allows for use of one connector, as it can mate with either a male or female 3-pin XLR. more

~ Innovative Custom-Printed Artistic Acoustic Panels Make Industry Debut ~

ANAHEIM, CA – Auralex Acoustics, the industry leader in innovative sound control solutions, is breaking new ground by launching a gallery of custom-printed acoustical panels at this year’s Winter NAMM show (Booth 6794, Hall A). Auralex Acoustics is exclusively the first to market SonicPrint, its custom-printed, artistic ProPanels featuring “The Art of Sound” theme which blends unlimited design and style options for any room with the company’s acoustically proven technology of its ProPanel product line.

SonicPrint custom-printed, artistic ProPanels are fabric-covered acoustic absorptive panels designed as artwork. For the home theater enthusiast, this exclusive offering opens the door to numerous home theater décor options, as the acoustical panels are camouflaged under the design of the customer’s choice. Users are no longer limited to single color fabric choices, and can now outfit any space with paintings and drawings of any kind. SonicPrint is also available for Auralex’s ELiTE Custom Fabric System (CFS), a full-room treatment approach that blends an engineered acoustical environment with an elegant finished appearance. more

Native Instruments has partnered with SAE Institute in offering its products to SAE students; committed to including KOMPLETE 5 as part of the SAE Production Package, a bundle given to all SAE Diploma students that includes an Apple laptop, audio interface, and multiple audio software titles.

Since the introduction of the SAE Institute Apple Computer partnership, which ensured a laptop for every entering Diploma student in the US, SAE Institute has worked with its industry partners around the globe to augment and update the Production Package by including coveted industry standard hardware and software. The total bundle has allowed SAE students to work on their own systems while studying and after graduation. In 2009, Native Instruments joins SAE by including its KOMPLETE 5 bundle as part of the package given to students. more

Burbank, CA … Housed at the famous Capitol Records building in Los Angeles, Capitol Studios is home to great recordings from iconic artists such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Nat King Cole, along with leading contemporary artists including Diana Krall and Green Day. Capitol is also the scoring facility for hit TV shows such as “Lost” and “American Idol” as well as hosting the pre-records for the annual Academy Awards ceremonies. Capitol is the crème de la crème of recording studios, and this full service facility handles everything from tracking, scoring, and stereo/surround sound mixing. The engineers and others who work here are the best in the business and they demand the world’s finest equipment. So it comes as no surprise that Royer Labs microphones are housed here—and their expansive mic locker just got bigger with the addition of four new Royer R-122V Vacuum Tube Ribbon microphones. more

“The new mic is flawless,” says Lectrosonics President Larry Fisher.

Pictured is the new Sanken COS-11D lavalier microphone.

Sanken, manufacturer of the industrywide standard in ultra-miniature lavalier microphones, has announced the new COS-11D, the latest version in the popular COS-11 lavalier series. The new design incorporates exclusive design advances that deal with digital and digital/analog hybrid wireless transmission.

Jim Pace, President of Sanken distributor plus24, remarked, “Working with the latest in wireless technologies, Sanken and Lectrosonics have partnered to provide a unique solution for our users. Sanken Microphones is excited to announce this breakthrough product.”

The new COS-11D has been approved by Lectrosonics and President Larry Fisher remarked, “We tested the new version of the COS-11D with our UM700 digital modulation transmitter and found that we could produce no digital noise, such as a whine, or even an increase in the mic noise floor. I think the RF bypassing in the new version is a great improvement and should work perfectly and quietly with the Lectrosonics’ digital transmitters. The new mic is flawless.”

In today’s wireless transmission systems the microphone must remain unaffected by the new forms of transmitter signals. While the benefits of these new systems are obvious, they present new challenges in the area of emission protection. Sanken Microphones has designed the COS-11D specifically to reduce the instances where interference is an issue.

The new COS-11D version is available in limited quantities. The unit will be offered in the PT (pig tail) version with standard sensitivity and the Red Mark model with reduced sensitivity. To create the COS-11D, Sanken has combined extensive R&D with the world’s most advanced precision craftsmanship for the ultimate in sensitivity and natural sound.

For info about Sanken, visit distributor plus24: http://www.plus24.net

or phone 323.845.1171

To learn more about Lectrosonics and its innovative range of wireless audio transmission systems, visit http://www.lectrosonics.com or phone 800.821.1121