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Neumann has developed an automatic room correction that is specially designed for the manufacturer’s monitors. The algorithm for MA 1 Neumann microphone was developed in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS).
Neumann wants their monitors to deliver an even more reliable result when mixing. To ensure that there is a certain consistency in the most varied of listening situations, the new MA 1 Neumann mic is to provide automatic room correction. And it doesn’t matter whether the speakers are in the bedroom or in the high-end studio.
For this purpose, the manufacturer has teamed up with Fraunhofer IIS and worked on a combination of hardware and software. The hardware component is an individually calibrated measurement microphone that analyzes the acoustic environment in just a few steps.
The software developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, on the other hand, takes care of the adjusted amplitude and phase correction in the next step. This should result in precise monitoring.
Compared to many other solutions, however, no plug-in is required for room correction. Instead, it does this on the speakers themselves. This doesn’t only work on the DSP-supported KH 80 DSP. Anyone who owns analog speakers from the manufacturer’s KH series can access a trick – provided the KH 750 DSP subwoofer is in use. That is because it can carry out the necessary calculations and then pass them on to the connected monitors. And the bass itself is of course also optimized for the room. That’s pretty well thought out!
The connection to the loudspeakers is via Ethernet, after the calibration, it is no longer required. The complete requirements look like this: A pair of KH DSP loudspeakers or the KH 750 DSP Sub in combination with a pair of analog KH monitors. The MA 1 measuring Neumann microphone is also required.
An audio interface with symmetrical analog input, 48 V phantom power, and two symmetrical analog outputs must be connected to the computer (Windows 10 or macOS 10.13 to 10.15). A digital AES3 output is required for the connection to the KH 750 DSP. You also need a network switch. The Neumann Automatic Monitor Alignment Software must be installed as additional software, Windows computers must have ASIO drivers installed.
The mentioned monitors of the manufacturer are of course all available from Bhphotovideo and Amazon websites. If you find this system interesting and don’t want to use a subwoofer, currently only a pair of the KH 80 DSP is possible.
The advantage of this system is definitely clear: You don’t have to start a plug-in to use the room correction and you don’t have to think about deactivating it again when rendering. It is only necessary to measure it once, after which you will benefit from the optimized sound.
Neumann MA 1 price and availability
Neumann MA 1 Monitor Alignment Microphone and Calibration System is now available to buy on Amazon.com and Bhphotovideo.com online stores. The price is $249.95, various bundles with the matching monitors will also be available.
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