AKG Features the IVM-1 In-Ear Monitoring System at NAMM

July 10, 1998 -- Employing a groundbreaking proprietary technology that literally redefines in-ear monitoring, the IVM-1 In-Ear Monitoring System from AKG Acoustics will be on display at the 1998 Summer NAMM Convention in Nashville. The most advanced in-ear monitoring system available anywhere and the first ever offered by the world's leader in transducer technology, the AKG IVM-1 is the most advanced application to date of AKG's patented IVA(TM) Individual Virtual Acoustics technology, a binaural processing system which uses digital signal processing in a way similar to that which humans naturally hear with two ears.

Regardless of where or how the system is used, IVA technology allows the user to add customized, individual earcurve parameters to the standard earcurves in the IVM-1. Moreover, use of the IVM-1 allows both monitor engineers and performers to precisely control what is being heard. No other in-ear monitoring system allows for such a high degree of customization. With the new AKG IVM-1, on-stage performers hear a truly natural representation of the on-stage mix.

The AKG IVM-1 offers more features than other in-ear monitoring systems, including four groups of 16-channel wireless operation, switchable compansion on both transmission and reception, lockable controls on the base unit to prevent tampering, an LCD readout with dual-function LCD monitoring that monitors both input signal and the operation of the built-in limiting and compression functions, and a built-in mute safety function that automatically engages when sound levels hit between 132 and 133 dB and restores operation, also automatically, when levels drop below 130 dB, ensuring hearing protection for the user.

Developed and patented by AKG engineers in Vienna, Austria, the IVA binaural processing system was first applied several years ago with AKG's highly successful K1000 headphones. In an attempt to give headphone users the most realistic acoustical listening experience possible, AKG's research tested over 200 individuals in binaural listening experiments. Borne from that research was IVA, an algorithmic process contained in a two-rack-space processor unit which stored 8 individual ambient sound programs that would process an audio signal in the closed environment of headphones and give the listener the equivalent of an openair listening experience. For instance, when one channel in the headphones was turned off, ambient signal from that channel was still available to simulate an acoustical experience.

The AKG IVM-1 in-ear monitoring system applies this same technology, adding significant refinements. Now reduced in size to a mere half-rack space, the IVM-1's base system provides eight distinct ambient environment curve programs and eight individual EQ curves that can be used to further personalize individual monitor mixes.

Additional features of the AKG IVM-1 include a front-panel headphone output (with individual level control) through which the IVA function can be switched off, allowing monitor mixers to take an unprocessed signal into their own mix via a switcher, as well as four menu function select buttons on the front panel adjacent to the clearly readable LCD screen. The AKG IVM-1 utilizes FM broad-band operation from a single whip antenna and the small body pack uses three "AA" batteries that provide up to eight hours of endurance.

"Listening through traditional in-ear monitors causes all the sound sources become localized within the confines of the artist's head, known in psycho-acoustics as inhead localization." explained Tom Stotler, U.S. Market Development Manager for AKG Acoustics. "As a result, an artist can feel as if the band is playing in the middle of his or her skull. With the IVM-1, the live sound and touring markets now have an in-ear monitoring system that provides a fuller, more dimensional mix than either speaker-based monitoring systems or conventional in-ear systems and allows the artist to retain his natural sonic perspective."

See the AKG website at http://www.akg-acoustics.com.