Martin Audio has released Display 3, its 3D audio prediction and optimisation software, following an extensive beta programme.
According to Martin Audio, Display 3 runs prediction and optimisation processing substantially faster than previous versions, letting system designers iterate across complex venue models while maintaining accuracy the company says is verified to within ±1dB of real-world performance.
For Wavefront Precision line array systems, the software combines mechanical angle optimisation with DSP filtering to configure arrays automatically against user-defined SPL and frequency response targets. Martin Audio says this now runs at higher speed, so users can design, optimise and redesign to compare configurations for a given venue or space.
Voicing consistency across the Wavefront Precision series has been enhanced to maintain a uniform tonal signature regardless of a system’s configuration, scale or optimisation settings, while the handling of natural sound rejection behind and below the array has been improved. The company’s Hard Avoid feature can extend this rejection by up to 30dB, or apply the same control elsewhere in a venue, such as a hard back wall, a sensitive boundary or any zone where sound levels need to be reduced.
Display 3 introduces a “Don’t Care” designation, which lets users mark areas of a model where coverage and SPL targets do not apply, so the optimisation engine leaves those areas out of the DSP calculation and works only on the areas that matter. Users can also create and store multiple optimisation snapshots, allowing a single model to hold separate settings for different audience or environmental conditions.
Beyond optimisation, the software continues to offer full system prediction across the wider Martin Audio portfolio, with SketchUp integration for venue modelling. Configurations generated in Display 3 upload directly to iKON amplifiers via VU-NET, which has itself been upgraded, and the dedicated subwoofer array design tool is retained, gaining additional configuration options while following the existing workflow.
VU-NET 2.3.5 targets reliability in large-scale deployments, adding two tools for verifying a system in the field before doors open. LED Mode illuminates Wavefront Precision cabinet LEDs in sequence or individually to confirm the physical order of an array at a glance, while Mute Mode steps through each cabinet in turn to verify audio routing.
Engineers can also save a diagnostic file directly from any iKON amplifier on the network, capturing the unit’s stored internal state across fault and protection counters, configuration and performance history, which Martin Audio says shortens the time spent tracing a fault. The company adds that performance has improved across ganging, metering, snapshot recall and large project trees.
“The voicing gains in DISPLAY 3, alongside the speed improvements and the enhanced optimisation tools, will keep Wavefront Precision at the front of the line array market for years to come, across both live sound and permanent installation, and the VU-NET release gives users smooth, reliable control of those systems,” says Dom Harter, managing director at Martin Audio.
Display 3 is available now as a free download for Mac and PC.
Image: Martin Audio
