Named for John and Helen Meyer's granddaughter, Elodie (sister of Milo), M'elodie was rolled out in four events staged in Hannover and Wiesbaden attended by owners and engineers from major rental and installation companies from all over Germany. The demonstrations, the first public showings of M'elodie anywhere in the world, were organized by Jim Sides, managing director of Meyer Sound's German office, as part of the company's recent initiative to bring more resources and corporate culture from the home office in Berkeley, Calif., to the burgeoning German professional audio market.
In addition to a presentation by Sides, the events featured live music from Menino, a Latin band from Koblenz, Germany, and a special presentation from legendary FOH engineer and Meyer Sound tour liaison manager Buford Jones.
"It was the best loudspeaker demonstration that I have ever seen," raved Stephan Büngeler, technical manager of Westfalen Sound, a large German company specializing in corporate AV for the European community. "For me, it encapsulated all the elements that I use every day in my work: pre-recorded audio playback material, video with audio support, talking heads, lighting working with sound, and a live band. It was fantastic! This demo announces to everyone that Meyer Sound is now a major force in the German and European markets. M'elodie is a marvelous loudspeaker that will come to dominate in its size/performance class. What a demo, what a company! We just bought 48 M'elodies!"
Sides notes that reactions like Büngeler's indicate that sales of M'elodie will well exceed his expectations. "It's clear that M'elodie is exactly what the market is looking for," he says, "and attendees of these demos immediately understood how it could work for them. M'elodie is an ideal size for the venues in Germany, is easy to transport and use for corporate events, and can handle speech and music equally well. The comments I got at the demos amounted to saying that we could hardly have built a product that better meets the needs of the German market."
(Lee Baldock)
