Outline adds that currently, thanks to the evolution of a market in which loudspeakers are increasingly sturdy and efficient, "there is no doubt that almost all PAs effectively sound loud". This, says Outline, has led to exaggerated use of expressions such as 'incredible output power' by audio manufacturers - "expressions that in many cases are backed up by facts".
The company contends, however, that GTO's particular ability is to ensure intelligible output over long distances, "higher than any competitor in the market's large-format PA sector", an advantage it ascribes to Outline's D.P.R.W.G. waveguide.
However, the GTO family continues to grow. At PLASA 2011 the Italian company will unveil its GTO-DF (Down-fill). This element is mechanically compatible with GTO and conceived and designed with a sole aim: providing audio coverage for the first rows of the audience in every type of event at which GTO systems are used.
From the design point of view, the GTO-DF is eye-catching, with its aperture (120°) gradually flaring out downwards. As opposed to the GTO, which has ten loudspeakers, this element uses six: four 8-inch mid-woofers and two 3-inch compression drivers.
Outline is also active on the software front. At PLASA 2011, Outline will present an Apple iPad app - written entirely in-house - which provides control over Outline's self-powered loudspeaker enclosures. (http://itunes.apple.com/uk/app/mini-com-p-a-s-s-linearray/id435900890?mt=8).
Following in-depth research carried out in collaboration with the University of Brescia, Outline believes that "man/loudspeaker enclosure interaction can be revolutionized with software interfaces on tablet computers...therefore, no more hardware interfaces with displays, pots and buttons, but a channel to communicate with the dynamic outside world of IT. This app is not intended to be a 'marketing accessory', but an enjoyable, efficient and precise tool for the rapid easy control of Outline's self-powered systems. In short, the systems' all-round remote controller."
The app is a native iOS APP, not a Web link, and gives all-round control of, for example, the Mini-COM.P.A.S.S. systems - including the complex group management that a line-array with adjustable horizontal dispersion implies - and the brand-new iSM series of stage monitors.
PLASA 2011 1-G35
