Blaze Audio, manufacturer of professional solutions for commercial audio applications, announced the version 1.2 firmware update for the company’s PowerZone Connect Series of power amplifiers. The new update offers a combination of new functionality and feature enhancements. It also includes hassle-free integration of PowerZone Connect amplifiers with four of the most widely specified control and automation systems (Q-SYS, RTI, Control4, and Creston). According to Blaze Audio, the V1.2 update is a compelling upgrade for AV system integrators. The company is also a subsidiary of Pascal A/S of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Loudspeaker preset management is a substantial element of the new V1.2 update. For starters, users can now generate, import and export loudspeaker presets. This enables installers to instantly ‘tune’ the loudspeakers of major brands when connected to a Blaze PowerZone Connect amplifier.
During export, it is also possible to choose exactly which parameters (equalizer, crossover, delay etc.) should be included in the preset and which should remain protected. Further, there is an internal library for storing loudspeaker presets locally within the amplifier.
Equally notable, the new loudspeaker preset function contains all loudspeaker related settings such as equalizer, driver alignment, crossover etc.
EQ Enhancements
With the V1.2 update, there are several enhancements to system EQ settings for increased flexibility and compatibility with existing loudspeaker presets. This includes Butterworth 36dB/octave and 18dB/octave high pass and lowpass filters to the crossover section, along with Low shelf 6dB/octave and High shelf 6dB/ octave filter types to the EQ and loudspeaker EQ sections.
Low shelf 12dB/octave and High shelf 12dB/ octave filter types are also available on the EQ and loudspeaker EQ sections. This provides increased flexibility and compatibility with existing loudspeaker presets.
The V1.2 update also makes Low pass 6dB/octave and High pass 6dB/octave filter types a new addition to the EQ and loudspeaker EQ sections. says Blaze Audio. Additionally, it includes an all Pass (1st order) filter type to the EQ and loudspeaker EQ sections to complement the All Pass (2nd order) filter. This lends to increased flexibility with loudspeaker and room tuning.
To protect the connected loudspeakers from thermal overload, the new V1.2 update introduces improvements to the amplifier’s output limiter section by way of RMS limiters to complement the peak limiters. This RMS limiter is now adjustable in both 70V and 100V modes.
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The V1.2 update includes a switch to the loudspeaker EQ settings to show the combined loudspeaker EQ and crossover response. Further, each output now supports loading an FIR filter up to 512 taps (48kHz) in the loudspeaker presets. The output limiter section has also improved with a Clip limiter disable function. This is normally only used when designing subwoofer presets where the load is well known, and the designer adjusts the system to avoid overload. In addition to the Web socket API, the update features a Raw TCP sockets for systems supporting this protocol.
Additional Features
Besides the aforementioned V1.2 firmware updates, there are also several additional enhancements. These include:
- Supports WI-FI client mode
- The maximum Q of parametric, Notch, Lowpass, and high pass filters has changed from 10 to 30.
- The Driver alignment enable switch default has changed from enabled to disabled.
- Includes a Zone Compressor parameter hold time
- The Output limiter name has changed from ‘Limiter’ to ‘Peak limiter. (The function itself remains unchanged.)
- The (peak) Limiter maximum attack time has increased from 50ms to 100ms.
- The (peak) Limiter maximum release time has increased from 1000ms to 2000ms.
- Added a (peak) Limiter knee parameter
- Equalizer name changed from ‘Equalizer’ to ‘EQ’
Kevin Wilkin, Blaze Audio’s executive sales director for the Americas, comments on the V1.2 firmware update for the PowerZone Connect Series amplifiers. He notes, “This update brings an extraordinary assortment of enhancements to an amplifier line that was already rich with features. The extent of the loudspeaker management as well as the new EQ and Limiter capabilities is nothing short of exceptional. Further, this update includes custom-made drivers for use with Q-SYS, RTI, Control4, and Creston control and automation systems.”
Wilkin continues, “In addition to the documented improvements, there are also several other minor GUI changes and bug fixes. This update brings a dramatic upswing in overall functionality to a product group that already had a rich feature set. And it only takes roughly 2 minutes to install. I am confident that AV system integrators will find much to like with these new improvements to the PowerZone Connect Series.”
