Tech Topic, team member of the month, a really cool contest, and more in this month's Danley Sound Labs Newsletter.  Come on in and check it out for yourself.

This month’s spotlight is on Scott Floyd of High Road Sales.  Scott covers GA, AL, MS, TN, NC, and SC for Danley Sound Labs.

"In the short amount of time since Scott has taken over the line, he has proven to be a very hardworking, determined person, who looks forward to loading up his SUV with gear and hitting the road every week to share the Danley experience” says JP Parker, Director of Sales at Danley.  Scott proactively talks with customers about how they can increase their business by identifying an end-user focus and teaming up with them to get in the door, conduct effective demonstrations and help close the sale. 

Scott mentioned that throughout his career he has represented most of the top-selling, widely recognized speaker brands.  But he has never seen his customers or end-users get as excited and amazed as when he does a Danley demo for them. “It’s hot outside here in the South and the speakers can be heavy, but I know demonstrating the products is the best way to show people why I have a better mousetrap to offer.  And when I do a demo, the reseller almost always closes the deal with their customer and invites me back again and again."

The Greater Hall County chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) joyfully proclaims, "Our vision is to see the Greater Hall County area impacted for Jesus Christ through the influence of athletes and coaches. We serve our local community by equipping, empowering and encouraging people to make a difference for Christ."  One of the ways FCA works toward this vision is by hosting summer camps for athletes and coaches.  According to area FCA director, Jason Lester, "It is an incredible thing for a coach to be able to take his team to an FCA Team Football Camp. I’ve never had a team go that didn’t return changed. There is just something about these young men having the opportunity to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ in a non-threating setting such as football camp."

Unfortunately, the three-day camp is sometimes out of reach for some athletes and coaches due to the cost.  When Danley Sound Labs' owner, Mike Hedden, heard about a local high school that was struggling to participate in camp due to a lack of finances, he decided to help.  Danley Sound Labs sponsored the camp for the entire football team.  Approximately 75 players and coaches were able to attend the camp due to Danley generously giving back to the community.  Lives were changed during the camp as coaches and players interacted with each other and FCA staff.  The days were filled with drills, team-building activities, Bible studies and general recreation.  "We are extremely blessed when community businesses, like Danley Sound Labs, partner with FCA to make camp possible for those who otherwise would not be able to attend," said Lester.
 

As we discussed last month, all of the DNA series products can be monitored and controlled using a computer running the PodWare software. The PodWare software allows the user to monitor and control the DSP functions in the amplifier or DSP processor. Today we are going to explore how the DNA 5K4c amplifier and DNA Pro devices (DNA 10K4 Pro, DNA 20K4 Pro, and DNA SC48) connect to a computer.
 
The DNA 5K4c amplifier connects directly to a computer using a standard USB cable. The drivers for the USB connection must be installed on the computer before the amplifier is connected to it. The drivers for the USB connection are included in the PodWare download package on the Danley Sound Labs website. 
 
It is possible to link several DNA 5K4c amplifiers together using the two BvNet ports located on the back of each amplifier. This will allow all the linked amplifiers to show up in PodWare at the same time and allow the operator to monitor and control many amplifiers with a single connection.
 
There are accessories available that allow a stack of amplifiers linked with BvNet to be monitored from an Ethernet network instead of requiring the computer to be plugged directly into an amplifier via USB. These accessories are:

-DNA-BE – Bridge to connect BvNet to Ethernet

-DNA-BD – Bridge to connect BvNet to Ethernet plus provides two analog outputs from Dante network

-DNA-BPS – Power supply for DNA-BE and/or DNA-BD, features two outputs to supply up to two devices

-DNA-BRK – Rack mount kit to support three devices, typically one DNA-BPS and two DNA-BE or DNA-BD

Please contact your dealer for pricing.
 
The DNA Pro series products (DNA 10K4 Pro, DNA 20K4 Pro, and DNA SC48) all connect directly to an Ethernet network via the network jack located on the back panel beside the power connection. This makes it easy to connect many devices with the use of a simple network switch. The devices all automatically negotiate an IP address with either your networked DHCP server, or they will automatically assign themselves an IP address if a DHCP server is not available. There is a range of static IP addresses that are also available if it is preferred to have the IP address for a device set to a specific value. The IP address for these units can be set and viewed from the front panel.
 
The topic for next month will be Dante. Dante audio via Ethernet is available on the DNA 10K4 Pro, DNA 20K4 Pro, and the DNA SC48.
 
The current version of PodWare is 6.22.10. This version is available for download from our website: http://www.danleysoundlabs.com/dna-podware/

The current version of firmware for the DNA 10K4 Pro and DNA 20K4 Pro amplifiers is 1.218.
The current version of firmware for the DNA SC48 is 1.362.
The firmware is included in the PodWare download zip file for PodWare 6.22.10. Even if you have already downloaded PodWare previously, you may want to download it again because this firmware update was just released on July 22, 2016.

Frequency Response part 1
Prof. Doug Jones
Recently I was asked a very interesting question.  Someone who has a long career in a pro audio sales business asked me what a frequency response graph meant.  That took a certain amount of guts!  It is similar, I suppose, to a car salesman who is not sure what MPG stands for.  There may in-fact be some of those out there, but it would be difficult for them to ask anyone out of sheer embarrassment!   So, as I reflected on this gutsy question, it occurred to me that maybe there are more folks out there who need help understanding the basics, but are too intimidated to ask.  Never fear!  The Danley tech topic is here to both protect your anonymity and answer your unspoken questions!  In the next few installations I’ll be addressing some of the most common specs and ‘splainin what they mean.

What makes audio so darned difficult is the enormous bandwidth we have to deal with.  We have to deal with 20Hz to 20 kHz, and treat every frequency between those limits exactly the same.  That is no mean feat, and every manufacturer of audio gear falls short.  This is especially true of loudspeakers.  So, the frequency response graph is a way to express how accurately a device reproduces the full range of frequencies.

When you measure something, you compare a known to an unknown, right?  If I take a tape measure and measure my table, I am comparing the unknown dimension of the table to the known, trusted, calibrated marks on the tape measure.  If I stretch the tape across the width of the table and the 32-inch mark on the tape lines up with the edge of the table, I say the table is 32 inches wide.

When we measure the frequency response of something, we are also comparing two things; what comes out of the device under test (the DUT) to what goes into it.  It is assumed that what goes in is known, trusted and calibrated.  So imagine a testing device that puts every frequency between 20 Hz and 20KHz into a device at exactly 1 volt.  So 20 Hz is set to 1 volt, 21 Hz is set to 1 volt, etc. all the way to 20 kHz.  Let's imagine we have a DUT that is just a piece of wire.  We feed this test signal into our wire. If we measure what comes out of our wire, we would measure 1 volt at 20 Hz, 1 volt at 21 Hz etc.  all the way to 20 kHz.   If we graph the set of numbers that come  out of the wire, where the graph is volts on the X axis, and frequency on the y axis it would look like this.  It is a straight line.  This is where we get the term “ flat” from, as in “ our speakers have flat frequency response”.   Well, I have run out of space, so next time we will pick up here and continue to examine the concept of frequency response.

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How would you like to win a signed pair of Tom Danley Signature Series book shelf speakers?  If you are an authorized Danley Sound Labs re-seller, you are eligible.  Simply create a video of an end user you helped with a Danley Sound Labs system; sharing why they are satisfied with their Danley product. The most creative, interesting video that shows sincere appreciation for Danley Sound Labs products will be chosen as the winner.  The Danley re-seller responsible will receive the speakers built and signed by Tom himself! When you are ready to upload your video, simply email jeff@danleysoundlabs.com and include your name, company name and preferred email address.  You will then receive an invitation to our company Dropbox where you can upload you video into a folder created for your company.