DISPLAY 3 speeds up prediction and optimisation of Martin Audio systems

Martin Audio has announced the commercial release of DISPLAY 3, its next-generation 3D audio prediction and optimisation software, following an extensive beta testing programme.

Designed for speed and accuracy, DISPLAY 3 delivers significantly faster prediction and optimisation processing than previous versions, allowing system designers to iterate quickly on complex venue models without compromising calculation accuracy, verified to within ±1 dB of real-world performance.

For Wavefront Precision line array systems, DISPLAY 3 combines mechanical splay angle optimisation with advanced DSP filtering to automatically configure arrays according to user-defined SPL and frequency response targets. All of this now happens at high speed, so users can easily design, optimise, redesign and re-optimise to compare different options and ensure maximum performance in any given venue or space.

Improved sonic consistency across the Wavefront Precision series maintains a uniform tonal signature throughout the system, regardless of its configuration, scale or optimisation settings. The handling of natural sound rejection behind and below the array has also been improved. Martin Audio’s Hard Avoid® function can extend this effect further, by up to 30 dB, or apply the same control more strategically to other areas of the venue, such as a highly reflective rear wall, a sensitive boundary or any area where sound levels need to be actively reduced.

DISPLAY 3 also introduces a new Don't Care designation, which lets users mark areas of a model where coverage and SPL targets do not apply. The optimisation engine excludes those zones from the DSP calculation and works only on the relevant areas. Users can also create and store multiple optimisation snapshots, so a single model can hold separate configurations for different audience or environmental conditions.

Beyond optimisation, DISPLAY 3 continues to offer full system prediction for Martin Audio’s extensive catalogue, with direct SketchUp integration for venue modelling. Configurations generated in the software load directly into iKON amplifiers via VU-NET™, which has also recently been updated. The dedicated subwoofer array design tool is retained too, with new configuration options while keeping the existing workflow.

VU-NET™ 2.3.5 focuses on improving reliability in large-scale deployments and adds two tools for verifying a system on site before doors open. LED Mode lights the LEDs on Wavefront Precision enclosures sequentially or individually, so the physical order of an array can be checked at a glance, while Mute Mode mutes each enclosure 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 status, including fault and protection counters, configuration and performance history, which reduces the time needed to locate a fault. Performance is also significantly improved in functions such as control grouping, level metering, snapshot recall and the handling of large project trees.

The improvements in sonic consistency in DISPLAY 3, together with the increase in speed and the new optimisation tools, will keep Wavefront Precision at the forefront of the line array market for years to come, in both live sound and permanent installations. In addition, the new version of VU-NET™ gives users smooth and reliable control of these systems, says Dom Harter, Managing Director.