Radial Engineering Ltd. has had 3 of its products nominated in the upcoming 31st Annual NAMM Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards. The JDX 48 Reactor, Space Heater and Space Heater 500 are contenders for 3 different awards that fall under the category of Outstanding Technical Achievement. Hafler, a division of Radial Engineering Ltd., has a nominee as well in the HA75 'Tube Head' headphone amplifier.
Radial Products Nominated for NAMM Tec"The team at Radial is always excited when any of our products are nominated but this year, with three making the cut, it feels like a win already,” said Peter Janis, president of Radial. “Our JDX 48 is being recognized for improvements including phantom power - which is easier for world-wide touring and for its increased power handling. It's great to see the Space Heater get the nod as that product had us back to R&D several times to get it just right, it's a unique product. The Space Heater 500 was a natural evolution of the original Space Heater with 500 series increasing in interest and demand due to its compact, economical attributes."
The JDX 48 Reactor Guitar Amp Direct Box is nominated in the Ancillary Equipment category. The JDX 48 is a guitar amp direct box that features a reactive load and active filtering to create a realistic tone. Designed to replace a microphone, it eliminates bleed and delivers a more consistent sound in the PA and in-ear monitors. Powered by standard 48 volt phantom, it now handles up to 300 watts.
The Space Heater Tube Summing Overdrive is nominated under the Small Format Console Technology (Studio, Broadcast, Sound Reinforcement) category. The Space Heater Tube overdrive with summing mixer is designed as a character box and packs eight tube channels into a compact, single 19" space with drive and output controls for each channel. A 3-position HEAT switch enables the user to choose between 35, 70 or 140 volts to add grit, crunch or over-the-top distortion.
Proudly made in North America, the Hafler HA75 has been meticulously designed to produce Hafler's legendary sound quality with sufficient gain to power any type of headphone. The design begins with a heavy steel casing to shield the low level signals from external magnetic fields and RF contamination. A black anodized aluminum front panel adds esthetic appeal. A choice of balanced nickel-silver XLRs and unbalanced gold-plated RCA inputs are employed that will not tarnish over time. Inside, a class-A head-amp combines with a 12AX7 tube stage to power the headphones. This employs a unique non-radiating charge pump that applies 140 volts to the tube to maximize headroom and delivers the character and warmth that so many listeners prefer over solid state counterparts. The output is further optimized to handle all types of headphone impedances from 8 ohms to 400 ohms. The HA75 delivers the warmth and character upon which Hafler has based its pride and legacy.
HA75 by Hafler"Since acquiring the Hafler brand in 2014, we've been developing a new generation of 'vintage inspired' products to introduce to the market and it's a special honor to have one of the first of these products up for this prestigious award,” said Janis. “The HA75 comes out at just the right time with just about everyone employing headphones to work on their mix. It's a 12AX7 tube headphone amplifier with natural warmth and pleasing second order harmonics for hours of use without fatigue. It's ideal for late night mixing. It also features a unique focus control that replicates listening to loudspeakers in a room."
The Tec Awards were created celebrate the best in professional audio and sound production. Winners will be announced on the evening of the awards, Saturday, January 23, 2016. Online voting takes place through December 2015.
