NEWS

Looking To The Future Of Lyngdorf Audio With CEO Thomas Birkelund

October 18, 2019

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE WITH CEO THOMAS BIRKELUND 

We are constantly investing in research and development to ensure we are at the forefront of cutting-edge technology and developing products which further improve ease of use for our clients.”

Expectations for the future, the launch of MP-60, and news about products in pipeline – these are some of the topics we talked about with CEO, SL Audio A/S, Thomas Birkelund. 

 

HOW HAS THE LAST YEAR BEEN FOR SL AUDIO?

SL Audio started a new financial year in May 2019. The previous year was very successful for us. Together with our partners, we managed to grow the turnover by more than 20%. We see a growing interest from our partners in using our brands in projects. Our reputation for making reliable and easy-to-install products is well known with our partners and they spread the word, so we grow in a very healthy way.

 

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FOR THE FUTURE?

It’s hard to believe that we’ll be looking at our 15-year anniversary in 2020. As our company has grown in the market, so has the trust in our products and in our partners. At our headquarters in Denmark, we are constantly investing in research and development to ensure we are at the forefront of cutting-edge technology and developing products which further improve ease of use for our clients. Globally, we plan to continue to grow our business with our valued partners as we also expand our markets worldwide. We’ve recently employed a new Sales Director for the Middle East and African markets. Across the ocean in the Americas, we are looking south towards Latin America. With our new partner International AV Sales, we’re proud to share that Brazil is now open for business. AV Group in Brazil will be representing both Lyngdorf Audio and Steinway Lyngdorf as our distributor. We’ll be sharing updates later this year as they open new showroom centers in both Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

 

THE NEW MP-60 PROCESSOR LAUNCHED JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO.  WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM THIS NEW PRODUCT?

When we launched the MP-50, it was an instant success, and we actually sold out of our first three months’ inventory within weeks. We quickly found that installers loved the simplicity of the user interface, the incredible effect of our room correction system, RoomPerfect™, and the fact that the processor was incredibly reliable. With the announcement of the MP-60 last month, we’re pleased to see that pre-orders are already coming in quickly. The new processor continues to build on the initial success of the MP-50 processor with new audio decoding DSP, allowing us to increase the native channel count from 12 to 16. A newly developed HDMI board supports video formats with bandwidths up to 18Gbps. The new HDMI board also will support the HDMI 2.1 feature: enhanced Audio return channel (eARC). The MP-60 is made even more flexible than the MP-50 with three different optional DCI-compliant upgrade boards. With the option of both AES3 digital input, AES3 digital output, and AES67 audio network interface, the MP-60 is the perfect solution for integration with digital cinema servers and other third-party products in DCI-compliant cinema installations. 

 

ANY NEW PRODUCTS IN THE PIPELINE?

We are constantly working on several products at once, so our R&D department is always busy! We’ll be making more product announcements later this year, but at this time, we’re only talking about the new MXA-8400, which we first announced last year at ISE. This new 8-channel amplifier is still being finalized and will incorporate a new amplifier output stage with unrivaled performance. The in-house developed 3.2 kilowatt power supply will feature Universal mains, Interleaved dual channel PFC (Power factor correction), and a very high “Power factor” – 0.98. This makes the amplifier draw sinus-shaped mains current, which reduces mains peak currents and helps reduce the stress on the mains installations in your house or yacht. The MXA-8400 fills a gap in our product line and a need in the marketplace. We’re excited to be fulfilling a long-time partner request for a multi-channel amplifier to pair with our award-winning surround processors.