Author Archives: David Bergmann

PSI Audio announces the availability of the active bass trap AVAA C214 in white finish. The innovative Active Velocity Acoustic Absorber technology eliminates room modes from any room, making audio playback clearer, more transparent and more precise. With the AVAA C214, the technology has already found a more compact iteration, easy to integrate into any room. The elegant new white finish makes this integration even easier from a visual perspective, allowing the AVAA C214 to perfectly complement the interior design – while it makes the room modes vanish.

Eliminating room modes in style

The AVAA principle, first realized in the all-analogue AVAA C20, is the result of years of research by PSI Audio, and it keeps perplexing everyone who witnesses it. Essentially, the AVAA acts like a hole in the wall, eliminating room modes between 15 and 160 Hz without requiring calibration or tuning to specific frequencies. These room modes can seriously compromise the listening environment – the active bass trap AVAA makes short work of them and acoustically cleans up the room significantly. It is up to 45 times more efficient than classic porous absorbers of the same size, and because it does not work with antisound, it works for the entire room instead of just a small sweet spot. Plus, if the room changes, for example due to a move of house, the mobile AVAA unit can just be taken to the new room and resume its work there.

Acoustic black hole, but white: AVAA C214

Introduced at HIGH END in Munich this year, the PSI Audio AVAA C214 in white is now available for purchase. It operates on the same principle as the C20, but realizes it with a DSP, which allows for more flexibility, even more efficiency and a smaller footprint. The aluminium housing of the C214 is cylinder-shaped and more compact than the C20, making it easier to install in different places apart from room corners. Optional mounting brackets can bring the device to pretty much any place in the room, wherever it makes the most sense in both function and room design. Now available an elegant black or a beautiful white finish, the PSI Audio AVAA C214 complements any room’s interior design. 

See PSI Audio at upcoming shows around the world

PSI Audio will be present at a number of shows worldwide this autumn. Visitors are cordially invited to find PSI Audio at

• UK Audio Show: 7th – 8th October (Staverton Park Hotel, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom)
• AES New York: 8th – 10th October (Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York City, USA)
• beatcon: 11th – 12th October (MOTORWERK, Berlin, Germany)

World-renowned music production facility Flux Studios recently upgraded their big tracking studio with PSI Audio A25-M three-way monitor speakers. The studio complex consists of a total of eight studios, each with their own live rooms or booths, and each tailored to specific applications. The Dangerous Room, Flux Studios’ main tracking studio, now features the A25-M as main monitors soffit-mounted in the walls. Studio manager and music producer Daniel Sanint states: “Once we heard them, we fell in love with them.”

One room per genre: Flux Studios

The studio complex Flux Studios has been home to popular artists of all genres, from Jennifer Lopez to Jon Batiste to Wu Tang Clan to Alan Cumming. This versatility of clients is part of the studios’ very design. There are eight studios with names such as the Dangerous Room, the Dungeon Room, the Inspiration Room, the Fabulous Room, the last of which is mainly used by studio founder Fab Dupont. Four of these studios are managed by producers, while the others are available for hire – and each room has its own personality and application. “We try to tailor all rooms for different needs,” explains Sanint. “The Dangerous Room is our main tracking room, the Dungeon Room is more tailored to hip-hop, the Transporter Room is our writing Mecca.” Every room has its own setup, with different monitoring for different tastes.

PSI Audio A25-M at the Dangerous Room

In the big tracking studio, the Dangerous Room, Flux Studios recently installed a pair of PSI Audio A25-M as mains in the soffit mounts. “We were struggling to find a modern solution and tried a lot of different speakers – active, passive, everything,” Sanint describes the selection process. As the studio already had PSI Audio A21-M and the active bass trap AVAA C20 in use, they decided to give the biggest model from the Swiss-made range a try. “We listened to the A25-M in the Fabulous Room and were extremely impressed. They translate very well, and they have power.” So the A25-M stayed with Flux Studios and were integrated into the Dangerous Room, where they are literally framed in the wall with picture frames – a brilliant design detail.

The ultimate in precision listening: A25-M

More important than its visual integration is its acoustic performance, of course, and the PSI Audio A25-M absolutely delivers on that front. The intricate three-way speaker design features a rotatable baffle for the mid- and high-frequency drivers so the speakers can be set up vertically or horizontally while maintaining its optimal dispersion and sweet spot. Meticulously handcrafted by experienced specialists in the Swiss manufacture and calibrated in the company’s own anechoic chamber, the A25-M provides full-range audio reproduction with maximum fidelity. Proprietary technology like Compensated Phase Response (CPR), Adaptive Output Impedance (AOI), Class G/H amplifiers and specially developed drivers ensure peak performance, and the acoustic clarity and transparency required for top-level audio production.

Tracking or mixing – Swiss monitoring is perfect for both

These qualities of the PSI Audio A25-M are put to good use at Flux Studios, as Daniel Sanint explains: “In tracking, you want to feel the energy. There is a lot going on, especially in the lows. That energy moves the room, it triggers compressors and so on. So having a truly full-range monitoring system is super helpful.” The accurate sound image also benefits the mixing process, of course, as Sanint can completely rely on the results he gets in the studio. “I finish a session, make a rough mix for the client, and later I listen to it at home and sure enough, it is amazing, it sounds great.” Sanint summarizes his experience with the A25-M: “Once we heard them, we fell in love with them.”

PSI Audio continues to turn heads with its AVAA technology. The new active bass trap AVAA C214 expands the AVAA family by a now digitally controlled variant of the original C20. The C214 is more compact and can be adjusted in its sensitivity through a remote app. It can be placed on the floor or mounted to walls or ceilings, depending on where it operates optimally. The innovative technology eliminates room modes, acting like a black hole that hoovers up resonant modal frequencies before they are bounced back. As it does not use anti-sound, the acoustic impression is changed for the better in the entire room, not just a small sweet spot.

C214 – new device, established efficiency

For PSI Audio, the AVAA C214 is an entirely new kind of product. For the first time in the company’s history, it features a DSP chip! The engineers at the company’s manufacture have found a way to realize the AVAA principle with a DSP, overcoming the challenge of reaching a latency below 0.2 milliseconds. The digital technology makes AVAA more flexible by virtue of its app that allows to adjust the device’s sensitivity, and can switch it on and off either individually or in groups. While mainly aimed at audiophiles and home users, this feature may come in handy in studios as well, if the engineers would like to tailor the room response to the sound being produced.

Room modes eliminated: AVAA

The basic principle of the PSI Audio AVAA C214 remains the same: it eliminates room modes caused by the rigid surfaces. These individual resonances of a room are one of the biggest challenges in acoustic design, and the AVAA makes it quite easy to tackle. While passive absorbers require a lot of material (we are talking metres thick!) or resonant absorbers need to be tuned to a specific frequency, the AVAA simply eliminates resonant frequencies between 15 and 160 Hz as effectively as a passive absorber 45 times its size. It does not affect the direct sound from the speakers, as room correction devices do, and it does not work with anti-sound, so the room modes are eliminated for the whole room, not just the sweet spot. The result is a clearer, more precise sound image – no one does precision quite like the Swiss.

The acoustic black hole – available in white

Essentially, the PSI Audio AVAA C214 imposes an acoustic impedance in front of the device – or, put simply, it acts like a hole in the wall. Instead of being bounced back, the respective sound waves disappear, they are sucked in by the C214. This acoustic black hole is now even more compact and easy to install, with wall brackets to place it wherever required in the room. Its maximum acoustic impact is complemented by its minimum visual impact, as it is available in black or white, allowing it to do its thing as covertly as possible. 

From 9th to 12th May, PSI Audio will exhibit at HIGH END 2024 in Munich. The main focus will be on the innovative AVAA C214 active bass trap, which will be presented in a dedicated listening room as well as in the form of a demo box at booth R09 in hall 3. 

Swiss precision audio in Munich

The HIGH END show in Munich has long been established as one of the most important shows for audiophile technology in the world. PSI Audio will be at the 2024 show, mainly to present the recently released AVAA C214 active bass trap. This modified version of the renowned AVAA C20, which has revolutionized room acoustics for years, is specifically tailored to the requirements of home audio enthusiasts. Making its debut at the show is the new white finish for the AVAA C214, allowing it to seamlessly fit into even more environments. In addition to the AVAA, PSI Audio also showcases the high-end speakers Héritage3 at HIGH END 2024.

Cleaning up the acoustics with AVAA C214

With the AVAA system, PSI Audio has tackled the most challenging part of acoustics: room modes. The Active Velocity Acoustic Absorber imposes a very low acoustic impedance, practically acting like a hole in the wall, equivalent to 45 times the size of the device. Resonant frequencies are not reflected back into the room, but instead are eliminated, creating a clearer, more precise sonic image not just at the listening position, but in the entire room, with tighter bass and a perfect sound stage. The AVAA C214 features a DSP chip that allows adjustments via smartphone app and future updates for maximum convenience at home. Working at a much higher efficiency compared to traditional porous absorbers, the PSI Audio AVAA C214 requires much less volume for a similar effect. For example, even a perfect porous absorber would need to be 2 metres thick to be effective at 40 Hz, and twice that for 20 Hz, while the AVAA goes down to 15 Hz at only 25 cm diameter. Add to that the fact that the AVAA C214 can easily be moved to a different room, or a different house altogether, and requires no tuning or calibration, and it becomes clear what a powerful, yet compact solution it is.

Exquisite listening pleasure with Héritage3

At HIGH END 2024, PSI Audio also features its first floor-standing speakers specifically designed for home audio users: Héritage3. The three-way system is based on the studio speakers that are popular around the world for their untouchable accuracy, reproducing sound just as it was committed to the recording. Professionals appreciate the pure honesty of the all-analogue PSI Audio speakers, as do audiophiles who want to hear only what the artists intended – the real thing. The Héritage3 delivers this hallmark Swiss precision sound and dresses it in a unique and classy ported enclosure.

Experience PSI Audio at HIGH END 2024

HIGH END 2024 takes place from 9th to 12th May 2024 at the MOC in Munich, Germany. PSI Audio, the AVAA C214 and the Héritage3 can be found in hall 3 at booth R09. The open booth will feature the AVAA in a cleverly designed demo box to showcase its potential, while the listening room right behind it will present the Héritage3 playing to a room optimized with five AVAA C214. On Friday 10th, PSI Audio will host a get-together right after the show at 6 pm at the booth, to which all visitors are cordially invited.