The Klang Immersive Experience: Taking In-Ear-Monitor Mixes to the Next Level
Eyes tired? Let your ears do the work with our audio version!
Much has been said about the advent of spatial audio. From Atmos to L-ISA by L’Acoustics and D&B SoundScape, it seems that the realm of audio engineering is at the cusp of an evolutionary makeover. In that same breath is Klang, offering audio processors meant to expand traditional stereo in-ear-monitor (IEM) mixes into spatial audio, making IEM mixes immersive, exciting and dynamic. Here we will bring to the fore, what Klang is and what capabilities it offers.
What is Klang?
For many of you who have been practicing live sound for some time now, Klang would not be an unknown brand. For those who have yet to discover their offerings, Klang is a company that designs and creates processors that allow you to mix IEMs in an immersive format. This is, of course, a step away, and up, from our standard stereo mixes. Most musicians would have come across poor mix intelligibility and “over-crowding” of mixes that results in them having to monitor at much louder levels than desired, which will, of course, be detrimental to their hearing in the long term. With Klang, mix engineers are able to create more separation, width, and transparency to combat said problems.
Connectivity
There are a few options to choose from, depending on which Klang device you are opting for. The standard offerings are MADI, Optocore and Dante. For example, on the :konductor you will find three DMI expansion card slots, which opens up possibilities for a large channel count.
For control, Klang offers an app and the Klang :kontroller, which is a physical controller with tactile knobs and buttons. Connecting to a laptop or to the controller is done via standard ethernet cables.
The GUI
The Klang app is simple, easy to use, and good to look at. It is clearly organised with various navigation tabs starting at the “Config” tab and extending to the immersive stage. I will briefly touch on some of these tabs.
Config
You will find all your system settings here. Configuring the channel names, routing, showfiles, snapshots, clock speed and external control (for integration with consoles like Digico) all take place in this tab.
If you plan to give the musicians control over their own mixes, this can be done easily by connecting an access point to the processor to allow your musicians connectivity using their tablets. To keep them on their own mix, holding down “Config” for 3 seconds would open a menu where you can set a tablet to “musician,” “personal,” or “admin” mode. “Admin” mode provides full access to all mixes and all settings so be wary of who is on “Admin” mode. This can be password protected too, for added security.
Channels
If you have more than one mix, meaning you have multiple musicians, Klang has made it simple to clone your “Channels” configuration to all the mixes so that all your mixes will have the same channels, channel names, object placement etc. Alternatively, you could configure channels for each individual mix differently based on your use case.
Klang also allows channel grouping. For example, you can create a group for drums, another for guitars, another for keyboards etc. This allows you to change levels of an entire group relative to the other groups. So if an artist wants the drums louder, you can do that by turning up the group instead of adjusting individual channels. This is accessible by double tapping on the “Fader” tab.
Preset
Snapshots and showfiles are found under “Presets.” You can manage your various shows, load, update, and delete unwanted showfiles. You can also export the showfile to an external drive for safekeeping or to transfer it to another Klang device.
Stage
Then comes positioning, done from the “Stage” tab. You have two views, one for the horizontal plane and another for the vertical plane, accessible by tapping on the “Stage” button for the different views. Again, you have the group views to make viewing easier. Trying to find an instrument when you have 120 inputs can be a pain otherwise.
I will stop here before this turns into a user manual. In most situations, those would be the tabs you would most frequently access. There is abundant information on Klang’s website for the curious mind. The app is free to download and they have it for both Mac and Windows. It also comes with a demo song for one to get inquisitive with.
The Audio Shoot Out!
Here you will find a mix of a track using Klang, and then condensing the mix down into mono and stereo formats. This should give you a “side by side” comparison to how the different formats sound. The mix was done on Logic, using Dante Virtual Soundcard to get audio into Klang :konductor and back out into Logic. I won’t go into the exact routing since the purpose of this article is to shine a light on Klang itself. Here you can also see screenshots of the Klang interface for this mix. Also notice the polar sample on the Izotope Ozone Elements plugin to get a visual representation of the track’s width. (Headphones required for listening.)
And here is a snippet of the chorus when the instrumentation gets busier.
Chorus
The images above are screenshots of the Klang app interface for this track, left unchanged for both the verse and chorus.
The Verdict
Sound
Having been able to listen to the three formats side by side, it is evident that Klang provides a much wider representation of the mix compared to traditional formats. It allows each instrument pockets of their own space and makes the mix more transparent, more nuanced, and more excitable. This spatial separation makes it easier to listen to each element when it is spread over a 360 degree sound field. As a result, musicians do not have to monitor at loud SPL levels which helps protect their hearing.
Interface
It is surprisingly amazing how easy it is to use the Klang app. The way the GUI is laid out, the terminologies, the visual representation of the 3D sphere, the fader controls, and the “alt” functions all make it a breeze, not to mention fun, to use. It is also convenient that you can create a showfile before bump in, saving you time to build it on-site.
Challenges
For musicians who have the habit of removing one side of their ear buds, that would mean losing a significant part of the mix since you lose the width that Klang has to offer. I do have to stress at this point, that if you are a musician, regardless of whether it is a traditional stereo or mono IEM mix, always keep both ear buds in. Should you feel detached from the audience, ask for crowd mics to be fed into your mix. Keeping one side of your ear buds in and another out consistently can lead to hearing loss as your ears start experiencing different SPL levels. You will be monitoring louder, even if you aren’t doing it consciously, to compensate for the SPL difference and thereby cause yourself hearing fatigue. I have to say it, keep both ear buds in!
Snapshots do not save patch changes, which would make navigating music festivals harder, considering that you would, in all likelihood, have multiple patch changes throughout the day. It would require band tech riders to be accurate without changing at the venue, which is a difficult feat considering musicians may change the instrumentation right up to soundcheck and by no fault of their own, a new inspiration should not be stifled by technical limitations. If there is no confidence that there will be minimal to no changes to tech riders, pressed for time to create multiple showfiles and have minimal turnover time between bands, I do think it will be a challenging addition to a festival.
Final Notes
In most situations, the focus is always on the FOH mix, and rightfully so. The audience deserve the best possible experience. However, having musicians who are struggling to hear themselves and can’t get the balance in their ears right is counter-productive to delivering an exceptional show. Musicians thrive off of the energy between their bandmates. When you deliver an exceptional IEM mix such that when the bass slaps hit or the guitar rips a solo and your musicians are vibing, that energy will inevitably spread to the audience.
Disclaimer:
The track you heard is purely for educational purposes. We do not own the rights to the song, all rights are retained by the relevant people and/or organisations. This article is not paid or sponsored by Klang.
Credits
Multitracks: https://www.cambridge-mt.com/ms/mtk/#Acoustic
Original Track: https://open.spotify.com/track/7sXvAePztNBkk0IcluzwoC?si=eab7dd2844c445b6
