Change Afoot at LabGruppen

LabGruppen are replacing the tried and trusted IPD series of DSP-controlled power amplifiers with a new, improved breed of raw power and ultimate control solutions. This move is part of a general strategic move forward that will benefit you, starting…. Right now!

You probably know the feeling: You are planning some fundamental changes, but the time just never seems to be perfect for actually making the big move. But then something unforeseen happens, and suddenly everything aligns, which causes you to pull the trigger on opening a new chapter in your life. That was exactly the situation for LabGruppen – both specifically when deciding to discontinue the IPD series of power amps and introduce the IPX series, but also on a higher level, as they decided to turn their entire Swedish facility into a dedicated research and development power house that will be focusing entirely on what they do better than anyone: Design and develop unparalleled amplification and digital signal processing for the future!

Making the Most of an Unfortunate Situation

As is often the case, unfortunate events occur in quantity. Obviously, 2020 was an unusual and challenging year on a number of levels. First and foremost, the global Coronavirus pandemic took us all by surprise and caused unfathomable human distress across the globe, yet the acute situation also taught many new things such as optimising collaboration-on-a-distance skill set.

Fortunately, when entering 2021 it seemed like there was a good chance that things would gradually begin to move back to normal. However, the combination of the pandemic, natural catastrophes and a fire that had consequences throughout the pro audio industry caused severe supply chain problems and skyrocketing freight rates.

These were the elements that ‘suddenly aligned’ and gave Lab the confidence that now was the time to make some real changes.

The IPX Move into The Future

While the IPX series looks very similar to the IPD series that it is replacing, there are indeed a host of improvements to be found under the hood. For instance, the DSP has been upgraded and is prepared to integrate seamlessly with future audio and control protocols.

Along with sister companies such as TC Electronic and Midas, LabGruppen have always been a first mover in terms of adopting new technologies, as well as developing them, and this case is no exception. Lab consider it a huge benefit to audio professionals when manufacturers across the board agree on standardisation and harmonisation in order to make your job easier. Therefore, IPX is being introduced as your bullet-and-future-proof power amp solution. However, this fundamental change of the DSP design also means that IPX is not backwards compatible with the IPD series.

Further, while specified at the same power ratings as the IPD series (1,200 W and 2,400 W), the new IPX series is more power efficient, and they deliver more power at lower impedance loads. And last but not least, they have a lighter environmental footprint due to their improved power factor load, making them more efficient in terms of sheer electricity consumption.

The Collaborative Move into The Future

As already mentioned, 2020 turned out to become a year of remote work optimisation. However, since Music Tribe has been a global organisation for decades, collaborating across country borders and time zones was definitely far from new to us. Along with other factors that pushed in the same direction, Lab Gruppen made a decisive move in 2021, ensuring that the engineering staff in Kungsbacka, Sweden, is now allowed to dedicate its every moment of attention to developing, refining, rethinking, improving and designing new products and technologies that will help you stay ahead of the curve.

This means that production has started taking place in Asia, which may cause concern to some, but please rest assured that you will not experience any changes in terms of quality, sturdiness and reliability. The number one mistake Western companies make when moving production to Asia is more than anything to have missed out on doing their homework properly – on a cultural as well as a practical level. Well, Music Tribe has been present in the region for ages. In fact, far longer than e.g. Apple and other huge consumer goods manufacturers that have been accepted as high quality vendors long ago. It cannot be stressed enough that this is not a new process of change for MusicTribe, or a first attempt at dipping the toes in new waters –  have decades of experience with how to manufacture efficiently and reliably out of Asia.

At the end of the day, all that really matters is providing the finest audio tools, which in turn empowers you to focus exclusively on delivering results as a passionate audio professional every single day – regardless of whether your field of work is within Touring, Venues, House of Worship, Corporate, Education, or other parts of the Live Sound and AV Install spheres.