PMC reinvents its Main Monitors for the modern studio with all-new drivers and support for immersive workflowsPMC has unveiled its new Main Monitor Series, marking the company’s 35th anniversary and its first complete redesign of main monitoring systems in more than three decades.
It’s the most significant update since the range was last refreshed ten years ago, with improvements focused on clarity, lower distortion and increased headroom for modern music, film and immersive audio workflows.

READ MORE: NAMM 2026 Live: All the news, gear, and innovations from the biggest music gear event

Designed and built entirely in-house, the new series draws on PMC’s long-standing work with top-tier recording, scoring and post-production studios. From driver technology to system architecture and software control, every aspect of monitor performance has been reworked to meet the demands of today’s multichannel and spatial audio environments.
At the heart of the new range is a completely redesigned low-frequency system. PMC has developed a new generation of large-format bass drivers to work alongside an evolved version of its ATL bass-loading system and LaminairX airflow technology. The result is controlled, natural-sounding low end even at very high playback levels.
Credit: PMC
Midrange duties are handled by PMC’s newly developed PMC75v3 soft-dome driver, which incorporates the company’s a-void absorber to reduce rear-wave reflections. In practice, this means a clearer, more open midrange that makes it easier to judge vocals, dialogue and complex mixes. High frequencies are delivered by a new 34mm soft-dome HF driver, designed for low distortion and fatigue-free listening during long sessions.
All models in the series are fully active and powered by PMC’s master36 rack-mount DSP and amplification platform, delivering 800W each to the high- and mid-frequency drivers and 1000W to the bass driver. Meanwhile, system configuration and optimisation is handled via the updated SoundAlign2 browser-based interface, which allows users to manage EQ, delay, crossover settings and presets, with support for up to 32 loudspeakers within a single installation.
The series launches with four models – PMC10, PMC12, PMC15 and PMC10-4 – all fully active three-way designs. Each can be used as a standalone full-range monitor or expanded with matching XBD bass cabinets and standalone subs, allowing systems to scale from compact control rooms to full-blown multichannel and Dolby Atmos installations.
Learn more at PMC Speakers.
The post PMC reinvents its Main Monitors for the modern studio with all-new drivers and support for immersive workflows appeared first on MusicTech.

Waves Curves Resolve: this plugin “listens” and fixes conflicts between multiple tracks in your mix, intelligentlyWaves Audio has released Curves Resolve, a new intelligent mixing plugin designed to solve one of the most stubborn problems in modern production: instruments fighting for the same space.
The third entry in Waves’ Curves Series of intelligent mixing plugins, Curves Resolve is built to manage the “relationship” between two sounds at the same time. Instead of processing a track in isolation, the plugin analyses both signals and makes room only where genuine frequency conflicts occur.

READ MORE: This app from Sonarworks & Dolby creates you a personalized Dolby Atmos headphone profile

In dense sessions, masking is often what stops a mix from sounding finished. You can balance levels all day, but if multiple parts are stacked in the same frequency range, clarity suffers. The usual fixes like manual EQ adjustments and sidechain compression often solve one problem while compromising tone or dynamics.
Curves Resolve takes a more targeted approach. It “listens” to one source while shaping another, carving space only at overlapping frequencies, and only when those conflicts occur. This yields a clearer mix with greater separation, while preserving tonal integrity and transients.
Credit: Waves
For producers and mix engineers, this translates to clearer vocals without dulling the instruments; dense arrangements that breathe and feel open; reduced mix fatigue caused by masking and frequency buildup; and maintained clarity across layered instruments and dense productions.
There are two main ways it works. In dynamic mode, Curves Resolve constantly reacts in real time as the music changes, making it ideal for busy, evolving parts. In steady (learned) mode, it analyses a section and creates a stable contour, giving you consistent, predictable shaping. You can even blend the two, striking a balance between movement and stability that would be difficult to achieve with conventional tools.
The plugin also redefines ducking by turning it into a far more precise, musical process. You can still use wide ducking for classic ‘music under dialogue’ moves, but the highlight is Unmask mode, which reduces only the specific frequencies causing the problem. That means leads, vocals or dialogue can cut through while the rest of the track keeps its punch and weight.
Other workflow-friendly features include instrument-aware Snapshot controls that provide instant starting points optimised for vocals, bass, guitars, synths, keys, snare, and more. There’s also Curves Resolve Live, a zero-latency version aimed at live and broadcast mixing.

Curves Resolve is currently available at a sale price of $29.99. The plugin will be included in the Waves Essential and Waves Ultimate subscriptions, and Mercury, Pro Show and SD7 Pro Show bundles.
Learn more at Waves.
The post Waves Curves Resolve: this plugin “listens” and fixes conflicts between multiple tracks in your mix, intelligently appeared first on MusicTech.

Audeze’s new SLAM-loaded LCD-5s headphones offer “mastering-grade reliability”Audeze has expanded its flagship LCD headphone series with the LCD-5s. Loaded with the company’s trademark SLAM technology, the LCD-5s are designed to provide the “most accurate” planar magnetic listening experience to date, and thanks to claimed

Signing Stories: Poly-MathDate Signed: November 2025Label: The Lasers EdgeType of Music: Prog, Math-RockPublicity: Earsplit PRWeb: poly-math.net

Sometimes, it’s all in the name. Poly-Math is English instrumental prog/math-rock quartet that was founded by Tim Walters around a dozen years ago.

“At the time, Tim was the drummer of math-rock band Monsters Build Mean Robots,” says band member Chris Woollison. “Initially founded as a three-piece with Joe Branton and [I], Poly-Math’s instrumental fusion of prog and math-rock was simply a side project at the time. However, only six months after the band started writing together we were booked to support math-rock legends And So I Watch You From Afar, and were shortly after booked to play the first ever ArcTanGent festival—the U.K.’s biggest math-rock and avant-garde music festival, which lead to us taking the project more seriously, eventually superseding any of our separate projects.”

While Woollison does describe the band as math-rock, he’s also keen to point out that the sound has evolved. “We started as a math-rock band, but definitely on the heavier, riffier side of that genre,” he says. “Initially, we took massive influence from the Mars Volta and Omar Rodriguez Lopez’ other projects. Also Deerhoof and Battles, as well as contemporaries in the U.K. scene like Three Trapped Tigers and Physics House Band. As we added more members--keys and then saxophone--we developed a more prog-rock/quasi-jazz sound, calming down a little from the punky energy of the first recordings and moving to a more expansive, considered sound that goes on a journey through styles and motifs but without losing any of the energy and power.”

Poly-Math signed to The Lasers Edge based on a deep appreciation for the label’s roster and catalog. They’ll be adding to that roster with the Something Deeply Hidden album. 

“We have recorded most of our live albums at Brighton Electric Studios because they have a fantastic live room and selection of gear,” Woollison says. “This time, we decided to record only drums at Electric and track the rest of the material in our home studios to give us a bit more freedom and time to experiment--a potentially risky choice because of the lack of time pressure, but we got it all together in pretty good time and sent it off to Mark to make sense of it and mix it. Mark Roberts is one of the most prolific engineers for alternative music in Brighton, U.K., and as always with Mark, we were instantly happy with the results.”

The band has more releases and plenty of touring planned for 2026, so keep your ears to the ground for Poly-Math news. The post Signing Stories: Poly-Math first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Voice AI engine and OpenAI partner LiveKit hits $1B valuationThe five year-old-startup raised a $100 million round led by Index Ventures.

What is classical music? A beginner’s guide to history, composers, and key works
Discover the origins of classical music, explore its renowned composers, and learn about the key works that have shaped this timeless genre.

Sony Music buys 49% stake in music unit of Vietnam media giant YeaH1; companies launch new SYE Holdings joint ventureSME, through Sony Music Entertainment Hong Kong, agreed to acquire a 49% stake in YeaH1-owned 1Label for an undisclosed sum last month.
Source

Converting a Nebra Cryptocurrency Miner To a Meshcore RepeaterAfter the swivel by Helium Inc. towards simply running distributed WiFi hotspots after for years pushing LoRaWAN nodes, many of the associated hardware became effectively obsolete. This led to quite a few of these Nebra LoRa Miners getting sold off, with the [Buy it Fix it] channel being one of those who sought to give these chunks of IP-67-rated computing hardware a new life.
Originally designed to be part of the Helium Network Token (HNT) cryptocurrency mining operation, with users getting rewarded by having these devices operating, they contain fairly off-the-shelf hardware. As can be glanced from e.g. the Sparkfun product page, it’s basically a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3+ on a breakout board with a RAK 2287 LoRa module. The idea in the video was to convert it into a Meshcore repeater, which ought to be fairly straightforward, one might think.
Unfortunately the unit came with a dead eMMC chip on the compute module, the LoRa module wasn’t compatible with Meshcore, and the Nebra breakout board only covers the first 24 pins of the standard RPi header on its pin header.

The solutions involved using a µSD card for the firmware instead of the eMMC, and doing some creative routing on the bottom of the breakout board to connect the unconnected pins on the breakout’s RPi header to the pins on the compute module’s connector. This way a compatible LoRa module could be placed on this header.
Rather than buying an off-the-shelf LoRa module for the RPi and waiting for delivery, a custom module was assembled from an eByte E22 LoRa module and some stripboard to test whether the contraption would work at all. Fortunately a test of the system as a Meshcore repeater showed that it works as intended, serving as a pretty decent proof-of-concept of how to repurpose those systems from a defunct crypto mining scheme into a typical LoRa repeater, whether Meshcore or equivalent.

DAWJunkie releases LeadOff Jr, a FREE wavetable synth for macOS and Windows
We all know the drill by now with DAWJunkie: we get a nice freebie, with the option to upgrade to a fully-featured big brother for just $1. Their latest freebie is LeadOff Jr, a free wavetable synth for macOS and Windows. We’ve had Lil Miss Doubler, Lil Bottom Jr, and more recently, Craze. This time [...]
View post: DAWJunkie releases LeadOff Jr, a FREE wavetable synth for macOS and Windows

Andi Vax FabFilter PRO-C 3 - 232 PresetsGet a premium collection of 232 expertly crafted presets for all genres! Simply load Pro-C 3 and instantly find the perfect settings for Bass, Drums, Guitars, Vocals, Synths and Mastering. Just select a preset and tweak the MIX knob to taste. Designed for professionals, optimized for beginners - effortless sound, no learning curve. CATEGORIES: Mastering. Smash & Punch. Vocals. Synths. Bass. Keys. Guitars (Acoustic & Electric). Drums (Bus, Kick, Snare, Hats, Overheads, Room, Toms). VIDEO DEMO: https://youtu.be/hHf2Eaopum0 You will need the Fabfilter Pro-C 3 plugin for using these presets. Read More

SoundCloud Distribution Full Review: An Honest AssessmentIn addition to its original discovery features, SoundCloud now offers built-in music distribution to major streaming platforms.

Kid Rock, Live Nation to testify at new Senate Ticketing HearingThe battle over how live events are ticketed is heading back to Washington. On January 28, the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy will convene a high-stakes Senate ticketing hearing.
The post Kid Rock, Live Nation to testify at new Senate Ticketing Hearing appeared first on Hypebot.

Akai x Spitfire Audio: new “strategic partnership” to bring pro-quality instrument libraries to MPC usersAkai Professional has offered more details surrounding its new partnership with Spitfire Audio, after it was alluded to with the launch of its new flagship MPC XL.
At its core, the new “strategic partnership” brings Spitfire Audio’s specialist instrument sampling expertise and virtual libraries into the MPC ecosystem. It kicks off with Spitfire’s Originals Intimate Strings library, which is now available to MPC users.

READ MORE: NAMM 2026 Live: All the news, gear, and innovations from the biggest music gear event

Originals Intimate Strings is a virtual instrument offering the “warmth, emotion and detail” of a small string ensemble. The pack – captured at London’s AIR Studios – first launched in 2020, but is now available to standalone MPC users for the first time.
Spitfire and Akai say more Spitfire virtual instruments will be added to the MPC ecosystem and available to MPC users in due course.
“The brands that form the inMusic family have been with me for most of my professional music career and I’m incredibly excited to be partnering with Akai to distil our approach to expressive, performance-led instruments into a focused, standalone experience,” says Spitfire Audio founder Paul Thomson. [Ed: Akai Professional is part of the inMusic family of brands.
“Whether you’re writing or performing, this collaboration gives you the power for intuitive creation and I look forward to bringing more of this to the industry as this partnership grows.”
“We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Spitfire Audio bringing Intimate Strings MPC Edition directly into the MPC ecosystem,” adds Andy Mac, brand manager at Akai Professional. 
“By giving producers access to these legendary, expressive sounds at their fingertips, we’re unlocking a new realm of emotional depth and musicality in beat-making and music production empowering creators to blend cinematic richness with the intuitive flow of MPC.”
You can learn more about the new partnership and sign up for updates at akaipro.com.
The post Akai x Spitfire Audio: new “strategic partnership” to bring pro-quality instrument libraries to MPC users appeared first on MusicTech.

China, US sign off on TikTok US deal, but uncertainty remainsBoth China and the USD have signed off on the TikTok US deal, according to multiple sources. But major uncertainties remain for artists, labels and all creators.
The post China, US sign off on TikTok US deal, but uncertainty remains appeared first on Hypebot.

SOS AWARDS 2026 Winners Announced! The votes have been counted, and we are very happy to announce the results of each category on the official results page published in our February 2026 issue.