【INTER BEE EXPERIENCE】X-Speaker is coming back!
It was 2014 when the INTER BEE EXPERIENCE X-Speaker (SR speaker experience demo) was launched as a special Inter BEE event. That was eight years ago.
SR speakers, which play an important role in live entertainment, are unable to showcase the sound they are supposed to produce at Inter BEE. And visitors are not able to experience and compare the sound. Inter BEE is the largest exhibition event in this field in Japan, so we wondered if we could somehow make this happen. To meet the needs of both exhibitors and visitors, this special program was implemented on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Inter BEE.
Years later, X-Speaker seemed to have become a well-known Inter BEE event, but because it was a real live experience, it had to be suspended for two years due to the spread of an infectious disease. During this time, everything from industrial and social trends to lifestyles has had to be restricted and changed, and it goes without saying that tremendous efforts have been made in related fields to revitalize and evolve the event.
This year, Inter BEE 2022, the Inter BEE EXPERIENCE X-Speaker will return to support the efforts of these related fields.
As the largest SR speaker experience event in Japan
The name "EXPERIENCE" of INTER BEE EXPERIENCE is derived from the desire to create a more effective "hands-on" experience at the Inter BEE exhibition event, allowing visitors to "experience", understand and receive the products, technologies, quality and features offered by the exhibitors. The name of this event was derived from the desire to create a more effective "hands-on" experience at the show.
However, in the field of acoustics, the more realistic sound experience of live entertainment is not well suited to an exhibition format where exhibitors from a variety of product fields share one large space. Therefore, Inter BEE decided to realize the X-Speaker (SR speaker experience demo), a special project that makes exclusive use of the Makuhari Messe Event Hall, a venue that is used for concert events, to give presentations and loud demonstrations as close as possible to the actual environment in which the speakers will be used. The X-Speaker (SR speaker experience demo) is a special project that allows for presentations and loud demonstrations that are as close as possible to actual use.
The event is the only one of its kind in the Tokyo metropolitan area and has attracted the participation of many major brands of SR speakers sold in Japan, making it a valuable opportunity to listen to a large number of speakers and compare them with each other.
As a result, the event has grown to become Inter BEE's signature event and the largest SR speaker experience event in Japan, with approximately 4,500 registered visitors and a total of 6,600 visitors over the three days (2019 results), an extremely large number for a single special event. It can also be said that X-Speaker has developed into an internationally well-known event that is known outside of Japan, as word of mouth from visitors from overseas and through social networking sites has spread the word.
EXPERIENCE, two years of exploration and continuity
However, the spread of corona infection has become an infinitely greater obstacle for SR speakers, which are the mainstay equipment for concerts and other live entertainment, and for X-Speaker, an event that is all about EXPERIENCE.
With the various forms of remote and distributed communication and content provision, the staff involved in this special project were determined to continue to provide some form of sound EXPERIENCE at Inter BEE, and to provide something useful to those in the industry who are struggling in this difficult environment. We also sought to provide something useful to those in the industry who were struggling in this difficult environment.
In 2020, we recorded and delivered an actual sound production demo assuming a hybrid environment of live and distributed sound, and a demo session on the theme of binaural sound and stereophonic sound in a hall space. In 2021, in conjunction with the Inter BEE real event at Makuhari Messe, we continued to collaborate with sound sessions at the only real live venue, albeit on a very small scale. The EXPERIENCE was a hands-on tutorial session in which a sound engineer on the user side explained software plug-ins and other software while presenting the actual sound.
And now, X-Speaker is back!
Last year's Inter BEE was held at Makuhari Messe, and it was a great pleasure for everyone involved in the event to see so many users, including industry professionals, in attendance. At the same time, however, we received many requests from visitors, especially to see more of the audio section and to bring back the SR speaker demos.
Inter BEE is a unique event in that it is a place where exhibitors and visitors can see and touch equipment, software, and applications, and where they can interact with each other while receiving explanations on the spot, thereby maximizing mutual benefits. After last year's Inter BEE, we realized that many people were eagerly awaiting the return of the EXPERIENCE.
Encouraged by their voices, we are now preparing to revive the X-Speaker at the Makuhari Messe Event Hall, which was used until 2019. However, due to the uncertainty of the future situation and transition regarding infectious diseases, the X-Headphone/X-Microphone (headphone/microphone experience exhibit), another special event at INTER BEE EXPERIENCE, will not be held again this year. We will be taking one step at a time this year.
The organizer, secretariat, and related staff will make utmost efforts to ensure the revival of the X-Speaker and to offer it to as many visitors as possible this year.
Inter BEE 2022 in November is just over half a year away. Please look forward to the return of Inter BEE and the INTER BEE EXPERIENCE X-Speaker this year.
