‘Back with a bang’: ISE 2023 delivers biggest show in its history

The 2023 edition of ISE saw attendance figures hit a new high, as attendees, exhibitors, and organisers hailed an “extraordinary” outing for the show in Barcelona.

Returning to its normal Jan/Feb timeslot in the AV calendar, ISE 2023 welcomed 58,107 unique attendees from 155 countries.

Mike Blackman, managing director of Integrated Systems Events, said: “It’s been an extraordinary week and it’s hugely gratifying for us to look back and realise we’ve delivered an exceptional show for our industry and the wonderful city of Barcelona. We’ve had unprecedented visitor levels to the show, so much inspiring content and features on display, and ground-breaking visits from the King of Spain on Tuesday and the President of Catalonia on Thursday to add both a royal and a political seal of approval to the show. This week at ISE 2023 confirms that we can safely say the global AV and systems integration industry is back with an impressive bang!”

Day one saw the highest number of opening day visitors ever for an ISE show, as they filled the record 56,870sqm of floorspace over the show’s six halls and Audio Demo Rooms, where iconic French pioneer of electronic music Jean-Michel Jarre unveiled his latest album. He also helped Coda Audio with the launch of a brand new AV solution space at the show.

From electro royalty to actual royalty, the first day of ISE 2023 also saw King Felipe VI of Spain took a tour of the show floor, stopping by a few booths to take in a small sample of the technology on display.

For several years now, the annual ISE show has been attracting an ever-expanding pro audio contingent, and 2023 certainly continued that trend.

German manufacturer and distributor Adam Hall unveiled QUESTRA at this year’s show, a new design management software for networked LD Systems installation solutions, as it bolstered its integrated systems offering.

Fellow German pro audio specialist d&b audiotechnik showcased its new HeadroomCalc software for sound engineers, system planners and consultants, marking the latest effort in its bid to offer greater control over system performance.

Meanwhile, monitoring giant Genelec expanded its Smart IP family of networked loudspeaker systems at ISE with the introduction of the 4435A in-ceiling and 4436A pendant models. The two new additions join the existing 4410, 4420 and 4430 on-wall Smart IP models to provide a wider range of integrated loudspeaker solutions.

Harman Professional turned out in force at the show, as it presented the latest line of JBL Professional products, including the SRX900 powered line arrays and subwoofers, PRX900 powered portable PA systems, VTX A6 line array and B15 subwoofer touring audio solutions and the Control Contractor commercial loudspeaker expansion series.

Berlin-based Holoplot, arguably the biggest pro audio/pro AV disruptor at present, revealed the beta version of its Holoplot Plan software and new X1 rigging system. You can read Headliner’s interview with Holoplot CEO Roman Sick here, in which he outlines his plans to drastically transform the market as we know it.

Italian pro audio manufacturer K-array added to its GF family of ultra-compact column loudspeakers with the addition of two new models: GF42 (4 x 2") and GF162 (16 x 2"). Also highlighted at ISE 2023 was the GM44 analogue audio matrix for straightforward multi-zone audio distribution.

Elsewhere, French pro audio giant L-Acoustics provided demonstrations of its L-ISA Ambiance Acoustics System, while also showcasing L-ISA Studio interactive workstations, and the Soka/SB6i duo.

The Lenbrook Group launched a flurry of new products and solutions at the show, including some key updates to its BluOS platform.

UK-based Martin Audio unveiled a smaller addition to the TORUS series named TORUS 8 (or T820 as the individual model is known), a passive, two-way loudspeaker engineered for small to medium-scale applications which do not call for the longer throw capabilities of a line array.

Riedel exhibited its Simplylive technology, which is designed to provide software-based solutions for multi-camera production, including an all-in-one production suite, replay/slow-mo, venue gateways, and multiviewers, for the most demanding sports video and broadcast applications like the Soccer World Championships, American Football Finals, and Summer and Winter Games.

Shure took to the ISE floor to demonstrate its latest solutions for the conferencing and AV market, while Void Acoustics launched multiple new products at the show, many of which are specifically targeted at pro audio systems integrators.