Lab.gruppen

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Lab.gruppen is a Swedish sound equipment company, based in Kungsbacka, dedicated to building mainly public address power amplifiers. The company now (2007) has 130 employees and is owned by TC Group which also holds Tannoy, TC Electronic, TC-Helicon, and TC Applied Technologies.

1 History
2 Product models
3 Trivia
4 External resources
5 Notes

[edit] History

Kenneth Andersson and Dan Bävholm founded Lab.gruppen in 1979 with a fist full of Kroner, hearts full of passion, determination and a desire to succeed – whatever the limitations. Neither was particularly experienced in the world of audio or music. They first met as schoolboys with a complimentary interest in electronics. Their craft was learned empirically through reading and practical projects, slowly developing the skills that would ultimately lead to the creation of world renowned, landmark products.

Their early output was completely market driven. Friends introduced the budding electronics “gurus” to local musicians who were only too eager to access products to fill their needs that could be competitively priced against name-brand imports. Kenneth and Dan dived into their first project with vigor. The outcome – not a power amplifier, but a hand-made mixing console. Neither had ever attempted such a feat, but it worked. And worked so well that it served as at FOH for a concert in their hometown by the famous jazz performer, Eartha Kitt and remained in service for many, many years. They continued to react to local market needs and created other mixers and a series of guitar heads and combos that attracted the attention of many important artists, including legendary Johnny Winter. Their intermittent manufacture of mixers and guitar amplifiers continued through the formal establishment of Lab.gruppen in 1979. The company was originally located inside a local hi-fi store, where the duo serviced consumer equipment for additional income. It was here that the company’s first professional audio power amplifier was created.

Between the LAB 4000 and fP Series 6400, Lab.gruppen engineers continued to advance and refine virtually every aspect of amplifier technology. The LAB Series was overhauled and augmented and subsequently became today’s fP range. fP designs were also upgraded to meet the stringent new EMC standards in Europe, and adoption of UL safety standards opened access to the US market. Standardization of internal components between models increased manufacturing efficiency to keep pricing competitive in all new markets.

In the late 1990s, Lab.gruppen founders Kenneth Andersson and Dan Bävholm evaluated the future options for their fast-growing company. As electronic engineers, their passion was directed toward advancing the technology and developing new products. They had less interest in managing the daily operations of a sizeable business enterprise. The founders soon decided that the next stage of growth could best be realized with compatible new ownership as well as a new managing director. In July of 2000, Lab.gruppen was acquired by the TGI Group of the UK, and a few months later Tomas Lilja was chosen as managing director. In early 2002, the TGI Group – Lab.gruppen included – was acquired by TC Group of Denmark, the current corporate owner. In 2004, the companymoved to its new location at Faktorvägen. Both Andersson and Bävholm remained with the company following the acquisitions. And, although both have now left to pursue other interests, their legacy lives on…

In 1998, Lab.gruppen engineers undertook the long-term development of an entirely new amplifier platform. The complete range would have four bridgeable amplifier channels and an integrated monitoring and control network. The basic technology of both the power supply and output stages was taken from the proven fP range, but with significant upgrades to reduce the number of components required. Output power per channel was again doubled.

Designated the C Series and targeted at the installation market, the first amplifiers of this design were shipped in the summer of 2005. This was followed up by the release of FP+ in 2006 and PLM Series in 2007. In 2008, Lab.gruppen is the most recognised independant supplier of power to professional applications.

[edit] Product models

PLM Series
FP+ Series
fP Series
iP Series

[edit] Powered Loudspeaker Management Systems

PLM 10000Q

The PLM 10000Q, the first in Lab.gruppen’s PLM Series, combines cutting-edge technologies from two of the leading innovators in the live event production industry: Dolby Lake and Lab.gruppen.

These technologies have been closely and intelligently integrated to add up to much more than the sum of their parts. The result is a new concept in professional audio: Powered Loudspeaker Management (PLM).

PLM brings together the ground-breaking signal processing that has made Dolby Lake a touring standard worldwide. And an amplifier platform based on the extraordinary power density, sonic purity, and proven reliability of Lab.gruppen’s flagship FP+ Series.

Conceived from the outset as a comprehensive drive system for any type of loudspeaker, the PLM 10000Q seamlessly integrates the functions of crossover, delay, equalization, limiting, audio networking, and power amplification.

It adds up to an unprecedented level of user control, reconfiguration flexibility, and precise system tuning for optimum performance. In addition, revolutionary new load verification and performance monitoring features assure extended reliability for all system components, loudspeakers included.

[edit] Power Amplifiers

FP 10000Q
FP 13000
FP 7000
FP 6000Q
fP 6400
fP 3400
fP 2600
C 68:4
C 48:4
C 28:4
C 16:4
C 20:8X
C 10:8X
C 10:4X
C 5:4X

[edit] Other

DSP 24: 2-in/4-out digital crossover and loudspeaker equalization unit. Can be controlled from a Windows environment through VIEW (a Lab.gruppen control software program).

[edit] Trivia

Among some sound engineers Lab.gruppen is famous for using their amps as welding devices at sound engineering fairs (to show that they are very tolerant to low impedance loads).