Optimal Audio has announced two new additions to support SmartAmp based system installs, that provide a meaningful capability upgrade for the company’s commercial amplification line. SmartAmp Custom Configurator is a free desktop application (macOS or Windows) that opens up full DSP configuration for every SmartAmp installation. Alongside it, the new ZonePad VL1 passive wall-mounted volume controller rounds out in-room control when teamed with a SmartAmp. Both are unveiled at InfoComm 2026, Las Vegas, where Optimal Audio is also showcasing its recently announced Column Series on booth N6833.
SmartAmp Custom Configurator 3.0 replaces Optimal Audio’s previous configuration tool with a single application that manages firmware updates and gives installers full per-output control over routing, speaker presets, impedance, EQ, crossover, delay and limiter. Any input can route to any output. Each output can be assigned its own speaker preset – either from Optimal Audio and Martin Audio libraries or built for third-party loudspeakers. Full amplifier configurations save and load as files, simplifying multi-site deployment and service visits.
The configurator runs natively on macOS and Windows, connects over USB and requires no internet connection on-site. The familiar DIP-switch workflow is untouched; Custom Configuration simply unlocks when all DIP switches are set to 0.
The ZonePad VL1 is a passive wall-mounted volume controller that plugs straight into the SmartAmp GPIO port. No power supply, no extra hardware, no configuration. It’s built from painted steel with a clear zone label area, and ships in two variants from launch: UK/EU single-gang and US 1-gang decora, both in white. Pair two VL1s with a SmartAmp 20 or 30 and you get independent volume control across two zones – enough to handle basic multi-zone installations without a dedicated zone processor.
Together, these two releases reshape what a SmartAmp system-based install can be. Custom Configurator unlocks DSP capabilities normally reserved for higher specification commercial amplifiers – notably, per-output processing, custom speaker presets, file-based configuration – and ZonePad VL1 gives end users a matched, properly built wall control to operate the system. The combination covers a wider range of installations, from single-zone retail and hospitality through to basic two-zone systems.
“Out with switches, in with DSP freedom: that’s really what this release is about,” said David Morbey, Product Manager at Optimal Audio. “Custom Configurator gives installers the kind of routing and processing flexibility you’d normally only find on a far more expensive amplifier. And ZonePad VL1 makes sure the wall control feels like part of the same system.”
The Custom Configurator is available immediately as a free download, with ZonePad VL1 shipping from August 2026 in UK/EU and US variants.
For more on SmartAmp Configurator: https://optimal-audio.co.uk/support/software/smartamp-configurator/
For more on ZonePad VL1: https://generationav.net/products/optimal-audio-series/controllers/zonepad/zonepad-vl1/
Photography: Daniel Dobrovszki, Armin Speil, Oliver Toth, MateLeblanc
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