UK - Audio Design Services has agreed to contribute a nominal sum for all fixed installations of its Induction Loop and Infrared systems towards the cost of the training and support of a 'Hearing Dog' - a dog trained to provide help for profoundly deaf people - currently around £5,000.

David Hopkins OBE, chairman of Audio Design Services, said that he had been so impressed by a demonstration of a 'Hearing Dog' at his local Rotary Club that the idea of supporting the charity through his company's electronic systems for deaf people was born. Since the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act had compelled companies and authorities to provide such aids there had been a general shift from voluntary support to more of a 'grudge' purchase. It seemed sensible to bring the plight of deaf people to the public's attention and this was one way that Audio Design could help, says Hopkins.

USA - Symetrix, a leading provider of signal processing technology for the installed sound market, announces the latest upgrade to its SymNet Network Audio DSP platform - SymNet Designer Version 6.0. The primary focus of the new release is the addition of Acoustic Echo Cancelling (AEC) functionality to the SymNet platform, say the company. This process operates entirely within SymNet's onboard DSP and requires no outboard cards or additional hardware. The system is capable of running up to eight channels of AEC in any of the SymNet family DSP devices.

As with previous upgrades and additions to the SymNet toolkit, Acoustic Echo Cancelling is offered as a series of software modules that can be added to a SymNet design at any time based on the system application. Included modules perform at three different bandwidths for use in telephone conferencing, video conferencing, and wideba

UK - Wigwam Hire has made its first investment in Digidesign's new Venue digital mixing environment. The expandable system - comprising D-Show mixing console, FOH mix engine, stage rack I/O unit and multi-channel digital snake - has gone straight out on the Prodigy's UK tour at the request of the band's monitor engineer Joe Campbell.

Although Wigwam were an early adopter of digital desks, hire director Chris Hill said there were plenty of reasons for investing further: "Joe decided he wanted to use the Venue on Prodigy and another couple of projects we are working on have also expressed an interest," he said.

But he expected it to really come of age on the Spring 2006 tour of Westlife, who have expressed an interest in recording all their shows. Chris Hill confirmed that Steve Levitt of Production North (the band's production company) had been a major influence in th

UK - Audio Design Services Ltd, has signed a distributor agreement with Auditel Limited - a British manufacturer of high quality conference, voting, interpretation/translation equipment and a revolutionary digital recording system - for the marketing or its comprehensive range of equipment.

Gary Sheppard, Chairman of Auditel, said that his company had built up a worldwide reputation providing bespoke systems for such venues as the Olympic Games and Greece, the Irish Parliament in Dublin, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the United Nations African Conference in Addis Ababa. Gary went on to say that he had been looking for a quality company in the UK to increase market share. Having short listed ADSworldwide as a possible distributor, it was the professionalism on their display stand at the 2005 PLASA Exhibition that convinced Gary of his final choice. As ADSworldwide h

UK - Software provider Stardraw.com has announced that the following capabilities have recently been added across the suite of Stardraw's design and documentation applications.

The first is Connection Scheduling. For some time, Cable and Dogleg objects, which show interconnections between products in the Schematic drawing environments, have had the ability to 'glue' to and move with symbols as they are repositioned. In Stardraw Audio and Stardraw A/V, their functionality has now been extended to identify the products they connect. This allows you to generate reports from schematic diagrams that tell you what device is connected to what, and via which cable, without the need for extraneous data entry - another big time-saver for contractors, say the company.

Default Line Width is an enhancement that boosts the legibility of printed output. Text appears much sharper, bolder and

Ireland - Midas and Klark Teknik's Irish distributor Sound Communications has supplied a 32-channel Midas Legend console, a Midas Venice 240 console and assorted Klark Teknik processing to Radio City, a new music venue in Dublin. The Legend is the 25th large format console that Sound Communications has sold in the two years it has distributed Midas.

"This venue has been in the pipeline for two years, and Midas products were specified from the outset," says Alan Murphy of Sound Communications. "The initial order was for the Venice, and then as the project grew to encompass two venues they also ordered the Legend."

The Legend has been installed into the venue's main 500-capacity room while the Venice keeps engineers and crowds happy in a smaller acoustic room. "I'd already been using Midas on various projects and tours, and it was the obvious choice for

UK - ADSworldwide has announced the introduction of new products. Two discreet ceiling loudspeakers have been introduced to meet the increasing requirement for aesthetic fixtures. Both the miniature and micro ceiling loudspeakers supplied by ADSworldwide are in keeping with modern design requirements. Similar to familiar 'eye ball' ceiling fittings these new units provide a good quality diffused sound, compatible with the ambience normally associated with low ceiling location such as reception areas.

The miniature unit comes with a special back enclosure making it ideal for such areas as swimming pool changing rooms where water and condensation are an issue. Competitively priced these attractive units are not only decorative but extremely effective as low level sound reproduction units.

Also new is a loudspeaker horn aimed at music applications as well as voice reproductions.

UK - Cadac Electronics Plc has appointed Bob Thomas as its managing director with immediate effect, heading up the company as it expands its digital product base, alongside the acclaimed analogue range of Cadac live performance consoles. Formerly MD of TEAC (UK), Thomas now takes up this new post, as Clive Green formally retires after more than 37 years at the helm.

The appointment comes at an exciting time for Cadac, as Bob explains: "Throughout my audio career, I have known and respected Cadac products. Cadac is world famous for its sound quality and absolute commitment to putting audio performance before all else. It is therefore a great thrill to be invited by Clive Green to take over at a pivotal time for the company, with the first digital products now shipping in numbers and a ground breaking digital desk in advanced development. The prospect of leading one of the or

UK - Quadrant Solutions, the Midlands-based visual communications company with five regional offices throughout the UK, has taken delivery of a 40-way Sennheiser Conference System. The SDC 3000 controls large conferences, with software that enables the configuration and control of the entire system via PC.

Quadrant Hire and Events director, David Carter, says: "Conference equipment hire is an expanding market for us and over the last 12 months we have seen a significant growth in this area. We have also noticed that the demands from our clients have become increasingly sophisticated, so it was time to replenish stocks. Since receiving this system we have already enjoyed success with large corporations and educational establishments where emphasis has always been on quality and reliability. Sennheiser fits right in with how we do things."

The SDC 3000 has an extensive

UK - A stunning new multi-level restaurant and nightclub has opened on the seafront at Weston-super-Mare - on a landmark site that has previously housed Joe Montana's, Volts and latterly Stars. Now known as Seven VII, directors Vas and Nick Siangoplis and Michael Michaels (of Lazerlight Ltd) have already spent £1 million converting the sophisticated art deco ground floor, and will commence work on the other two floors after Christmas.

Named after the seven deadly sins, the first phase - designed by Nick Siangoplis - also features al-fresco, dining with freshly cooked food served in a conservatory and a terrace bar with large umbrellas and patio heaters.

Lazerlight has given equal priority to the sound and vision, entrusting Bristol-based Bristol Architectural Sound Services (BASS) with fitting a Martin Audio sound system. BASS's Mike Brice has split the ground floor into

UK/South Africa - DPA has announced the appointment of Prosound as its South African distributor. Prosound's head office is based in Johannesburg, and the company also has offices in Durban, Cape Town and most recently, Dubai.

Established in 1973, Prosound has become a leading force in the Southern African professional audio industry. Providing services ranging from rental to full turnkey installations, the company deals with the pro audio industry right across the board, including live sound, broadcast, studios, education and places of worship.

Prosound has worked on projects across the Africa continent and as far afield as Albania and Mauritius and prides itself on providing world class engineering and systems solutions, from the smallest one-man band to the largest airport in Africa.

Prosound's sales and marketing manager Francois Lötter says: "Prosound has been rep

UK - Audix has launched its new HT-5 omni-directional light, slimline headset microphone. The company say it is ideal for artists working in theatre, live sound, musicals and TV work.

It is designed to maintain high speech intelligibility without sounding hollow and harsh, while the ultra slim condenser microphone is unobtrusive. Audix say it has also made sure the headset is very comfortable adjusting for different head sizes and weighs just 1.1ounce (31grams). The flexible and durable steel frame includes a strain relief at the back of the frame to protect the microphone from damage.

The dual ear piece ensures it is stable on the head during dance routines. It has a flat response across the audio spectrum and an SPL handling of 140dB. It comes in either black or beige.

Available with either 3pin or 4 pin mini XLR. The Audix HT-5 is available now from Stirling Trading.

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China - Aviom, manufacturer of the Pro16 Monitor Mixing System, has announced that a digital snake consisting of five AN-16/i Input Modules, five AN-16/o Output Modules and three A-16D A-Net Distributors was installed for audio distribution at the opening ceremony at the 10th National Games at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Stadium in Nanjing, China. The Aviom gear was supplied by Acton Audio & Musical Instruments, (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., which is part of the Tom Lee Group.

"For the opening ceremony, more than 60 audio signals generated from the mixing console needed to be distributed to processors located 300m away," comments Jeffrey Lim, Aviom's international sales manager for Asia. "System designers Ruan Feng Audio & Lighting Company Limited decided against using a conventional analog snake system, choosing instead to use a distributed audio system from Aviom."

UK - Windsor is rapidly becoming home to a thriving community of stylish bars and nightclubs, designed to standards more usually found in the capital, just 25 miles away. The latest addition to Windsor's nightlife is Bar Indigo, built underneath the arches supporting a railway line, with all the acoustic challenges to match.

Privately owned by local Berkshire entrepreneur Duane Clark, Bar Indigo comprises two discrete areas; a separate bar and chill-out zone at the front of the club, and a much larger bar and dancefloor at the back. The long tunnel-like shape of the club premises ensures a great architectural space, but also offered, "fairly foul acoustics" for sound installer Paul Knight of Ascot Audio.

"The reverb time is horrendous, like being in a cave," says Knight. "The only solution was to get everyone as near to a direct source as possible, so

UK - Barcelona pro-audio manufacturer Vieta has announced the signing of Mick Brophy as its new international sales and marketing director. Having worked part-time for the Vieta team last year, in the position of export sales consultant, Brophy is now making a full commitment to the Barcelona company, and will be moving to Spain next year.

Company manager Nacho Alberdi explained that the deal was the result of Brophy's impressive performances over the last 12 months, adding that his new team member's extensive experience on the international circuit would provide valuable rewards for Vieta in 2006. Brophy has, in the past, worked for Amek, Kling & Freitag and Garwood.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

UK - Crest Audio has introduced the first in a series of new mixing consoles, all designed for the install market.

Sharing the same frame sizes as the company's HP-Eight Series, the new HP-W features two additional sets of alternative stereo outputs, including a dynamics section which can be used for recording purposes or as a versatile stereo output for delay speakers, secondary rooms, etc.

Other features include an ambient mic input and a dedicated stereo input module with four mono and four stereo inputs. All mono inputs feature line inputs via an additional jack to the XLR mic input. Another new module features eight-channel automix which can be disabled, making the HP-W ideal for the contracting market when no technically trained personnel are available. All input modules feature a BNC connector for adding a Lillite while auxiliary outputs will be XLR. Other provisions in

UK/Spain - Switchcraft has strengthened its international representation by appointing Madrid based Magnetrón, S.A. to stock and supply its connectors, audio and video patchbays and cable assemblies to the broadcast and professional audio markets in Spain.

Stephen Waldron, Switchcraft's director of international sales, says: "Magnetrón is a very well established and respected supplier within its market place and we are very pleased to enter this new relationship that will increase the availability of our products and introduce the Switchcraft range to new customers."

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

UK - Stage Electrics has announced the availability of a DMX DVD Controller to work alongside the Pioneer 7300D professional DVD player.

The DMX DVD Controller enables users to control the DVD player from a lighting desk. With simple DMX commands users can start and stop the DVD player, jump to a specific track, play it for two seconds, jump two tracks back etc! In a nutshell, users can coordinate video / audio source with lighting cues - ideal for theatre applications.

To get a fully functional DMX-controlled DVD player system, you need both a DVD 7300D player and a DVD Controller. The DVD 7300D has many features including the ability to play both video and audio discs, different sync functions and a serial interface to enable control functions from an external computer.

The DVD Controller is run by two DMX channels and, since the player plays both video and audio discs, th

New Zealand - Founders Theatre is home to a broad array of performances and gatherings for the roughly 160,000 residents of Hamilton and its neighbours in the surrounding Waikato region of New Zealand. Recently, the theatre's management decided it was time to upgrade the 20-year old sound system to a contemporary design that would, as technical officer Kelvin Ballard describes, "deliver consistent level and quality to every seat in the house, with both a high level of musicality and uncompromised clarity of vocal reproduction." The theatre settled on a configuration of three arrays built around 34 Meyer Sound self-powered curvilinear array loudspeakers provided by Hamilton's Audio Video Solutions under the direction of Hanspeter Frick, in consultation with Harley Richardson of Meyer Sound Australia.

"Events here range from international tours to very simple confer

UK - Fifty years after the release of their first recording, Don and Phil Everly are still packing in the crowds. On their current UK tour every show, from the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham to London's Royal Albert Hall, is sold out. Front of House engineer Dave Wooster is keenly aware that when people are paying £80 a ticket, it's very important to make sure the sound is absolutely right. "And the toys in my racks help me do that," he says.

Sound equipment for the tour, supplied by Capital Sound, includes a substantial compliment of XTA equipment, with the new DP428 audio management system playing a major role. "This is the first time I've used the DP428 in front of everything as the system driver," says Wooster. "We've got eight DP226s behind it, but the DP428 is driving the entire rig. We're using it to EQ the Martin Audio W8Ls on the main

Israel - Haoman 17 (Ha Oman meaning 'the artist' in Hebrew) is Tel Aviv's newest mega-club. The original Haoman in Jersusalem is universally acknowledged and consistently voted as the best club in Israel, yet the new Tel Aviv venue is billed as even bigger and more sophisticated than its famous forebear. Set in the trendy Florentine district of Tel Aviv, Haoman boasts a huge sunken dancefloor with elevated platforms, a live stage, five different bars and a secondary dancefloor separated by a peek-a-boo glass wall. At the heart of it all is a mighty EAW KF850 sound system installed by EAW distributor and systems integrator, Pro Touch Ltd.

According to Pro Touch's Shmulik Mazuz, the client evaluated no less than four audio systems from high profile manufacturers before selecting the EAW solution. "The customer already owns the most successful club in Israel, and he knows what

UK - Bloc Party has recently completed a successful UK tour and are currently on a 15 night European tour rigged out with a full selection of Evolution wired microphones. Featuring heavily in the mic line-up is the award-winning 900 Series which has won Sennheiser its fourth prestigious TEC Award in as many years.

Introduced in 2004, Sennheiser's 900 Series features a range of powerful transparent mics ideally suited for stage use with excellent transient response and feedback rejection. Bloc Party FOH engineer Pete Bartlett has chosen the e935 for Kele's lead vocals and explains, "The e935 has given me far greater definition on Kele's voice, crisp and clean, but it also copes easily with his wide range, and dynamic variations". An e935 and e945 are used by Matt and Gordon respectively on backing vocals.

The bass is miked up with the legendary all-rounder MD421, and

Europe - Following the successful pairing of an Electro-Voice X-Line array with Simply Red on their last tour in 2003, Britannia Row has supplied the same system for the Simplified tour of Europe. Once again mixed by front-of-house engineer Gary Bradshaw, the system uses left and right arrays of X-Line cabinets, each comprising eight Xvls high-output cabinets and four Xvlt 5° trapezoidals for the lower section of the array. A centre array uses eight Xvls plus three Xvlt cabinets, while Xi1152 full-range boxes are flown two-deep at the side of the stage, with two more on the ground; six Xsubs complete the picture.

X-Line is powered by 16 racks of amplifiers, each containing four P3000RL Precision Series units, all under the IRIS software management system. Electro-Voice says Britannia Row has been instrumental in the development of this powerful software tool, providing invaluab

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