USA - At 125th AES Convention in San Francisco next month, TiMax will feature the latest evolution of its audio matrix systems, TiMax2 SoundHub and TiMax Tracker - a range of audio showcontrol and systems integrator products.

In its SoundHub-S audio showcontrol guise, the TiMax2 control software is configured specifically for programming and running live shows and events with cue-driven level, delay, EQ, matrixing, mixing and audio playback.

The SoundHub-R systems integrator version is optimised for more mainstream AV installations needing similar comprehensive audio processing, networking and remote control resources but with less focus on real-time showcontrol or audio animation.

Also demonstrated at AES will be the new TiMax Tracker showcontrol automation product, which uses UWB radar tracking technology.

TiMax Tracker has recently enhanced the sound reinforcement of se

USA - Central Baptist Church (CBC), located in St. Louis, Missouri, has installed two Allen & Heath iLive-80 digital console systems to handle FOH/monitors and broadcast needs. The 750-capacity facility is a dynamic musical church, which, in addition to various weekly services, hosts a number of events including theatrical, musical, and dance performances, community events, guest speakers, workshops and educational sessions. The installation was managed by Drainer Albright & Associates with system integration by Modern Communications and Output Unlimited.

"The church is undergoing a transformation to meet the needs of a media savvy generation," says Michael Drainer of Drainer Albright & Associates. "The iLive system has exceeded CBC's expectations and has been the perfect solution because of its superior user friendliness, flexibility, and functionality."

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Korea - Cadac Electronics reports that its Korean distributor, Dreamsound, has supplied a 52-input Cadac J-Type Live Production Console to the Kei Myung Artcenter, which formally opens this month.

Located on the Kei Myung University's Seongseo campus in Daegu, the Kei Myung Artcenter has a 1900-capacity auditorium, acting principally as a music and performing arts student facility, as well as hosting a variety of medium and large-scale visiting productions. Involving a total investment of some US $80m, the project commenced in January 2005, and has been operational since February this year.

Following the gala opening, the first major production will be the Korean musical The Last Empress, featuring lyrics by In Ja Yang, music by Hui Gap Kim, and sound design by the celebrated local sound director, Ki Young Kim. The musical Mamma Mia! is also scheduled to run towa

UK - Six enthusiastic members of Prism Sound/SADiE's staff gave up their Sunday morning lie-in on 21 September to take part in the 10-mile Chariots of Fire charity race, an annual event that follows in the footsteps of the famous film, taking its scenic route through the streets and colleges of Cambridge.

A total of 408 teams of six took part, with each team member running 1.7 miles. The Prism Sound team gave themselves the challenge of finishing in the top half of the field and they succeeded with a position of 171 and a time of 1:15:43, which averages out at just under 7.5 minutes per mile.

Prism Sound's sales and marketing manager Jody Thorne says: "We were really pleased with our time and are looking forward to bettering it next year. Our thanks go to everyone who sponsored us - and to Prism Sound for paying our registration fees."

The recipients of the

UK - Dale Hanson took time off the road to handle eight different acts at The Bedford in London and mixed the evening away on a Soundcraft Si3. Along with the other Si3 beta testers covering theatre, touring and house of worship applications in Europe and the USA, Hanson has taken the Si3 through its test paces.

"The show was a bit like live TV with eight acts performing a couple of songs each during the evening without any change over time at all really. Not many digital consoles can cope with that type of challenge but the Si3 worked really well. I found that you can use so many different functions at the same time to be very useful. Having control of EQ, dynamics, bus sends and effects without having to reassign anything was great."

The Si3 is Soundcraft's latest 'mid range' addition to its growing digital family. It follows the Studer Vista 5 SR (Tours including:

UK - With 40-ton tanks clashing in daily battle in the Dorset countryside, an Electro-Voice sound system has been drafted in to overcome the noise of combat and deliver a clear and intelligible commentary to spectators. Complete Production Solutions (CPS) has just completed the PA installation for a new outdoor demonstration area at The Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset, which boasts the world's finest and most historically significant collection of tanks in the world.

Featuring tank and armoured vehicle displays, simulated combat and occasional performances by the Light Cavalry Band, the new visitor attraction stages up to three shows a day in the April to September season. For the audience in the public viewing area, EV's weatherproof SX300 and ZX1 loudspeakers deliver a realistic, almost interactive sound experience.

Simon White, installation manager for CPS, has been involv

France - Jérôme Quadri from Avignon, France, is the winner of the Sennheiser Sound Logo Contest. The international jury and the public voted the 31-year-old's sound logo the best of over 2,000 entries.

Sennheiser launched the competition in January. Since then, more than 600 entrants sent in sonic logos and a total of 2,300 people chose their favourites in an online vote.

"Jérôme Quadri's sound logo perfectly reflects the characteristics of the Sennheiser brand," said Susanne Seidel, president of global marketing at Sennheiser. "It is outstandingly clear, instantly recognisable and has great potential for variation."

"I'm absolutely thrilled that I was able to convince the jury and the public with my sound logo," said Quadri on hearing that he had won. "I had a very clear idea of what the name Sennheiser means for me and wha

UK - While the heavyweight likes of Metallica, Rage Against The Machine, The Killers, the Manic Street Preachers and The Cribs were rocking out on the Main and NME stages at this year's Reading and Leeds festivals, three other stages at the twin events featured considerably longer daily line-ups of talent. And key elements were Yamaha digital consoles supplied by Entertainment Sound Specialists (ESS).

Reading and Leeds festivals take place over the three-day August bank holiday weekend. All the acts that play at one site perform at the other on a different day of the weekend. And while the acts playing on the Festival Republic, BBC Introducing and Alternative stages may not have quite the global pulling-power of those on the biggest stages, the sheer amount of different performers make them an essential stopping point for festival goers.

At both Reading and Leeds sites ESS sup

USA - Auralex Acoustics will introduce EcoTech, the company's first green acoustical panel, at this year's AES show in San Francisco. Earlier this year, the company announced the first green acoustical foam product on the market, Eco-Friendly StudioFoam.

EcoTech brand acoustic panels are manufactured with a formulation of 100% recycled polyester fibres. EcoTech panels are truly "green"; reducing the ecological footprint of acoustic treatment and dependence on fossil fuels, including foreign crude oil, says the company. Auralex EcoTech is manufactured without harmful Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's), which have been implicated in the depletion of the ozone layer.

The EcoTech acoustical panels are available in the same colour choices and cuts as the company's original acoustical panels.

"The introduction of Auralex's EcoTech is the next step in our ongoing initiative

Peru - Allen & Heath's iLive digital mixing system recently made its debut in Peru when it was employed in Lima's Exhibition Park amphitheatre for the concert of Christian pop/rock band Rojo.

Comprising the iDR10 mix rack loaded with 48 inputs and 16 outputs and an iLive-144 control surface, the system managed FOH and monitor sound for the four-piece band.

"The iLive digital mixer was easy to use, intuitive, and provided direct and quick access to all functions, which makes it a great system for live use," comments FOH operator, Christian Jesus Montenegro Giraldo. "The PA company offered us various EQ and compressor units, but iLive already has dynamics processors built in, which is a huge advantage."

In addition to the main mix, in-ear and wedge monitor mixes were controlled from FOH, and iLive was complemented by EAW speaker systems and Crest Audio ampl

South Africa - LP Unlimited Productions provided the sound reinforcement system for a major regional religious event, Loftus For Jesus held at Loftus Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa. The event featured some of the world's most prominent Christian leaders and drew a crowd of more than 70,000 people.

The sound reinforcement system was required to cover the entire outdoor venue, using temporary staging and ground-support structures. LP Unlimited Productions worked together with JBL's distributor for South Africa, Wild+Marr, to plan for rental-system expansion with new JBL Vertec line array system components. The technical production team evaluated the stadium architecture and advance audience-area plans, relying upon JBL's Line Array Calculator software tool for system configuration decisions. It was decided to employ a total of 28 VT4889-1 full-size line array elements, 3

USA - The Buffalo Chip Music Festival held annually at South Dakota's Sturgis Motorcycle Rally poses unique challenges to any sound company. "As well as thunderous applause," says Steve Cross, Kid Rock's FOH mixer, "the bikers will rev their engines in appreciation." Sure Sound & Lighting, old hands with the festival, showcased the new Renkus-Heinz VerSys VLX3 line arrays for the main stage area, powered by Lab.gruppen PLM 10000Q amplifiers with built-in Dolby Lake processing.

"The VLX3 arrays fly very easily and, with external amps, the load-in was a lot easier," says Grant Stramel, Sure Sound's lead system engineer. "Last year we used the self-powered Renkus-Heinz STLA/9 line array. But, with the type of weather we get here in Sturgis, when it rains it's a major advantage to simply throw a tarpaulin over a rack of amps than climb the array an

Germany - Audio rental company BLL-Veranstaltungstechnik, based in the city of Krefeld, has undertaken a number of high profile summer events with its Flex Array system complementing its large inventory of Turbosound Aspect and NuQ loudspeakers.

Mid-July saw the company providing sound reinforcement for many elements of the annual Loveparade festival which all-but consumes the city of Dortmund each year.

As well as a wide array of Aspect, NuQ and TSW cabinets featuring on a range of the colourful (and noisy) floats which form the event's centrepiece, the company deployed a major Flex Array rig at Circle of Love, one of the many outdoor stages which also feature at Loveparade.

Featuring performances by Moby, Ricardo Villalobos, Richie Hawtin and other high profile DJs, the system comprised nine flown Flex Array cabinets and 12 ground-stacked TA-880L per side.

UK - RTS Telex reports that its RTS ADAM (Advanced Digital Audio Matrix) intercom system is playing a key role in the presentation areas at BBC Wales. The 80-port system, with seven KP32 key panels, allows operators and producers to communicate with each other in the new play-out facility at Broadcasting House in Cardiff, as well around the complex's control room, television presentation studio and gallery.

The RTS system was chosen to replace the previous talkback system used by Broadcasting House. It has to work with an existing four-wire router (not RTS), accepting inputs from that device and sending back inputs, in addition to connecting to the RTS intercom panels, in addition to third-party audio monitoring boxes and headphone points.

The RTS intercom was specified and installed by a BBC Wales team headed by broadcast engineer David Carnaby, as a separate 'mini-project' r

UK - A.C. Audio has recently supplied Aberdeen Performing Arts with a completely stand alone, 12-way Audio-Technica 5000 Series wireless radio microphone system.

Aberdeen Performing Arts has been investing in new equipment for its first ever touring production. Sunset Song is a seven-week tour directed by Kenny Ireland. They approached A.C. Audio with a requirement for a new, completely transportable and robust radio microphone solution that would be put to use at all venues they tour throughout Scotland in the coming months.

A.C. Audio sales manager Peter Butler commented on the system selection "It was very important to provide the best wireless system possible. After some discussion with Alan Campbell head of operations at A.P.A. we decided on Audio-Technica Artist Elite 5000 Series. Having recently tested the lapel system myself I knew it would be ideal. Design

Spain - Adlib Audio once again supplied full audio production for the Ibiza Rocks 2008 season, a new musical concept for the Balearic island that was launched three years ago and has become one of the most popular events of the season.

Ibiza Rocks 2008 - promoted by Andy McKay and production managed by Mike Darling - was staged at two 1500 capacity outdoor venues - the Ibiza Rocks Hotel in San Antonio and The Hipódromo de San Rafel in Sant Rafel de sa Creu. It featured a host of international artists including The Enemy, Dizzee Rascal, The Streets, Soulwax, Pendulum and many others.

The sound system was spec'd by Adlib's Andy Dockerty and built and commissioned on site by engineer Declan Fyans who stayed out for the duration of the four-month season which is just drawing to a close.

The biggest and most important challenge for the sound system was durability.

Germany - Deborah Jackson has been appointed sales and system engineer for CCS and ACT products. Based in the UK, Jackson will complete the tech support team, covering Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA regions).

Jackson will be responsible for all tech-related issues regarding CCS (Critical Communication Systems) and ACT (Advanced Communication Technology) products. As sales and system engineer, she will work on the integration of products into existing systems, as well as the development and installation of new ones.

In her previous post of audio systems engineer at TSL, Jackson was responsible for systems integration.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Founded in 1823, Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut is one of the oldest colleges in the state, second only to Yale University. And its football team is one of the oldest in America, having made its first kickoff in 1877.

Despite one of the best records in NCAA football, until recently the team's stadium was lacking when it came to good sound. A small, underpowered portable PA system left most of the fans scratching their heads over the announcements from the press box, and music had all the power and punch of a transistor radio.

This year, Newington, Connecticut-based CMI Sound Systems installed a pair of Community R2 full-range three-way loudspeakers mounted on top of the stadium's scoreboard.

"The R2 was a very practical solution, first and foremost," says CMI's John Pizzoferrato. "It's one of the only systems that are powerful enough to cover t

No Laughing matter - Clowns appearing at a circus in Birmingham were silenced by licensing regulators who banned them from playing their trumpets. Zippo's Circus said Birmingham City Council officials told them the show could not go on unless the clowns dropped the musical part of their act.

The circus, performing in Calthorpe Park, Edgbaston, fell foul of the Licensing Act 2003. The act forbids the playing of live music without a licence. Circus owner Martin Burton said that applying for a licence was time-consuming and expensive and called for circuses to be exempt from the legislation. He said: "I'm a big fan of silent comedy, but this is nonsense."

Old Rocker News (1) - Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant has scotched rumours that he is to tour with the band, describing speculation as "frustrating and ridiculous". Last week, The Sun newspaper reported th

UK - Following the recent changes to the Yamaha Commercial Audio organisation which saw Nick Cook assume a pan-European marketing directorate, Yamaha Music UK has confirmed that Karl Christmas, previously Commercial Audio marketing manager, has been promoted to the role of deputy general manager, Commercial Audio UK. This is a UK position leading the local team alongside general manager Ricci Hodgson, say Yamaha.

Karl Christmas will now assume overall responsibility for the coordination and management of the rapidly expanding UK sales and marketing operations, and will also oversee the continuing drive into new sectors, in particular the install systems markets.

One of the longest-serving members of the Commercial Audio team, Karl is widely respected and has been responsible for some of the company's most significant product launches and notable marketing successes. He will no

UK - Situated in London's O2 Arena, Matter - the latest club spin off from the successful Fabric brand - has opened its South-East-London-facing doors on a vast 3000-capacity space.

Central to the installed technology is a 16-channel TiMax audio delay matrix, which controls every channel of the main Room One sound system, including the subwoofers and the Bodysonic vibrating floor. Matter's sound and lighting design consultant, Dave Parry, says: "Before we even knew how the final system would work together, TiMax was always going to be integrated into it whatever we did."

Matter is designed around the Kandinsky principle: vibration, lighting and music all coming together as a whole to provoke a trance-like state. Parry explains: "The whole lot - lighting, video and sound - moves as an integrated whole so as a very basic example, say the club is lit blue, I can ta

Spain - Beyma has introduced two low frequency models that benefit from all the research and technologies used in the P1200Nd and P1000Nd series, but using a Ferrite magnetic system.

"Our aim is to offer the latest advantages and improvements of our high power Neodymium drivers but keeping these products in a competitive price range," says the company. "The new P1000Fe loudspeakers will be introduced in two sizes, 18" and 15".

Main features include: high sensitivity (>97 dB @ 2.83V), real 1000 W AES power handling, low resonant frequency (< 39 Hz), extended and controlled excursion (Xmax ± 7.5mm) and weather resistant paper cone, treated with fibres for extreme rigidity.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Glyndebourne Opera House in Sussex chose Brighton's MBI Sound & Light to install an infra-red Sennheiser system, allowing hard of hearing patrons to enjoy performances with clarity.

To ensure every one of the 1,202 seats in Glyndebourne's auditorium is covered by the Sennheiser system, six strategically placed SZI 1015 radiators transmit the audio signal to four RI 150 LL induction loops and 10 HDI 302 headsets. The signal is generated from a Sennheiser SI 1015 modulator rack unit, while the induction loops and headsets are powered by an L 151-10 charger. In addition, an SI 30 test system is available to demonstrate the simplicity of the system to users before they take headsets and induction loops for the performance.

Audio technician Simon Yapp has worked at Glyndebourne for eight years and is one half of the opera house's full time AV department. "The new system c

Germany - The Beijing Olympics were relayed live to giant screens at Munich airport. The sound was supplied by rental company Magic Event & Medientechnik using Electro-Voice equipment.

To provide optimum sound reinforcement for the airport's large but oddly-shaped outdoor viewing area with its sound-reflecting glass and Plexiglas facades, the Olching-based acoustics experts opted for an Electro-Voice solution, the centrepiece of which was made up of an XLD line array driven by Electro-Voice TG7 and TG5 power amplifiers with IRIS-Net software.

Markus Thomae, managing director of Magic Medientechnik, reports: "We had very little room to put the PA. Fortunately the EV XLD is ultra-compact, so we soon had the situation under control."

(Jim Evans)

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