Japan - Alcons Audio pro-ribbon systems made a considerable impression on the Japanese professional audio market in July, as the company’s new Japanese distributor E’Spec Inc. held a demonstration event at the Abeno Ward Citizen Centre in Osaka Despite the difficulties presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, well over a hundred audio professionals attended the event on 14 July, which was split into three sessions to ensure effective social distancing. They included audio engineers, system designers, rental and sales companies. Alongside PowerPoint and video presentations, practical demonstrations of Alcons pro-ribbon systems included the LR7 / LR7B micro line-array, LR18 / LR18B compact mid-size line-array, the VR8 compact versatile monitor, VR12 mid-size versatile monitor, RR12 point-source array module and the BF151mkII compact subwoofer. A variety of sources
Europe - Exertis has announced a number of senior appointments across its international division. Christer Svärd is appointed managing director for Exertis Nordics. Christer was previously the CEO of Higab AB, a company that builds, manages, and cares for properties in Gothenburg and before that, he served as CEO of Volvo Parts, a global spare parts distributor. “Being able to take charge of Exertis operations in the Nordics, in an exciting industry with a really strong owner, was an attractive prospect that I could not refuse. I have extensive experience in the supply chain and leading businesses with great growth potential which I hope fits very well into Exertis Nordics,” said Svärd. Exertis Nordics also welcomes Helena Byström as supply chain director. For the past six years, Helena worked as a logistics manager at Zinzino, a direct sales company for
Europe - Yamaha’s new RM-CG dynamic beam-forming ceiling array microphone and RM-CR conference processor are the heart of the new intelligent ADECIA conferencing solution, which ‘applies automated room tuning and dynamic, multi-beam tracking to the challenges of today’s and tomorrow's conference environments’. Designed to provide flexible audio intelligence for the meeting spaces of today and tomorrow, ADECIA can be used in a wide variety of locations and situations, says the company. Available from Q1 2021, this solution is based on Dante audio networking and comprises the new RM-CG dynamic beamforming ceiling array microphone, the dedicated RM-CR conference processor, Yamaha’s iVXL1-16P line array speakers and the optimised SWR2311P-10G PoE+ switch. ADECIA is easy to install, set up and operate. The heart of the system is the RM-CR conference processor, whi
USA - LEA Professional has appointed LVX Marketing as the company’s sales representative for Southern California and Nevada. LVX Marketing was founded in 2013 by industry veterans John Hernandez and Ed Ulibarri and between them they have over fifty years of experience working with professional audio manufacturers. “I was originally introduced to LEA Professional a year ago and their innovative technology has always stayed in my memory,” said John Hernandez, co-founder of LVX Marketing. “I’m proud that today we can announce our partnership with this nimble, groundbreaking company.” Hernandez adds, “We saw how well they understood the market and took care of their clients and knew we would work well together. They produce pioneering, aesthetically pleasing products at a great price point with exceptional service. Not only are you buying high quality a
South Korea - The Ulsan Sports Complex hired audio integrators TechDataPS Co., and Daeseong Media to upgrade the sound system in its Ulsan Complex Stadium with a Harman Professional audio solution. Built in 1970, the Ulsan Sports Complex includes Ulsan Complex Stadium, which was the original home of Ulsan Hyundai FC and features a capacity of 19,471. Today, the stadium is home to Ulsan Citizen FC, which competes in Korea’s K4 professional soccer league. Located between the Yaksacheon and Dongcheon rivers, Ulsan Sports Complex also includes an auxiliary stadium, the Dongcheon Gymnasium, Dongcheon National Sports Centre, a basketball court, foot volleyball court, futsal court as well as a youth concert hall. To improve sound at sporting events and create an entertaining environment for fans, TechDataPS and Daeseong Media equipped Ulsan Complex Stadium with an audio s
Australia - Revolution Acoustics has appointed Exertis ProAV Australia to distribute its full line of SSP6 Multiducers, RevNet 2140 Amps, Pendant 360 and UBIQUI T360 commercial audio solutions in the region. “Revolution Acoustics delivers a truly immersive audio experience in every type of commercial environment through constant-SPL, completely consistent audio coverage throughout the listening space,” comments Exertis ProAV Australia president & CEO, Kevin Kelly. “Their SSP6 Multiducers take transducer technology to a whole new level of crystal-clear quality, bringing a more compelling audio experience to listeners. We are excited to introduce this remarkable line to our resellers.” Nick Cocks, Exertis ProAV Australia general manager, adds: “Retail stores, restaurants, office lobbies, hospitals, classrooms, workplace break rooms, transportation centres a
UK - Initially launched by PLASA in response to calls from its membership, the #WeMakeEvents campaign aims to raise awareness around the current plight of the live events sector and how it urgently needs financial support in order to survive the COVID-19 crisis. The initial response resulted in a collective Day of Action on 11 August, with creative expressions across the country, including over 700 buildings lit up in red and other activities that culminated with 4,000 socially distanced event professionals lining bridges and the bankside of the Thames, expressing their need for support with the red alert theme. (Read extensive coverage of the Red Alert day of action in LSi September – out now!) In order to r
USA - If you’re in Northwest Georgia, it’s not hard to find a Rock Bridge Community Church campus. Its six locations, one of which is in a suburb of Chattanooga near the Tennessee state line, make it easy to be part of this contemporary worship-style church. It’s also easy on the ears, as five of Rock Bridge’s venues - Calhoun, Chatsworth, Ringgold, and Dalton’s Stage 123 and historic 1,165-seat Wink Theatre - now have L-Acoustics A Series constant curvature line source sound systems, each of which sound nearly identical thanks to the use of the manufacturer’s new M1 measurement tool suite. “The A Series is a very cohesive system,” says Steele Beaty of Skylark Audio Video, the Oklahoma City-based integrator that designed and installed the PA for all five worship spaces. “The Wide boxes have a 30-degree vertical pattern, and the Focus has a 10-degree v
Romania - The Expirat music venue brand was established in 2002 and is a popular open-format music club / live music venue in Bucharest. Owned by Andrei Șoșa and his wife Raluca, they opened their first location in Vama Veche (on the beach) and the following year a second venue appeared in the Romanian capital. However, in 2016 the latter relocated from its city centre basement home to its current venue, a medium-size warehouse within the Halele Carol complex. This is an industrial architectural jewel similar in aspect and logistics to the Melkweg Oude Zaal in Amsterdam, located at the edge of one of Bucharest’s historic landmarks: Carol I Park. Since its relocation, Expirat has become a flagship venue for both the local live music scene and the go-to dance club for Bucharest’s clubbers who revel to the sounds produced from a Martin Audio W8LM Mini Line Array in
Greenland - A compact Allen & Heath SQ-6 console was on mixing duty for one of the world’s most remote festivals recently. The annual Qooqqut festival brings music and culture to an isolated shore in the Nuuk fjord complex, cradled by the dramatic mountains of western Greenland. Organised by Greenland’s cultural centre, Katuaq, this year’s festival was held on 14-15 August. With no roads, no phone signal and no Internet onsite, Qooqqut 2020 offered a rare opportunity to step outside the everyday world and experience a diverse programme of music, workshops and traditional sports.Tickets were capped at an intimate 250 for each day and the event was planned in close cooperation with the authorities to ensure compliance with Covid 19 guidelines. Katuaq’s sound technician, Angunnguaq Larsen, mixed FOH for the event from a 48 channel SQ-6 console, with an iPad ru
UK - The new Kam Quartet Eco is a complete, easy to operate, professional multi-channel UHF wireless microphone system. Four colour-coded cardioid hand-held microphones are included in the KWMQ4E - Kam Quartet Eco package. Powered by two1.5V AA batteries, these microphones, with an uninterrupted working distance of up to 60m, transmit audio signals to the Quartet Eco UHF Quad multi-channel receiver, operating between 863.30 / 864.30 / 863.80 / 864.80MHx frequencies. As with all Kam wireless systems, compact is again the theme, with the road-ready, lightweight metal-cased mains driven (PSU supplied) UHF Quad receiver featuring enhanced muting, individual volume controls for all four microphones, RF/AF LED signal indicators and 4 balanced and unbalanced audio outputs. This UHF receiver also includes a pair of adjustable, omnidirectional antennas that are also removable
Germany - DirectOut has expanded the capabilities of its Prodigy Series with the release of new firmware for both Prodigy.MC (Modular Audio Converter) and Prodigy.MP (Multifunction Audio Processor). “We are immensely proud to share this major update of the series,” comments DirectOut CEO/CTO, Claudio Becker-Foss, “The lockdown had a huge impact on all of us; it has changed and will continue to change the industry. Considering the circumstances, we are extremely happy that we could use this time to continue our work on the Prodigy Series in order to provide customers with this exciting update.” Originally planned solely for Prodigy.MP, the update considerably expands the potential application scenarios of Prodigy.MC by adding FastSRC and EARS (Enhanced Automatic Redundancy Switching). FastSRC is a bidirectional, low-latency asynchronous sample-rate convert
USA - The history of Cary Alliance Church in Cary, North Carolina stretches back to the 1970s, and the church has occupied a few different properties and worship spaces in that time. Although arguably not the “churchiest” of its locations, Cary Alliance Church currently occupies a 600-seat multipurpose room. As the times have changed, so has Cary Alliance’s service style. Local AV integration firm AVCON recently designed and installed a Danley Sound Labs sound reinforcement system that supports a more-contemporary service style. “Cary Alliance Church moved into their new building about 12 years ago, and AVCON provided the sound system,” explained Frank Yarborough, president and CEO of AVCON. “At the time, the church’s style was more traditional, and the sound system met their more modest needs. But they’ve certainly evolved with the rest of the world i
Indonesia - Wanting to upgrade its acoustic system and provide an enhanced guest experience, the Playmaker Café hired IMS Indonesia, to design and install Harman Professional audio solutions featuring JBL Professional loudspeakers. The Playmaker Café is a dining and entertainment destination in Thamrin, Jakarta. Opened in October 2019 and founded by the football presenter Ophan Lamara, Playermaker Café is a popular hangout spot for locals and tourists alike. The establishment consists of a restaurant, meeting rooms for corporate professionals as well as a lounge, which hosts live music events twice a week and includes two mini billiard tables that add a sporty, energetic vibe. “Playmaker Café required a world-class sound system that would allow customers to further enjoy the ambiance,” said a spokesperson for IMS Indonesia. “The system had to be dynamic and a
Germany - Pioneer DJ Germany and Chauvet DJ have taken a major step to meet the growing demand for livestream productions by collaborating on a multi-functional broadcast studio. Located in Chauvet DJ’s German headquarters, the new facility is fully equipped to accommodate a range of production needs, from talks and product demos, to DJ sets and live band performances. The production ready studio is outfitted with over 25 Chauvet DJ fixtures. A full set of Pioneer DJ equipment is also in place, including the DJM-V10 Mixer, a DJS-1000 Performance-Sampler and the All-in-One unit XDJ-XZ. For Chauvet DJ and Pioneer DJ, the new collaboration is the result of a longstanding friendship between the two companies in Germany. “We already had an excellent partnership in the past,” says Marcus Gierkens, country manager from Pioneer DJ Germany. “Collaborations at trade show
Germany - Allen & Heath dLive and SQ systems were at the heart of the AV solution for Dein Sommermoment – a pair of livestreamed events hosted in the vertigo-inducing Fernmeldeturm Nürnberg. Dominating the skyline over the city of Nuremberg, the 292m telecoms tower provided a striking backdrop for the two events in July. The first Dein Sommermoment featured seven solo artists performing in the tower’s distinctive egg-shaped viewing area, while the second event added a pair of outdoor stages at the foot of the structure for rock bands, presided over by presenters in the tower above. Both events were created by EMS - Experts Managed Services GmbH, with Konrad Wurster and Ole Langhans from AV provider, SL-Works Gbr heading the technical team. For the second Dein Sommermoment, an SQ-5 console was employed for presenter mics and monitoring, as
India - The pro audio community in India can now access Prism Sound’s range of converters and audio interfaces through Trimac Products, a leading audio company with offices in Dehli, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. With over 400 channel partners and representation for more than 20 pro audio brands, Trimac is well placed to bring the benefits of Prism Sound technology to the Indian market. Pankaj Kumar, Trimac’s chief operating officer, says, “Prism Sound’s products complement the products we already distribute and are a valuable and marketable addition to our roster. We are delighted to be able to offer this high end solution to our customers, many of whom are professional studios and hobbyist musicians. We also have customers in the education sector and we look forward to introducing them to the Prism Sound range.” Alongside its sales business Trimac, in
USA - Studio Technologies has launched a series of Announcer’s Consoles with Dante Audio-over-IP connectivity and a flexible set of features that supports a wide range of live commentary and related applications. The new line of Announcers Consoles includes three products - the Model 232, Model 234, and Model 236. All feature a “pro quality” microphone input circuit, Dante and analogue output channels, plus two, four, or six talkback inputs and outputs. Each unit can be easily incorporated into a Dante- or AES67-based network and is compatible with the Dante Domain Manager (DDM) application. “We designed these units such that they can be used as part of just about any on-air or live-event commentary application,” says Gordon Kapes, president of Studio Technologies. “In addition to their terrific sonic performance, we built-in an incredible number of option
Australia - Designed as a state-of-the art learning space for the performing arts in Hobart, the new AU$110m Hedberg Building at the University of Tasmania (UTas) has chosen a 48-channel API Legacy AXS analogue recording and mixing console for the heart of its recording hub. The 57sq.m control room - large enough to accommodate student groups - is linked to several recording spaces including dedicated drum and vocal booths, as well as the Salon performance venue and Ian Potter Recital Hall. Deciding on the best console for this studio saw the university's technical staff engage in extensive research before deciding on API. “What I was looking for in terms of the best console to learn on was something that sounds great and is easy to use; reliable with great technical support from a reputable manufacturer,” explains Rob Long, associate lecturer in music and music te
Australia - Studio Connections will be the new home for Point Source Audio’s range of microphones and headsets in Australia. The move is a result of Point Source Audio looking to build on its already strong reputation in the country with the appointment of a new distributor dedicated to the market. Point Source Audio microphones and headsets have been available in Australia for a number of years. Various products have featured on a number of international touring productions over the years, creating an ever-increasing demand and the need for a new partner that was dedicated to this territory. Following an extensive search, Point Source Audio has decided that Studio Connections Australia is the right partner to meet this brief. “Studio Connections Australia is proud to have been appointed as the Australian distributor for Point Source Audio,” says Deborah Sloss, m
Germany - The coronavirus pandemic has affected many areas of private and public life, forcing people to rethink established organisational structures and to adopt new working methods. This naturally also includes politicians at all levels. An example is the district council of the Bad Kissingen region in Germany which was unable to meet as usual in the conference rooms of its town hall. In order to comply with social distancing regulations, the officials had to find an alternative for the council’s 60 members. The AV specialist der Kohl UG ensured seamless communication between council members, as well as clear intelligibility in the press and public visitor areas, in the converted gymnasium with the Shure Microflex Complete Wireless conferencing system. Due to coronavirus safety regulations, each council member had to sit at their own table. These were placed in th
Canada - Upgrading its PA system to provide a refreshed and memorable experience for its fans and spectators, the Centre Bell, which is home to the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens and hosts a range of live events, turned to EAW for the project. The Centre Bell is reconfigured, frequently, into one of six different seating formats - ranging from a 2,000-seat amphitheatre to a 21,000-seat full-capacity NHL arena. EAW was chosen by way of a competitive bidding process commissioned by Jesse Leveillé, A1 tech at the Centre Bell. The EAW system was able to meet the wide range of applications and audio challenges at the venue and includes Anna loudspeakers and Otto subwoofers from the ADAPTive line, along with MKD1096 Loudspeakers and UXA4410 amplifiers. The EAW system, now fully implemented, provides the essential power and flexibility the venue needs as it is traditionally one
Europe - Canada-based Bluesound Professional has announced the addition of two new distribution partners in Avero (Ukraine) and Kinovox (Denmark). “We are delighted to welcome another two great distributors to our European team. We are fortunate to be able to work with some of the best distributors in the business. These new relationships will help strengthen our strategic Bluesound Professional European distribution and growth,” said Graeme Harrison, vice-president and general manager, Bluesound Professional. Bluesound Professional is continuing its efforts to expand its ever-growing distribution network. Since its launch at the Integrated Systems Europe show in February 2019, the company has expanded its coverage to include all of North America, most of Europe and parts of Asia. As a growing commercial audio technology brand, Bluesound Professional encourages int
Switzerland - IP audio and control specialist Barix is bringing its IP paging and intercom expertise to large broadcast and emergency response networks with RackBox, a universal cloud-based, any-to-all platform for widespread delivery of critical messages. Initially custom-developed for a large national US TV broadcaster, Barix has now ‘productised’ RackBox to serve a broader set of paging and intercom needs inside and outside the broadcast industry. In addition to TV and radio networks, RackBox is designed for professional alarm and notification applications over military, emergency response and business networks that serve many locations. RackBox’s single-button user interface enables immediate delivery of important messages to all stations over local and wide-area networks. RackBox systems are infinitely scalable, with each device programmable as a transmitter
