UK - EM Acoustics is launching the S Series, a new subwoofer range comprising seven subs designed to pair with the company’s loudspeakers in a variety of fixed and portable sound reinforcement applications. The new S-48 is a low profile, compact VLF subwoofer with minimal dimensions for easy concealment in confined spaces such as galleries, bars, cafés, museums and smaller theatres. Four 8-inch neodymium LF drive units deliver useable response down to 35Hz without the need for EQ. At the top end of the range is the recently-introduced ST-215 compact flyable touring subwoofer, which is proportioned to fly with EM Acoustics’ Halo-B medium format line array system. The larger ST-218 high power dual 18-inch flyable sub is designed to be matched with the large format Halo-A system. All the subwoofers in class are prefixed with S- followed by a number (e.g. S-12
Australia - Aveo Systems has announced the appointment of Jands as its exclusive distributor in the Australia-New Zealand region. “Mira Connect, from Aveo Systems, is an impressive innovation that further complements our existing AV conferencing product portfolio,” says Phil Muffet, national sales manager at Jands. “Jands is committed to providing the best solutions for our customers and partnering with strategic vendors who complement our integrators’ existing solutions.” “Jands is one of the strongest AV companies in the ANZ region and is well respected by integrators and users,” comments Paul Roberts, Aveo Systems’ director of sales. “We think they will be the perfect partner for promoting Mira Connect to corporate, educational, and other users in the area.” (Jim Evans)
UK - Creamfields returned to Daresbury on the British August Bank Holiday weekend with bigger production values - and more flown subs - than ever before. Led by crew chief Alex Hore and with system designs from Josh Lloyd, Britannia Row provided sound solutions to Arc Stage, Horizon Stage and Stage 4, AKA, the 15,000 capacity Steel Yard (which is so popular, it has become a festival in its own right with events staged in Cream’s hometown of Liverpool, and in London. Hore, who was Britannia Row’s crew chief, oversaw a 16-stong crew across three stages and worked closely with off-site noise management consultants, Vanguardia. He says: “The design of the systems and the ethos behind them is to provide the best sounding and largest-area-covering audio we can, whilst limiting the potential for any off-site sound problems. Any stage, at any time, can be called o
China - The Qing show is a hi-tech, permanently installed stage show produced by the Sunac Group in a purpose-built, 1,600-capacity venue at the Oriental Movie Metropolis complex at Qingdao in the Shandong province of China. The venue’s architecture has a number of marine elements and is designed to represent a conch. Based on the Chinese legend of Eight Immortals Crossing the the show was conceived, designed and created by artistic director Luke Petit through Art Team Group Asia. Four years in the making, the show, which covers a floor area of 21,500sq.m, has a cast of 63 performers, features a lifting stage, acrobatics, dance, classic Kung Fu moves, 3D holographic projections and a water curtain fountain to create the perfect fusion of traditional culture and modern stage art. The cast which features 12 main roles, was selected from more than 10,000
UK - Allen & Heath mixers tackled FOH and monitor duties for We Out Here Festival (see LSi September 2019), held for the first time this August and curated by BBC Radio 6 DJ, Gilles Peterson, his Bronswood Recordings label and Worldwide FM. Taking place across four-days in rural Cambridgeshire, the family-friendly festival showcased a line-up of underground artists and DJs. Supplied by Glasgow-based A-Live Sound, five dLive and four SQ systems were chosen to run FOH and monitors across seven stages. Director Iain Mackie comments: “I chose to invest in dLive and SQ as they’re the best sounding consoles on the market right now. With dLive specifically, unlike some other manufacturers, it has endless high-qu
South Africa - The Roodepoort Theatre has seen various transformations since opening its doors in 1981, but one of the most recent has been the investment of an L-Acoustics ARCS WiFo system supplied and installed by DWR Distribution earlier this year. Initially presenting opera and symphony performances, today the Roodepoort Theatre is a dynamic and diverse receiving house that plays host to an array of shows ranging from ballets to musicals, revues, dramas, dance competitions, bands and live recordings. Over the years the theatre has stayed abreast with the latest lighting equipment, while aesthetic renovations, including new seats and flooring, have created a fresh and modern look. The new L-Acoustics system enables the theatre to offer a professional service to external companies making use of their facilities and a quality experience for the audience.
UK - Peex, the company behind an app platform that enables concertgoers to mix audio from live concerts in realtime, has announced Patrick Vosgimorukian as its new CEO. With a background working with next generation tech companies, Vosgimorukian will be leading Peex into the next phase of its launch plan. Vosgimorukian will be assisting the team in developing the business and identifying opportunities for the product to be scaled following its recent success in both the US and Europe where Peex was launched on Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. Vosgimorukian boasts considerable experience working within the tech and entertainment industries. He comments: “It is an absolute privilege to be named Peex’s new CEO. It is an exciting time to join the company following the successful commercial launch in the US and Europe. The goal of Peex is to enhance the
USA - Audinate has announced the availability of Dante Virtual Soundcard for installation in virtual Windows environments using Type-1 hypervisors. This update is especially important for customers such as broadcasters, educators and corporate users that want to deploy Dante networked audio throughout data centres, studios, server clusters and campuses, says the company. Dante Virtual Soundcard interfaces directly with audio software running on virtual machines, allowing distribution of media playback, centralised recording, and more. Dante Virtual Soundcard turns any computer into a Dante endpoint for networked audio. It provides a standard WDM or ASIO audio interface that allows any installed audio software to send and receive up to 64 channels of lossless audio over a standard 1Gbps network to any Dante-enabled AV endpoints, including other instances of Dante Virtual Soun
UK - Outline has announced a major firmware (v95) and software (v1.9) release for its Newton multi-source audio processor. Smaart API integration represents the quickest and easiest way for users to integrate Smaart measurement data into Newton and to plot it within the Outline Dashboard software environment. This new compatibility will provide a faster, simpler and more accurate method of system tuning for Smaart users. “Outline has done an outstanding job of utilising the Smaart API to integrate Smaart measurement data within the latest release of their Dashboard control software,” comments Karen Anderson, CEO, Rational Acoustics. “This integration really highlights Outline’s commitment to providing their customers with powerful, forward-thinking professional audio tools and we are thrilled to see Newton/Dashboard added to the ever-growing list of Smaart API
Sweden - Yamaha VXL1 slimline line array loudspeakers are proving the solution of choice for many houses of worship, radically enhancing sound but without compromising the aesthetics of church interiors. Opened in 1815, the current Gothenburg Cathedral is the third on a site in Sweden’s second largest city which dates back to the early 1600s. The building has seen a constant series of improvements, including being the first Swedish church fitted with central heating, plus a number of major restoration and renovation projects. The latest upgrade has been to its sound reinforcement system. Installed 11 years ago - including a Yamaha LS9 digital mixing console, DME24N digital mixing engine and ICP1 surface-mount controller - the installed loudspeakers were lacking quality and coverage by today’s standards. “The main need was to improve the intelligibility and
The Netherlands - Three festivals in a row on two weekends in August - that’s the order of the day(s) for creative event production specialists The Good Guyz of Amsterdam at the Velsen Valley. Dance Valley, Dutch Valley and Latin Village Festivals share the same site which features multiple stages and attracts huge crowds. The three electronic music events move between genres and offer up the cream of Dutch and international artists. The Good Guyz’ Arjen Ott, technical production manager for the three events, has been a fan of Pioneer Pro Audio systems since first hearing XY-3B at the invitation of Wouter Rouijter of Amsterdam Pro Audio rental company AVL. This year he took the decision to introduce an XY-3B system for the Club Onderste Boven stage hosted by SLAM FM, which would be used during the three consecutive Velsen Valley events. Arjen Ott explains:
UK - Ocean Colour Scene's drummer, Oscar Harrison, leads a double life - he's the drummer and multi-instrumentalist with Birmingham's Ocean Colour Scene and a leading DJ in his own right. Determined to make himself heard, Oscar has just taken delivery of a new rig from PA manufacturer, Yorkshire-based BishopSound. Oscar says: “I recently found myself at a friend's wedding party and was stunned by the sound I was hearing. I was amazed at how the sound filled the room with over 400 people, with no sound loss or punch on sound quality. I got investigating. My friend was using Orion15" full range and Beta 18" subs from BishopSound. For me, the system ticked all the boxes.” Oscar's new BishopSound rig comprises: two BO115A4 Orion 15A4, two BB218S, four BB118s Beta 118 Subs, two Beta BB115 speakers, two BSS4 Telescopic Poles plus assorted cables. (Jim Evans)
USA - Distributor Stampede is hosting eight Big Book of AV Tour & Conference Series stops in the United States and Canada, one US national sales meeting, and three summits for its United States, Canadian and Latin American vendor partners. The Fall 2019 Stampede Big Book of AV Tour & Conference Series will make stops in San Diego, California, 19 September; Montreal, 17 October; Chicago, 24 October; Toronto, 13 November; Houston, 21 November; Miami, 5 December and Vancouver,11 December. Complete details on the fall tour can be found at www.bigbookofavtour.com. The United States Vendor Summit will take place on 7-8 October at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Centre in New York, following on the heels of its United States national sales meeting on 5-6 October. The Canadian Vendor Summit will take place on 12 November at the Holiday Inn Toronto International Airport
Canada - At a time when the background noise in audio is all about 3D sound and immersive experiences, arguably an extravagance suited to famous concert halls and exotic experimental music, it is contrary to the flow that a d&b audiotechnik Soundscape system is being applied at a church in Calgary, Alberta. Thriving it may be, yet the pastoral team at First Assembly, Calgary is not prone to moments of irrational exuberance or wanton financial profligacy. For them Soundscape provided an entirely affordable solution to a seemingly intractable issue between acoustics, worship and sound reinforcement. Justin Wells, First Assembly’s technical director, saw it as an uncomfortable divide between parts of their congregation and the heart of music worship. “Music is a huge part of what we do and within our church we have highly skilled musicians. For people who come fo
UK - Now well into its ninth decade of technical innovation, RG Jones Sound Engineering returned to Glastonbury for the eleventh consecutive year to support headliners Stormzy, The Killers, and The Cure on the Pyramid Stage, and to extend its expertise to the Genosys Stage and the new IICON stage at Block9, and a reconfigured West Holts stage. RG Jones has enhanced the Pyramid Stage since 2007 in one of the longest uninterrupted runs of audio services of any sound company at Glastonbury in recent times. The 18-strong on-site team, headed up by production manager Ben Milton with production engineer Mark Isbister on stage, collectively brought to the largest green field festival in the world a wealth of expertise in delivering audio to an extremely large crowd under notoriously challenging climatic conditions. The main aim of the system design, developed by festival soun
UK - Entertainment Technology Partners has announced the launch of its new European division. Based out of the United Kingdom, ETP Europe will provide support throughout Europe to bring AV solutions to clients. Industry veteran Paul Hutton will be joining as president of European operations. Paul has spent the past three decades creating and spearheading Blitz, one of the leading AV staging companies in Europe. “We couldn’t be more excited about expanding ETP’s operations to Europe, especially with Paul coming on board to help lead the way,” said Les Goldberg, chairman and CEO of ETP. “We have been looking at a number of opportunities in Europe and expect to have more announcements of new brands joining ETP in the very near future.” Entertainment Technology Partners was created in 2014 with the idea of like-minded owners joining together to continue
Europe - DPA Microphones has appointed AVL Projekt and LAV Projekt as its distributors in Serbia and Croatia respectively. The two companies are distributors and integrators of professional audio, light and video solutions and can support customers from the initial point of contact through to the delivery and installation. AVL and LAV address DPA market segments through a network of system integrators, installers and dealers active in the theatre, broadcast and touring. Slobodan Veckalov, managing director of AVL Projekt, comments: “We are very excited to be representing such a great microphone brand. We have worked with DPA in the past on various projects, and we advocate for top-notch quality product in the portfolio of brands that we distribute.” Davor Vujic, managing director of LAV Projekt, adds: “It is both a great privilege and obligation to introdu
UK - Martin Audio has confirmed that the active versions of its BlacklineX series, the BlacklineX Powered, will begin shipping in early September. When it was first announced in May this year, customers and distribution partners welcomed the introduction of a self-powered version of this full-bandwidth, high definition portable system. They will now have the opportunity to sample the new speakers, and learn more about their properties at the series of Martin Audio open days (17-19 September) at company HQ in High Wycombe Comprising 12” (XP12) and 15” (XP15) full range enclosures plus the compact but powerful 18” XP118 subwoofer, BlacklineX Powered integrates Martin Audio’s signature acoustic, DSP and amplifier technologies and follows the success of the passive BlacklineX Series - the fastest-selling portable series in Martin Audio’s 48-year history. S
Sweden - The country’s largest fixed installation of Nexo’s STM Series modular line array has been completed at the Konserthus of Västerås, a city about 100km to the west of Stockholm. Designed and supplied by the Bright Group, the system includes several Nexo models, and is “a state-of-the-art solution for a busy modern performance environment”. With more than 200 events a year, including folk and world music, dance and new circus, pop and rock, jazz, chamber and orchestral performances, drama and comedy, the Västerås Konserthus is a buzzing cultural centre for its community. Its principal venue is The Great Hall, with its capacity for 900, and two wraparound balconies seating 215 and 125 people respectively. The team at the theatre, led by stage technical manager Per Andersson, conducted an exhaustive tender process involving nine well-known suppliers and
Croatia - HUST has completed the design and installation of sound systems throughout the new Grand Park Hotel Rovinj, using a combination of Community and Apart loudspeakers with Biamp control. This five-star 209-room hotel enjoys a stunning setting on the Adriatic coast of Croatia, with views of the old town, islands and sea. With over 40 separate zones, the Grand Park Hotel Rovinj’s audiovisual systems can be controlled and monitored via an intuitive GUI on any computer within the hotel network, or via separate wall-mounted digital OLED controllers located strategically throughout the complex. Twelve choices of music genre are available in any zone via the streaming service. A central feature of the hotel is its grand ballroom with stunning views of the city of Rovinj. The hotel also has three multifunctional/lecture halls, which can be divided or joined in various
USA - Each year since 1979, the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! festival takes place at the Prospect Park Bandshell. This year, the largely free event delivered 29 shows over 10 weeks, from June through August, to an estimated 175,000-plus people, featuring artists including Patti LaBelle, Liz Phair, Iron & Wine, Salif Keita and Bomba Estereo (free concerts), as well as The National and Courtney Barnett, and Father John Misty and Jason Isbell (ticketed double-bills). What was different this year was the sound: an L-Acoustics PA system was acquired and will now be an integral part of the event going forward into its fifth decade. “This was a big year for the event, its forty-first year,” says Brendon Boyd, of Boyd Design, the event’s production manager who was celebrating his 20th year with the festival, where he began as a lighting apprentice in 2000. “It took us a cou
Hungary - Szeged Sabadteri opera and music festival takes place annually across the city of Szeged, with a major feature being the diverse programme of lavish productions ranging from rock musicals to opera being staged in the vast central Dóm Square. This year’s futuristic treatment of Aida, where love is set against the backdrop of war, marked the 80th anniversary since the eponymous opera’s first 1939 staging at this striking venue. Complementing director Gergely Kesselyak’s use of high-tech LED and multimedia scenography, TiMax SoundHub with HARDCore FPGA spatial processing added a new level of vocal and orchestral sonic immersion to an audience of 8000 over two nights. Hungarian TiMax specialists Votec have managed the event’s audio for several years, but Votec international business manager, Otari Tsereteli, revealed, “For the first time we wer
UAE - Dubai-based AVenger Electronics has been appointed RCF distributor for UAE/Oman. “Since RCF had the entire range of professional audio products in its portfolio, catering for the installation, touring, MI and Evacuation segments, we considered them as our preferred choice for servicing the markets in the UAE and Oman,” stated AVenger sales manager, Joseph Ninel Rebero. “This would range from small portable PA to large stadium installations. We knew it was well established in both the touring and MI market.” Rebero will lead a team that will be focused on brand promotion throughout the UAE and Oman. “Our mission will be to focus more on the integration market to bring RCF up to the next level in this segment,” he says, forecasting that initial impact is likely to be created through the Live & Pro Series as well as the new business music solution pr
The doors of PLASA Show 2019 open in just a few days from 15-17 September at Olympia London, where thousands of visitors will experience the leading edge of live entertainment technology. With 220+ brands, 55+ educational sessions and a plethora of immersive features, this year’s show is ready to serve industry professionals from all sectors. PLASA’s Managing Director Peter Heath comments: “Last year’s edition of PLASA Show was heralded for its high footfall and vibrant atmosphere. We have worked hard to build upon this by offering more brands and new features for a show that is both enjoyable and productive. Of course, we couldn’t do it without the exhibitors and their technology which has developed at a dizzying rate over the years – PLASA is proud to provide a platform for such innovation, and we can’t wait to share what’s in store.”
