USA - Audinate has announced the availability of Dante Adapter Modules, designed for the production of cost-effective, compact, manufacturer-branded Dante audio adapters and low-channel count audio devices. Dante Adapter Modules are pre-programmed and are easily integrated into larger host devices to provide Dante network support without the need for PCB design and manufacturing, component procurement and programming, significantly reducing time-to-market. The Dante Adapter Modules family contains six models - single and dual-channel analogue input, single and dual-channel analogue output, 2 in / 2 out AES3, and 2 in/2 out USB. These modules can be used to create custom-featured adapters or incorporated directly into low-channel count endpoint products such as powered speakers, direct boxes and more. Using the same high-quality field-tested components as the Dante AV
Europe - Sennheiser is launching a new series of professional in-ears, beginning with the IE 40 PRO entry model which will be available towards the end of this month. The IE 40 PRO ensures “impeccable audio reproduction with warmth, great detail and natural clarity”, thus improving the artist’s focus and performance control even in difficult stage situations. This audio performance is complemented by a well thought-out mechanical design that includes a patent-pending, break-proof cable ducting. In early 2019, the IE 40 PRO will be joined by the IE 400 PRO and the top-of-the-range IE 500 PRO. “The IE 40 PRO is the first and most accessible in a new series of fantastic sounding dynamic in-ear phones,” says Jannik Schentek, product manager professional audio at Sennheiser. “In the field test phase, the IE 40 PRO’s sound reproduction astounded the engineers a
UK - Crest Audio unveils the PB-32 SoundGrid-to-Dante network bridge for the very first time in the UK at PLASA 2018. Brand new out of the box at InfoComm 2018, PB-32 provides the connection between Crest Audio’s flagship Tactus digital mixing system and the new powered Versarray Pro line array system, both of which will also be featured at PLASA. The PB-32 enables the audio signal to remain in the digital domain from the desk right through to the Dante-enabled Versarray Pro PA system. It may also be deployed by any other audio systems utilizing the Dante audio networking protocol, thereby also offering compliance with the AES67 interoperability standard. Housed in a rugged, 1U ½ rack chassis, the PB-32 provides up to 16 channels of bi-directional audio to be transmitted and received by each network (SoundGrid and Dante) via interchangeable 16x16 networking modules.
Australia - Australia’s largest university has established centres of academic excellence around the world, including eight on home soil – with Clayton campus its biggest, educating more than 30,000 students every year. First established in 1958, 20km south-east of Melbourne, the campus has recently undergone an extensive transformation of its Learning and Teaching building - with 65 formal and 60 informal newly equipped learning spaces spread over almost 30,000sq.m providing a truly forward-thinking, innovative environment for campus teaching. Designed to free the minds of the academics and students, liberating them from the constricts of more traditional teaching environments, the AV set up is central to this philosophy - enabling teachers and students alike to engage with the technology intuitively, rather than it being a barrier to learning. Monash Univ
Europe - Ukrainian comedian and pop singer, Andriy Danylko - or better known as his drag persona, Verka Serduchka - has taken Europe by storm this Summer, while supported by an Allen & Heath dLive S class system. Supplied by rental company NEKO Rent, the band’s set up includes a CDM32 MixRack, with an S7000 surface at front of house, and a touchscreen PC running Director software for monitor duties. In addition, the system includes a DX168 Expander for remote I/O and a superMADI card for multichannel playback / recording and external processing. The recent tour included the grand opening for Marine Station, a new summer theatre in Odessa (Ukraine), as well as multiple dates across Europe and the Middle East. “I love dLive for its pure sound and the powerful DEEP processing features. I frequently use Dyn8, the Peak Limiter 76, The Mighty and 16VU as they a
Thailand - The superheroes of Marvel have arrived in South East Asia, making their first stop at the newly-opened Marvel Experience in the Megabangna mall in Bangkok. The billion-baht interactive themed entertainment attraction has chosen Nexo line array and point-source loudspeakers to deliver high-energy audio accompaniment to the immersive hyper-reality, interactive and multimedia technology games, and virtual reality simulations. Fuzion Far East is one of the principal suppliers to The Marvel Experience and its owners, Los Angeles-based Hero Ventures in partnership with Thailand-based Hero Experience. FFE has masterminded a large networked audio and paging system, running on Dante, to cover the nine zones inside the 10,000sq.m. multi-dome complex, using a variety of Nexo loudspeakers and sub-bass cabinets to deliver the high-SPL audio and FX thrills required by Captain A
USA - Two ‘80s rock legends have teamed up to co-headline a mammoth tour of the US. Running from May through until October, British veterans Def Leppard and American stalwarts Journey are criss-crossing the States playing a variety of venues, from the opening show at the Hartford XL Centre (capacity just under 10,000) to Chicago’s Wrigley Field for an audience of 35,000. The trans-Atlantic theme continues into the audio production with both the audio system and the crew coming courtesy of the UK’s Britannia Row Productions, who became part of Clair Global in the spring of 2017. Both major players in the field, on this tour Brit Row is delivering the goods with logistical support from Clair. Keith ‘Meaux’ Windhorst is FOH engineer for Journey. “I have a long history with Clair Brothers, mostly as a freelance engineer. Their reputation and history speak for
USA - With its mission to create environments where identity is realised, authority is revealed, and destiny is engaged, Seattle Revival Centre is a non-denominational house of worship located in King County, Washington. To improve the sound reinforcement capabilities of its sanctuary, the church recently elected to deploy a new sound system. To ensure first-rate speech intelligibility and music reproduction capabilities, loudspeakers from the Event and Action Series catalogues of DAS Audio were installed. One Pro Audio Video Lighting of Bellevue, WA, a design / build firm servicing the commercial and worship markets in addition to operating live sound production and sales and rental divisions, was contracted to coordinate and deploy Seattle Revival Centre’s new SR system. Working in close coordination with Quincy Owen Solutions of Lynnwood, WA, a consulting firm se
Belgium - Apart held its bi-annual Apart distributor seminar on Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 August. Company representatives and distributors gathered in the Felix Pakhuis in Antwerp, with over 100 people from 42 countries worldwide in attendance. On day one, main topics were future marketing and product plans. Visitors also received a preview of several Apart products yet to be released. A dinner and casino night followed and highlight of the evening was the Apart awards ceremony. On the second day of the event, the complete distribution team moved to the Central European office in Schoten, Belgium for several break-out groups. The event ended in the typical Apart way being amongst friends / installers with a Belgian style BBQ. Kris Vermuyten, sales & marketing director, comments: “I am very happy with this fantastic week and experience. The Apart c
India - On 1 August, Shure Incorporated opened a sales and marketing office in Bengaluru. The new location is expected to strengthen the company’s position in South Asia, where Shure also has offices in Bangladesh, the Maldives, Nepal, and Pakistan. Chicco Hiranandani, country director (pictured), will spearhead the Bengaluru office, with market development manager Devraj Panicker overseeing corporate end-customer engagements, with a focus on Integrated Systems solutions. In the long term, Hiranandani will work closely with channel partners on a growth plan for South Asia. Mark Humrichouser, vice-president of global sales at Shure, comments: “India has experienced exponential business growth during the past few years and has become a hub for Fortune 500 companies and AV manufacturers alike. The new office presents an opportunity to reinforce our commitment to this
UK - Curtain Call, a network for theatre professionals, is exhibiting jointly with Soulsound, a leading online resource centre for audio engineers, for the first time at PLASA this year. The two companies will be offering a special joint membership offer. Hailed as ‘LinkedIn meets IMDB, for theatre’, Curtain Call is an online network dedicated to connecting theatre professionals. Members can build profiles, find jobs and collaborate with new and existing connections using the game-changing platform. Soulsound has been helping sound engineers to improve their skills, find work and be insured since 2011. Members benefit from full public liability insurance as well as training and mentorship from highly successful professionals who share their knowledge and experience. Together, Curtain Call and Soulsound cover all the needs of theatre and live event technicians
UK - Martin Audio has announced nine new products spread across the spectrum of electronics and loudspeakers. These represent a significant development in the company’s portfolio advancement with increased tools for system integrators, installers and specifiers. Furthermore, they will be on display and demonstration at the company’s UK Open Days, 18-20 September in High Wycombe. First out of the gate is the new ADORN series of on-wall loudspeakers that bring class-leading performance, reliability and value to a wide range of commercial sound installations. From the retail store to the boardroom, ADORN loudspeakers are designed for distributed sound applications that require high performance from visually-discreet, ultra-compact enclosures. They also provide a seamless sonic transition within a multi-zoned complex using larger Martin Audio systems such as CDD or Blackline
USA - Lectrosonics has announced the release of the RPS4, a high-reliability universal DC power supply with redundant internal supply modules. The unit is designed as a 12V DC source for low-voltage devices such as wireless microphone receivers, IEM transmitters, IFB transmitters, and audio signal processing equipment. The 1RU chassis eliminates the need for a separate power strip with individual DC supplies for each device. The RPS4 is ideal for use in broadcast, theatre, touring, houses of worship and many other professional applications. The RPS4 supplies four 12 V DC thread-locking (LZR type) taps, each providing up to 1.5 Amps. Two internal power supplies and two temperature-controlled fans operate in a failover mode for an automatic backup in the event one of them fails. Individual 2A automotive blade-type fuses protect each 12 V tap from overload or direct short
UK - Holoplot will show its complete audio solution ORION at stand W61 at PLASA 2018. The series consists of the audio module Io, the Eta processing core, and the software interface Orbit. Holoplot products offer radically new opportunities for applying and controlling audio in various applications, as well as the creation of true immersive sound experiences. The system uses wave field synthesis technology components, but the company has developed its own configuration and approach to making the system scalable and applicable to a large number of use cases, enabling sound engineers to work in new dimensions of sound reinforcement. Using knowledge from over 10 years of research, this product is able to generate different and more efficient audio wavefronts, ranging from spherical to cylindrical and planar, says the company. This results in the fact, that the system’s
UK - KV2 Audio has announced a dedicated KV2 demonstration facility running for the entire duration of PLASA 2018. Situated in The Club Room, this facility will offer industry professionals and users the invaluable opportunity to experience a selection of KV2’s exceptional range of products at their leisure throughout the show. Products from KV2’s Active EX and Passive ESD ranges will be on show as well as larger format Active-Driven Systems from the ESR and SL ranges with the ground-breaking VHD 4.21 2x21” subwoofer system also ready to demonstrate why some of the world’s largest dance clubs have embraced KV2. Members of KV2 Audio’s UK office and head office will be available to talk through any requirements show-goers might have, and can be found on Stand L10 on the show floor or in the Club Room itself. (Jim Evans)
USA - Although its moniker may only suggest visual facilities for a specific geographical area, Phoenix-based Video West is a full-service AVL rental and staging company that supports corporate and festival clients across the entire United States. To best serve its national client base, Video West has invested in a sizable L-Acoustics K2/Kara system, which has been kept busy this summer on a number of events, including the North Dakota State Fair, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and Citadel Country Spirit USA music festival. The L-Acoustics system - primarily comprising 48 K2 and 24 Kara enclosures, 24 K1-SB and 24 KS28 subs, and a full complement of LA12X and LA8 amplified controllers - joins Video West’s pre-existing inventory of L-Acoustics V-DOSC and Kudo enclosures, which it purchased when Precise Corporate Staging’s David Stern joined the company as vice president
UK - Sound system distributor 2B Heard (see company profile in LSi September) has centralised its warehousing and head office at a new site in Shefford, Bedfordshire thanks to a six-figure commercial mortgage from HSBC UK. The business, which was set up in 2015, is the exclusive distributor in the UK and Ireland for K-Array. The new warehouse and head office has enabled 2B Heard to bring all warehousing facilities in-house and increase its stocking capacity, saving the business eight per cent in yearly spend. 2B Heard previously used a third-party warehouse to stock its products, limiting the company’s ability to grow. Dave Wooster, director at 2B Heard, comments: “Our new warehouse and expanded range o
Italy/USA - Loud Audio, a Transom Capital Group company, has sold Eastern Acoustics Works (EAW) to Italian pro audio specialist RCF Group. The deal is said to be the final divestiture by Transom, which will now see Loud focus on its Mackie brand after also parting ways with Martin Audio in July. Ty Schultz, managing partner at Transom Capital Group, comments: “Simplifying the Loud business to focus on high quality audio delivery from consumers to professionals has always been the focus of our thesis. We are very happy to have found a great new owner for the EAW brand and wish everyone involved much success going forward.” Alex Nelson, Mackie’s president, adds: “While I have truly enjoyed working with all of the brands in the LOUD legacy, now it’s time for us to turn the page and to be entirely focused on building the Mackie brand. Our companies have lon
UK - Studioforce, a new company specialising in the provision of production and technical freelancers to the film and TV industry, launched on Monday, 3 September. The London business is spearheaded by former ITV Studios head of scenic and lighting, Dave Stevens. It offers a network of personnel for the broadcast and production sector, including gaffers, lighting electricians, camera operators, scenic supervisors, sound engineers, studio engineers and lighting console operators. Studioforce is also offering a service to facilitate and administer payroll contracts and handle recruitment for any clients who are looking to outsource certain roles, easing the process to make it more time and cost efficient. Stevens comments: “When the recent changes at ITV Studios were announced [the broadcaster is closing its London studios], I needed to look for a new opportunity. I’
TMB has introduced the first ethernet patch cable with verified performance up to 100m.This one-of-a-kind, stranded, flexible CAT6a patch cable is suitable for all portable networks up to 10-Gigabit, and features renowned ProPlex durability, reliability, handling, low skew, noise rejection, and data transmission characteristics. In entertainment applications, ProPlex Cat 6a Extended cable is especially useful for front of house cable runs, where the industry standard lengths for sound, lighting, and video are typically either 100m or 300ft. Prior to the introduction of this cable, no portable, stranded Cat 6a or Cat 5e cables providing 100% verified performance were available to support these lengths. Drawing upon over 30 years of experience and over 15 million feet of ProPlex Data Cable sales, ProPlex CAT6a Extended combines the highest data transmission integrity with the
Thailand - Mahajak Development and Baan Rig recently deployed a complete Harman Professional Solutions audio system featuring JBL, Soundcraft, Crown and BSS solutions at Rajamangala National Stadium. Home to Thailand’s national football team, Rajamangala is a 65,000-seat sports and entertainment venue that also hosts international events such as the AFC Asian Cup, pop concerts and political rallies. Rajamangala’s management recently decided to upgrade to a high-impact audio system that could deliver even coverage and intelligible sound to every seat, while also streamlining and simplifying production requirements. They hired audio integrators Mahajak Development and rigging experts Baan Rig to deploy an array of JBL Precision Directivity loudspeakers along the roof of the stadium. The system also includes a robust network of Crown DCi Series amplifiers, Soundcraft
Located on a picturesque bend of the Brda river in Bydgoszcz, Opera Nova is one of Poland’s leading opera houses, and it has recently upgraded the audio installations for its two main performance halls with Allen & Heath dLive digital mixing systems. With a world-class repertoire including The Nutcracker, Orpheus in the Underworld, Swan Lake and Madame Butterfly, Opera Nova opened in 2006 and completed its latest audio installation last year. Supplied by Konsbud Audio, the new dLive systems were installed in two locations. The Main Hall features a dLive S5000 surface, alongside a DM32 MixRack, a DX32 Expander and a Dante card. While the Chamber Hall has a dLive S3000 surface and a DM48 MixRack combined with another Dante card. Adrian Michalski (head of the acoustics department and main sound engineer for Opera Nova), comments; "I’
The Netherlands - Dutch supergroup De Toppers take over the 68,000-capacity Amsterdam Arena annually for a string of sold-out shows billed as “the sing-along party of the year”. As usual, the 2018 Pretty in Pink - The Circus Edition concerts were among Holland’s hottest tickets so far this year, and it was a substantial Adamson E-Series system from Ampco Flaslight Rental that brought the hits to the capacity crowd on 25, 26, and 27 May. The high-profile foursome - consisting of singers Rene Froger, Gerard Joling, Jeroen van der Boom, and Jan Smit - combined a spectacular circus-inspired stage design with a set list combining crowd-favourite covers and originals for the one-of-a-kind experience. Presented in-the-round, the shows were supported by over a dozen flown E-Series arrays to ensure complete coverage and high-impact sound for every single seat.
India - With its large glass doors and smooth tile interior, the Sri Sathya Sai Premamrutham ashram in Muddenahalli is an awe-inspiring place of devotion. These very same features also make the edifice a highly reflective - and acoustically challenging - space. Coupled with the sheer size of the hall, which can seat close to 10,000 faithful, it was clear that a sound system was required inside the venue to maximise intelligibility during talks, concerts, and devotional activities. For this landmark project an L-Acoustics Kara system, provided by the French manufacturer’s certified distributor provider for India, New Delhi-based HiTech Audio Systems, offered such a solution. “For the management of Sri Sathya Sai Premamrutham, the project is a milestone and the audio install was a prime consideration,” adds Sri Sathya Sai Premamrutham’s, Bharat Kumar. “We didn
