Sound

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UK - The world's first installation of KV2 Audio equipment was unveiled in May at a nightclub in Livingston, Scotland. Robin Johnson went along to have a look.

Situated in prime commuter belt west of Edinburgh, Livingston is a classic New Town. A myriad of housing cul-de-sacs, roundabouts by the dozen and cut-through footpaths arranged around a central retail/leisure hub, its acres of concrete and tarmac sit between literally thousands of semi-mature trees, giving it that unique, slightly surreal New Town atmosphere of 'greenhouse' artificiality.

However, at the heart of this one is a very successful football team, based at an impressively modern stadium, providing a focus for the sprawling community. These days sitting pretty in the Scottish Premier league, the club was formerly Meadowbank Thistle, based in Edinburgh itself. Inevitably it sat in a shadow of the capital's high

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UK - While millions queued for their copies of J.K. Rowling's latest addition to the Hogwarts adventure, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 5,000 lucky children already knew they were in for the treat of their lives. Bloomsbury Publishing (plc) called upon Clear Channel Entertainments to stage a special event at London's Royal Albert Hall, an event which gifted these avid fans an opportunity to quiz Rowling herself.

No simple question and answer session, the confines of the Albert Hall were converted into a magical rendition of Hogwarts school, replete with flying ghosts, for a spectacular simultaneous webcast on the MSN network. Naturally, this called for the specialist talents of the UK's presentation industry; amidst a burgeoning production team can be found the names of Britannia Row Productions, Light&Sound Design, Creative Technology, Hand Held Audio, Unusu

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UK - Cadac's S-Type will be on show at PLASA. The S-Type is proving a popular choice with the corporate events sector, with the first production consoles being supplied to European conference venues. Cadac also reports extensive interest in both the UK and US repertory theatre market, as well as in the industrials sector and recording applications.

As with all standard Cadac console designs, users can mix and match the S-Type's modules, moving them in the frame to suit a given requirement. Other standard facilities include full-size 100m Penny & Giles faders, plus the same high quality mic input as featured on the J-Type Live Production Console (providing 60dB of gain and a 20dB pad for line level inputs, phase reversal and 48V Phantom power), as well as the J-Type's full 4-band parametric EQ.

The S-Type is available as 17, 25 or 33-way frames, and can be expanded via optional

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UK / Latvia - Following talks at Frankfurt ProLight&Sound, Chameleon Audio has appointed pro audio design and install company, Amphion SIA, as its distributor in Latvia.

Formed earlier this year, Amphion has already established a wide customer base, including the Latvia National Opera and Ballet Theatre, Riga airport and railway station, Latvia National Theatre and Liepaja Drama Theatre. "Our brief is to design and install sound reinforcement systems for a wide variety of venues and businesses - from supermarkets and clubs, to theatres and concert halls," comments Amphion's general manager, Einars Jaunbralis. "When I visited Chameleon's stand at Frankfurt, I was impressed with the positive comments of other professional end-users and, particularly, their opinions on the amps' superb sound quality. I'm looking forward to working with Paul Houlden in establishing th

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UK - The hit musical theatre production Boogie Nights has just announced dates for its third national tour in the UK, and Arranpaul, the Blackpool-based sound rental company, will once again be providing PA systems for the show. With this production playing in 2,000-capacity theatres, a significant number of Arranpaul's Nexo Alpha E and PS Series cabinets will be on the road this autumn, so proprietor Arran Culpan has taken the decision to top up his inventory. The company has asked Fuzion to supply another pair of stacks of Alpha E, plus additional PS10 and PS15 speakers.

"We ran short of Alpha E earlier in the year," explains Culpan, "when we had Boogie Nights out at the same time as the incredibly successful karaoke musical SingalongwithAbba. Now that Boogie Nights has confirmed yet another tour, it's a good opportunity to stock up,

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UK - The architecture of SymNet, Symetrix's DSP audio matrix system has been increased with the addition of the Control I/O. This expands SymNet's ability to control, or be controlled from, external media devices. In addition to expanding control input and output capacity, Control I/O will also provide a MIDI gateway to SymNet.

It will line up on the Fuzion plc stand at PLASA 2003 with the DigiIO 12 x 12 DSP audio interface for the SymNet system. This is a core signal processing and input/output device which supports up to 12 channels of simultaneous digital input and output, all at 24-bit 48kHz sampling rate.

The DigIO 12 x 12 DSP is the first member of the SymNet family to use Symetrix's HomerLink technology. A HomerLink port transmits and receives four channels of 48kHz 24-bit digital audio, plus control data over standard CAT5 cable, of distances up to 100 metres. The Home

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UK - Ian Holmes from 11:59 Productions has undertaken many esoteric lighting requests in his career, but the challenge of lighting the underbelly of Charing Cross railway bridge in London was one to relish. Eight Studio Due CityColor architectural luminaires and 10 of the smaller MiniCity fixtures were used to up-light the underneath of the bridge for the official gala opening of the new Golden Jubilee Bridges footbridges (previously known as Hungerford Bridge), identical halves of which flank the railway bridge.

Although these spans, designed by Lifschulz Davidson, have been open since last year, they were officially inaugurated and named at last week's VIP ceremony. 11:59 Productions was approached by Murray Goth, promoter for the opening event, who was liasing with the two councils - Westminster City from the north bank of the river, and Lambeth from the south. The brief was

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Italy - Umbria-Jazz is one of the world's most famous annual international jazz festivals and is held every summer in the Umbrian region of central Italy. The audio systems to be used this year will feature Adamson speakers and Powersoft amplifiers as part of a system designed by Reference Laboratory which will be installed in the S. Giuliana Arena, the stage where some of the major international artists are performing.

The linear-array audio system will consist of 24 Adamson Y-Axis speakers, 12 per side, powered by six Digam D 4002 amplifiers. Supplementing the above will be 12 Sub Y10s (six per side) and individually powered by 12 Digam amplifiers. Front fill is provided by four Epsylon 2 12/P Reference speakers.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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UK - Hawthorn, the supplier of technical solutions in creative lighting and sound, has appointed Tony Rhodes to a business development position within the company. Rhodes joins from Stage Electrics where he fulfilled a similar role, bringing to Hawthorn a wealth of experience of the exhibition and events market.

Managing director Martin Hawthorn told PLASA Media: "The company has grown dramatically in recent years, to the point where we regularly complete a wide range of contracts from international conferences to parties, music tours, product launches and major permanent installations. Tony's appointment offers us the opportunity to take our services into the exhibition and allied markets, at a time when the true value of effective lighting is becoming appreciated in these areas."

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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UK - Reproduced Sound 19, organized by the Institute of Acoustics (IoA), has published a provisional programme for this year's conference, to be held at the Oxford Hotel in Wolvercote, Oxford, from Thursday 6 (main programme from Friday 7) to Saturday 8 November 2003.

The provisional programme, which can be found on the website below, promises another lively and informative weekend, in the long-standing tradition of Reproduced Sound conferences. This year, the theme is 'Exploring and Sharing Audio and Acoustics', and the topics covered include Speech Intelligibility; Perception; Room Acoustics; Audio Networks; Loudspeaker Arrays and Loudspeaker Measurements. The conference will also feature presentations from Dr DurandBergault of NASA, Floyd Toole of Harman International, Dr Wolfgang Ahnert of ADA (and EASE fame), Phil Nelson of the ISVR (Institute of Sound and Vibration Researc

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Austria - Organizers of the Wiener Festwochen selected Chameleon's German distributor, Alex Schloesser GmbH, to supply the sound system for this annual open-air event, staged in the city of Vienna. Attended by 25,000 people, the concert was broadcast live on ORF and 3SAT TV/satellite stations.

Utilizing the historic Vienna City Hall as a backdrop, performers are drawn from the worlds of classical, traditional and contemporary music, and span mainstream rock bands to opera singers, a brass ensemble and a philharmonic orchestra. "The organizers specified that the system must be able to handle all the different styles of music and, above all, deliver a combination of power and clarity," says Schloesser. "Following a brief from local sound designer, Adolf Togel, I supplied an Adamson Y-Axis 18 line array for the main PA and an Adamson RA system for the delay. The moni

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Italy - A total of 40 Outline Micra Reflex loudspeaker enclosures, powered by Series T power amplifiers, have been installed as the sound reinforcement system for 'Escape from Atlantis' - the latest attraction at Italy's huge Gardaland amusement park. One of Europe's largest water parks, it covers an area of 15,000sq.m, and has already been the setting for spectacular publicity footage transmitted by major Italian and international television broadcasters.

Outline's systems can also be found at Gardaland outside the 'Valley of Kings' - an attraction that's a faithful 1:2 scale reproduction of Egypt's' ancient Abu Simbel temple. Here, two Doppia enclosures, two Victor Live subwoofers powered by DSP Genius 6 and T power amps and two (delayed) Digita Plus N enclosures reproduce the soundtrack for the laser, accompanied by dancing fountains and water walls up to 45ft high.

Outline

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UK / USA - UK exhibitors, facility owners and customers attending this year's 115th AES Convention in New York, are being invited to a special reception hosted by the British Consul General and the APRS. The event, which takes place on Thursday 9 October (6.30pm - 8.30pm), will be open to all UK companies attending at the Convention, not just APRS members.

The aim of the reception is to provide an opportunity for UK companies and their suppliers and customers in the US to meet and network before the show starts the following day. Companies who would like their US customers to sample British hospitality are invited to send names and contact details to APRS executive director, Peter Filleul, at the e-mail address below, so that personal invitations from the New York British Trade Consul can be issued. All customer contacts will be held in strictest confidence by the APRS.

The AP

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UK - Libra Systems is a new UK-based manufacturer founded by pro-audio and home installation specialists Martin Noar and Richard Barman to provide simple and cost-effective components for multi-zone AV systems. The first product, already in stock and ready for shipping, is the AL-1 remote level control, with other products already in the development pipe-line.

"The AL-1 system is a 'problem-solver' for installers," comments Richard Barman. "It's a stereo audio level controller that can either be used in conjunction with our wall-plate, which also has complete Infrared (IR) pass-through back to the main unit, or directly with control systems such as AMX and Crestron."

The system consists of the AL-1 level controller, the WP-1 wall-plate, and an IR remote control. It is targeted at dealers and installers who need to add extra zones to an existing audio system

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UK - Fuzion plc will be showing new additions to the WORK WPL Series of loudspeakers at PLASA 2003. Designed to exacting standards to produce a high quality acoustic response in an attractive, compact, ABS injection-moulded cabinet, the product represents top-class audio engineering.

The WPL Series is also conceived with a host of features to suit a variety of applications. They can be flown, while their trapezoidal shape also facilitates clustering. With their interlocking feet, stacking is also straightforward - while at the same time the integrated handles make them highly portable.

WPL products come in both passive and powered versions and models on show include the WPL 1 (12in + 1in 350W RMS passive); WPL1A (the bi-amp active version); WPL5 (15in + 1in 500W RMS passive) and WPL5A (the active equivalent).

WORK can be found on the Fuzion stand at PLASA, F60.

(Lee Baldoc

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Spain - Soundart has announced that the Chromasonic Version 1.1 multi-effects processing application or 'soundskin' for the Chameleon platform is now available. With Chromasonic loaded, the Chameleon becomes a powerful workhorse multi-effects processor for use at the heart of the studio or live rig, say Soundart, boasting flexible routing, crisp, clean reverbs and a host of industry standard features and effects.

Chromasonic's features include three simultaneous audio effects, comprising two-tap Delay, 5-band parametric equaliser, compressor, limiter, noise gate, tremolo, chorus, flanger, phaser, reverb, autopanner, wah-wah (manual, envelope, LFO with tempo sync) and 4-voice pitch shifter. Additional features include the Tempo Sync (external MIDI or internal with auto detect) for all time-based effects, with tap-tempo control an enhanced saving and storing mechanism with reset/

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Australia - Pro audio manufacturer ARX Systems has released the new AFW 30 Anti Feedback Workstation. The AFW 30 is ideal for all equalization requirements for sound reinforcement, installation and broadcast applications where control and automatic elimination of feedback is critical, says the company.

The AFW 30's features include a 30-band constant Q graphic equalizer, VCA-based peak limiter and genuine Sabine FBX DSP feedback exterminator circuitry, licensed by ARX. ARX's new contoured satin grey front panel workspace features 30 of its new extended resolution 45mm long throw, centre grounding sliders, offering 10dB of cut and boost for the ideal combination of high fader resolution and usability. Finally, there is a Gain Level control with up to +6dB of gain and an In/Out hardwire bypass switch with optional transformer output.

(Lee Baldock)

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Canada - Toronto-based VFGadgets Inc has announced that the QT-256 mini voice transmitter (see news March 2003) - which it claims is the world's smallest wireless broadcast quality voice transmitter - will be launched and showcased at the VFGadgets booth (#8.539 - Audio Hall) at IBC in Amsterdam this year. This mini transmitter debuted at NAB earlier this year and won the prestigious 2003 Mario Award for Best New Technology.

The QT-256 was jointly developed by Quantum5X Systems Inc in Canada and by CP Communications in the US. This sophisticated transmitter technology has been under development for two years and is a patent-pending Wireless RF technology that enhances the quality and enjoyment of broadcast sports, entertainment events, reality TV productions and motion pictures. Live demonstrations and successful field testing of this new technology were televised in the US by E

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Ireland - Duran Audio UK has recently supplied two AXYS Intellivox 4Cs, two AXYS Intellivox 2Bs and two AXYS Intellivox 1Bs to Northern Ireland-based installer DL Electronics as part of an installation at St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh.

The Cathedral has recently undergone an extensive refurbishment programme: an important part of this project was to replace the PA system, as there had always been problems with speech intelligibility in the building. Acoustic consultant, Peter Lloyd, and the installers, DL Electronics, were keen to investigate a more innovative approach, as distributed systems had not worked well in the Cathedral in the past. Following several conversations with Duran Audio UK, they arranged for an Intellivox demonstration so that they could see what could be achieved using Duran Audios DDC technology. The benefits of the technology were immediately clear and

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UK - Tecton is the newest line in Camco's range of amplifiers, and will be launched at PLASA 2003 by their exclusive UK distributors, Fuzion plc. There are 10 amplifiers in the series, peaking at the 2 x 1400W/4 ohms version, and all are optimized for use with either 8 or 4 ohm impedances. Tecton contains Camco's latest developments in high-efficiency SMPS (switchmode power supply) as well as their 'Superior Sound' amplifier designs.

Models in the range are the 8, 13, 18, 23 and 28. Those designated '.2' are 2-ohm optimized and those suffixed '.4' are 4-ohm optimized.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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UK - At the PLASA Show this year, Fuzion plc is introducing extensions to all the core Australian Monitor ranges, in particular amplifiers, mixers and paging matrixes. The AMIS multi-channel and mixer amps, aimed at the commercial audio market, include the AMIS 60 (4-input 60W mixer amp, with remote master VCA, VOX relay and insert point); AMIS 120 (120W version), AMIS 120XL (8-input, 120W mixer amplifier, with insert point, VCA control and three-band EQ); AMIS 250 (6-input 250W amp, with remote master, VCA, VOX relay, insert point and mid EQ) - along with power amplifier versions of some of the AMIS models (120P, 250P, 1202P, 604P). Fuzion will also show the AMIS 26 (2-in/6-out) distribution amplifier.

TX Series mixers from Australian Monitor include the TX-6000M (6-channel mono mixer, with remote master and VCA); TX-8000M (8-channel version) and TX-8201M (8-channel stereo mixe

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UK - According to SSE Hire, they provided one of the largest Nexo GEO T Tangent Array systems in the world for the main Pyramid Stage at the 2003 Glastonbury Festival. Nearly 100 GEO T4805 cabinets were used in the field, where between 90-100,000 fans gathered to watch the top act Radiohead. Performers on the main stage included additional headliners R.E.M. and Moby, as well as David Gray, Turin Brakes, Supergrass and The Flaming Lips.

The decision to use Nexo GEO technology was a major departure for the Glastonbury team and promoter Melvyn Benn of The Mean Fiddler Organization. The Pyramid Stage has, famously, been equipped with Turbosound Flashlight systems for many years. In winning the contract for the 2003 Festival, Chris Beale of SSE Hire completed an impressive roster of all the biggest festivals in the UK, all to be serviced with NEXO GEO T.

The system for the Pyramid

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USA - ETA Systems introduces the newest model of its high performance line of conditioned power distribution units. The PD11LVSIEC-CE is CE compliant and offers the most complete features package of any PD Series unit. In addition to ETA's unique sequential power distribution system of four power up/down stages of distributed power, other features of the PD11LVSIEC-CE include spike and surge protection; EMI/RFI filtering; IEC 320; power inlet and outlet connectors; rack mountable; digital voltmeter readout; swivel rack illuminator; activated from front panel high/low switch

Circuit breaker overload protection and conditioned and protected power outlet are located on the front panel. Rear panel IEC power inlet and ten outlet connectors are sequentially powered up and off in four stages. The PD11LVSIEC-CE has a total electrical capacity of 2.3kW and 10 amps, from a 230V, 50Hz, sin

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UK - The Xs Series of power amplifiers from Crown represents a new era in affordable, quality power amplification, according to UK distributor, Fuzion. Based on tried and trusted design principles, the line consists of four models, in a uniform, rugged 2U chassis - and all receive their British debut on the Fuzion stand at the PLASA Show in London this September.

Xs 500 is rated at 500W per channel into 4 ohms; Xs 700 is rated at 750W per channel/4 ohms; Xs 900 delivers 900W per channel/4 ohms, and the Xs 4300 is a Crown multi-channel amplifier (producing 4 x 300W/4 ohms).

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

  1. Montreux Congress Centre equipped with L-Acoustics
  2. LA Audio launches DigiBox range at PLASA
  3. EAW launches new leasing programme
  4. Jon Sager promoted to QSC manager of installed sound
  5. Amptown Cases launch SiP Plasma cases at PLASA
  6. Turbosound takes TXD success to PLASA
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