Sound

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PLASA saw the launch of Audio-Technica's new Artist Series of microphones. The ATM710 is a rugged, hand-held cardioid condenser, with the ATM610 and ATM410 being hypercardioid and cardioid dynamic respectively. Also included in the series are several microphones designed specifically for use on instruments, with the ATM450 being the most noteworthy with its 'side stick address' design allowing the microphone to be mounted in many different configurations with minimal obstructions. For drums, the AE250DE that combines both a cardioid condenser and a hypercardioid dynamic in the same housing.

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Soundcraft (Harman Pro) displayed a wealth of products with, of course, the flagship digital Vi6 Shure Distributiontaking centre stage, but with other low-cost mixers being launched too. The EPM series was announced and replaces the entry-level E-Series range. There are three models in the range featuring six, eight or 12 inputs plus two stereo inputs. The EPM6 retails at only £220 including VAT and all desks feature 48V Phantom Power, inserts and three-band EQ with swept mid.

Being shown for the first time in the UK was the new GB2 aimed at the venue, touring and audio-visual market. The GB2 is available in 16-, 24- and 32-channel versions; four sub group, plus stereo out and a 6x2 matrix.

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USA - Shure Incorporated has announced that Mark Humrichouser has been appointed as its new director of US sales, bringing 15 years of experience in sales, technology, and the audio industry to the company.

Most recently, Humrichouser was team manager for Professional Systems and the Music Industry at Sennheiser, following a number of years as a regional sales manager and regional market development manager. Humrichouser led the 12-territory Eastern region to be the number one revenue-generating region for Sennheiser. In his role at Shure, he will assume responsibility for directing the US sales management group.

"Mark's fifteen years of experience in the audio industry make him particularly well qualified for Shure's Directorship," said Al Hershner, vice-president and general manager of Shure's US Business Unit. "Our team of regional and national account manage

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Coda Audio, daughter company of BMS Electronik GmBH in Hanover, were at PLASA this year with several systems from its range. Of note was the D5 Tube co-axial ultra-compact loudspeaker. The passive two-way 5"/1" drivers provide a frequency response of 90Hz-30kHz with 90° dispersion from a small, aluminium wall- or ceiling-mounted enclosure.

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From A.C.'s Sound department comes the full Kling & Freitag range of speakers, so too all Yamaha consoles including the latest LS9 (see elsewhere), plus the Roland Digital Snake, a Cat 5-based system (32 send, 8 return), the Whirlwind E Snake, and the Light Viper optical digital snake system.

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Carlsbro had a wealth of new products on its stand with the Carlsbro/DARE range of PA systems being the latest edition. Having only been available for three weeks the systems, comprising amplifiers, processing and speaker system, had been very popular, said John Roberts. The systems, starting with the 2.8kW bi-amped G8 grow in size to the 6.2kW three-way G15Vs2 6-box big brother. Intended for use by gigging bands, Carlsbro is busy providing demos across the country and purchasing one of the rigs gives users 24-hour access to the 'Doctor DARE' helpline, which can assist with any technical issues.

On the other end of the spectrum, Carlsbro showed the Speakezee portable PA system - a self-powered, battery-operated loudspeaker/tape deck combo, complete with VHF handheld, tie-clip and headset mic and receiver for the staggering SRP of £109.99.

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HK Audio, distributed in the UK by John Hornby Skewes, launched the ConTour Array at this year's PLASA. Designed to bridge the gap between traditional touring systems and large line arrays, ConTour consists of the CTA 208 mid/high unit, which is loaded with two 8" and four Neodymium drivers. The high frequency drivers are connected to HK Audio Acoustic Lens HF transformers as featured in the company's flagship COHEDRA system.

For big bottom end, the CTA 118 Sub is the self-powered, DSP controlled and direct loaded 18" sub box designed to work with the CTA 208s. It contains two 1kW RMS PWM power amps; one drives the sub while the other is configured by the controller to drive either the CTA 208 or a ConTour CT108, 112 or 115 box.

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Bill Lewington is an MI-orientated sales operation based in Essex with an enormous catalogue . . . from which they selected key items to bring to this, their third PLASA Show. Highlighted products included Konig & Meyer stands - for all applications from music to lighting fixtures, and also SD systems - a brand of specialist mics for a wide variety of orchestral instruments. The company also distributes Nady, offering a wide range of studio mics, and was celebrating its 50th birthday at the show.

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Alcons Audio showed off its new QB36 bass cabinet and their SR9, a small, low-profile full-range speaker cabinet featuring an RBN401 pro-ribbon HF driver and wide angle coverage (120 degrees), combined with very precise vertical projection. Other new products included Alcons' DDP multi-effects processor.

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USA - FiberPlex, one of the leading fibre optic supplier to the professional audio industry, was displaying the company's new LightViper EF-2, a Dual Channel 10/100 Ethernet-to-Fiber Converter, at the 121st AES convention in California 6-9 October.

The 1U rack-mounting EF-2 will accept two independent channels of 10/100 Ethernet via two standard RJ-45 connector/receptacles and then convert the signals to two fibre optic transmit/receive pairs. It will operate in a choice of three configurations: standard Ethernet using transmit and receive pairs (Standard mode); two channels of single direction Ethernet (TX-only); or as a combination of both modes.

Because the EF-2 is a hardware device, it ignores packet structure and data content, thus facilitating transparent use with Aviom's Pro16 Monitor Mixing System, CobraNet and EtherSound networks as well as standard Ethernet equipment

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British manufacturer Ohm UK was showing a new wedge to complement their HD stadium systems. Comprising two 12", a 2" and a 1" compression driver, the HDFM is designed to give back to the artist what the HD FOH system is giving to the audience, say Ohm.

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PLASA 2006 was a first for Douglas Scheller and TSC Music. The company, which brands music for retailers, were very impressed with the quality of visitor to the show. As well as providing music packages for the likes of Starbucks, Adidas and Billabong, the company also provides commercial MP3 players in either rackmount or desktop versions to play audio into a store's PA system. The MP3 players are simple to use, robust and can be updated with the latest playlist over the Internet.

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Complementing its extremely successful Venue live sound environment, Digidesign launched the D-Show Profile into the live arena. A 24-channel framed desk, it is compatible with all existing Venue hardware and sportsa smaller footprint than its bigger brother. Although smaller, it is also totally compatible with any shows created on the Venue: "With Profile, we've paid particular attention to feedback from vendors and operators who work in many different styles of operation. We feel that D-Show Profile addresses a great deal of the needs in markets outside the realms of concert sound," said Digidesign's marketing manager for live sound products, Robert Scovill. In addition, Digidesign showed the entire Venue range and provided full overviews of both products in its demo room.

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UK - Lincoln University's brand new multipurpose venue, the £6 million Engine Shed (so called because that's precisely what it was) opened to great acclaim on 18 September with an inaugural performance from huge UK Indie band, Embrace. In addition to housing the Student Union bar and offices, the Engine Shed is also the newest and biggest student venue in the East Midlands. A venue of this calibre clearly demanded a high quality professional audio system, and so technical systems specialists Stage Electrics were called in to supply and install a complete entertainment system that included a comprehensive EAW loudspeaker system throughout.

According to EAW systems application specialist Steve Badham, the key criterion for the audio installation was flexibility. Comprising three bars and two performance spaces of 750 capacity (1500 capacity when combined) as well as shops an

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Germany - Frankfurt and Coburg were the German cities that hosted two D.A.S. seminars focused mainly on the D.A.S. Aero line array systems. These two events took place simultaneously with the PLASA Show in London and were addressed mostly to line array systems users and interested public. The occasion almost offered the opportunity to provide the German market with a presentation of the new Variant line array together with the new EASE Focus software.

Each of these seminars lasted one day. Both were opened by Lothar Weimann the head of D.A.S. Audio Deutschland, who gave a presentation of the firm via the corporate video. Joan La Roda, D.A.S. audio engineer provided the attendees with the presentation "How line array work" which explains the line array theory and expands into the technical characteristics and applications of such systems. This was followed by a presenta

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Denmark - DPA Microphones is pleased to announce the appointment of a new managing director, Lars Friis Ostergaard. DPA has experienced an annual growth of around 25% for the past three years and now employs a total of 90 staff at offices and manufacturing facilities outside Copenhagen, as well as at the US subsidiary in Colorado. It is anticipated that Ostergaard's longstanding experience in steering national and international businesses during rapid periods of growth will be called into play, and he will work closely with DPA's staff to continue and improve the success of DPA Microphones.

Ostergaard joins the Danish microphone manufacturer from BB Electronics (Suzhou) Co Ltd, in China, where he held the position of general manager. He also served as CEO for Danish graphic company Glunz & Jensen A/S for more than 11 years, as well as being development manager at Danish high-end

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UK - Klein + Hummel introduced the O 300 triamplified three-way nearfield studio reference monitor at AES 2006 San Francisco. The O 300 delivers the same quality of the famed O 300 D, minus the digital input and control hardware, resulting in a cost-effective price without sonic compromise, says the company. The O 300 delivers uncoloured sound, precise bass response, picture-perfect dispersion patterns, and a real soundstage with remarkable image focus and depth.

By utilising a dense, new, extremely low-resonance material called LRIM, Klein + Hummel was able to mould the waveguides required for optimal dispersion directly into the baffle. The elliptical shape of the high-frequency horn makes the dispersion angle in the vertical plane more narrow thus reducing the amount of early reflections off the console surface which would otherwise interfere with the direct sound from the sp

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UK - tsg have recently completed the installation of a promedia mms hard disk system for Eldridge Pope at their Que Pasa site in Corn Street, Bristol. Formerly one of the company's Toad sites this takes the number of Que Pasa sites utilising promedia mms to 16 nation-wide.

Multi-purpose in use, promedia mms runs Que Pasa's bespoke music and music video profile and controls all aspects of the sites entertainment offer be it scheduling on-screen graphics, programming lighting effects, controlling what is seen on each screen, and adjusting the audio presets throughout the trading week. And in addition to this, promedia mms ably assists the on-site DJ with its integral fully featured touch-screen DJ console.

As well as supplying the promedia mms system, tsg specified and installed a robust screen and lighting system and also tweaked and brought up to date the existing audio system

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USA - MTV attracted kudos and criticism for its attempts to revitalise the Video Music Awards this year, but one thing that remained unchanged was the presence of Sennheiser wired and wireless microphones. The Raconteurs, house band for the day on the new-look show, made extensive use of Sennheiser microphones, while Beyonce wowed the crowd with a spectacular dance performance singing into her favourite vocal mic, the nickel finish Sennheiser/Neumann SKM 5200 hybrid wireless handheld.

"We used evolution series e935s on all the vocals, including our guests, Lou Reed and Billy Gibbons," says Neil Heal, monitor engineer for The Raconteurs. Reed made an appearance with the band early in the show performing the 1967 Velvet Underground classic, 'White Light/White Heat'. Later, The Raconteurs were joined by ZZ Top's Gibbons for a rendition of his band's 'Cheap Sunglasses', an

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UK - IBC 2006 marked the sixth year for Klark Teknik as an IBC Supporter and the first year that its new E Series Helix range of signal processing and system control hardware was used. IBC Supporters - a range of leading manufacturers - equip IBC's conference rooms and special events such as D-Cinema and IBC News with their latest products, which are installed and run by the IBC Technical Resources team under the direction of Phil White. In return for loaning this equipment, manufacturers can tap into feedback and suggestions from front-line broadcast users, and this is often of great help in finalising new products.

Terry Nelson joined IBC Technical Resources eight years ago and works closely with the Audio Technical Coordinator, Tim Kerr, specifying systems for the rooms and acoustic consultation. Together they are responsible for the set up of the rooms and the final tuning o

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UK - One of London's leading conference and meeting venues, The Brewery in Chiswell Street, has commissioned PSL to implement an extensive refurbishment of its sound and lighting facilities. Managing director Claire Lawson says that the £500K spend will help The Brewery to extend its advantage over rival City venues.

Having been a preferred supplier of audio-visual services to the award-winning Brewery for the past seven years, the London event services company PSL was the ideal candidate to handle the design and installation of new production facilities. "PSL is familiar with the building, and we're very comfortable with PSL," says Lawson. "They've led the design process throughout but we've been closely involved, especially when it came to the replacement of the sound system."

The Brewery has worked closely with PSL and the Corporation of London on

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Germany - After a two-year break, the Love Parade celebrated a welcome comeback in Berlin, attracting 1.2 million revellers. For the new organisers, the objective was "sound - not noise" and, to achieve this, they commissioned the biggest Nexo GEO T tangent-array sound system ever seen in Germany.

For the evening line-up of DJs at the Grosser Stern, a number of conditions had to be met. At the Column, the organisers wanted powerful 360° sound coverage, evenly dispersed but without exceeding the pre-determined volume limit of 105dB(A). As the view from the Victory Column to both the east and the west was to be as unrestricted as possible, the structures needed for mounting the loudspeakers had to be kept very simple.

For the DJ stages at the east and west sides, a higher level of amplification was planned, which was to be integrated into the overall sound reinforc

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UK - Telex Communications (UK) Ltd reports that Independent Television News has installed a Telex/RTS Intercom for critical communications at their Gray's Inn Road headquarters in London. Stage 1 has already begun, with the installation of a 176 square ADAM matrix system for ITN's Master Control Room.

Providing facilities for some six studios, 16 Edit suites, graphics and content managers, Master Control is the hub of the ITN operation. As a live news broadcaster, ITN takes feeds from numerous OBs every day, and an essential part of their intercom requirement was a system to route incoming and outgoing lines at the touch of a button. The new TELEX ARP (Audio Routing Panel) developed for ITN achieves this, allowing fast switching with visual confirmation and reverse interrogation of routes throughout the complex.

Paul Flook Head of Broadcast Engineering ITN explained: "We

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USA - The Queen of Hip-Hop and three-time Grammy Award winner, Mary J. Blige, is currently touring the United States in support of her current album, The Breakthrough. Travelling with a five-piece band plus three background singers, Blige's Breakthrough Experience Tour is outfitted with Sennheiser and Neumann wireless equipment, including microphones and G2 personal monitor systems, as well as antenna combiners.

Blige is a longtime user of the hybrid handheld microphone that combines a Neumann KK 105-S capsule with a Sennheiser SKM 5000-N transmitter. According to monitor engineer Ramon Morales, for this tour Blige has the Neumann capsule paired with the new nickel finish Sennheiser SKM 5200 handheld, which offers a redesigned user interface, mechanics and electronics compared to the previous model.

"The supercardioid 105 capsule is not for everyone," n

  1. D.A.S. at the Royal Nautical Club of Tenerife.
  2. Innovason announces partnership with Aviom
  3. Sweeney Todd's Final Cuts on Broadway
  4. JBL introduces VLA Series
  5. A whole Heap of Aspect for Imogen
  6. Adlib on tour with AFI
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