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UK - Adopted by the European Union (EU) in January 2003, the Directive on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) is a landmark edict intent on providing a safer environment for future generations.

At present, RoHS legally applies only within the EU; however, it is fast becoming a worldwide initiative. Aware of its significance, Crown International has taken a proactive approach and announces that eight of its eleven amplifier lines currently in production as well as all of its PIP modules now meet the regulations of the RoHS directive.

The goal of RoHS is to minimise the effects of electrical and electronic equipment on the environment during their usable life and once they become waste. Specifically targeted by the directive are a number of heavy metals (lead, mercury, etc.) and certain flame-retardants, the use of which can pose potential environmental hazards after

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Argentina - Proel reports its involvement in the most important musical events held in Argentina. After the participation in the Pepsi Music festival, the Italiancompany was involved in the realisation of the Robbie Williams' Close Encounters Tour in Argentina, on the 14 and 15 of October in the stadium of River Plate, with more than 120 thousand people attending the two concerts.

There were 16 front-fill Proel Edge 15 CXPB 15" inches coaxial monitors, powered by Powersoft Q4002 and Proel DS026 processors. The rental company providing the equipment for the show was Buenos Aires Live Show, which was enthusiastic about theperformance of the Proel Edge monitors. Federico Sainz from Buenos Aires Live Show defines the collaboration with the Italian company as "a successful couple, that allowed us to offer a sound of the highest quality".

Mario Di Cola,

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Spain - Spanish rental company, Pronorte Sonido in Asturias, northern Spain, has at reported a highly successful summer/autumn festival season with EAW KF760 line array systems.

Pronorte put their EAWKF760 and KF730 line array systems through their paces at several shows this summer including a concert for veteran UK rock band, the Simple Minds as well as several major festivals. Among the biggest were the Bilbao Live Festival that took place in Bilbao in July, the Noroeste Pop Rock festival, a huge four-day free gig held in a spectacular beach setting in La Coruna at the north-western tip of Spain, and the Azkena Rock Festival in Mendizabala, Vittoria, also in northern Spain which took place during the first weekend in September.

The principal attractions at Bilbao included Guns 'n' Roses, Ben Harper, the Pretenders, the Cardigans, Placebo, the Fun Lovin' Criminals and the Cu

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Japan - Solid State Logic's new Duality console will make its Japanese debut in April 2007 when the first desk to be installed in the country is unveiled by the Osaka School of Music (OSM). Established in 1986, OSM is part of the Jikei Group - itself a member of Community Colleges for International Development (CCID). The Jikei Groupoperates 47 schools throughout Japan and has in excess of 35,000 students.

OSM's colleges in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka operate under the name of The School of Music and Communication Arts. These establishments cater for 15,000 students and teach a variety of courses covering music entertainment, creative entertainment and ecology.

As part of its ongoing expansion, OSM is preparing to open Sendai Communication Arts, a new centre in Osaka that will be completed by next April. The 48-channel SSL Duality will be used to teach its music entertain

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USA - Listen Technologies announced the winners of its 2006 Rep Awards during its winter sales meeting, Winterfest 2006 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Top honours for Rep of the Year went to Pros, Inc. headquartered in Vancouver, Washington. The award recognises the rep firm that demonstrates the most outstanding passion and commitment in representing Listen and its products.

Awards were presented to those rep firms who met or exceeded their 2006 sales quotas. Listen's FM Quota Busters included Aldridge Marketing, Inc., Eakins, Bernstein & Associates, Merchant Marketing, Pros, Inc., SECOM, Inc., Sonic Sales and Sound Vision Marketing. Aldridge Marketing Inc. and Pros Inc. also received Quota Buster awards for Listen's IR line. The Conferencing Quota Buster awards were presented to Anew CT, Encourage, Online Marketing, SECOM, Inc., Sonic Sales, and Sound Vision Marketing.

Listen also

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Brazil - Sao Paulo-based R4 Som recently provided a Vertec line array system for the 24th Salao Internacional do Automovel 2006 (International Automobile Expo). The event took place October 19-29, 2006 at the Anhembi Exhibition Park in Sao Paulo.

The Salao Internacional do Automovel 2006 featured 155 exhibitors and drew more than 620,000 visitors over a two-week period. With a theme of "Passion, Emotion and Evolution" and multiple new product launches scheduled by the world's leading auto companies, the exhibition was one of Latin America's largest and most successful trade shows of the year. R4 Som, a full-service sound reinforcement company, provided its client Toyota with in-booth audio production services.

Powered by Crown MA-Series power amplifiers and driven by a dbx 4800 DriveRack loudspeaker management system, JBL Vertec VT4889 full-size line array elements w

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USA - Renkus-Heinz's Iconyx Digitally Controlled Array System has been recognised with the award of Best Large-Format Loudspeaker at the 2006 WFX New Product Awards held recently. The Worship Facilities Conference & Expo (WFX) New Product Awards, presented by Church Production magazine and Worship Facilities magazine, are designed to recognise the newest and most innovative building, management and technology products marketed to churches within the past year.

The Iconyx Series uses advanced technology to provide natural music and intelligible speech in the highly reverberant environments typically associated with architecturally distinguished buildings. Their slender "thin stick" vertical profile mounts flat to the wall, blending easily with both classical and contemporary architecture. Iconyx arrays are available in 8, 16, 24 and 32 channel sizes to sui

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USA - The Pet Shop Boys recently completed their first North American tour since 2002. Houston-based LD Systems deployed EV X-Line, X-Array and remote-control Precision Series amplifiers for the dates, which wrapped up in Monterrey, Mexico.

"We already knew how well the X-Line works as a rock box," says Systems Tech Mike 'Monk' Shear of LD Systems, "and it's done an equally impressive job handling the electronic music on the Fundamental tour. What sets the X-Line apart is its smooth HF response; digital signal reproduction can be a bit harsh in the high frequencies, but this rig sounds seamless and warm up in the mids and highs. We can hear the HF details without pushing them too hard."

"I rate X-Line very highly," says FOH engineer Colin Boland. "It's so easy to get a good mix on this system. I can hear the slightest EQ adjustments through t

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USA - Symetrix Inc. has appointed Ray Tantzen to the newly-created position of product and training specialist/field engineer. Tantzen will spend most of his time travelling to help existing and potential customers understand the applications for Symetrix technology and to listen to their needs and identify solutions. While he will work with all of the Symetrix brands, his focus will be on the growing SymNet line.

Tantzen spent four years as a product specialist at Loud Technologies, where he successfully grew the TAPCO brand. His wide-ranging freelance audio engineering activities include studio recording, editing, and mixing; location recording and mixing; audio for video; and live sound and broadcast mixing. In addition, he developed and taught classes at Seattle's 911 Media Arts.

Commented Tantzen, "I'm happy to put my skills to use at Symetrix because it has such a g

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UK - Liverpool-based Adlib Audio has added 30 channels of Sennheiser Evolution G2 wireless to its extensive catalogue. The systems include ten dual channel EM 550 receivers, SK 500 Bodypacks, SKM 935 Handhelds, and ten EW 300 IEMs. Evolution G2 wireless features 1440 tuneable UHF frequencies for interference free reception set up in nine frequency banks, each with up to 20 directly accessible presets.

Adlib director Dave Kay, who specified the systems states, "I have been a great fan of Sennheiser wireless for many years, and my global FOH duties means it is essential that I can rely on equipment that won't let me down on the night. I find this is especially important when touring internationally and have to integrate a system with the available frequencies out there."

Kay, who won the 2006 Total Production International Award for Sound Engineer of the Year, is curre

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USA - Guns N' Roses are currently on tour through North America. To handle the live shows, audio veteran Toby Francis was tapped for FOH duties, Andy Ebert was selected for monitors, and the Digidesign Venue live sound environment was chosen to run the show. With two Venue D-Show systems in tow for FOH and monitor mixes,

"This is what I've wanted for years," says Francis. "I've tried everything - at least demoed everything. This is the first console I've wanted to own. I've always looked at the others as a temporary step. Even though some of them I used for four or five years, I was just waiting for technology to advance."

Ebert is equally enthusiastic: "I had used digital consoles before, but I never really liked them because of their sound quality and the fact that they're so complicated to operate. What I'm looking for in a digital console is someth

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UK - Sound Control, the UK's biggest musical instrument retailer, has taken delivery of 18 new Sennheiser Evolution stands, each displaying five Evolution handheld microphones, five instrument mics, two wireless systems, and eight headphones. Explanatory information describing the benefits and technical features also accompanies each product.

Sound Control sales director, Ray Miller says: "These displays demonstrate the proactive approach that we share with Sennheiser. It is quite unusual to utilise freestanding units in stores and we felt this was a good way to draw attention to the products. Today's retailers are more conscious than ever of making every square foot count, and we think this is an innovative and creative way of presenting a product range. This format is an attention-grabbing system, and also means our customers can get touchy/feely with the Sennheiser range

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New Zealand - New Zealand is no exception when it comes to the TV phenomenon that is Pop Idol. The show has just completed another run on NZ TV2, where it is known as NZ Idol, and was, remarkably, the testing ground for a new Soundcraft Vi6 digital audio console.

Andy Tait of Tom Cat & Associates, the Auckland-based sound company that provides production and broadcast audio for NZ Idol, has just ordered the second Vi6 in the country. His experiences using the console on a 12-week trial basis during NZ Idol proved so positive that he decided not to give it back to Jands NZ, Soundcraft's New Zealand distributor.

"I only had about an hour to get my head around it before having to use it to mix a live-to-air music TV show," recalls Tait. "I didn't get a chance to read the operators' manual of course; but thanks to the excellent layout and functi

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Germany - Since 6 November 2006, Markus Schmittinger has been strengthening the team of EVI Audio. An experienced sales representative, Markus will be taking over the position of sales manager, Electro-Voice Microphones, for the regions Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Schmittinger has a proven track record as a pro audio specialist. For over 25 years, a passionate guitarist and singer, he has been gathering experience in different sectors of the musical instruments and pro audio industries, and can point to such successes as the creation of an international distribution network for a record label and most recently a profitable spell in the role of director of business, Central Europe, for a large American manufacturer.

Schmittinger says: "The task of helping to push this legendary microphone brand even further to the forefront of people's awareness is an exciting one.

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UK - Effective 1 December, David Budge has joined Crown International as the manufacturer's sales director for Europe/UK, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The announcement comes from Scott Robbins, Crown's senior vice president of worldwide sales, to whom Budge reports.

A familiar face to the international pro audio industry, Budge most recently enjoyed a five-year tenure as the sales manager for engineered sound at Harman Pro UK where he was involved on install projects for several of the country's premier soccer stadiums (Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, etc.), the AEG O2 Arena (formerly known as the Millennium Dome), and other high-profile projects. Prior to that, he spent eight years in various sales management positions with Realscape, Celestion, Canon Audio and Echosphere, which, coming full-circle, followed seven years of employment with Harman International Industr

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USA - Loud Technologies have announced the appointment of pro audio industry veteran, Jon Sager, to the position of vice president of sales, EAW. In this newly created position, Sager will focus solely on leading EAW sales in the U.S. and Canada and direct EAW's team of 17 independent sales rep firms.

"Jon's addition is a key component in our aggressive long-range EAW plan, and is another example of the calibre of investments we are making to grow the brand," remarked Loud's president and CEO, Jamie Engen.

Sager's addition comes on the heels of Loud's recent investments in EAW brand leadership; increased worldwide manufacturing capacity; an expanded engineering, prototyping and BTO facility in its Whitinsville, MA factory; and an expanding service and ASG team, says the company.

"We are thrilled to have Jon back," said Ken Berger, Loud senior vice preside

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UK - Forward-thinking book retailers, Maher the Bookseller, are pioneering a revolutionary new interactive Listening Post in their shops, designed to increase sales of audio book titles. The pilot scheme is the initiative of managing director, Tony Maher, and his idea has been turned into reality by multimedia solution providers Creative Retail Entertainment (CRE).

Two of Maher's three shops - in Welwyn Garden City and Fleet - have been equipped with the technology and they are already paying dividends. Tony Maher says the development is in line with his company's policy of providing a more welcoming environment in which to shop, conscious that 50% of the population never ventures into a book shop. "We wanted to create a bright, contemporary design, with the infrastructure that would enable our staff to be able to offer an exceptional service to customers," he said.

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Argentina - The Pepsi Music Festival 2006 which took took place in Buenos Aires recently, featured more than 200 bands and artists performing over eleven days and attracted 160,000 visitors. Argentina. Among the artists were Iggy Pop & The Stooges, Ziggy Marley, Gustavo Cerati, Massacre, Catupecu Machu, Los Auténticos Decadentes and Rata Blanca.

One grandMA full-size, one NSP, grandMA on PC and one grandMA ultra-light for pre-programming, showed their full capability over the duration of the festival. "We decided to use the grandMA system, due to the easy programming," explains programmer Pablo Hernando, "We felt really comfortable during the programming time. The whole system is very reliable and strong. Also the software tools that go along with the system are extremely useful and easy to understand."

The lighting rig for the main stage included 12

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USA - D-Tools, Inc. a leader in system integration software, has announced that Planet Waves, respected designer and manufacturer of cable and connector products for A/V systems, has joined D-Tools Manufacturer Vantage Point (MVP) program. Planet Waves is a product line acquired by D'Addario & Company in 1998 and features a full line of cables for the custom installation market. Now, Planet Waves dealers who are users of D-Tools' award-winning System Integrator software can download detailed information on Planet Waves cable solutions directly through the software, making it easier to specify Planet Waves products.

"Partnering with the D-Tools MVP program was an excellent way to expand our product exposure and educate integrators and consumer electronic professions on the benefits of Planet Waves Cable Station line," said Robert D'Addario, Planet Waves CI product manag

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USA - Danley Sound Labs has introduced the TH-215 subwoofer, the latest addition to its TH line of compact subwoofers. The TH-215 uses Danley's patent-pending tapped horn technologyto deliver honest sub-30Hz performance with audiophile fidelity in a lightweight, tour-friendly cabinet. It will find ideal applications in houses of worship, performing arts centres, and music venues ranging incapacity from clubs to arenas, says the company.

The 22" x 30" x 42" TH-215 is designed to cover the 29-125Hz range (+/-3dB) with a sensitivity of 99dB SPL at 39Hz (measured as 20V input 1/2 space at10M distance). The TH-215 takes up to 1,400 continuous watts and 2,800 programme watts and will produce a generous 133dB SPL at 36Hzand 138dB SPL in the range of 102-113Hz. The TH-215 weighs in at a modest 190 lbs.

"People are astounded by the deep, loud, true sound of our TH l

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UK - Utopian Leisure has just completed its third new venue launch - in the spectacular Odyssey complex situated on the riverfront of Belfast City opposite the famous H & W (Titanic) Shipyards. The Box is a two tier nightclub and bar venue offering a diverse selection of style, imagery and music. Following on from their successful openings of Sam Jacks and Bar 55 in Newcastle and Love Shack in Durham, MD Bob Senior and operations director Carl Hornsby called in Andy Austin-Brown of KV2 Audio to specify a new sound system to match the standards that had been installed in the previous venues.

The Box represented another challenge, that of being able to contain and control sound without creating external noise pollution. In this case the Odyssey complex is surrounded by a multi screen cinema complex, an IMAX cinema directly above and several well know chain restaurants in the surro

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UK - Already with a reputation as one of the most luxurious cinemas outside the West End, the renowned Everyman Cinema Club in Hampstead, London, has nevertheless been getting a makeover, commissioning CGA Integration to enhance the technical facilities in its bar and private screening lounge.

Hot-foot from its recent project at the Dorchester Hotel, CGA has altered the identity of the Cinema's ground-floor, transforming the lobby into a cool bar seating area with the installation of an Electro-Voice sound system, using four wall-mounted EV S-40 ultracompact compact monitors together with a 50" plasma screen.

The space has been re-designed to include a cyc-type wall, new lighting, and shocking pink and orange furnishings. Says Chris Gunton of CGA, "even given the hot colours, it's a square design so I chose Electro-Voice's square S-40 cabinet, which sounded much warm

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Australia - Australian-based pro audio manufacturer ARX has added the new Iso Optimizer to its AudiBox series of audio problem solvers. The company says its Iso Optimizer is a unique transformer isolated precision Level optimizer, which allows the user to attenuate the level from one piece of equipment to the next in order to provide the exact level required and reduce the risk of overloading sensitive inputs. Transformer Ground isolation provides low-noise operation suitable for any application, say ARX.

Applications include pro audio/consumer interfacing, and level and impedance matching for digitising audio. Specifications include, Input and Outputs have a 10K Impedance Ohms and Balanced jack and Unbalanced RCA connectors. Input Attenuation is user variable from 0db to infinity (off) and Frequency Response is 20Hz - 20kHz ± 0.5dB.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - The tiny Mediterranean island of Malta has always taken its dance music seriously - with more highly-specified nightclubs per capita for its 400,000 population than just about anywhere else. Stefan Farrugia of sound system distributor Futuretech, has set out to convert the island's top venues and DJs to Denon DJ playback devices and mixers - and now believes his coverage has extended to 70% of the island's fixed installs and rental houses.

"The breakthrough was caused by the arrival of the DN-S3500 CD/MP3 player," he says, and to date high profile venues such as Silk, Styx, Plush, Sin City and Places have given main booth space to the tabletop players - as has George Said's legendary La Grotta on the neighbouring island of Gozo.

Other Denon tabletop devices, including the award-winning DN-S5000, can be found in venues like Clique, Sugar Shake, 121 (the former Mo

  1. Guido Noselli
  2. MC2 appoints BO-MAH in Croatia
  3. Hawthorns completes AMX install at Barbican
  4. Soundcraft in control at La Nave di Harlock
  5. Clear-Com system for Oslo National Theatre
  6. The ABTT Theatre Show 2007
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