Spain - Located in the town of Erandio, near the Basque capital Bilbao, the Sonora nightclub is renowned for its quality of music, drawing people from a wide catchment area. This reputation is aided by a high specification audio system that features an Apex Intelli-X2 48 controller at its heart.

With a total capacity of 1500, Sonora is split into three rooms - 808 and 909 which host DJ sets and the Bar for live music. The audio system was designed by Hector Cabot of Barcelona-based Media Sys, who also supplied the equipment, and installed by Sonort, based in Bilbao.

It comprises Kling & Freitag loudspeakers throughout, powered by Lab Gruppen amplifiers in rooms 808 and 909, while the Bar loudspeakers use Proel amplifiers. An Apex Intelli-X2 48 system controller was specified because of its exceptional audio quality and flexibility.

"The Intelli-X2 48 controller is the m

Norway - One of the first European installations of- Dolby Atmos surround sound technology is at Kristiansand in Norway, where 54 Yamaha loudspeakers and 33 power amplifiers have been specified to deliver its exacting audio requirements.

Atmos supports up to 128 simultaneous, lossless audio elements in a mix. Using up to 64 loudspeakers, it heightens the realism and impact of cinema by making the soundtrack fully immersive. An array of overhead speakers complements screen and wall-mounted units to allow sound to be precisely positioned anywhere in the auditorium, producing a natural, lifelike audio experience that perfectly matches the storyline.

Owned by the Municipality of Kristiansand, the Kino has the highest footfall of any Norwegian cinema, with 370,000 filmgoers visiting each year. The Atmos system was installed in its 655-seat Screen 1 by Unique Cinema System (UCS), wh

Olympic Honours - The London 2012 Olympic Games have taken three awards at this year's British Academy of Film and Television Arts Craft Awards. The Olympics opening ceremony picked up a best director award while Super Saturday - when team GB scooped six gold medals - won for best sound. The Paralympics, broadcast on Channel Four, took best digital creativity.

Hamish Hamilton who directed the TV broadcasts of the London 2012 opening and closing ceremonies, was also honoured on the night with a special award in recognition of his "outstanding creative contribution to the industry and his extensive work and accomplishments in his field".

In The Ring - A stage musical based on the hit film Rocky is to open on Broadway. Sylvester Stallone, who starred in and wrote the script for the Oscar-winning 1976 film, is co-producing the theatre version, which will open at t

UK - Sound system specialists Masons have fitted out many bars and club venues in their native Manchester over the years, using Martin Audio solutions.

One local leisure group that has regularly relied on the company's services to equip its multi-purpose venues has been Trof, which has developed its estate towards city centre operations - such as Gorilla.

This has been the most recent hybrid bar/restaurant/live venue to be installed by Masons. Their system designer Jack Jennings created an all-purpose environment that would satisfy live music aficionados and serious clubbers in the 600-capacity main space, and at the same time those who just want to enjoy the background ambience in the intimacy of the bar or function room areas.

Situated on a ground floor area between two railway arches, respectively assigned to function room and live venue, with a small mezzanine area provi

India - Since 2010, Sound.com has been at the forefront of some of the biggest sporting and entertainment events in India.

Therefore, when the company embarked, at the beginning of the new financial year with the opening ceremonies for Indian Premier League, the world-leading Twenty20 cricket championship, they were confident they could put on an audio spectacle to match similar ceremonies, starting with the Commonwealth Games 2010, The National Games in Ranchi and the Oman Tattoo in Muscat.

The multi-purpose Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata was chosen to host the opening ceremony of the cricketing franchise this year with the inauguration promising to be one of the most spectacular events ever witnessed. Built in 1984, the stadium is the largest in India and the second largest in the world with a capacity of 120,000. With its astroturf surface the facility primarily caters to foo

USA - Community Professional Loudspeakers is introducing the new Commercial Design Series, a comprehensive family of ceiling, surface mount and pendant loudspeakers designed to meet the needs of installations requiring high performance at a competitive price. Commercial Design models offer a choice of 4.5-inch, 6.5-inch and 8-inch driver sizes, and deliver Community's legendary sonic quality, exceptional speech intelligibility and proven reliability.

The Commercial Design Series was designed to complement Community's Distributed Design family of high-performance ceiling, surface mount and pendant loudspeakers in a combined installation. For this reason, Commercial Design utilizes many of the same technologies as Distributed Design, including real compression drivers and Tru-Phase phase plugs for high output and low distortion. Commercial Design ceiling models also incorporate la

UK - PLASA Focus Leeds starts today, with a great seminar programme lined up for visitors over both days. Among a busy programme of pro audio sessions, tomorrow sees a presentation by Focusrite Audio Engineering, looking at their RedNet flexible recording platform.

For years the Dante Ethernet-based system has been used to provide a low latency, high-channel count audio transportation system for live sound reinforcement. Now Focusrite's RedNet system brings this rock-solid technology to the recording world, with high-quality digital conversion and state-of-the-art remote-controlled microphone preamplifiers. Long analogue multicore cables become a thing of the past, vastly reducing the cost and weight, whilst increasing the audio quality and flexibility of a location recording setup. This workshop covers the possible workflows and benefits of working with a RedNet digital audio s

UK - The opening day of PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013 was tremendously busy, with packed aisles, full seminars, and dozens of new products to see on the show floor.

Here are 10 reasons to join us today:

* Audio legend Tony Andrews delivers his Keynote Speech What is Good Audio?

* Martin Audio debuts the MLA Mini

* Ambersphere presents Clay Paky and the Laws of Physics

* Award winning sound designer Gareth Fry gives his seminar Creative Manipulation of Sound

* d&b audiotechnik tell you Why Size Matters

* The ABTT discuss qualifications and competence in the technical theatre sector

* Jon Burton presents How to Soundcheck

* Focusrite deliver their workshop for recording engineers

* Lunch is on us!

* Registration is free on arrival

With all of this on offer and more, PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013 is a show you simply cannot afford to mis

UAE - Sennheiser Group reports the use of its newly launched Digital 9000 wireless system at the recent Bruno Mars and Paloma Faith concert held at the Dubai Media City Amphitheatre on 12 April 2013.

The Digital 9000 is the result of the largest R&D project in the company's history and this event marked the first time that the revolutionary system was used for a live concert in the Middle East. In addition, a number of Sennheiser's wireless systems, microphones and in-ear monitors were used at the concert, as per the technical rider outlined by the production teams of both the performers.

Mig Cardamone, sales and marketing manager at Sennheiser Middle East commented, "Bruno Mars' appearance in Dubai has been a widely anticipated event given the singer's immense popularity. Delta Sound, who provided the equipment rental for the show, were commissioned to ensuring the very

UK - Innovation Productions Ltd is preparing itself for a busy summer with some new additions to its already extensive rental stock. Innovation Productions provide hire and sales of lighting, sound, video and staging equipment have added new additions to all areas of their range from leading brand names, including Clay Paky, Martin Professional, Sennheiser, Christie Digital and DPA. Innovation Productions have other additions planned over the coming months.

Andrew Pygott the company's managing director and himself a respected lighting and systems designer commented on some of the additions.

"Clay Paky Sharpy's were selected as an addition to our rental stock because of there unrivalled performance over size and weight & although copies of this product have been attempted, the true original Clay Paky version is still the most outstanding small beamlight . We have had a lot

Mexico - Legendary LD Jonathan Smeeton was at the sound:check Xpo in Mexico City to 'present and be presented'. On the 'present' part, Smeeton gave a lighting seminar sponsored by Elation Professional to a standing room-only crowd at the large Mexican show. Later, he was presented with sound:check's 2013 Technical Achievement Award for lighting.

"This was the 12th of the sound:check Xpo Awards. It's the only event in México where engineers from the show business industry are awarded for their professional achievements in different segments such as audio, video, lighting, staging," said Jorge Urbano, CEO of sound:check Magazine. "Jonathan Smeeton was chosen because of his long professional career inside the lighting industry and because he still been in force designing for today top artists... Jonathan is a nice example for everyone in the show busine

USA - When Holland, Michigan's Central Wesleyan Church celebrated its 115th anniversary and paid off the mortgage on its current worship centre, the church's leadership team immediately knew what their first project should be: acoustic treatments and a new sound system for their 2,800-seat, fan-shaped main sanctuary. After a careful search for the right systems consultant, the church hired Dallas-based Acoustic Dimensions, which created an equipment specification for the space built on L-Acoustics' Kudo platform.

According to Central Wesleyan facilities manager Dwayne Dreyer, the church knew what system it liked almost from the very start. "Our technical director, Paul VanDyke, audio engineers Justin Dreyer and Michael Nieboer, and I went down to Dallas to visit with Ryan Knox and Steve Reed at Acoustic Dimensions, and they took us to half a dozen sites that they had engine

USA / Middle East - Clear-Com has announced that Samer E. Mouwanes will join the company on 13 May, 2013 as regional sales manager, Middle East. Mouwanes is a dedicated sales professional with extensive experience in the broadcast, pro audio and installation markets. In his new role, Mouwanes will establish and head Clear-Com's new Middle East office. He will be responsible for overseeing all sales and customer service activities in the Middle East, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus.

Mouwanes will work directly with Karlie Miles, Clear-Com's director of sales, EMEA and South Asia Pacific, to grow Clear-Com's market share in the broadcast and live performance markets, while developing business in new markets. He will also work directly with Clear-Com's partners and customers to ensure they are knowledgeable on company offerings and solutions.

Prior to joining Clear-Com, Mouwanes held s

USA - New Orleans' latest traditional jazz venue, the Little Gem Saloon, recently celebrated its rebirth and grand opening with Outline. The Little Gem Saloon has installed Outline's loudspeaker and iMode networking and control technology at its two-floor facility, designed to give patrons the feel of an old-world, traditional jazz-style setting. Outline's iMode-based sound system provides the venue a crystal-clear, transparent sonic foundation for delivering authentic live jazz.

Located at the head of New Orleans' famed 'Jazz Alley' on the 400 block of South Rampart Street, the Little Gem Saloon has been resurrected on the site of its original 1903 location. Jazz historians unanimously agree that no other single location is more significant to the founding and evolution of jazz than the Little Gem Saloon.

"When I was approached to provide a sound design for the Little Ge

UK - An Allen & Heath digital iLive system was employed by Scottish sound hire company Ward-Steedsy Audio for the recent Red Bull Chasers cycle event in Edinburgh.

The event posed several challenges as there was a need for three PA systems with local inputs at each system mixed and distributed to all three systems simultaneously.

The solution was to locate an iLive-R72 surface at the start line, a MixRack half way up the hill and a second rack at the finish line. Local inputs at the surface included audio feed from the video playback, the start-line MC's microphone and audio inputs for the start signal. The surface also handled outputs to the OB truck and outputs to the start line PA system.

Half way up the hill, connected via 120m of Cat5 the first MixRack had local inputs from the Red Bull DJ truck, together with outputs for the second PA system adjacent to the DJ truck, a

UK - Baldwin Boxall is celebrating 30 years and, as part of this, visitors to their exhibition stand this year at Firex 2013 (13-16 May, NEC Birmingham, Hall 3 H10) will be able to sup a special brew of Bumble Bee (an exclusive ale from Harveys, Sussex). "

Be sure to check the label on the bottle - we are sure you will recognise some familiar faces! You may even recognise the buildings even though they are in disguise as a beehive!" says the company.

(Jim Evans)

Korea - Dongseo University's Sohyang Arts Centre is the newest and most technically advanced performing arts venue in Busan, the second-largest city in South Korea. Outfitted with a Meyer Sound Constellation acoustic system and sound reinforcement system, the theatre is sonically suited to host a spectrum of events ranging from musical theatre to orchestral and rock concerts.

According to the AV systems integrator for the project, the current primary use of the venue is for musical theatre. However, Song Dae-young, general director of the Sohyang Arts Centre, insisted in planning that the hall acoustics and sound system be able to handle a wide variety of events. In light of that requirement, Constellation was a logical solution for the space.

The Constellation system at Sohyang is designed to create ambient acoustic environments ranging from an intimate chamber music hall to

Canada - After 12 studio albums, numerous international concerts, and developing the well earned reputation as 'one of the premiere bands in Canadian music history', Blue Rodeo kicked off 2013 with their celebratory 25 Years tour.

Playing theatres and small arenas around Canada, the production needed a show pack that could adjust to a range of audience sizes, while still remaining manageable for a relatively small crew. With the help of Apex Sound & Light, in Toronto, Blue Rodeo was able to keep the entire show to only one truck. Apex account manager Chris James was especially impressed, commenting, "It's almost unheard of to have an arena show with audio, video, lighting and 15 ft of backline all in one 53 ft trailer. Especially as an easy pack, and not a total nightmare."

With smooth load-ins, usually running less than three hours, and even faster load-outs, Blue R

UK - Now in its third year, Sennheiser UK's series of roadshows is aimed at the systems integration and professional audio markets. It is steadily increasing in popularity with pre-registration at an unprecedented level for 2013.

Once again using stately homes as a backdrop, Sennheiser will host three events during May and June. The first is once is again at Edinburgh's Hopetoun House on 21 May, followed by Carlton Towers in Yorkshire on 23 May then finally Knebworth House, Hertfordshire on 5 June.

The roadshows offer an educational and informative series of seminars and hands on workshops, playing an integral part in helping Sennheiser's customers achieve more from their working relationships and equipment, as well as offering support around the third-party brands that the company distributes.

"Each year we look at the issues that are affecting the industry and how we

USA - QSC Audio Products has announced the addition of the S8T, S10T and S12 loudspeakers to the AcousticDesign Series line of premium surface mount loudspeakers. Suited for a wide variety of foreground/background sound reinforcement applications, these new models feature both constant voltage (70/100V) and low impedance operating modes and offer an elegant design combined with rugged durability that are perfect for spaces which require high quality distributed audio.

Ease-of-installation is the driving principle behind this next generation of small format, surface mount surround loudspeakers. The patent pending X-Mount (included with every loudspeaker) enables the loudspeakers to be quickly and securely deployed either vertically or horizontally from a flat surface. Knurled surfaces on the X-Mount's pivot points allow the loudspeaker deployment angle to lock in place in 7.5-deg

Ireland - The University of Limerick is one of Ireland's most renowned educational establishments and enjoys a high reputation throughout Europe. As well as numerous lecture halls and seminar rooms, the facilities include a 1,000-seater auditorium, the University Concert Hall, which caters to a wide variety of needs. During the day, it is used for lectures, but in the evening it serves as a concert hall offering a diverse programme, with rock bands occupying the stage one day and classical orchestras and choirs the next, followed in time by a mix of folk musicians, jazzmen and chamber ensembles.

Such a wide spectrum places considerable demands on the sound reinforcement system - demands that the previous system was unable to meet. Something altogether more flexible was required, which is why those responsible decided in advance of the celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of

UAE - Melody House, distributors of HK Audio speaker systems have recently supplied Dubai-based rental firm Abacus Rentals with another ConTour Array system from HK Audio. The rental firm decided on the second purchase after experiencing the power, flexibility and clarity of their existing system.

"Abacus Rentals are expanding their inventory to meet the needs of their growing customer base," commented Sai Prasad, HK Audio product specialist at Melody House. "With their second ConTour Array system, they can either meet the needs of large events or split the system to handle two smaller events."

(Jim Evans)

Denmark - DPA Microphones has now turned its attention to the installation market with the launch of two new microphones that "give AV installers and conference organisers the clear, transparent and precise sound they demand".

At the top end of the range DPA is offering podium microphones that incorporate the modular capsules from the d:dicate Recording Microphones (formerly known as Reference Standard), which are noted for their exceptional linear frequency responses, high SPL and superior gain before feedback. These new podium microphones combine the capsules with newly introduced modular active booms to complete their modular nature. A number of different capsules are available and by choosing the exact capsule and boom combination, DPA customers can access the exact microphone for their needs.

Christian Poulsen, CEO of DPA Microphones, says, "Given the flexi

UK - Allen & Heath has released an interim firmware update for its iLive range of digital mixing systems, v1.91, containing a series of presets created by renowned sound engineer and regular iLive user, Ben Booker.

Booker has toured as a monitor and FOH engineer with many artists, including Scissor Sisters, Spiritualized and PJ Harvey, and won Monitor Engineer of the Year at the Total Production Awards in 2009. He has also produced, mixed and mastered various recording projects and mixed on stage sound and broadcast mixes on numerous TV and Radio shows, including MTV Awards and BBC Live Lounge.

Booker has extensive operating experience of iLive and has written his suggested presets for Dynamic EQ and Multiband compressors based on years of touring with the system.

"The Dyn EQ and Multi BD compressor are both creative and controlling in use. They are the Swiss knife off

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