USA - Anaïs Mitchell’s hit musical Hadestown has worldwide attention since making its Broadway debut at the Walter Kerr Theatre last April. Directed by Rachel Chavkin, the show boasts an all-star audio production team, led by sound designers Jessica Paz and Nevin Steinberg. Included among the show’s audio gear are DPA Microphones’ 4066 mnidirectional Headsets, 4061 Omnidirectional Lavaliers and 4099 Instrument Mics.
When Chavkin expressed to the pair that her direction for Hadestown was to have the theatre feel like a concert hall, they immediately knew that microphone selection would be especially important. “For the actors, who are all double mic’ed, we chose a combination of DPA 4066 Omnidirectional Headset Mics with backup 4061 Miniature Omnidirectional Mics attached to the frame,” says Paz. “I greatly appreciate the discreet profile of the 4061s a

Germany – The town of Bendorf, on the outskirts of Koblenz, has been staging its Summer In The City festival for many years. And even the COVID-19 pandemic was not going to stop proceedings this year.
Operating as a weekend-only event for its first decade - in the Kirchplatz, a square in the centre of town - this year it managed to get permission to run through until the end of August. This was on the proviso that the event was restricted to 300 seated and socially distanced seated guests, part of a maximum capacity of 350 (including artists, technical crews and staff).
The sound system that will take it right through the summer season is a Martin Audio WPC, acquired by Michael Enchelmaier’s rental company, Event & Veranstaltungstechnik Enchelmaier (EVE). This is the centrepiece of a complete technical infrastructure provided by the company.
A customer of

Canada/Europe - Bluesound Professional, specialist in distributed audio ecosystems for commercial spaces, has announced the addition of four new distribution partners covering key territories in Western Europe. The new distributors are Gaplasa Pro (Spain), M-Pro (BeNeLux), Magnelusa (Portugal) and Polar (UK).
“We are delighted to be able to welcome another four great distributors to our European team. We are fortunate to be able to work with some of the best distributors in the business. Having worked with most of these companies before, this new relationship for Bluesound Professional will prove viable as this will help cover almost all of the key European territories,” said Graeme Harrison, vice-president and general Manager, Bluesound Professional.
Bluesound Professional is continuing its efforts to grow its distribution network. Since its launch at the Integrat

Spain - Lynx Pro Audio has introduced Juno, its latest commercial audio loudspeaker series.
The Juno series are weather-resistant two-way full range loudspeakers for indoor and outdoor applications, able to withstand the elements.
The Juno series comprises one 6" low/mid-woofer with one 1" HF driver (JN-6T) and one 8" low/mid-woofer with one 1" HF driver (JN-8T), both with line transformer as standard and available in black or white.
Their discreet design and small size makes them suitable for installation in commercial centres and meeting rooms. Outside, they provide an option for background music systems, pools, beach clubs, waterparks and cruises.

Germany - HK Audio has unveiled Premium PR:O D2, the latest addition to the PremiumPR:O family of loudspeakers.
The Premium PR:O D2 series consists of five DSP-controlled full-range and multifunctional speakers (the PR:O 110 XD2, PR:O 112 FD2, PR:O 112 XD2, PR:O 115 FD2 and PR:O 115 XD2), as well as the PR:O 210 Sub D2 and PR:O 118 Sub D2 subwoofers. The PR:O D2 series uses premium components and DSP electronics with advanced FIR filtering for intuitive and practical operation, and their low-resonance wooden cabinets for powerful bass reproduction offer a maximum sound pressure of up to 132 dB.
In line with the modular principle, the speakers can be combined flexibly for the most varied of requirements, from standalone, 2.1 and monitor setups to full-stack applications, says the company. “These combination options make Premium PR:O D2 suitable for a wide range of ins

UK - The M4 motorway might cut a swathe through the centre of Boston Manor Park in Brentford, London, but where the Junction 2 Festival is concerned it is anything but a dividing presence. In fact since 2016, discerning fans of electronic music have gathered together between its pillars and beneath its road-deck to witness sets by some of the very best DJs in the world.
Junction 2’s mission was always to concentrate on delivering the best production values. The focus lies away from VIPs and plastic tents, preferring to concentrate resources on delivering quality sound and high production values against this fittingly industrial backdrop. Junction 2 has grown organically over its four editions to become one of the capital’s most popular electronic festivals and this year’s event, due to be staged in June, was sold out.
Events this year have of course been decimate

Germany - Lawo has released new software with additional options, functionality and security features for its line of radio mixing consoles, Ravenna / AES67 mixing engines, and VisTool GUI Builder software.
“The business of radio continues to evolve, and Lawo is committed to upgrading and improving our tools to match industry needs,” says Johan Boqvist, senior product manager, radio. “This upgrade gives users new tools to tailor their Lawo radio equipment to meet their unique on-air and production workflows. And they will benefit not only radio clients, but TV production and audio infrastructure users as well.”
The first major feature introduced with Radio Software v6.6 is a new license package for Lawo’s versatile Power Core DSP mixing / routing engine: Power Core EDGE. This license provides an entry-level configuration designed specifically for deployment a

UK - Similar to other musicians who had found themselves restrained by the coronavirus lockdown, five-piece UK band Mamas Gun, widely known for their album Golden Days, was struggling to find a way for all band members to play together remotely without latency or other issues. A solution was found in the form of Tin Pan Studio, which allows remotely based musicians to jam, rehearse, create, record and perform music together over the internet in realtime. Thanks to this innovative technology, Mamas Gun was able to deliver a successful live stream concert as part of the global #DontStopTheMusic music initiative by Sennheiser.
When the pandemic hit, Doug Hunt, live sound engineer and MD of Doug Hunt Sound & Light, had all his work cancelled, so he started looking for ways to help bands perform together remotely over the internet. “Like everyone else, I came up sho

USA - The Audio Engineering Society (AES) has released preliminary details on the upcoming International Conference on Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality (AVAR), set to take place in its own online virtual venue on 17-19 August.
The event will serve as a hub of innovation for the latest research in the fields of spatial audio and technology for virtual, augmented and mixed reality, with a focus on technical solutions and recommended practices in the field.
“The necessity to take AVAR 2020 fully online is ideally suited to the Conference content,” says Matt Klassen, chair. “Our attendees can plug in entirely, create an avatar and participate and interact inside a virtual environment. One of the primary advantages of holding the conference in VR is the very compelling nature of the 3D audio for small group conversations - a big step up from flat screen teleco

The Netherlands - Doka nightclub inhabits the basement of the colourful Volkshotel in southeast Amsterdam. With a maximum capacity of 200, Doka bills itself as the place where “listeners become dancers and vice versa”.
To meet that mission with something more nuanced than the conventional high-volume, high-distortion club PA, Doka hired pro audio distribution and integration company Firm4 to install the unconventional loudspeaker and subwoofer designs of acoustician Tom Danley. Four Danley SH50 full-range loudspeakers and two Danley TH118 subwoofers give Doka’s patrons an audio experience.
“The old system wasn’t meeting the high standards that Kerwin Groot, Doka’s chief sound engineer and Julian Chaptal, the club’s producer and programmer expected,” explained Robert Pigeaud, representative of Firm4. “Kerwin reached out to us because he had heard Danle

Germany - Optocore has further extended its M-series of interfaces, with the announcement of the MADI-SRC.
This exists in the shape of two new hardware boards with either four fibre or four BNC MADI SRC (Sample Rate Converter) ports. This means that any combination of devices from the M-series (comprising M8-OPT, M8-BNC, M12-OPT, M12-BNC, M12-OPT/BNC) can be now equipped with these Sample Rate Converters for MADI streams.
With this new feature customers can use stand-alone or networked MADI routers, with streams in different sample rates. In addition, the new M-series SRC will be available in DiGiCo mode, and can be connected to the DiGiCo optical loop providing MADI SRC streams.
Speaking of this latest development, Optocore application engineering manager, Maciek Janiszewski, stated: "MADI SRC is a very useful and unique feature. Our R&D team worked tireless

Europe - Audio-Technica has launched a limited purple/black edition of its best- selling headphones, the ATH-M50x and ATH-M50xBT. The ATH-M50xPB and M50xBTPB feature metallic purple earcups and black accents including a distinctive headband and earpads.
The M50xPB share the same features as the M50x headphones, used by streamers, musicians and producers across the world, with 45mm large- aperture drivers, sound-isolating earcups and a robust construction.
The ATH-M50xBTPB harnesses the M50x studio sound for ‘an exhilarating wireless listening experience, with exceptional clarity and deep, accurate bass response’. Utilising Bluetooth technology, the M50xBTPB pairs performance with powerful features, such as a 40-hour battery life and touch controls for voice assistance. A wired connection is also supported.
Audio-Technica’s new limited edition ATH-M50xPB and

USA - Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) has named Erie, PA-based North Coast Marketing as its manufacturer’s representative serving Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky. The agreement encompasses the entire EAW product catalogue including EAW’s new ADAPTive Series with its Anya and Anna loudspeakers and Otto subwoofer.
“Representing EAW gives us the opportunity to provide the very best cutting-edge pro audio products available on the market today,” comments Dennis Cray, principal owner of North Coast Marketing. “EAW integrates perfectly into our line card, which now includes the very best in microphones and signal processing, amplification as well as the loudspeaker itself. In addition, EAW’s digitally steerable new ADAPTive line of speakers sets the standard that all other manufacturers are trying to achieve. EAW’s product quality and innovation a

UK - AV integrator CCOMM has installed a new multi-functional audio-visual system at the Cambridge communications hub of one of the world’s leading providers of technology to the oil and gas industry. Completed in late 2019, the new build project combines speaker systems from Italian manufacturer K-array with Germany’s Innosonix multi-channel amplifiers.
Both pro audio brands are distributed in the UK by Shefford-based 2B Heard, and it was to the company’s technical director Dave Wooster that CCOMM turned for assistance in specifying the audio system.
“We’d used K-array on previous projects and were entirely satisfied with the results,” said CCOMM project manager Andrew Giles. “As this project required a full design and build approach because the client was effectively converting the space from one usage to another, we asked Dave to submit proposals for a

Switzerland - Billed as Switzerland’s first open-air streaming festival, SummAIR featured a tight programme of live bands mixed on an advanced Allen & Heath dLive setup.
SummAIR was held on 18 June in the town of Hochdorf, where a small, socially distanced audience was joined by an online crowd to enjoy performances by prominent home-grown artists, including Veronica Fusaro, ZiBBZ and Marc Amacher.
With five bands performing on a single stage and just a few minutes for each changeover, the key challenge for Simon Münger from MSL Eventtechnik was to provide a quality, unbroken livestream mix throughout the evening. Reinforcing his own Allen & Heath inventory with a pair of dLive systems hired in through the dLive Rental Network, Simon devised an integrated mixing system spanning FOH, monitors, livestream and mastering matrix duties.
Simon mixed monitors

USA - GearSource Holdings, operator of the GearSource.com web platform since 2002, is launching in August the G3 Marketplace, the company’s third major generational upgrade to its platform.
Founder Marcel Fairbairn comments: “It’s funny, but people have become so complacent in their beliefs that all software should magically perform with perfection, while following advancements in technology you’d see from tech giants including Google, Facebook and Apple. In fact, I remember a customer saying to me, why can’t your search just work - like Google. The obvious answer is that we don’t employ thousands of world class engineers to work exclusively on our search functionality. In fact, we have three great coders, developing and maintaining our entire e-commerce platform,” says Fairbairn.
Fairbairn understands the challenges of bringing a complex project to lif

Belgium - RTBF, Belgium’s public broadcaster for the country’s French-speaking community has taken delivery of two identical full-IP OB trucks, with equipment from DirectOut playing a mayor role.
The two trucks were built at the German headquarters of system integrator Broadcast Solutions. The OBs are a joint development by the customer, Broadcast Solutions and NEP Belgium, who will lease the vehicles to RTBF. Both units make extensive use of DirectOut equipment for audio signal conversion, transmission and signal monitoring.
The two identical RTBF trucks come as full sized trailers and can work with up to 12 cameras (HD, but UHD-ready). They are designed as full-IP OBs, based on SMPTE ST 2110 but are capable of interfacing with baseband infrastructures. Therefore it was important that the audio infrastructure offers all common IP-based, digital and analogue forma

UK - Ripon-based speaker and sound systems manufacturer BishopSound has announced its Support Through Sound campaign, which will see the company giving away valuable professional sound equipment to a healthcare organisation, charity or not-for-profit organisation operating in Yorkshire.
From 15 July, BishopSound's customers are being asked to nominate a local healthcare organisation, not-for-profit or charity - be it a local hospital, care home, hospice, arts and music charity, charity supported youth groups, independent charities - of the nominator's choosing. At the end of July the company will pick a winner at random from all the nominations.
BishopSound's donation will be a portable Orion 15" Active Speaker worth £199 which can be used inside or ou

China - LED processor manufacturer Brompton Technology has expanded its operation in China, moving to larger offices and hiring three new members of staff to further support its customers in the territory. The expansion follows the development of Brompton’s HDR technology and the successful roll out of its new Hydra measurement system, which unlocks the power of Dynamic Calibration, the enabling technology for Brompton HDR.
The new office is adjacent to Brompton’s previous facility in High Tech Industrial Park, Nanshan, in the modern metropolis of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. This facility is double the size, allowing space to calibrate and test prototype panels on site.
New calibration support engineers, Alex Guo and John Lee, both have an extensive understanding of the LED screen industry and are well placed to assist Brompton customers in China with Dynamic Cal

USA - MXL Microphones is now shipping its AC-44 Miniature USB conferencing microphone to customers around the world, starting 21 July. With a compact footprint, MXL’s AC-44 offers a microphone solution for a range of applications that require pristine audio capture, including web conferencing, telemedicine, huddle spaces, classrooms and more. It can also be incorporated into OEM applications.
“Offering crystal clear speech intelligibility, the AC-44 removes the barriers that unclear audio creates,” says Trevor Fedele, director of sales at MXL Microphones. “In just a short time since announcing the AC-44, the mic has won many prestigious industry awards, taking home ‘Best of Show’ honours in the audio-conferencing category at major trade shows, including ISE and InfoComm. With the strong feedback that we’ve received from industry professionals, we are even more

The Netherlands - Singer/songwriter Danny Vera has been bringing his distinctive blend of Americana to enthusiastic Dutch audiences since the early 2000s. Following the success of hit single Roller Coaster, Vera and his band played a sold-out tour in late 2019 with a Yamaha Rivage PM7 digital mixing system.
The Rivage PM7 system was purchased in July 2019 by Chris Mertens, owner of Mertens-AVR, based in Eelde, near Groningen. Having started out as a young freelance engineer and worked his way up to management level, Chris set up and grew his business from renting warehouse space to owning its own large premises. Today he has built a company in which reliability and quality are central, based on three core values.
“For me, it has always been about investing in the best equipment, a proactive, committed way of working and delivering a perfect result,” says Chr

USA - Symetrix has announced the newest addition to its i product line, the xIO Bluetooth - the first Dante-enabled Bluetooth endpoint available in a single gang form factor.
Using a modern, full-featured Bluetooth 5.0 chipset allows the xIO Bluetooth to offer extended range, a stable connection, and audio quality. Available in both US and EU form factors, the xIO Bluetooth has a clean, sleek design and is compatible with standard single gang US wall boxes with Decora faceplates, as well as EU/UK standard wall boxes.
IP control and PoE power simplify installation by allowing a single cable connection from the xIO Bluetooth to a PoE enabled network switch. The xIO Bluetooth may be configured to allow media-only connectivity, phone bridge connectivity, or both. All aspects of xIO Bluetooth control can be controlled using Symetrix remotes, SymVue panels, or third-party

USA - Pliant Technologies has announced a series of free educational webinars on the heels of its recent MicroCom focused presentation.
Pliant will host three additional webinars throughout the month of July. Up next is the CrewWare Live! webinar (15 and 16 July), in which the Pliant team will go over the CrewWare software system setup, configurations, monitoring, and device firmware functions.
The following webinar will discuss various applications for the specific needs of House of Worship (HOW) communications (22 and 23 July). Additionally, in the final webinar of the series, the Pliant team will lead attendees through an unboxing and set up (a.k.a. Out of the Box) experience for both its MicroCom and CrewCom systems (29 and 30 July).
These interactive sessions will be led by Pliant’s vice president of global sales, Gary Rosen, along with market deve

India - The Mayfair Lake Resort in Raipur enhanced its facilities by hiring Qubix Technologies to design and install a complete, Harman Professional AVLC (audio, video, lighting and control) solution.
Opened in 2019 and located amid lush greenery that overlooks the Jhangh Lake, the luxurious Mayfair Lake Resort offers lavish accommodations, banqueting and event space.
"Mayfair needed a multi-aspect, cross-category solution for their new property in Raipur. From audio and video over IP signal distribution, to lighting, microphones, mixers and speakers, we sourced products from Harman because of their complete solutions,” said Rhythm Arora of Qubix Technologies.
Qubix deployed an arsenal of Martin lighting fixtures, including 40 Martin Exterior Wash 200, 32 Exterior Wash 100 and six Exterior Wash 210 units. While the Exterior Wash lights provide reliable performa

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