USA - Symetrix has announced the latest addition to its new product line-up with IP and PoE based WX wall controllers which employ user-programmable displays for labelling and feedback.
The WX wall controllers dramatically increase the number of control devices that can be added to a Symetrix based system. With an OLED display and dedicated knobs and buttons, the new WX controllers provide standard IP communication over Ethernet creating a single standardized infrastructure.
Available in three configurations, the controls of the WX series may be used for source selection, volume, mute, and preset recalls for any ComposerTM based Symetrix DSP. The W1 wall controller features a push button encoder and display panel while the W2 controller features four momentary buttons along with its display. The W3 combines the hardware features of the W1 and W2 into a single panel.<

The Netherlands - The OCA Alliance has added Adamson Systems Engineering as its latest member company.
“Adamson has stepped up as a major advocate in the media networking development and standards arena,” says OCA Alliance marketing chairman Ethan Wetzell, “Their support of the AES70 standard in recent product developments is a significant milestone for the industry. Needless to say, we are extremely pleased to welcome them into the alliance.”
Commenting for Adamson Systems Engineering, head of product and technology, Brian Fraser states: “As an audio manufacturer, we recognise the immense benefit open source protocols offer to the industry as a whole. Open Control Architecture is a protocol we've been investing in for a while and we're happy our choice has been validated and standardised by the AES as AES70.”
ISE 2020 sees a significant number of new

The Netherlands - Harman Professional Solutions has announced a JBL Digital Directivity Analysis (DDA) 5.1 software update.
Designed to work with JBL Intellivox products along with any point source speakers in the JBL portfolio using common loudspeaker format (CLF) data, DDA software is a powerful simulation tool for electro-acoustic design. DDA enables sound designers to visualize and statistically predict direct SPL, total SPL, D/R ratio, STI and delay spread.
Designed to offer improved workflow, the free 5.1 update adds two significant new features. DDA 5.1 streamlines the registration process and removes the need for repeated license renewal found in earlier versions of the software. DDA 5.1 also includes the new SketchUp plug-in, which enables users to easily import 3D geometry from SketchUp software.
“With DDA 5.1 we’re continuing our mission to help u

The Netherlands - At ISE 2020, Allen & Heath has revealed AHM-64, a new 64x64 audio matrix processor supported by a comprehensive ecosystem of scalable I/O, control and Dante solutions. Targeted at corporate, retail, leisure and education environments, AHM-64 allows integrators to quickly create systems that build from a single boardroom to a complete campus.
“We asked integrators and consultants what they looked for in a next-generation matrix processor. Scalable I/O and remote control, rapid setup and Dante integration topped the wish list,” says managing director, Rob Clark. “AHM-64 ticks all the boxes, and being built around a 96kHz FPGA engine, it delivers exceptional audio quality and low latency.”
AHM-64 has 12 local inputs and 12 outputs, plus an SLink expansion port allowing plug ‘n play connection to up to 8 remote expanders from Allen & Hea

UK - Audio production company Major Tom has invested in 20 Luminex GigaCore 10 network switches to create one of the largest Milan AVB-compliant Meyer Sound touring PA systems in Europe.
With offices in the UK and USA, Major Tom has over 50 years of experience supplying some of the world’s leading international concert tours and events.
When it came to investing in network switches to work with its large inventory of Meyer Sound line arrays, it was important for Major Tom to go with a solution which was widely adopted, as well as being compatible with the new Milan AVB standard.
The company discussed its requirements with Steve Eaton, senior sales executive in the dedicated audio division of Luminex exclusive UK distributor, A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET).
Major Tom project manager, Andy Banks comments: “With Meyer Sound’s equipment support

Italy - Opened in October last year, Cristó is a new events space, restaurant and cocktail bar in the north Italian city of Brescia. Owned and run by Gino Liguori and Alda Civelli, Cristó is an adaptable space, which, depending on the requirements of an event, can be configured to cater for 200-500 guests at any one time. Located in the heart of Brescia, in Piazzale Arnaldo, the venue is inside The Grain Market, a majestic neoclassical structure which dates back to 1820.
Divided between two levels, Cristó is a flexible events space which meets a variety of customer needs, whilst retaining a very particular identity. Wood, iron and concrete feature in an interior that comprises a unique alchemy of art, antiques, recycled materials and carefully designed furnishings.
Having enjoyed more than 20 years’ experience in the nightclub and hospitality sector, Liguori and C

Italy - Founded in 1992 by Gianni De Masi and Paolo Boscolo in Villorba di Treviso (in north-eastern Italy), Imputlevel Group rapidly became one of Italy's leading audio rental firms.
Through the years, its client roster in the live and tour field expanded to include not only top names on the Italian scene, such as Fiorella Mannoia, Franco Battiato, Daniele Silvestri, Niccolò Fabi, Irene Grandi, Vinicio Capossela, Nek and Max Pezzali, but also international stars of the calibre of Lou Reed, Elton John, Duran Duran, Peter Gabriel, Bjork, Massive Attack, Steve Vai, Simple Minds, Carlos Santana, Ben Harper, Rage Against the Machine, Prodigy and many more.
In order to be able to meet any request, from the supply of technology for live events, such as theatres, conferences, exhibitions, tourist attractions and television events, to custom designs and system engineering, iM

France - L-Acoustics is rolling out L-ISA Auditoria in strategic locations around the globe. Demonstrations, training or mixing sessions of L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology can be accessed in dozens of locations in L-ISA Auditoria designed to stringent L-Acoustics specifications, says the company.
“To support the development of L-ISA technology in the professional audio market, we have developed pre-determined systems for either mobile or permanent L-ISA Auditoria, which can be deployed to support existing partners, artists and potential clients,” explains Cédric Montrézor, executive director of applications at L-Acoustics. “The network of L-ISA Auditoria around the globe is designed to exacting standards to guarantee the natural, intimate spatialised experience of L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology.”
Two versions of the packages are availa

USA - With sales on the rise, Mike Hedden, Danley president, has restructured the sales and marketing division to respond to that growth, virtually promoting from within.
Towards the end of 2019, long-time Danley staff member, Jeff Pulliam, was named general manager. At the beginning of 2020, Mike Hedden promoted Jonathan ‘JP’ Parker to director of global sales and marketing. JP will be overseeing the newly-fortified team including newly promoted national sales manager Skip Welch, who will manage the domestic sales team.
This will include Cooper Hedden, promoted to southeast regional sales manager, Jay Andrews (formerly with Lienau AV) promoted to northeast regional sales manager, and Kim Comeaux, (formerly with Anderson Marketing), promoted to western regional sales manager. Additionally, Harold Sexton and Scott Howard have been recruited as sports market & ho

The Netherlands - Active Audio will launch the RAY-ON PoE powered loudspeaker column arrays at ISE 2020.
The RAY-ON PoE Series integrates a comprehensive PoE+ interface (IEEE 802.3at), a 60W internal power amplifier, and a Dante RJ45 digital input into a self-powered column loudspeaker. Internal signal processing and optimisation utilising Active Audio’s patented DGRC steering technology creates well defined coverage patterns with a smart mix of acoustics geometry and filtering.
The new series includes the R70-PoE and R110-PoE vertical column arrays as well as the B70-PoE which provides optimized horizontal directivity. The addition of PoE technology allows users to easily equip any wired building with the quality, consistency of coverage, true ease of use, and simple setup, that Active Audio are known for.

The Netherlands - Adamson Systems Engineering will highlight its premium install-focused IS-Series loudspeakers, including the new IS219 high-powered subwoofer at ISE 2020. Additionally, Adamson has partnered with CAST Software for a series of daily immersive audio demos showcasing its BlackTrax real-time tracking technology and Adamson’s intelligent, Milan-ready CS7p and CS118 loudspeakers.
“As the world’s biggest pro AV show, ISE is the perfect platform to highlight our IS-Series solutions, which pack the technology and performance of our revered touring products into sleek enclosures developed specifically for the architectural market,” comments Adamson CEO Marc Bertrand. “Like the entire series, the new IS219 subwoofer offers outstanding audio performance and rider acceptance in a discreet package that keeps the focus on the venue’s aesthetics.”
The A

France - For the sixth year in a row, the Champs-Elysées avenue shone brightly for New Year’s Eve celebrations. After winning the tender launched by the city of Paris, Cookies Production produced a spectacular sound and light show relying on 15 Barco’s video-projectors and four Modulo Player media servers by Modulo Pi.
On 31 December, more than 400.000 people gathered on the Champs-Elysées avenue to celebrate New Year’s Eve. The crowd of tourists and Parisians could enjoy a magnificent show projected on the Arc de Triomphe, which included music, video mapping, and pyrotechnics.
After answering the call for tenders initiated by the city of Paris, Cookies Production was awarded with the challenge of producing the new show to enter 2020. Christophe Gillier, CEO of Cookies Production, explains: “The city was looking for a fresh artistic proposal. While the budg

New Zealand - AV integrator Skopik and Harman distributor JPRO recently outfitted the newly-opened Old Elephant House restaurant at the Auckland Zoo with a multi-zone indoor/outdoor audio system featuring JBL loudspeakers and Crown amplifiers.
Opened in 1922 and expanded in 1973, Auckland Zoo occupies a 40-acre lot near Auckland’s Central Business District. The zoo’s former elephant house was recently converted into a unique restaurant and versatile event space called the Old Elephant House.
To ensure sound quality and even distribution throughout the indoor and outdoor areas of the restaurant, the Auckland Zoo hired AV integration company Skopik to design and install a multi-zone audio system featuring JBL loudspeakers and Crown amplifiers supplied by Harman distributor JPRO.
“The brief was simple,” says Jeff Sundrum, AV service and installations manager

Canada - Three L-Acoustics trainers - Frédéric Blanc-Garin, Marcus Ross and André Pichette - recently came to Solotech’s Montreal offices to offer an intensive three-day training on L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology.
For two additional days, clients, consultants and industry professionals had the opportunity to try the ecosystem and experience the technology.
“Immersive audio is playing an increasingly important role in our various markets. It was therefore with great interest that we held a week-long training session for our specialized technicians and offered personalized demonstrations to several industry players,” said François ‘Frankie’ Desjardins, vice-president, research & development at Solotech.
Truly revolutionary, L-ISA technology enables artists to create new multidimensional sound experiences in productions that use live or

UK - Audiologic has signed a new distribution agreement with console manufacturer DiGiCo, to promote and distribute its S-Series and 4REA4 digital mixers to the corporate pro AV market in the UK.
The addition of the highly engineered S-Series and 4REA4 digital mixing consoles from DiGiCo will both enhance and complement the already broad range of products available from Audiologic, offering versatility and reliability in equal measure.
“As the Audiologic business continues to grow, our long-term strategy is to enhance and transform our offering into providing a world-class solution at every level, accessible to every market. This exciting new distribution agreement continues this process,” comments Andy Lewis, managing director of Audiologic.
“DiGiCo is already at the forefront of digital mixing technology and has the same desire to reach out to wider mark

Europe - At ISE 2020, Renkus-Heinz will target integrators with pro audio solutions that incorporate its beam steering technology.
In a bid to "democratise the premium quality audio offered by beam steering technology", the company will present "steerable solutions [that] are now feasible integration options in more locations and more types of facilities".
On show will be the DC12/2 self-powered column array, as well as the ICLive X series, a system consisting of two freely combinable, steerable-array modules, the ICLX and ICLXL, and a matching subwoofer, the ICLX-118S.
The DC12/2 brings clarity, intelligibility, and control synonymous with Renkus-Heinz’ digitally-steered line arrays to smaller, but equally challenging, spaces.
One supporting technology built for the DC12/2 is the capability to setup the speaker via smartphone or tablet. This allows inte

The Netherlands - Medialon, show control solution provider for museums, attractions and theme parks worldwide, will be demonstrating Showmaster Go for the first time at ISE 2020.
Designed specifically for attractions and theme parks, Showmaster Go is designed for ride vehicles and parade floats due to its size. It’s a show control and multi-channel audio playback solution combined into one product, and it comes in a rugged, compact hardware form.
Showmaster Go combines a Pro version Medialon show controller with 16 channels of Dante network audio output.
The new Showmaster Go comes ready loaded with the V6 release of Medialon Manager and will be eligible for free upgrade to the new V7 manager release, coming soon.
Eric Cantrell, VP business operations, Medialon, comments: “Measuring in at 145 mm × 152 mm x 44 mm, and weighing just 1.4kg, the little

The Netherlands - Audinate is offering free Dante certification training to ISE 2020 attendees – no matter their familiarity with Dante - through coursework that focuses on valuable and practical insights for using Dante in real-world, AV-over-IP integrations. Beginners will build proficiency of basic Dante audio networking concepts, while intermediate Dante-users will learn specific Dante capabilities such as redundancy, clocking, latency and multicast. Advanced coursework focuses on best practices for simplifying management over the most complex network topographies.
“No matter your familiarity with Dante, we have some exciting tips, tricks, best practices, and key capabilities we can share to make the work you do more effective,” said Joshua Rush, senior vice president of marketing at Audinate. “We cover everything from introductory AV-over-IP concepts to specifi

Mexico - Arguably one of the most anticipated festivals in Mexico, Fiestas de Octubre is a cultural and recreational celebration held in October in the state of Jalisco with its headquarters in the capital, Guadalajara.
Bringing together more than one million people, the 32-day festival is filled with a bountiful display of popular culture and fine arts, mariachi music, and a spectacular spread of traditional food, Mexican beer and wine. This year, the explosive energy of the festival was matched by the sound quality of an L-Acoustics K2 loudspeaker system.
The AEEJ (Agencia Estatal de Entretenimiento de Jalisco) was in charge of operating Fiestas de Octubre 2019, which has been running since 1965 in the Benito Juárez Auditorium, as well as in different locations of the state of Jalisco. The chosen rental partner was Mexico City-based LOGRA which has long-standing exp

UK - Independent audio rental providers Total Sound Solutions in Swansea and Pulse PA in Poole have consolidated an informal alliance around their purchases of Nexo’s new Geo M12 mid-size line array system.
Both TSS and Pulse PA have taken delivery of near-identical Nexo Geo M12 inventories, with MSUB18 subbass, NXAMP Mk2 amplifiers and flyware which allows them to mix and match their new M12 elements with their smaller Nexo Geo M10 systems. Now the two mid-size rental companies are evolving their business models so as to benefit from co-operation and integrated inventories to bid on larger projects.
“We already owned Geo M10,” says Ralph Walsh, MD of Pulse PA, “and have done all our 2019 summer festivals with the system: in fact, in the last two years, it has rarely been in the warehouse and I’d say we’ve made more money out of it than any other Nexo syste

UK - Polar has been appointed exclusive distributor in the UK and ROI for new US-based professional amplifier manufacturer LEA. This new company has been in existence since January 2019, when a team of industry veterans with more than 200 years combined experience in the sector, steered by founder and CEO Blake Augsburger, set out to imagine a new approach to audio technology.
LEA’s Connect Series range, with standard and Dante-enabled options, addresses the needs of the installation market, catering for the widest possible range of applications in small and medium scale projects. As the world’s first IoT-enabled, professional-grade amplifiers, these two and four channel models have an intuitive web app interface that allows control by phone, tablet, PC or laptop. With various network access options, including an onboard WiFi point, access for setup and programming is fa

UK - Bristol-based specialist hire and events business SLX has completed the move to a new warehouse as a result of planned growth and continued investment.
The business, which has heritage dating back more than 40 years and serves the live events, hire and broadcast markets throughout the UK and Europe, remains in a Bristol location, moving from its warehouse on Third Way, Avonmouth, to another nearby Avonmouth location.
SLX CEO Alastair Currie comments: “After only four years since our previous warehouse upgrade, we are moving again to allow for further expansion. We’re doing so as we believe this is essential for the ambitions we have for the business. It will see improved preparation spaces, improved flow of equipment into and out of the warehouse, and markedly better facilities for both our team and those who come to prep shows and events at the warehouse.

France/USA - Loudspeaker specialist Active Audio has announced the appointment of Allied ProTech as its exclusive distributor for the US.
Founded in 2002 in Nantes, Active Audio has forged a global reputation for loudspeakers that deliver “superior sound performance, intelligibility, and neutrality”, with installations in some of the world’s most prestigious, yet acoustically challenging spaces.
“We’re very excited about our new partnership with Active Audio,” remarks Allied ProTech founder and president Rik Kirby. “They are a company that is constantly innovating and finding better ways to deliver superior audio performance. Their StepArray column loudspeakers deliver outstanding intelligibility in reverberant spaces, using fewer DSP channels, without the complex and expensive electronics that make most steered arrays so difficult to install and set up.

Europe - LG Electronics and German Light Products (GLP) are among the companies to announce their withdrawal from next week’s Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) event in Amsterdam in response to the Coronavirus outbreak.
Seoul-based LG Electronics, one of the show’s top 250 exhibitors, was the first to announce that it will not be attending the exhibition.
“LG regrets having to make this difficult decision but the safety of its employees and customers continues to be its number one priority,” said a company statement. “With the World Health Organization (WHO) recommending that individuals ‘promote social distancing’, LG management believed that the most responsible decision is to avoid participating in large public events until the situation stabilizes.”
GLP’s CEO and founder Udo Künzler stated: “As I’m sure you know, business meetings and exh

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