UK - Set in the north east of England, Kingston Park Stadium recently underwent a complete upgrade of its main sound system, transforming the match day experience for visitors. Although billed as a multipurpose stadium, its main focus is rugby, and the 10,200-capacity facility is the home ground for both Aviva Premiership Rugby Union side Newcastle Falcons, and League side Newcastle Thunder.
A complete new RCF Acustica P-series weatherproof, purpose-designed stadium system has replaced an ageing PA that was not IP-rated, and no longer fit for purpose, as the North, South and West stands were systematically developed.
Part of a complete RCF solution, the equipment was supplied by Ed Gamble at local RCF partner Nitelites, who also assisted with the design, with installation carried out by the R&B Group under the project management of Steve Brown.
AV specialists

The Netherlands - As society evolves, the uses for historic buildings also change and, sometimes, disappear. Some of these buildings are replaced, others stand empty before submitting to nature or demolition contractors. However, happily some are restored and enjoy a whole new lease of life. This is the case at Ons Koningsoord, a former Trappist abbey and monastery, where a major Yamaha audio system has helped it to become the vibrant new heart of the Dutch village of Berkel-Enschot.
Located near the city of Tilburg, the impressive Ons Koningsoord (translated as Our King’s Place) building was not allowed to decay when its days as a monastery came to an end. An ambitious plan was made to renovate, modernise and extend it, to provide apartments for both ‘starters’ and the over-55s, plus facilities including a community and cultural centre, library, youth club, nursery, s


USA - When Milwaukee-based Clearwing Productions took on the job of designing a new audio system for the Minneapolis Convention Centre, it was even more of a blank slate than a typical install.
The nature of the space itself and the wide range of events it hosts demanded an extreme level of flexibility, and that’s before taking into account the complications inherent in any government job. To meet the often-conflicting audio and production needs and stay within a very tight budget, Clearwing turned to a large system centred on Kara and Kiva enclosures from L-Acoustics.
“While the system was spec’d specifically for the main auditorium, we knew from the beginning that pieces of the main system would be in a near-constant state of motion between the venue’s meeting rooms and ballrooms, in addition to the auditorium,” says Clearwing’s Kerry Miller, who w

USA - Audio-Technica supplied more than 140 vocal and instrument microphones for the 51st Annual Country Music Association (CMA) Awards, presented Wednesday, 8 November 2017, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Broadcast live in 5.1-channel surround sound on the ABC Television Network, the awards show featured an extensive selection of Audio-Technica hard-wired microphones, plus Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless Systems with AEW-T6100a Hypercardioid Dynamic Handheld Microphone/Transmitter. Audio-Technica microphones were chosen for their ability to provide clear and consistent audio quality for live broadcast.
The CMA Awards presentation is recognised as Country Music’s Biggest Night and represents the pinnacle of achievement for those involved in country music. The team of industry veterans responsible for the audio at this year’s CMA’s again included

Italy - Powersoft will present two sessions of its new advanced level training course for Certified Technology Specialist Renewal Unit training in Asia in December.
The first session, with distributor EZ Pro, will take place on 13 December from 9am to 7pm in Hong Kong, 5/F, Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel, Harbour City, Hong Kong Jade Room, 6/F. This will be followed by a session in Singapore with E&E to be held on 15 December at Vault@289, 289 Outram Road, Singapore 169071 from 9:30am to 7:30pm.
The course entitled Advanced Install-Armonìa Program will be delivered by Powersoft’s business development manager, fixed install, Marc Kocks, and grants four Renewal Units (RU) towards Avixa Certified Technology Specialist (CTS) credential, on successful completion of the eight-hour training session.
Marc Kocks will coach attendees in the set up and design of a

USA - A Danley audio system has been specified for the First Baptist Church in Ashland, Virginia.
Audio/video integration firm RTW Media designed and installed a Danley Sound Labs system that satisfied the sonic and visual objectives by minimizing the number of speakers that were required to provide precise, intelligible coverage.
Walsh Hinnant, account manager at RTW Media, says: “First Baptist of Ashland is revitalising its sound and image to appeal not just to older, established church members, but also to the younger and more diverse generation. The church leaders are working with Arrabon to broaden First Baptist’s appeal and to diversify its congregation, and David Bailey, Arrabon president recommended that they speak with us about a new sound reinforcement system.”
Hinnant continues: “Their old system had ten loudspeakers just for the mains. It didn

UK - HD Pro Audio is holding a technology showcase in November featuring DiGiCo’s SD12 digital mixing console and the latest developments from KLANG:technologies’ 3D binaural IEM mixing system.
The event, which takes place on Monday 20 November from 12:00PM to 5PM at The Hospital Club in Covent Garden, will offer an overview of the SD12 console and an in-depth session on KLANG:technologies’ latest KOS 3.0 software.
There will also be a preview of the new DiGiCo remote feature of KLANG and the KLANG:vektor motion tracker. HD Pro Audio will also have the L-Acoustics Syva loudspeaker system available for evaluation.
Numbers for this free event are limited, so HD Pro Audio are urging anyone wishing to attend to contact them as soon as possible. Bookings can be made on-line at https://goo.gl/sDQP5E
(Jim Evans)

Mongolia - ITC Solutions has installed a complete audio system by Harman Professional Solutions at Holiday Inn Ulaanbaatar.
The newly opened four-star Holiday Inn Ulaanbaatar hired ITC Solutions to install an end-to-end Harman audio solution made up of solutions by JBL, Crown, Soundcraft, dbx and AKG.
Ramesh Jayaraman, VP & GM, Harman Professional Solutions, APAC, said: “Harman Professional Solutions is privileged to be a part of Holiday Inn Ulaanbaatar. We’re thrilled to see our solutions integrated in the first and only IHG hotel in Mongolia. We thank our partner ITC Solutions for their faith in Harman and dedication to customer service.”
ITC Solutions faced a major challenge during the installation as building construction had begun before the audio system was designed. Fortunately, Harman offered a comprehensive variety of flexible solutions to acc

UAE - Sennheiser has appointed Fadi Costantine as technical sales manager in the Middle East. He will primarily focus on supporting customers and growing Sennheiser’s footprint in the business communication, system integration and audio recording segments. Prior to joining Sennheiser, Fadi held the position of audio division manager at Venuetech, Sennheiser’s long-standing distributor in the region.
Ryan Burr, head of technical sales & application engineering at Sennheiser Middle East, said: “Fadi is the ideal candidate to help us drive further growth as he brings with him wide-ranging knowledge of our customer base and pertinent skills that will be invaluable to our team."
Commenting on his new position, Fadi said: “Joining Sennheiser presents me with the opportunity to drive innovation and the uptake of best practices in the Middle East industry. Over the

Germany - HK Audio has introduced the new generation of its Lucas NANO family of portable stereo PA systems.
New for November 2017 are the NANO 302, NANO 305 FX and NANO 605 FX, joining the already available 608i and 602 models.
The Lucas NANO family is now made up of five individual models across two power classes. A range of different features and options means there is a NANO to suit any need or application, says the company.
Each model includes an active subwoofer that delivers huge amounts of low end. The subwoofer powers the two fist-sized satellites which, when not in use, are stored within the subwoofer itself.
The all-new Lucas NANO 605 FX is an all-rounder, suited for anyone from musicians and bands to DJs and public speakers and features five inputs, built-in reverb effects and Bluetooth audio streaming.
For musicians, DJs and entertainer

USA - Exhibition and event marketing company 1220 Exhibits was appointed to carry out an interior AV renovation at amusement park Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas.
The company needed to renovate the Aquarium Pyramid and specified a FLEXLite NXG LED system from Nashville-based PixelFLEX for the lobby. Originally, the brief called for a 25K projector system, but the company convinced its client that using an LED video system would be a better long-term solution.
“One of our primary goals with this renovation was to create a dynamic, immersive experience for guests the moment they stepped foot in the Aquarium Pyramid,” said John Zendt, president/CEO Moody Gardens. “The clarity and crispness of the image on the PixelFLEX video wall helps us achieve this goal and is exactly what we hoped for from this design.”
Dan Chadwick, director of interactive services at

UK - Scottish-based GAB Audio Engineers recently equipped Heriot-Watt University (HWU) with a variety of flagship solutions from the Martin Audio portfolio.
The sound requirements were part of a major refurbishment of two lecture spaces - James Watt 1 (JW1) and James Watt 2 (JW2) - which form part of the university conference centre. Discussions with Martin Audio began at the ISE Expo in Amsterdam, back in 2016.
Stated GAB director, Jim Bryan, “Our relationship with Martin Audio started in the mid-90s when we were looking for high quality loudspeakers for our hire stock. We invested in Wavefront, then soon started to install EM series, Blackline, AQ series and most recently CDD in our church systems. It was therefore logical to turn to Martin Audio again to meet these requirements.”
In fact, GAB, which was originally set up in 1984 to specialise in a range of

UK - DiGiCo consoles are enhancing London Grammar’s live sound on their tour in support of the Truth is a Beautiful Thing album.
The desks are supplied by Triplex Productions, who became involved with the band when the musicians decided to push their live production up a notch and invited Triplex owner Mark Sunderland to production-manage their technical requirements.
Ross Cornwall, managing director of Triplex Productions, says: “The collaboration has worked really well and the tour has gone everywhere - the USA, Canada, Australia, Europe, Asia. It’s so successful that we don't always know where we’re going to be, as dates keep getting added to the band’s diary. The venues are a real mix from large festivals (Glastonbury, Pukkelpop, etc) to the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith and O2 Academy Brixton. It’s been a real challenge for the team to deliver

North America - L-Acoustics have implemented the largest AV bridging (AVB) touring system on Arcade Fire’s Infinite Content tour.
This is the first time the company has used an AVB system on tour. Supplied by L-Acoustics North American certified provider Solotech, with support from Germany’s Black Box Music, the system’s benefits include simple deployment with minimal network configuring, long-distance network communication, low latency, improved synchronisation and reliability.
The tour is carrying a total of 92 AVB-equipped L-Acoustics LA12X amplified controllers, 48 K1 and 80 K2 loudspeakers, 56 KS28 subs, eight ARCS Wide and eight X8 coaxials. Processing is being handled by a pair of redundant Meyer Sound Galaxy units, one driving analogue lines over copper for system fallback.
All equipment from L-Acoustics and Meyer Sound is certified through

UK - Technical event production company Hawthorn has officially become an Adamson certified reseller in the UK.
Derek Blair, director of Adamson’s UK distributor The Warehouse Sound Services, says: “We are delighted to have Hawthorn on board as one of the first Adamson certified resellers in the UK. They have a wealth of experience in the installation and rental markets and are well-known for providing the very best equipment with customer service that is second to none. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership.”
Rob Allen, Hawthorn’s group head of sound, adds: “I’ve been aware of Adamson for a number of years and have always been very impressed with its quality, from how their loudspeakers sound to ease of rigging and now, it’s great to see it on many riders and installation specifications in the UK. We’re very proud to be one of the first co

Europe - In anticipation of Brexit, ADJ has re-assigned two of its key personnel to continue the company’s growth in the UK and mainland Europe. Kris Dawber will take on the role of UK and Ireland sales manager while Sebastian Mobers will move into the position of EU sales manager.
ADJ Europe recently celebrated its 15th anniversary and the company’s European arm is a significant part of its global business with showrooms at Kerkrade in the Netherlands and Greater Manchester in the UK.
Having worked for ADJ in Europe for almost 15 years, Sebastian Mobers is an integral and highly valued member of the team. Having most recently served as the company’s European purchasing manager, before previously gained valuable experience in the sales department, he will take on the role of EU sales manager. This role will involve supporting and overseeing ADJ’s regional sales

USA - FOH engineer and sound designer Stan Miller is mixing Neil Diamond’s 50 Year Anniversary World Tour on a JBL by Harman VTX Series sound reinforcement system, provided by Sound Image.
Miller has mixed FOH for Diamond for nearly 50 years and has relied on JBL audio systems for Diamond’s tours for many years. For this tour, he selected a JBL VTX V25 system.
“I think the sound for this tour is the best we’ve ever had,” Miller says. “We have better control over the system, and we have better technology than in the past. We have better consistency from venue to venue, whether it's indoors or outdoors. And with the Crown amplifiers we’re carrying, we have gobs of horsepower to run everything, but we never blow loudspeakers. Our show runs somewhere around 100 dB max, or maybe 101 or 102. We don't want to overpower people.”
The tour system inc

South Africa - DWR Distribution is expanding its industry footprint with the addition of Quest Engineering.
Melbourne-based Quest Engineering has become an internationally recognised audio brand following its humble beginnings in live audio production and 20 years of product development.
During this time, Simon Oates, has held the agency in South Africa and made Quest a household name in the industry. “Simon has now passed the torch to DWR, and we are thrilled to introduce Quest as our first loudspeakers to our family of products,” said Robert Izzett, head of sales at DWR. Simon will continue to support his new and existing clients in collaboration with DWR and Quest.
Quest’s Frank Andrewartha was in Johannesburg recently to meet up with the DWR team. “This is a good outcome and brings experience as well as a great support structure for production custom

South Africa - VisualAudio Productions’ Staal Van Der Bergh has invested in a new Hippotizer Karst Media Server from South African distributor DWR Distribution. The new purchase complements his existing Hippotizer Boreal Media Server.
Staal comments: “I love animals - the more Hippos, the merrier! But in all earnestness, I don’t always need a big Hippotizer such as the Boreal and the Karst’s greatest selling point is flexibility. Now I have the best of both worlds.”
DWR’s Dylan Jones agrees: “Staal can send out the Karst on an extra show, he can work on large productions using both the Karst and the Boreal, or he can do a smaller show with just the Karst.” In addition, the unit can also be rented out for dry hire.
“The main attributing feature is a 4k Output which can be split into more outputs if needed,” explained Dylan. “Because the Hipp

UK - For Robbie William’s Heavy Entertainment Show, sound engineer Simon Hodge is mixing on a Digico SD7 using an L-Acoustics K1 based system from Britannia Row Productions (Brit Row) and has not found it wanting.
“We have played some very tricky venues, acoustically speaking,” said Hodge. “The new amplifiers and subs that Brit Row has invested in have made a big difference. I was expecting the new subs to be better but actually the difference is pretty phenomenal - they produce notes that I’ve not heard before with what feels like effortless power. The new amplifiers have made a difference to the HF as well which seems extended in to the range that only dogs can hear. I have ultimate respect for Josh Lloyd’s system design and line up but that combined with the new system has resulted in the most even coverage that I’ve ever heard in stadiums.”
Lloyd’

UK - A 36-channel Audient ASP8024 desk with patchbay and producer’s desk has been installed at Cornwall charity Livewire Youth Music.
The charity offers free and open access to music lessons and its facilities are also used as a teaching space for 10 to 21 year-olds interested in live engineering and studio recording.
The arrival of the professional quality Audient console has brought a significant upgrade in sound quality along with a more enriching experience for those on both sides of the glass.
Manager Andy Rance has been running the youth centre for the best part of three decades, and was pleased to welcome local three-piece band, The Flying Saucepans as the first to be recorded using the analogue console last month. “Our long-time studio and venue engineer, Will Rodgers led the session with support from two of the older trainee studio engineers,” says

Hungary - Around 1,000 dance aficionados arrived at the Dürlin Budapest Event and Performance Space in Hungary recently to celebrate Bladerunnaz, the traditional annual opening of the autumn/winter season.
To ensure one of the country’s premier drum & bass events made its usual impact on the dancefloor, service company and Martin Audio partner, BG Event , provided its MLA Compact PA system.
According to BG Event’s Balázs Szentiványi, the promoters opted for Martin Audio’s technology after specifying the MLA Compact on the drum & bass stage at the Balaton Sound festival, which they also promote.
Szentiványi said: “We knew that MLA Compact, accompanied by the mighty MLX subs, would unquestionably provide the ultimate gear for such a bass-heavy event. Due to MLA’s sonic capabilities over the full spectrum it was an ideal choice. We were

UK - Adlib’s Scottish operation has recently supplied a substantial L-Acoustics package with DiGiCo control to Limelight Event Services, an Inverness-based production and rental company.
Limelight had already developed a relationship with Adlib as they previously owned a smaller L-Acoustics system and would use Adlib to source cross hires for larger shows and for spares as necessary.
The recent purchases include most of the current L-Acoustics range of speakers - K2, Kara, Kiva and ARCS Wide plus HiQ wedges – supplied together with LA amplifiers, proprietary flying systems, a set of LoadGuard motors and rigging - all fully flight-cased. A DiGiCo SD12 console was selected as a fully-featured user-friendly console with which most professional sound engineers will be familiar.
Craig Duncan, owner of Limelight Event Services, said: “We feel that L-Acoustics is

UK - JHS has announced the appointment of Jack Irish to the position of pro audio area sales manager for southern UK and Ireland.
Joining JHS after a short sojourn outside of the industry, following on from his six years as an ASM with Lamba PLC, Jack says of the appointment: “I am incredibly excited and proud to be working with JHS. Being part of the team here will be a pleasure, because they have so many respected brands that encompass an array of innovative and high-quality products that can cater for almost everyone. I am very passionate about the industry and am looking forward to meeting with both old and new customers.”
JHS managing sirector Dennis Drumm adds: “We’re looking forward to Jack joining the company very much. With a well-deserved reputation for excellence and a well-grounded knowledge of the industry and customer base, Jack will really hit th

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