Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
PLASA Show 2025 - Banner - June-Aug 2025

Installation

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UK - The Palace Theatre in Westcliffe-on-Sea, Essex, has been fitted out with a new Electro-Voice sound reinforcement system by Brighton-based installation company, MBI. The 100-year old theatre has a capacity of 600 seats, arranged over stalls, two circles and four boxes. David Howe of Shuttlesound, working with MBI and the theatre's owners, designed and commissioned the system, which uses Electro-Voice RX loudspeakers, driven by EV's new Precision Series remote amplifiers. "The theatre has quite reasonable acoustics," says Howe, "but we were subject to a few constraints as to where we could place speaker cabinets. We were asked not to position them above the proscenium arch, so we've wall-mounted six EV RX112 full-range cabinets, three speakers either side of the stage."

With a pair of RX218 subs built in under the stage, there are two RX112s for the stalls

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USA - Hempfield United Methodist Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA have installed a new sound system, controlled by Allen & Heath's iDR digital signal processing system and a GL2200 analogue mixing console, in its former sanctuary. The combination allows the multi-purpose room to switch quickly between a variety of worship services and other activities.

Dave Marks of Hempfield UMC's Youth Technical Ministry explains: "We needed a system that could be turned on and operated without technical assistance and that would meet the rigorous needs of our youth program, we contacted Dale Shirk of Shirk Audio, who had helped us with previous projects. Dale presented us with a design using an Allen & Heath iDR DSP for the aerobics and simple meeting events and an Allen & Heath GL2200-24 for the youth programs."

The audio system must handle a variety of events during the co

Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

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USA - The Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in South Florida has installed a 48-input Allen & Heath ML5000 27-buss live sound VCA console in its 600-seat main-stage auditorium as part of an audio system upgrade. The Miracle Theatre, a private/public partnership with the City of Coral Gables, is a performing arts facility that also includes the 300-seat Balcony Theatre and 100-seat Black Box Theatre.

Head audio engineer Alexander Herrin, who has been at the theatre for a year and a half, explains: "This summer we decided to upgrade our sound system. We were replacing a three or four-year-old console that had just fallen to pieces. They asked me what I thought we should get. I'd worked with the GL4000 in the past and told them that I really like Allen & Heath. Phil Mester from StageTech, who installed the system, brought us a console to try out, a 32-channel ML5000.&qu

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Sweden - Stage engineering specialist Visual act has installed a unique set of four lifts for the new production of Lee Hall's Spoonface Steinberg set to open on 31 October at the Jewish Theatre in Stockholm. The four lifts are set on a rotating stage which is placed 3m under the stage floor. The lifts can be raised from 1m below the stage surface to 1m above while the revolve is moving.

Visual act's battery-based servo amplifiers are used to allow all of the equipment to be installed on the revolve - no slip rings or special cable arrangements are required. The operator desk communicates with the system over a radio link. The lifts are all lit from within and all visible surfaces are translucent, while the framework is designed to reduce shadows so that the lifts appear as boxes of coloured light.

Spoonface is directed by Pia Forsgren who has worked together wit

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Malaysia - An iDR-8 has been installed in Berjaya Times Square, a new multi-million dollar development in the heart of Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Measuring 2,100,000sq.ft, it is the largest shopping/leisure complex and houses the largest indoor theme park in the Asia Pacific region.

Allen & Heath's iDR-8 unit, with an iDR-out expander, has been installed as a zone controller in the indoor theme park, where a resident DJ pumps out the music. The signal from the DJ mixer is distributed to 16 zone loudspeakers. An event schedule has also been created using the DSP system's programmable patches, whereby at 2.30pm daily the zone volumes gradually increase with a 10 second crossfade; similarly at 10pm the volume automatically decreases with the same crossfade effect. There is a dedicated PC at the DJ booth for remote control of the iDR-8 & iDR-out over Cat 5 cable.

Malay

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UK - Earls Court Ltd and Unusual Rigging Ltd have been fined a total of £100,000 at the Old Bailey following a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecution into the death of 26-year-old David Mott at Earls Court, London. The prosecution follows an HSE investigation into the incident in which Mr Mott fell 35m to his death at Earls Court Exhibition Hall 1, on 23 June 2000. Six months prior to the death of Mr Mott, another worker had also been killed in a similar incident. Earls Court Ltd was subsequently fined £70,000 in a prosecution taken by the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Mr Mott, from Brentwood, Essex, fell through fragile, false ceiling tiles while dismantling mobile platforms as part of a refurbishment project. He was taken to Charing Cross hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival from multiple injuries.

Earls Court Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching sect

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UK - West London's trendy Ladbroke Grove has seen the reawakening of the acclaimed Subterania club, which was closed earlier this year. The new venue, christened 'Neighbourhood', is owned by Ben Watt and Alan Grant, partners in the famed Cherry Jam club. UK AV designers Blue Box created the club's sound system, featuring a mix of four QSC PowerLight PL 2.0 and four PL 4.0 amplifiers driving a four way Funktion One system with six F218 bass boxes and six Res4 mid-high enclosures. The club also uses several QSC PL230 amps to drive the Funktion One F88 cabinets in the ante area and on the mezzanine.

The spacious DJ booth, designed by Ben Watt, is centered on a Rane MP44 mixer. The booth is also equipped for live sound mixing, with a Midas Venice 32-channel board. Effects and dynamics are courtesy of Yamaha, BSS and Drawmer. QSC PL236 amplifiers drive monitors in the booth and on st

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Singapore - Richard Lim from ARX's Singapore distributor Bell & Order Engineering Pte Ltd has recently completed two major installation contracts involving ARX products. The new sound reinforcement system Bell & Order has installed throughout the four-storey New Assayfaah Mosque located in Sembawang Road, Singapore caters for the reproduction of both prayers and speech, and includes two EQ60 graphic equalizers, five EQ 15 graphic equalizers, eight ZR 350C constant voltage power amplifiers, one ZR 550 power amplifier and 16 of the company's new Climate weather-resistant loudspeakers.

Bell & Order has also completed the installation of audio-visual systems at the new DSTA (Defence Science Technology Agency) Building, located at Singapore's Science Park #3 complex. The six-storey facility now includes four ZR550 power amplifiers, two ZA400 multi-channel power amplifiers and six ZR3

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UK - The Cross Keys in Yarm, Cleveland, recently under new ownership, has emerged from a comprehensive refurbishment as one of the most stylish and contemporary pub/club venues in the north-east. The Grade II-listed public house has been given its technical make-over by Music Marketing Services, which has installed new lighting and Martin Audio sound systems throughout.

Pete Varey of Music Marketing Services, who installed a Martin Audio Blackline PA system upstairs in the Cross Keys' nightclub, explained: "It was entirely the client's choice; they'd heard a system at a club in Middlesborough and wanted one for themselves." Four F15 high-performance compact two-way cabinets are flown above the new flashing dancefloor, with two S218 sub-bass bins built into the walls below the mid/high cabinets. Eight ultra-compact EM26 boxes provide infill.

Downstairs in the Keys Bar

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Germany - The 'Deutsche Oper am Rhein' in Düsseldorf has modernized its lighting equipment with transtechnik Lichtsysteme. Düsseldorf Opera House used their summer break this year to realize phase two of their modernization process and expand the lighting control system in both the stage and front of house. With moving lights, colour changers and dry-ice machines now an established part of theatre life - no longer confined to the traditional realm of rock concerts - Düsseldorf's goal was to have as much flexibility as possible in their Ethernet/DMX control network. At the heart of the new lighting control system lie two transtechnik Lichtsysteme Prisma NT consoles and the intuitive Libra operating system controlling the moving lights and colour changers. The new solution also features a 24.3" TFT channel monitor and a Digiplus digital auxiliary console for the programmable

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USA - The Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center in Dayton, Ohio recently opened its doors to rave reviews, both for its architecture and for its superb acoustics. The $130 million complex includes a rehearsal hall, a condominium and office tower, and a restaurant, but it's the 2,325-seat Meade Theatre - new home to the Dayton Opera and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra - that is the major masterpiece.

The Meade Theatre is a proscenium theater modeled in the style of a European opera house. Seating is arranged in the orchestra main floor, along with three tiers of loge and balcony seats. The theater expects to run a wide range of programming, from the Philharmonic and Opera shows to nationally touring Broadway productions to community-based performing arts groups.

Jaffe Holden Acoustics (JHA) of Norwalk, Connecticut served as the acoustic design consultants on the

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UK - Leading manufacturer Trantec has recently supplied its innovative PT1 UHF wireless Personal Trainer system to Pennyhill Park Hotel and Country Club's brand new luxury Health Spa, the Pennyhill Spa, which is the home to many celebrity and VIP guests including the England Rugby team.

The Exclusive Hotel Group - owners of Pennyhill Park - commissioned Installation Technologies Ltd (ITL) to design and supply a sophisticated personal audio system, which would provide broadcast quality sound offering background music as well as access to all broadcast media from anywhere in the Pennyhill Spa, without any visible or audible speakers. John Matcham of Installation Technologies specified Trantec's PT1 wireless system and collaborated with Trantec's engineering team from the outset. Configuring the system to meet The Exclusive Hotel Group's exacting specifications, together they overc

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UK / Japan - Le Mark's new flame-retardant natural gaffer tape, which won the PLASA Show's 2003 Environmental Impact Award, continues to expand into new export markets. Following its September launch, Gaf-Fire was sampled to one of Japan's most respected lighting distribution companies, Tokyo-based H. Ito, and Le Mark was thrilled to see H. Ito place its first order for the new product in October.

Gaf-Fire has seen seen as a breakthrough tap and an important addition to the company's consumable accessory range. Gaf-Fire not only meets the stringent requirements of BS 5867 Part 2 Type B, but also, as the PLASA award reflects, is manufactured using natural elements and environmentally clean processes. Gaf-Fire was seen as the first matt-black non-burn tape with a clean adhesive to be offered to the arts and entertainment industry.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - HRH Queen Elizabeth II has formally opened The Capitol, the community arts centre in the Sussex town of Horsham, which has been extensively redesigned and refurbished, with Martin Audio cinema and theatre sound systems installed throughout.

Sound Associates provided an integrated design approach to the new audio and projection systems, including projection equipment, theatre PA, cinema sound, a combined PA/VA system and general communications. The building had been substantially reconfigured, its new layout featuring a small studio cinema, a larger 160-seat cinema, and the main 450-seat auditorium which is set up for dual use as a theatre and cinema.

For all three cinemas, Sound Associates chose Martin Audio's Screen Series of loudspeakers. "Martin has been making great inroads into the cinema sound market in the last couple of years," explains Graham Lodge of S

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UK - Eight years after the idea was first proposed, a consortium comprising Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham Arts Association and Yale College of Wrexham is about to give Wrexham a new theatre. The momentum for the new theatre facility came from Yale College wanting to extend its successful National Diploma in Technical Theatre. It therefore donated the land for the build, and will pay the salaries of the technical staff and offer financial and management services, in return for the use of the theatre.

Yale will also employ the technical director and chief technician, and crew the theatre with students undertaking a Foundation Degree, giving them a thorough grounding in lighting, sound and general crewing, while a partnership is also being sought with a large-scale producing house to accept second year students on six-week placements. The essence of the Wrexham Project is to deli

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Italy - Teatro La Fenice ('the Phoenix'), Venice's celebrated opera house which was almost entirely destroyed by fire in 1996, is now set to re-open. The 1996 fire was a devastating blow, coming just days before its scheduled reopening after a much-needed major refurbishment, and echoing a previous fire which destroyed the theatre in 1836. The newly restored theatre is now scheduled to open in December 2003.

While the style of the venue is identical to its predecessor, its lighting and sound systems are being brought right up to date with a lighting and control system from ETC Teatro, including an ETC Emphasis control system, an Express console, Sensor dimming, a Unison architectural lighting control system and an extensive Ethernet and DMX installation.

Believed to be the first Italian opera house to install a sound reinforcement system, La Fenice has opted for a d&b audiote

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UK - The PAI Group has recently installed a MegaMedia Wall at Virgin's flagship Oxford Street Megastore, to a design brief from Keane Design's Concept Designer, Tim Merrifield. The brief called for a cost-effective, but innovative audio-visual vehicle for presenting dynamic promotional material to customers entering the store.

PAI manufactured and installed a bespoke 5500mm x 5000mm steel frame onto which nine screens, comprising 42" plasma and 30" high definition LCD units, were incorporated. The whole assembly is designed to automatically rotate towards to the store interior during daylight hours, to avoid light intrusion, and then traverse back to face Oxford Street in the evening to broadcast promotional material to the public outside of normal opening hours.

Divided into four video zones, the nine screens broadcast the same material, but have been designed to op

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UK - It's just over two years since Stage Electrics moved to its new HQ in Bristol. Since then, the business has grown, becoming more streamlined and diverse, the latest addition being a rehearsal space inside one of its warehouses, initially developed for Belinda King Productions to rehearse three shows for the Royal Court Theatre on board the new cruise liner, The Queen Mary 2.

The facility has enabled Belinda King Productions to rehearse the shows working with all the relevant scenery from the start, a crucial part of the process considering most of the show's scene changes are either automated or executed by the performers themselves. With limited rehearsal time once on board, it seemed logical to get the productions as close to the finished article as possible prior to embarkation. The rehearsal space at Stage Electrics has given both companies an opportunity to iron out t

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UK - Originally built over an eight-year period then opened in May of 1899, Brighton Pier is arguably one of Britain's most beloved waterfront attractions. Its 1800ft span hosts a pavilion, numerous eating and drinking establishments, a 1500-seat concert hall and further attractions. Rich in history, the pier enjoyed its original heyday in the 1920s and 1930s, slowly falling into disrepair after the Second World War, a victim of both mankind and the elements. The sea's erosion has taken its toll, as have the annual winter rains.

In 1984, the pier was purchased by The Noble Organization, which has invested over £30 million in its restoration. Recently, in March 2003 an arson attack gutted most of the pavilion, followed by a smaller fire in May, which caused minor damage to the concert hall and the Ghost Train ride, which housed the audio amplification system. Brighton-based aud

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UK - The University of Manchester's new £6 million School of Music and Drama celebrated the opening of its purpose-built concert hall, drama studio and recording studio on 21 October 2004. The Chancellor - broadcaster Anna Ford - presided over a ceremony in which writer and comedian Ben Elton, music scholar and critic Michael Kennedy and internationally renowned soprano Amanda Roocroft received honorary degrees.

The building includes the new Cosmo Rodewald Concert Hall, the John Thaw Studio Theatre, the Lenagan Library, audio/visual facilities, improved performance, workshop and practice spaces, as well as new electro-acoustic music studios run jointly with the Royal Northern College of Music.

Stage Electrics designed and installed the new facilities' sound and lighting systems, created specifically for use by students, with Hills Electrical plc, main contractor - Totty Const

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UK / Israel - PA and voice evacuation specialists Millbank Electronics has recently supplied its Israeli distributor Ram-Tel Communications with a fleet of its DSPac power amplifiers. The range is part of Millbank's new directive - to create quality-boxed products, which integrate into the most challenging projects and offer cost effective solutions to installers, architects, consultants and electrical contractors alike.

Long-standing Millbank distributor, Ram-Tel, headed by Zvi Zeif, has deployed the DSPacs as part of a significant upgrade of the public address system in the Al Aqsa Mosque. As one of the world's most famous and oldest Mosques, it is visited by millions of tourists and religious pilgrims every year.

Re-built into its present form in 1033 AD, the Al Aqsa Mosque is situated at the southernmost point of the Noble Sanctuary - Al Haram al Sharif which, comprising o

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UK - Chris Gunton & Associates, the specialist sound, lighting and video contractor, has recently completed a new bar/restaurant at 50 Dover Street, opposite the entrance to the famous London Ritz hotel. The venue owner, Whid, chose CGA to create a special environment following recommendations from trade. CGA identified that this installation would require quality, discrete sound - capable of background sound and also live music reproduction. In addition, stage lighting and disco lighting that would not infringe on the detailed interior design but that equally would be reliable and easy to use.

To carry the sound throughout all areas- bar, restaurant, stage, reception and toilet areas, CGA used a combination of EV Evid 4.2 speakers, JBL ceiling bass bins and JBL ceiling speakers. The Sound is controlled by the customer using simple Cloud Electronics RL1 controls which go back to

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Germany - Hamburg-based sound consultants Amptown Sound & Communications (ASC) have completed the installation of a Nexo GEO S sound reinforcement system at the Holstenhalle in Neumünster, a 1930s aeroplane hangar which can accommodate audiences of up to 4,000 people for concerts and events.

Holstenhalle Neumünster is used for a wide variety of events, from classical concerts, trade shows, livestock auctions, pop concerts and parties to other attractions including motorcycle shows. This year, the venue's technical director, Walter Rudat, decided to call it a day for the venue's 15-year old 100v line horn-loaded PA system and called in technical consultant Rüdiger Aue from ASC to design a new house rig for the challenging acoustics of the Holstenhalle.

Having worked in the venue on the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Aue was familiar with its characteristics. The Holstenh

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USA - Following the success of the PLASA Show in London in September, it began to appear that business was looking up after a tough couple of years; now, with the successful completion of LDI in Orlando, Florida at the weekend, the current of optimism continues to strengthen.

The majority of LDI exhibitors that PLASA Media spoke to at the show expressed their satisfaction with both the quality of visitors and the level of business being done. Exhibitor Michael Bridgman of British Optical, a manufacturer of high quality optical components for the entertainment industry, commented: "It's been very good for us this year - I would say back to the level of business of three years ago."

The 2003 ETS-LDI showcased a number of innovative new products. This year the show's awards were split into two categories - Product of the Year and Debuting Product/Promising Prototype. Th

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Astera - Large MPU - June 2025
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