USA - Brevard County's Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts reopened following major renovations totaling $1.3 m to improve the sight lines and concert sound system at the main theatre, and included the installation of four Lake Contour digital speaker processors and two Lake Mesa Quad EQ digital matrix processors. The six Lake Technology processors, which were supplied along with a wireless touch pad and access point, control multiple zones of loudspeakers at the 2,000-seat performing arts hall.

"Because of the wireless tablet, the Lake Contour system is great because it allows us to 'walk the room' and make adjustments in real time for any location in the house," said Tim Freese, technical director. "It is a perfect match to our JBL VerTec speaker system, which is a perfect match for our facility."

One Lake Mesa Quad EQ provides individual contr

USA - The sheer physical size and scope of the modern athletic venue, combined with the demand to accommodate high-end, simultaneously distributed, on-demand audio and video needs of multiple user groups, can test the installation skills of the most seasoned AV systems integrators.

Delta Systems Integration was selected to implement a new AV system at Reser Stadium. Though Delta's integration expertise and experience working in the stadium market was essential to installing the facility's new sound system, one tool, a networked digital sound management system from Symetrix Audio, made the task far simpler.

The Dallas consulting firm, WJHW, specified the DSP-based SymNet networkable, modular audio mixing, routing and processing system in their initial design. As the entire AV concept for the stadium hinged on flexibility, pinpoint control and sound quality reliability, a tradit

UK - Digital nightclub, located in Newcastle's Times Square, open its doors in July 2005. Heralded as an embodiment of a clubbing ideal, reactions to the venue have since been overwhelming. "Welcome to the Fabric of the north," proclaimed DJ Magazine, as scores of upbeat music connoisseurs paid homage to the venture. Owners Rob Cameron and Aaron Mellor, who have successfully raised the bar of clubbing in the north east of England. The club includes a state-of-the-art sound systems powered by Pioneer and Funktion One.

Hallmark features in the main room include a huge LED display that towers over the dancefloor from behind the DJ booth and screens for viewing visuals, whilst a series of well-placed mirrors and a wall of steel bars surround the area designed for dancing.

Aiming to offer DJs and clubbers the best sound possible, Digital was one of the first clubs in the

Australia - Hemisphere Conference Centre & Hotel, located on the Moorabbin Campus of Holmesglen TAFE, recently upgraded their audio-visual system courtesy of solutions company, Lightmoves.

With their business focussed on corporate conferences and retreats, Hemisphere demands first class performance from their audio-visual systems. Their existing system was not capable of meeting these standards, suffering from poor sound quality that was often muffled and uneven. In addition, many of their clients were now demanding access to a projector and screen, facilities not readily available in-house.

After their installation of an audio-visual system in the conference rooms of Holmesglen TAFE's Chadstone campus, Lightmoves were approached by Hemisphere to provide a solution that would enhance their overall audio-visual quality, but also fall within budget.

Lightmoves' Peter Gray, in

USA - PRG faced the challenge of installing a lighting system in Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall that could produce sophisticated effects and be easily reconfigured and controlled.

Everything in Zankel Hall is adaptable. The floor is divided into nine sections that can be raised and lowered to create a variety of room configurations. The nearly 650 audience seats can be arranged easily to suit the different room setups (most of them rest on stepped wagons built on air casters). And for lighting, 21 self-climbing truss units cover most of the ceiling. Each can be raised to any height for performances and lowered to stage level for rigging and maintenance.

Working with consultants Auerbach Pollock Friedlander, and rigging contractor Pook Diemont & Ohl, PRG coordinated the lighting installation, including developing a custom solution to manage the system's intricate cabling.

Each t

Finland / Estonia - The Finnish distributor of Yamaha, F-Audio/F-Musiikki Oy, has delivered the first Yamaha M7CL-48 Digital Live Mixers to Estonia and Finland. In Estonia the mixer was delivered to Salme Culture Center, a 700-seat multipurpose auditorium in downtown Tallinn, Estonia. Salme Culture Center was going through a full renovation after its 40-year history, and the delivery of Yamaha M7CL-48 completed the technical upgrade including whole new lighting system and Meyer PA.

"We were looking for a console suitable for both theater production and live concerts and after consulting Kari Tiitinen of Finnish National Opera we desided to go with Yamaha digital console. After long discussions with F-Audio's Petri Mäntysalo, we found M7CL-48 to be the right choice for us. We have had a lot of requests for Yamaha console from our visiting engineers, now we can finally provi

The Netherlands - Holland's flagship stadium, the Amsterdam Arena, home of soccer club Ajax Amsterdam, has announced a €1.4 million investment in dramatically improving its acoustics and sound quality for live events. The programme will include acoustic treatment and a new, digitally-distributed sound system, designed both as a stand-alone PA/safety system and to augment PA systems brought in by visiting concert and event productions.

The measures follow months of preparation and research by leading Dutch music promoter MOJO Concerts, TM Audio of Holland and acoustic engineers Peutz, and will result in a substantial improvement for speech and music intelligibility and quality.

To improve the quality of the acoustics, reverberation time in the stadium will be reduced by using thousands of square metres of special sound absorbent materials on the roof and on the walls. The mate

UK - The Wroxham School in Potters Bar is a thriving primary establishment with an enviable performance record - and an ethos that states that "everyone should have a voice".Voted in the top 100 schools for value added performance, they are now putting their ethos literally to the test, having - with the aid of Soundcraft - set up a broadcast facility for the benefit of its 4-11-year-old pupils.

This unusual development was stimulated by a government initiative, promoting communication opportunities in primary schools. "The school is run as a democracy in which we try to give our children exciting learning opportunities," explained head teacher Alison Peacock. "When the government sent out their information packs, our deputy head Simon Putnam suggested we promote speaking and listening via a full broadcast facility."

The only problem was funding.

UK - Dukes Genesis nightclub in Chelmsford has consistently kept in touch with the current developments available in lighting, sound and visual effects. The latest technology to be installed in the venue is in the new compact full-range loudspeakers from the Spanish manufacturer Vieta.

Although refitted five years ago with a Funktion One system, certain operating changes within the Dukes club meant that the time had come to offer a gentle re-tune and re-alignment of the system.

Having worked closely with Ado Osborn and John Nightingale of DSi Services in a number of the operators' other venues, the management contracted them to complete the necessary services, working to a tight timescale as the venue could not afford any closure time.

Osborn acknowledged that the Funktion One main sound system had been professionally installed and that there was no reason to remove it. To e

USA - Minnesota's celebrated Vikings team can be found down the road in Mankato, home to the University of Minnesota and the stadium and grounds the team calls their pre-season home. Vikings fans are known for their loyalty, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by the Vikings organization. In recent years the team's management has created and encouraged a family-friendly atmosphere at the training camp, sponsoring kick-off parties, shows and local events throughout the three weeks the team is in town.

One of the most fan-friendly features at the Mankato facility is Vikings Village, the product of a partnership between the Vikings organization, training camp organizers and corporate sponsor Midwest Wireless. Even when the team isn't practicing, fans are treated to a variety of entertainment and activities, including live music contests and themed entertainment onstage and an intera

Norway - In medieval times, pilgrims heading to Nidaros Cathedral passed through the town of Lommedalen, nestled in a Norwegian valley only 15 kilometers from Oslo. In many ways, the town appears unchanged by the passage of time until you step inside the Lommedalen Church, where the town's 3,000 residents worship. In contrast to the town's old-style charm, the church resides decidedly in the 21st century as the result of the installation of a new Meyer Sound M1D ultra-compact curvilinear array loudspeaker system.

The church serves as a spiritual and cultural centre for the town. Its acoustics have proven ideal for both traditionally styled worship services and non-amplified events such as classical music concerts. However, as younger members brought more amplified music sensibilities from their culture into the church, the shortcomings of the building's original sound system bec

New Zealand - The Harman Pro Group reports that The Edge, at the Aotea Centre in Auckland, will become New Zealand's first Harman HiQnet installation. The HiQnet system, featuring BSS and Crown components, will form the foundation of the new paging and background music system for The Edge, the largest performing arts and convention centre of its kind in New Zealand, say the company.

"The Harman Pro Group developed HiQnet as a universal technology for any application or configuration," said Mark Terry, Harman Pro Group president. "Focusing on network control and connectivity, HiQnet enables systems integrators to design more intuitive, more efficient audio systems for any type of facility. The Edge at Aotea Centre is a prime example, uniting multiple zones on multiple floors under a singular control platform."

The Edge features five performing arts houses -

UK - Hawthorn Theatrical has specified Martin Audio's AQ speakers exclusively in its design model for some of the new City Academy venues. According to the company's installation manager Simon Ling, the existing buildings are being replaced at a cost of around £25m a time, assisted by external funding. Hawthorn Theatrical will provide a full technical infrastructure, consisting of sound, light, projection and control.

The most recently-commissioned system was at Northampton Academy, which has been designed around four spaces - the main assembly hall, two drama studios and a dance studio. "We have got to know the Martin Audio catalogue well and know what the product can do," says Ling, adding that the enclosures complement Hawthorn's large hire inventory of Martin Audio loudspeakers. "Not only does it provide a highly flexible solution, but the AQ boxes are r

South Africa - When it came time to choose a new sound system for their church, worship leaders at Bryanston New Covenant Church in suburban Johannesburg, South Africa, recognized it was more appropriate to apply healthy skepticism than to proceed on faith. Rather than take marketing claims at face value, the church auditioned all three of their top contenders in their 1,200-seat worship centre. When the last word was spoken, it was in favour of a system of Meyer Sound M1D ultra-compact curvilinear array loudspeakers.

"We initially supplied the M1D system on a hire basis," recalls Lee Thomson of Prosound Pty Ltd of Johannesburg, Meyer Sound's South African distributor. "We rigged it up for a weekend of services, and for a special concert later that week by the well-known British songwriter and worship leader, Matt Redman. What the church leadership heard clearly t

Malta - Denon Professional have taken major strides towards dominating the dance-heavy island of Malta, by appointing Futuretech as their distributors.

Denon's parent company D&M Professional Europe confirmed the exclusive agreement with Stefan Farrugia's company at September's PLASA Show after the importer had placed an order for a quantity of professional CD players.

Futuretech have wasted no time in introducing the new DN-S3500 to some of the island's leading DJ's, such as house specialist Carl Bee, Darren Vandit, DJ J Joy and Stefan's brother Josef.

Joy has immediately been signed up to a two-year sponsorship with Denon, initiating the S3500 decks during a four-hour Christmas Eve marathon, Joy Xmas, at Tattinger's Club in Rabat.

"I decided to choose J Joy cause he is the leading DJ in Malta and at the same time a real showman who draws a great crowd,"

Russia - Soundcraft consoles have been providing the mixing hub of a number of new entertainment venues in Moscow and the outlying areas, over the past few months. They form part of Harman Pro entertainment packages provided by distributors, Mega Music.

One of these is Terminal - the best discotheque in the region of Cherepovetz, which has a population of 320,000 people. Mega Music installed all the audio and lighting equipment, incorporating a BSS FDS-366 Omnidrive Compact Plus to process a loudspeaker system consisting of six JBL ASB6128 and eight ASB6212 enclosures, powered by Crown CTs amplification. With the provision of a Soundcraft GB4 mixing console.

In Moscow, Asia Casino is proving to be one of the best high-end casinos in the Russian capital. This venue boasts a luxurious oriental-style interior, with an audio system installed by Senzar, Mega Music's long time partn

UK - A new £3.5m development project in Aberdeen has been equipped with a multizone Martin Audio/QSC sound reinforcement package, specified by contractors Absolute Audio Systems, as well as a dynamic automated lighting system supplied by Difuzion - the lighting arm of Fuzion plc, UK distributors for the Futurelight range.

The exclusive club, bar and restaurant is housed in a three-storey 19th century granite building, which has been sensitively converted by Edinburgh-based architects/designers Kerr Blyth Associates (KBA). The result is 'The Albyn', which provides Aberdeen-based owners, European Development Company (EDC), with the jewel in their leisure crown.

Working with architectural technicians Canale Associates, KBA designed a two-storey extension to the rear of the property to incorporate the bar, restaurant and entertainment area, featuring a grand piano, acoustica

UK - The Royal National Theatre (RNT) on London's South Bank has refurbished the sound and communications infrastructure in its main Olivier Theatre, including a variety of products supplied by VDC Trading, the company reports. The permanent installation included a custom-built multicore cable system incorporating VDC Supaflex 18 core cable and an 8-channel Van Damme stage box. The cables were specially constructed so that both the Harting and Ceep "socapex" systems used by The Royal National could be integrated with one another.

"We've used VDC as our main cable supplier for many years now," says Rob Barnard, the theatre's technical manager. "The company gives us great service and its products are very reliable, which is why it is always our first choice."

Since taking delivery of this system, the RNT has placed an order for a duplicate set of ca

UK - Lighting Technology Projects (LTP) has specified and supplied 19 Color Kinetics ColorBlast 12 wall washing LED fixtures and 128 pieces of CK wide angle iColor Cove NXT for the main reception of the new 'Patient Hotel' at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

To help create an environment that is stimulating, fun and friendly for patients, parents and visitors, a large colourful feature lighting scheme was proposed for the Hotel's pre-reception entranceway by Ove Arup. The lighting scheme was designed by Arup Lighting's design team. They then asked LTP's Terry Reeves to specify the equipment for achieving the overall effect. LTP has worked on previous projects with Arup including the award winning Plantation Lane 'Moonwall' at Plantation Place, in the City of London.

The six square metre tiled frosted glass floor runs the entire width of the entrance floor, and continues

USA - BSR E1.22, Entertainment Technology - Fire Safety Curtain Systems, is available for public review on the ESTA website until 28 March, 2006. The draft standard describes the materials, fabrication, installation, operation, testing, and maintenance of fire safety curtains and fire safety curtain systems used for theatre proscenium opening protection.

It is a serious attempt to avoid offering a cook-book description of a fire safety curtain system and, instead, to specify how a fire curtain shall perform. That is, it doesn't tell you what kind of fabric to use for a fire safety curtain, for example, but instead tells you how strong whatever fabric you use must be and what abrasion and fire tests it must pass. The document may be accessed by visiting http://www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_do

UK - The TSK Group has completed its first implementation of Stardraw.com's new application, the aptly named Stardraw Control, at the Radisson Hotel in Birmingham. TSK's specialist communication environments arm has installed a comprehensive and sophisticated background music and presentation source routing system across five floors of the hotel utilising an EtherSound network controlled by Stardraw Control.

The cutting-edge system is part of a project that will see TSK breathe new life into the hotel's presentation facilities. The background music system is implemented across all five floors of the installation, which comprises two floors of bars and restaurants, two floors of meeting rooms and business facilities, and the eighteenth floor which plays host to the gym and the presidential suite. The presentation source routing system is concentrated on the two floors that form

UK - Two Gloucester DJ's, Jason Ayers and Steve Blake, have got their hands on a landmark Stroud venue, and lovingly restored it from near dilapidation over an 18-month period. Having secured Stroud's first late night licence back in 1969 the venue became The Marshall Rooms (hosting bands like U2 among others). But its recent history has been chequered and it eventually closed down.

When they were ready to convert it into the 425-capacity Riga, they contacted Contract Audio Visual (CAV) for their technology infrastructure. CAV's sales manager, Howard Williams, says: "They loved the power of the NEXO Alpha Touring System, in particular the heavy bass, and opted for that on a contract rental basis."

But power comes at a price, and being in a residential area the operators needed one hundred tonnes of concrete to provide the necessary sound reinforcement after CAV had c

UK - The sleepy market town of Hitchin recently gave birth to a high-octane style bar.Locally-based tanning salon operator, Carl Barton, managed to complete the conversion of the former Grade II-listed council offices and library into Ivory, just in time for the Christmas season, thanks to assistance from Hitchin-based sound specialists Rossco.

Barton had planned to install the sound system on a shoestring budget until an inquisitive Ross Sharples, MD of Rossco, put his nose around the door during the site development to see what was going on.

"He convinced me that upgrading the quality of the sound system would pay dividends -and thank goodness I listened," says Barton, in his 400-capacity venue, with neon illuminated white façade.

Sharples runs Martin Audio touring boxes in his rental stock, but turned to the exquisitely designed, fast-fit AQ architectural boxes

UK - Colin Pattenden of creative sound specialists' CP Sound Ltd, has revamped and revitalised the DJ box at Boujis - currently London's hottest hub for club and party loving A-Listers and aristocrats.

A few months previously, Pattenden had carefully removed the old amp rack at the famous South Kensington location, installed a new powerhouse of RSE amplifiers and a Cloud 28, complete with new crossover and graphic equaliser and totally re-tuned the existing sound system. That alone improved the audio quality so dramatically, that he was asked to advise on how the room's sonic vibes could be further enhanced. Boujis likes to keep moving with the times, so Colin suggested a complete re-design of the DJ booth.

The musical policy is a mixture of rap, house and R 'n' B. Colin soon realised that the booth needed an aesthetic as well as a technical boost. He proposed the design of a

Latest Issue. . .

Save
Cookies user preferences
We use cookies to ensure you to get the best experience on our website. If you decline the use of cookies, this website may not function as expected.
Accept all
Decline all
Analytics
Tools used to analyze the data to measure the effectiveness of a website and to understand how it works.
Google Analytics
Accept
Decline
Advertisement
If you accept, the ads on the page will be adapted to your preferences.
Google Ad
Accept
Decline