UK - Theatre and acoustics consultancy Charcoalblue, which opened its Bristol Studio in May this year, carried out acoustic testing at the city's St George's concert hall recently in preparation for a £5.5m redevelopment, with some surprising results.

The hall was built as a church in 1823 and designed by Sir Robert Smirke, architect of the British Museum. It would have been built to suit a congregation who needed to clearly hear the spoken word, but the clarity the room provides brings an unexpected benefit to 21st century concertgoers.

Ian Stickland, team leader for Charcoalblue, said he and his colleagues were initially surprised by their acoustic measurements. "Looking at the objective results of our reverberation time measurements, without knowing which room it was, we would not have rated the results very highly. However, digging deeper, we find that the clari

USA - Constructed in 1964, UW-Stout's Johnson Fieldhouse has undergone numerous updates over time the most recent, a new audio system that depends almost exclusively on self-powered Tannoy VQNET loudspeakers for reinforcement of speech and music.

As the home of UW-Stout's men's and women's basketball, gymnastics and volleyball teams, the arena is primarily used for athletics, but it's also the site of the campus' annual commencement ceremonies and required an audio system to provide high intelligibility and even coverage regardless of whether the venue is set up for games, competitions, practice sessions, or commencement.

"The old system was installed roughly 25-years ago," says Lori Anda, Director, Recreation and Sports Complexes at UW-Stout, "but it wasn't efficient for events that weren't athletics. The speaker cluster was above the centre of the court so dur

USA - Theatre Projects has welcomed Jim Niesel back as their newest project manager and theatre equipment/audio-video designer. Jim began his theatre consulting career at Theatre Projects back in 2001 before joining Arup in 2007, where he went on to take a leading role in the company's New York and Australasia theatre consulting practices.

While at Arup, Jim worked on a number of performance spaces including the Sydney Opera House and the Metropolitan Opera House. Now, back where he began, Jim is looking forward to the collaborative environment at Theatre Projects and having a part in the extraordinary performance spaces that they design.

"I came back for the opportunity to work in a smaller, more focused firm," Jim said. "When you're working in a firm with 300 people, you're not all going to be moving in the same direction. Each person has a different approach,

UK - Sound Division Group has carried out three installations in high profile London venues this summer, making widespread use of Martin Audio's discreet but high performance C6.8T and C8.1T ceiling speakers. Featuring a 6.5" (165mm) bass driver and a 0.8" (19mm) dome tweeter, these circular recessed speakers have achieved wide adoption since their launch in view of their wide (150°) dispersion, high SPL and suitability for low-ceilinged venues.

In two of the venues - Circus Bar & Restaurant in Covent Garden and Aqua Nueva at Oxford Circus - these have been retrofitted into an existing Martin Audio technical infrastructure as part of major revamps carried out by the London-based installation company.

Circus was first fitted out by Sound Division with Martin Audio AQ architectural speakers back in early 2010. The latest phase sees the company bringing more control

Sweden - Mats Karlsson, an industry veteran with a string of successful products and positions with several major companies, has started Intendor - a product innovation consultancy.

"My mission is to help companies get ahead of their competition by helping them create useful, innovative, and differentiated products. Anyone who has visited a trade show in recent years can testify to the fact that you have to look long and hard to find something really new. As the competition heats up and product life cycles gets shorter, companies are becoming painfully aware of the need to innovate in order to stay competitive and profitable. But only a few know how to do it, Karlsson shares."

"After bringing successful products to life at several leading companies, I am now making my skills and experiences available to those who wants to succeed using true competitive advantage

Turkey - It is a matter of fact that the human ear brain mechanism is a highly sophisticated system capable of identifying where sound comes from with amazing accuracy. Using this information, with even the slightest difference in loudness, the brain can clearly identify the change and thus locate direction. "This in essence was the challenge presented by the requirements for a new sound system in the Turkish Parliament building Ankara," explained Tayfun Konuralp of Atempo, Turkey's leading provider of professional audio.

"With a requirement for a major improvement in intelligibility over the previous installation made in 1996 as a given, the desire was added for any member of the Parliament to be able to easily identify who was speaking and from where, even during the most heated of debates."

Konuralp heads up Atempo's Ankara office. "We first became

Germany - Martin Audio loudspeakers have been specified throughout two recently commissioned cruise liners, operated by German-based TUI Cruises - a joint venture cruise line between the German leisure/tourist firm, TUI AG, and American operator, Royal Caribbean Cruises.

The latest addition Mein Schiff 4 was commissioned earlier this summer, having been built at the Meyer Turku shipyard. It followed on from Mein Schiff 3, built the previous year, and will operate routes across the Baltic, Mediterranean and Caribbean seas, as well as the Canary Islands and Central America. Martin Audio systems have been fitted in all key areas across the 15 decks on both ships.

With these two 99,500 tonne, 2,506 passenger capacity vessels configured identically, installation specialists Funa International created the technical infrastructure, working with consultant Torsten Hirche, TUI Cruises'

USA - A long-established major player in the cable TV, internet and phone services sectors in the US, Comcast recently decided to create a new showcase store in Chicago. To ensure that the audio processing and distribution for the multi-zone outlet was of the highest possible quality, Comcast enlisted the services of New Jersey-based design and integration firm Diversified Media Group.

Among the priorities for the system design was to enable flexible signal processing and distribution throughout the Comcast store, which incorporates three 'studio' spaces devised to showcase Comcast services including cable TV and OTT (over-the-top) content. "The client was very specific about being able to switch sources quickly and easily, and as a long-time Symetrix user we were aware that their DSPs could provide the basis of a sufficiently robust system," says DMG senior systems en

UK - With just under a month to go until PLASA Show 2015, pre-registrations are up 10% compared to 2013 and 2014, making this year's show already the most successful since the move to ExCeL in London's Docklands.

Featuring over 300 brands, with many showing new products and services, a major new initiative for this year sees PLASA Show adopting the successful 'Focus' model of a sector-specific, zoned layout, which will facilitate easier networking and make navigation around the show much easier than in previous years.

By the beginning of September, pre-registration data for PLASA Show 2015 was tracking at 10% up year on year over the past two shows, with 62% of those registered being either final decision makers or equipment specifiers. In addition visitors from 94 countries have pre-registered, against those from 74 countries who attended in 2014.

"When PLASA Show move

UK - London entertainment venue, the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith, embarked on a major restoration project last year, completely renovating the building and, in the process, revealing a beautiful art deco interior. This was a significant undertaking both in time and financial investment and owners Eventim and AEG Live wanted the venue to not only look good, but to sound good. To this end, at the beginning of 2015 a substantial L-Acoustics system was installed, significantly raising its audio bar.

"The purpose of installing an in-house PA system in the Apollo was to ensure that our visitors are given the highest possible quality audio reinforcement uniformly throughout the venue, make working in the venue safer and reduce the visual impact of the audio system," explains Alastair Parley, technical manager for the venue.

The first stage of the project was for the team to

USA - Schoolhouse Audio-Visual, a Plano, Texas based systems design and integration firm, has brought new life to nearby Sojourn Church, by integrating Dante network from Audinate. Since launching the network, the 950-seat church has significantly elevated its routing flexibility and audio quality, pleasing everyone from parishioners to clergy and the church band.

Schoolhouse Audio-Visual was first hired to repair existing loudspeakers, and soon discovered that Sojourn Church wanted to bring a number of disparate audio components into a common system. For Blair McNair, systems project manager at Schoolhouse Audio-Visual, the choice was simple.

"Dante is the first and only networking system I have looked at to date that really makes sense out of the box," said McNair. "When looking at this project, it immediately dawned on me that I can incorporate wireless micro

UK - Orbital Sound reports that it has supplied Stevenage's 500-seat Gordon Craig Theatre with a new d&b audiotechnik auditorium system, comprising principally T-Series loudspeakers, with B4 Subs and E6 front fills.

The new system also features Yamaha CL5 and QL5 consoles, with Rio stage racks, together with an essential element of show control hardware in the form of a Nemesis Audio UMT-2D USB MIDI Trigger. The Gordon Craig's new system is configured with a hang of six d&b audiotechnik T-10s per side, a further four T-10s in a centre cluster, six E-6 speakers as front fills, plus four B4 Subs, with the system powered by d&b audiotechnik's new 10D and 30D install amps.

The theatre and Orbital Sound has had a close working relationship for more than a decade, as Dave Nott, chief technician at the Gordon Craig Theatre, explained, "We needed to upgrade, as much of our previo

UK - As part of a busy summer, Illuminate Design has recently completed a number of technical upgrades at the Hawth Theatre, Crawley.

Working with the Hawth's technical manager (Quentin Whitaker), Illuminate Design's technical sales manager Ken Berreen and operations director Andrew Wales designed & installed new sound, lighting and rigging solutions for the venue.

Both the studio and the main theatre benefited from new sound equipment. In the Studio Illuminate Design supplied, Yamaha QL1 mixing console with a digital Yamaha RIO3224D I/O rack, RCF C5212-94 2way speaker system, RCF S 8015 II Subwoofer 15" 1000W - Reflex RCF IPS 2700 Class H power amplifiers and RCF IPS 3700 Class H power amplifiers.

The main theatre system was designed in conjunction with Al Brown from Martin Audio. The new system included Martin Audio W8VDQ speakers, MA 3.0 amplifiers, MA 2.0 Amplifiers

UK - The K-array loudspeaker system installed by Stage Electrics at the Royal Opera House is "so discrete it is almost invisible".

The installation is the result of an out of the blue phone call with an invitation to the opera in Verona for the Royal Opera House's head of sound, Steve Zissler.

"I was asked if there was anyone I knew that I'd like to take to Italy to see the opera and listen to some sound systems," says Jamie Gosney from Stage Electrics, who designed the system at the Royal Opera House. "I hadn't been at Stage Electrics very long, I didn't really know anyone then and I didn't even know the K-array products that well. But Dave Wooster, [now part of 2B Heard, K-array's new UK distributor], had already said that the K-array products were perfect for opera."

That particular trip was not to be, but it wasn't long after that Stage Elec

UK - The PLASA Awards for Innovation & Sustainability 2015 and the Gottelier Award, sponsored by Lighting&Sound International, were presented at the PLASA Show at London's ExCeL yesterday evening.

This year, 31 products were nominated for the Awards for Innovation & Sustainability, with eight awards presented, including a final Gold Award for Innovation.

The winners had to satisfy the judges that they demonstrate a new style of thinking, that they improve technical practice, have introduced new technologies, materials or techniques, that they feature patents or unique intellectual property, offer a new commercial advantage, or improve safety.

This year's Gottelier Award winner was David Cunningham, an early pioneer of computer lighting systems who developed a number of landmark products for Strand during the 1970s and 80s, including the Multi-Q memory lighting system, the Mi

Italy - SH Acoustics worked with Thinc Design to deliver an acoustically sophisticated, multi-zone design for the USA Pavilion at the latest world's fair.

In such a complex installation, "we knew that Symetrix SymNet Radius DSPs would be reliable and flexible - in short, one less thing for us to worry about." These are the thoughts of Steve Haas, president and principal consultant of Milford, CT-based SH Acoustics, which was recently enlisted by NYC-based exhibition design firm Thinc Design to perfect the demanding audio installation for the USA Pavilion at Expo Milano.

The first world's fair since 2012, Expo Milano is taking place in Italy from May until 31 October 2015. Centred around the theme of Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life, the event is aimed at stimulating discussion about sustainable developments among the 140-plus participating nations. For its

USA - Charcoalblue's managing partner Andy Hayles and his team of theatre and acoustic consultants attended the opening of New York's St Ann's Warehouse last week. The official launch of the $31.6 million development of the waterfront theatre situated under the famous Brooklyn Bridge follows a transformation of the derelict Tobacco Warehouse by Marvel Architects with theatre, acoustics and architectural lighting consultancy by Charcoalblue.

The new St Ann's Warehouse is a 25,000sq.ft site housing two flexible performance spaces. Firstly, a 10,000sq.ft versatile theatre space, with capacity for 300-800 people, to accommodate St. Ann's core theatre and music programming, large-scale festivals, and special community milestone events. Secondly, a 1000sq.ft multi-use studio, dedicated to local artists and community groups, to especially suit intimate, smaller scale programmes and eve

UK - Technical production expert, Hawthorn's install team has completed the installation of a new house light system for the Hawth Theatre in Crawley.

The specialist permanent installation team was tasked to replace over 200 tungsten fittings with the latest ArcSystem fittings from GDS; a once in a lifetime opportunity to upgrade the quality of the house lights at Hawth Theatre and reduce the ongoing maintenance and lamp replacement costs.

Crucially, the new fittings also deliver a reduction in electrical running costs. A mixture of Arch System MR16, Pro-Fixture 1 cell and Pro Cell 4 were used along with the new 24v Arc Lamps. Kev Sanderson, team leader at Hawthorn, and his expert team had a tight 10 day window to complete the changeover, but completed the task ahead of schedule.

Quentin Whitaker, the Hawth's technical manager, commented, "I am extremely happy with the

UK - Theatre Projects has appointed theatre consultant and international auditorium acoustic designer Rob Harris as a key consultant.

The move marks a significant strengthening of Theatre Projects' acoustic and theatre design team, as the company embarks on a number of high profile design projects worldwide.

Harris's impressive 35-year career as an acoustics specialist has seen him amass a plethora of prestigious design credits for cherished performing arts buildings including: Bridgewater Hall, Manchester; City Recital Hall, Sydney; Kilden konsertsal, Kristiansand; Bord Gâis Energy Theatre, Dublin and Kings Place, London.

Specifically, Harris is renowned for his acoustic design for some of the world's most iconic opera houses. These include collaborations with TP on both Glyndebourne Opera House and Oslo Opera House. In addition he has led on the Copenhagen Opera House, t

USA - Revamping major sports facilities and bringing them up-to-date now almost invariably involves a comprehensive review of the audio processing configuration so that it can cope with both current and future requirements. Providing the spring training home of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics since earlier this year, the Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Arizona, is no exception - and as the result of its latest upgrade, now features an extensive Symetrix DSP infrastructure.

Minneapolis, MN-based Parsons Technologies systems engineer Mark Schultz, "The main objectives were to provide a quality audio upgrade and stay within the budget of Oakland Athletics. In terms of processing, we also needed to select equipment that would complement and support the Dante network being implemented throughout the site. After evaluating several possible scenarios, we determined that using t

USA - The new Gannon Recreation and Wellness Centre features nearly 52,000sq.ft of subdivided indoor space for year-round athletic, recreation and fitness activities, and is equipped with loudspeaker systems drawn from the catalogue of D.A.S. Audio.

Erie, PA-based Grisé Audio Visual Center, Inc., a design / build AV integration firm that also has a live events division, was contracted to design and install the new sound system at The Gannon Recreation and Wellness Centre. Greg Hardner, the company's sales & production manager, designed the sound reinforcement system, which included 69 D.A.S. Audio CL-6TB ceiling speakers, 22 Factor 8T loudspeakers, and 10 Arco 4T loudspeakers. He discussed the project and his fondness for D.A.S. Audio.

"The decision to install a sound system throughout the facility was approved with only six weeks of construction remaining before t

Greece - 360 event agency from Greece looked no further than Austrian engineering experts AV Stumpfl to meet its requirement for a 4m high by 30m wide Curve screen for presentations at an international conference of a Fortune 500 client that was held in Athens and attended by 500 participants from 28 countries.

"We turned to AV Stumpfl as the number one company to handle a project of this scale," explains Apostolos Papadopoulos, managing director at 360 event agency.

For this project, the AV Stumpfl Curve screen needed to be incorporated into futuristic architecture and design of the presentation. The screen was made to measure for its application and delivered ahead of schedule. 360 event agency integrated with five Barco HDX-W20 high-definition projectors and content was edge-blended onto the screen alongside state-of-the-art acoustic and video conferencing technol

Georgia - Funktion-One specialist, Blue Box London, has completed a nightclub installation in Georgia. The company, which played an important role in the loudspeaker manufacturer's introduction to Ibiza at the beginning of the millennia, has continued its pioneering ways by exploring some new territories in recent years. Its latest project - Bassiani - sees the first ever Funktion-One Dance Stack installation in Georgia.

The main room is home to two towering Funktion-One DS4 Dance Stacks. The DS4 configuration features two F221 21in bass enclosures at the base, two DS15 speakers for punchy upper bass and low-mid frequencies, and two DS210 loudspeaker enclosures, featuring dual axhead-loaded 10" mid-high drivers and dual 1.4" compression drivers.

Two Funktion-One Evo 6SHs - the skeletal addition to the new Evolution 6 range - have been deployed for infill. Amplificati

UK - Converted and maintained by a devoted team of volunteers comprising ex-BBC technicians, local builders and theatre enthusiasts, the Playhouse Theatre Whitstable is a performance venue suitable for a wide range of live entertainment. The theatre plays host to a variety of shows new and old and is home to drama group, the Lindley Players who are the owners and operators of the venue.

The hard work carried out by volunteers and members over many years has converted what was once the United Reform Church into the modern performance venue that is the Playhouse Theatre Whitstable today. The conversion work has involved building a stage, removing the balcony from the side walls, installing a stepped auditorium floor, building a sound and lighting control room in the balcony and installing additional seating. The lower floor has been converted into a bar, club room and dressing roo

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