Pharos - Leaderboard - May 2024

Sound

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USA - ACT Entertainment will present PK Sound’s new Robotic Line Source System at InfoComm 2024. Comprised of the T8 robotic line source element and T18 intelligent subwoofer.

Featuring PK’s patented multi-axis robotics, T8’s output - with peak SPLs reaching 143.5 dB - is precisely controlled down to 400 Hz in both the vertical and horizontal planes. The result is a high degree of flexibility and precision in system dispersion for designers or operators in virtually any application.

Used in tandem with the accompanying T18 intelligent subwoofer, PK Cell modular touring rack and PK .dynamics control software, the T8 system delivers PK Sound’s patented remote and real-time multi-axis robotic coverage control to a wider range of users and applications in the touring and rental, performance installation, theatrical, worship, nightlife and corpora

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India - Smato Technologies has been appointed 1 Sound distributor for India. Smato Technologies, an AV distribution company with full engineering and technology design services, is based in Kolkata, West Bengal.

“We're thrilled to bring 1 Sound to India. This partnership goes beyond brand expansion; it's about broadening horizons,” says Shreyans Chowdhary, director and CEO of Smato Technologies. “It means offering our dealers and customers an exceptional experience, not just through outstanding professional audio products, but also through superior pre-sales design and post-sales service support.

“With premium materials, customisable options, and cutting-edge technology, 1 Sound offers a compelling package tailored for the Indian market. We're eager to embark on this journey of lasting success together.”

Smato Technologies recently

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South Africa - Sound engineer Simphiwe ‘Smooth’ Mhlanga has become the first choice for some of South Africa’s most promising talents, including the likes of Jabulani ‘Sjava’ Hadebe, a singer, rapper and actor, as well as Kiernan Forbes, the late rapper and producer known as AKA. As Sub-Saharan African music has recently seen an impressive surge in sales and an increase in streams on all popular music platforms, Smooth’s experience is increasingly in demand.

When Smooth gets tasked with miking live shows, the engineer knows he needs a high-quality solution that highlights both his and the performers’ skills. Whether performing for 2,000 people or 10,000, the artists require a mic that offers pristine sound replication and the versatility to problem-solve on the spot. Working with DPA Specialist Keith Karimi from ApexPro in South Africa, Smooth

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Spain - As part of its Presidency of the European Commission, Spain has recently played host to several high-level European events. The 134th Europol Meeting of the Management Board in Zaragoza was a standout amongst these, due to the scale of the conferencing solution required.

The Europol Management event is a gathering of all the European police force representatives to talk about international coordination and actions to ensure security within Europe.  

Having provided the AV solution for the 2022 NATO summit in Madrid, Ditec Comunicaciones was well placed to support El Cuerpo Nacional de Policía (Spain’s national police corps) in delivering this similar event. With the large number of delegates and variety of languages required, the Ditec team chose the comprehensive Dicentis conference system from Bosch Building Technologies.  

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Europe - Within Temptation has sold close to 200,000 tickets for their European co-headlining Worlds Collide Tour, on which they played alongside US rock band, Evanescence. It also saw their monitor engineer of 17 years, Bennie Veenstra, deploying a KLANG immersive in-ear monitor system to add control and spatial quality.

Formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt, Within Temptation is a popular Dutch symphonic metal band. Over the years, they have garnered a massive following thanks to their fusion of symphonic elements, heavy guitars, and haunting vocals, resulting in more than four million record sales and numerous international awards, including a World Music Award, MTV Europe Music Awards, and a Metal Hammer Award. They have also headlined major European festivals such as Download, Hellfest, Wacken Open Air and Grasp

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Germany - LD Systems has introduced the ANNY series – a battery-powered PA system for musicians, singer-songwriters, street art performers, and ‘users who appreciate the lifestyle convenience of a Bluetooth speaker and still value high-quality sound and professional equipment’. Whether for mobile live gigs, speech reinforcement in clubs and schools, or simply for quality sound on the go, far away from any power socket – ANNY is a fully fledged PA system that transforms any location into a stage, says the company.

The ANNY 10 is available as the first in the series. The active two-way full-range loudspeaker with 10" woofer and 1" tweeter combines an integrated six-channel mixer, three-band EQ and effects (reverb, delay), Bluetooth 5.0 streaming, and a footswitch input for hands-free effects control with a compact and robust housing that can be moved e

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UK - Point Source Audio’s Series9 lavalier microphones were centre stage for Just for One Day - The Live Aid Musical, as the show completed its debut run from January to March at The Old Vic in London. Nominated for an Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Contribution, the musical has earned acclaim for the performances from its show band and cast, all relying on Point Source Audio’s latest microphone technology.

Gareth Owen spearheaded the sound design for the production. "My approach was to imagine what the songs from the concert would sound like with today's technology," he explains. "The goal was to maintain the essence of the original performances while infusing modern production values. 

"The Point Source Audio mics performed exceptionally well. We had ample opportunity over the run to compare them to various other microphones an

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UK - Britannia Row’s specialist comms department Surfhire oversaw a large Cisco network backbone, Riedel comms and Motorola radios to the globally watched live sporting event.

Since Britannia Row Productions acquired Surfhire in 2019, Comms and IT capabilities have become an integral part of the company’s services. In alignment with the wider Clair Global rental offering in North America and the Middle East - where recent projects include the Superbowl and Qatar Web Summit - the UK’s powerful equipment inventory is being deployed by trusted teams across major live and broadcast events.

Held in Glasgow over three days in early March, the 19th edition of the World Athletics Indoor Championships saw 586 athletes from 128 countries compete for 26 titles as 22,000 spectators watched.

To ensure uninterrupted coverage of these high-octane perf

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The Netherlands - The first time Stairway Productions’ Menno Smit heard a full-bore Martin Audio concert system was at Grace Jones’ Lowlands Festival appearance in Holland, back in 2009. “I was just blown away by this wall of sound. In fact, I was so impressed by the throw of the Wavefront [W8L] Longbow speakers that I decided to pursue a career in live audio,” he said.

This was after a background first as a singer before switching to technical production, attending including Codarts University for the Arts in Rotterdam and learning about music production and creative producing. He then set out in the studio world, working with bands like the now popular Chef'Special, before transitioning to live sound.

Parallel to his academic work he had also set up Stairway Productions as far back as 2007 to service small gigs from his base in Delft, locat

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USA - The former university of Michelle Obama, New Jersey’s Ivy League Princeton University is one of the top schools in the United States. At the centre of its religious and ceremonial endeavours sits Princeton University Chapel, an elegant house of worship that gives nod to the architectural style of the English Gothic Cathedrals of the 14th century.

Constructed in 1928 after a fire destroyed the previous worship site, the cruciform chapel cost over $2m to construct and was the largest university chapel in the US. For years, the venue has been relied on to carry congregations, host events and offer an oasis in the centre of the university campus for people of all faiths. Complete with seating for almost 2000 worshippers, the nave features sandstone walls with limestone highlights and towering 80ft-high ceilings, but its admirable aesthetics compromised t

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UK - The Backlot Cinema in Blackpool aims to ‘offer a cinematic wonderland, blending local stories with global narratives offering a diverse selection of films’.

The Backlot is also a community hub, committed to bringing people together through the power of entertainment media. Beyond the big screen, The Backlot actively engages with the Blackpool community through local partnerships, community events, and educational outreach programs.

Lancashire based AV integrator, AV2events was appointed to design and install the audio system for this venue.

Lee Wilson, managing director of AV2events, remarks, "With its complex structure and multiple zones, we needed equipment that was not only reliable but also capable of mass flexibility, to meet the customer’s needs. We turned to Audiologic for their guidance, support, and in-depth knowledge, to

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USA - The Coachella Festival’s Do LaB electronic music stage beat stronger than ever this year, thanks to a new open-air stage design featuring a Meyer Sound Panther large-format linear line array loudspeaker system.

Since 2005, Do LaB, created by brothers Dede, Jesse, and Josh Flemming, has brought elements of underground culture, spontaneity, and community-driven experiences to Coachella, drawing on its founders’ roots in Southern California’s festival and art scene to provide a prime destination for festivalgoers and headlining artists alike.

At this year’s festival, which took over Indio, CA’s Empire Polo Club on the weekends of 11-13 and 19–21April, Do LaB hosted nonstop performances from the likes of Chase & Status, Alesso, Anna Lunoe, and DJ Tennis, plus surprise appearances including back-to-back sets by Kaskade and Alison Won

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The Netherlands - Tilburg University campus which specialises in artificial intelligence, social and behavioural sciences, recently upgraded its DAF Technology Lab to revolutionise the way its students learn and collaborate.

Expanding the possibilities of immersive education and innovative research, two CAVE (Cave Automatic Virtual Environment) systems with VR opportunities and 360º sound from Genelec now call Tilburg home. In a project that aims to positively impact education and training, Genelec’s Smart IP series of networked loudspeakers brought real-life audio to a notably complex installation. 

Max Louwerse, professor of cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence at Tilburg University – and founder and scientific director of the DAF Technology Lab – has been a big advocate of this new type of immersive learning. In several publica

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UK - Union Audio has launched an EQ/crossfader unit designed to accompany and expand the mixing possibilities of the company’s flagship orbit.6 analogue rotary mixer. The eq.xfader is a 1U rackmount unit featuring a dual four-band isolator design with an Innofader crossfader, adding another dimension to the capabilities of the orbit.6, and opening up an array of expansion options to innovate customer set ups and promote dynamic mixing.

Designed with a six-channel architecture to mirror the orbit mixer, the dual crossfader transitions between audio sources connected to either side of the crossfader, placing channels 1-3 and channels 4-6 on opposing sides of the crossfader. A Mix/Cut switch alters the crossfader's functionality from a carefully designed curve to create gradual transitions in Mix mode, to full volume in Cut mode when the crossfader is moved t

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UK - Penn Elcom, the manufacturer of flightcase hardware, racking, speaker component, cabling, LED lighting and other related elements, is celebrating 50 years in business. Founded in 1974 by Roger Willems, initially focusing on metals and anodising, the company has expanded and diversified over the five decades and is now producing and supplying an array of vital entertainment industry related infrastructural elements, which are fabricated from bases in the UK, US, Germany and China in a tightly co-ordinated operation involving over 600 full-time employees.

“So many fantastic people have contributed to making Penn Elcom what it is today,” says Roger. “Their collective personalities, foresight and diligence have helped shape the strong brand identity that sees us achieve this landmark anniversary. I want to say a huge and sincere thankyou to each and e

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UK - Pro-audio service provider 22Live has completed its d&b SL-Series offering by adding GSL to its hire inventory.

Having now completed its first full year of operation 22live continues to assert itself in the pro-audio rental market as a major force for the future. 22live was appointed as a d&b audiotechnik rental partner in early 2023 after making initial investments into XSL and KSL line array packages.

The company achieved successes in 2023 with these d&b systems being deployed to tours - Tori Amos Ocean to Ocean, Madness C’est La Vie, and events such as Lionel Richie & George Ezra at Chepstow Racecourse. In 2024 the drive for large scale touring utilising d&b has continued with the Pendulum arena tour, and now with d&b GSL in stock, 22live is well positioned to continue its growth, offering services

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UK - Studiomaster has widened its FOH loudspeaker portfolio coming out of Q1, with a line-up of new and uprated replacement series and new product type designs, including several revealed during the NAMM and ISE shows at the beginning of the year.

Four completely new active loudspeaker series offer compact columns, two-way point-source cabs, and vertical and horizontal compact line arrays, with designs offering significantly improved feature sets, utility and price to performance advantages, increasing the brand’s competitive edge in key market segments.

The Direct MX series column array is a highly versatile, 127 dB / 2000 W column array design, available in two system configurations; with the 6x 3” mid frequency / 1x high frequency 1” precision compression unit armed column array, respectively (and literally) coupled with a compact 10” and

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Bolivia - Adam Hall Group continues to expand its international sales network. With STD Pro Audio, the event technology vendor headquartered in Neu-Anspach, Hesse, has gained a new distribution partner in Bolivia. STD Pro Audio has already successfully implemented projects with Cameo in the past and is now the exclusive distributor for Adam Hall Group’s lighting technology brand in the Bolivian market.

Based in Cochabamba, STD Pro Audio was founded in 2011 by Wilson Reynaga López and has quickly developed into a leading vendor of event technology in Bolivia. In addition to distributing lighting and audio technology, the company also acts a service provider in the live event and installation markets. Milestones include upgrading the lighting technology at Teatro Internacional de Oruro, including the installation of Cameo moving lights.

“With Came

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Greece – Audio & Vision has been appointed as distributor for 1 Sound throughout Greece. With headquarters in Athens and experience working on projects in renowned music halls, theatres, and more, Audio & Vision has cemented its status as a leading destination for high-end audiovisual solutions and expertise in the Greek market.

With a rich history of providing top-tier services and representing other AVL brands, Audio & Vision has strategically expanded its offerings featuring the 1 Sound brand for the installation and live sound markets.

“Audio & Vision, true to the principles of innovation, excellence, and high expertise that it has set since its inception, has chosen to partner with one of the world’s leading loudspeaker manufacturers. We are thrilled because we found in 1 Sound exactly what we were looking for and more,”

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South Africa - Cape Town’s nightscape has been enriched with the recent addition of Halo; a premium nightclub experience that combines opulent design with cutting edge technology, including a Funktion-One sound system from the loudspeaker manufacturer’s distributor for South Africa, Phuture Sound.

Completed at the end of 2023 and opened shortly after, Halo is Cape Town’s newly envisioned nightclub that combines world-class sound, custom acoustic treatment (by Supersonic), and opulent interior design (by Conduit Interior). Stepping into the space offers partygoers sensory immersion and removal from the everyday, with leading domestic and international DJs providing the soundtrack.

“There is typically a tug-of-war in setting up a new venue between what sounds good and what looks good,” says Phuture Sound’s Anton Sinovich. “But Halo is pro

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Kenya - Located near the centre of the city, the new five-star Kwetu Nairobi is a Curio Collection by Hilton hotel. Opened this spring, the hotel offers wide-ranging facilities which cater for guests and businesses alike. Kwetu boasts more 100 guest rooms and 10 meeting rooms, complemented by a fitness centre, bars, restaurants, and entertainment spaces.

To fully meet the demands of its broad range of users, an investment in high-quality technology was essential. The audio element covered an extensive remit, and was entirely supplied by UK-based specialist Audio Feed, who worked closely with integrators Frontier Audio Africa to deliver the systems.

The project deployed a range of MC² Delta amplification, with and without DSP, throughout.

Oz Jefferies of Audio Feed comments: “We have a longstanding relationship with MC² Audio and have used

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UK - When Belfast Distillery Company set out to preserve the legacy of McConnell’s Irish Whisky - a brand that dates back to 1776 - they decided to take over the A-Wing of Crumlin Road Gaol, and convert it into a visitor attraction to run alongside its production activities.

Built in 1845, the Gaol was renowned for housing a number of key figures during The Troubles, but this listed building has now been carefully restored and converted, with a modern AV installation - including end-to-end Martin Audio loudspeakers, designed and specified by the manufacturer’s partner for over 40 years, Rea Sound.

Martin Audio had in fact been requested by the clients themselves - notably their master distiller & head of supply & operations, Graeme Millar. According to Rea Sound director, Roger McMullan, as a gigging musician, Millar had fallen in love wi

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Europe - d&b audiotechnik has released ArrayCalc 11.4. This latest version offers a significantly simplified interface function in conjunction with EASE 5, the electro-acoustic simulation software, providing users with a more efficient workflow for modelling sound systems and room acoustics.

For users such as acoustic planners, consulting offices and sound engineers, the link between ArrayCalc 11.4 and EASE 5 simplifies the workflow significantly. The previous process, considered time-consuming and error-prone, will now give way to a smoother experience, reducing stress and increasing productivity. Complex and tedious projects are made easier to complete, and the latest features reduce the burden of manual tasks, allowing users to focus more on creativity and precision.

"Users can now export the XLD file format with an extended set of information

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UK - South London-based production house Subfrantic has acquired two new DiGiCo consoles - a Quantum 225 and Quantum Pulse 338 with 32 Bit SD Racks.

Founded in 1993, Subfrantic supplies high end solutions to many different situations. Its long client list includes houses of worship, live events, festivals, touring, conferences, and even carnival floats for the Notting Hill Carnival.

Subfrantic Studios, developed post-pandemic in 2021, is the company’s rehearsal and recording facility which shares a warehouse and rental inventory with the production side of the business. The studios are a set of spaces for touring musicians and technicians, but also support upcoming artists and engineers. The building has been designed around the needs of the whole team, providing facilities for work and wellbeing which are a real bonus for touring engineers and art

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