>The RT Series is a range of three 3-way speakers from Dare Pro Audio. The main actively crossed over mid/high pack uses a 15", 6.5" and a 1" compression driver. A remarkable Wafer version just 220mm deep exists for installation applications. Two sub bass units, both handling 700W, were also on stand - the Vortex218 is a twin 18", whilst the C1400 uses a single 15" into a cabinet designed for room corner installations. Dare also showed a range of attractive metallic and laminate coatings for any cabinet in its range.

>California-based manufacturer Apogee Sound showed the AFI-8, a new addition to the company's Contractor series of loudspeakers. Designed with theatre and churches in mind, the passively crossed over AFI-8 is available with 60° x 40° or 90° x 40° horn, with a 15" providing the low end, a 2" exit (3" voice coil) compression driver providing the muscle. The AFI-8B is an active, bi-amp version of the above. Apogee also introduced the ADAM (or Apogee Digital Audio Management) system for full remote digital monitoring and configuration of powered, processor-based Apogee speaker systems. With the simple addition of DSP processing modules to existing Apogee APL speakers, the system allows for quick and inexpensive installation using either RS485 or Cat 5 cable. Users can digitally reconfigure their system using a simple drag-and-drop interface.

>PLASA was a great success for Allen & Heath, attracting interest in the eight new products launched across its portfolio of ML, GL, Xone, iDR and PA series, impressively displayed on a new two-tier stand. The company's 48-channel version of the ML3000 completed the ML series. The 'B option' enhancement allows for extra stereo channels to be added to any desk in the range. The existing iDR range of installation systems has been expanded with the iDR4 - a 4-input, 4-output digital processor - while for the DJ market the Xone:V6 club mixer now has two new modules giving cross-fade and an EQ Isolator option.

>HK Audio's Cohedra is a so-called 'small' line array system, but with aspirations to large venues, having debuted at Hull stadium just days before PLASA. A mid/high and floor-only sub, the system uses a pair of 8" and a single 1.5" compression driver in each high pack, utilizing an acoustic lens to form the necessary coherent wave for the highs. To optimize the acoustic gap between the stacked enclosures, two different housings are required to produce the classic J-shaped hang and hence even coverage across a stadium.

>It's been a busy year for Adam Hall as it has taken on the UK distribution of SKB products. General sales manager Rob Fricker said demand for the cases and 19" racks has been high since selling began in April through a network of UK dealers.

>The UK arm of Penton, the manufacturer of loudspeakers and microphones for the public address, background sound and voice evacuation markets, reports that 2003 has been a bumper year and that business continues to thrive - not something you hear every day in the current economic climate, but perhaps other aspects of today's climate are driving the demand for life safety and emergency systems installations.

>Matrix is one of the largest UK manufacturers of pro audio power amplifiers serving the whole market. The range starts at 200W with the ACT Series, through the UKP with outputs from 500W to 2100W, to the STR series with class H outputs up to 3000W. New at the show was a 150W x 4-channel amplifier.

>Corporate bedfellows, and sharing a stand at PLASA, Marantz & Denon both had new niche products of interest to our industry. The Marantz PMD 670 is the offspring of earlier solid-state audio recorders originally developed for radio newsgathering. More robust than its predecessors (it recently withstood a vibration test by Jaguar Racing for use as an in-car recorder), the advent of massive Compact Flash cards and IBM Microdrives (used to store the recordings) means this device is no longer limited, in practical terms, to just making compressed recordings. Four gigabytes of storage make MP3 unnecessary - even recording a full-length concert would be possible. Denon showed two new combination CD/cassette drives, the DN T645 and T625, the 45 featuring mic inputs with both having RS232 inputs for remote control.

>A new professional DJ mixing console approved by Carl Cox doesn't come along every day. Vestax drew many an admiring glance from aspiring spinners with the PMC-CX - easily recognizable from the many competitors in this market for its large control knobs and well-spaced layout. Main features include notch filters, three-band EQ isolators and fully balanced outputs. Also from Vestax was the PMC 007, a new scratch mixer with a special mute for cross-fade tucked out of harm's way. The 007 has easy clip-in replacement faders, quickly accessed by a neat pop-up top cover.

>At the start of July, Penn Fabrication renamed to Penn/Elcom having acquired Elcom, its biggest competitor in the USA. New products on show this year included Cablesafe, which comes in 700mm sections and has slots for four cables up to 50mm in diameter. Also on show was the 'N' case system and 19" rack-mountable products.

>Wembley Loudspeaker was again in evidence at PLASA, and took a surprise order which was a fine testimonial to the audio quality of the company's speakers. Eight of its B-Line 28-20 sub bass cabinets have been sold to a new reggae club opening in Kingston, Jamaica. The boxes are being shipped this month ready for the club's opening. Apparently, the club owners first heard Wembley's B-Line 28-20 cabinets at this summer's Notting Hill Carnival in London. They subsequently visited the PLASA show where they agreed the order with Wembley MD Paul MacCallum. His only regret is that they're so easy to use, he won't need to fly over and install them personally!

>Behringer unveiled 13 new products. These included three new 31-band equalizers - the Ultragraph digital DEQ1024, Ultragraph pro FBQ6200 and Ultragraph pro FBQ3102 - and a 15-band stereo-graphic equalizer, the Ultragraph pro FBQ1502. For DJs, there was the VMX1000 - a 7-channel, 19" DJ mixer and a new desktop DJ effects machine - the Tweakalizer. On the speaker side, the company launched the MS16 - a new compact stereo speaker system, and also extended its line of professional reference studio monitors with the launch of three new active and passive models - the Truth B2030A, Truth B2030P, and Truth B2031P.

>The Denon stand featured the DNS-3000, a new, cut-down version of its DNS-5000 table top CD player. A motor-driven 'active platter' provides the turntable 'feel' for scratching and cueing CDs. The D4000 rackmount CD player was also enjoying its first show outing.

>Crest showed its new budget console, the HP Eight - a well-featured 32-channel desk with 10 auxes and 8 groups. For the DJ market come two new mixers - the CP6210 and CP6220 - both six input mixers with all rotary controls. The latter model includes three-band EQ, level meters and cross-fader.

>Despite the issues surrounding the future of Arbiter Pro Audio at the show, it still pulled together an impressive display of new products. Enjoying its UK launch - and winning the PLASA Award for Design Excellence in the Sound category - was AKG's WMS4000 UHF radio microphone system, offering software control and 1200 frequencies in each of six bands. Also showing was a modular upgrade of the Tri-Power and Emotion series microphones, allowing wired mics to be easily turned into wireless versions.

New from JBL Professional was the Precision Directivity PD5212/95 PA cabinet, plus the Dance5, Dance3 and CBT4 dance market loudspeakers, while from dbx came the launch of the AFX224 feedback suppressor and Driverack 260 loudspeaker controller.

>A discretely-styled wedge, the M12 monitor from Community features a nifty cable management system, with input connector mounted to an indent on the underside, making this passive two-way 300W (continuous) system very attractive for use in TV studios. Also from Community, the Cloud12-66 is a high power ceiling speaker based upon a 12" with 1" coaxial driver, capable of handling 200W continuous. A dual transformer package (70.7V and 100V) and 60° x 60° control pattern makes this a useful solution for installers confronting high ceiling environments.

>Since its foundation, Link has concentrated on manufacturing and distributing a wide range of cables, connectors and accessories dedicated to this sector. The company has recently introduced two new cables, specifically designed by Eurocable for Yamaha's PM1D system, and a copper interface between the CS1D console and DSP1D unit.

>On the Bosch stand, Integrus took pride of place; a digital IR transmission-based conferencing system with light and nifty receiver belt-packs, Integrus can operate up to 32 channels, each individually configurable. In addition to a much improved signal-to-noise ratio (<80dB) the big advantage of this digital IR system is its ability to work in adverse conditions, not least broad daylight. Also from Bosch, the less sophisticated Ultro CCS80 system now has an acoustic feedback suppressor for hassle-free set-up on portable conferencing. Bosch also announced that it is licensed to sell the Intellivox system, developed by Duran Audio, and now badged to Bosch.

>Remixer One and the simpler R1 titles are both applied to XTA's new DJ mixer. A departure for XTA, whose wares are more normally to be found in the realms of live concert, the R1 is a high spec mixer with a comprehensive EQ section that will shame many a rival. The usual toys are there - plug-in DJ effects modules for dynamic filtering, phlanging, crossfader - but it's the features such as balanced inserts which will set this unit apart. This was in prototype form, so expect production models soon.

Also from XTA was the DP6i, the install version of the highly acclaimed and well-known DP226. It has a tamper-proof front panel with just four buttons to access your own programmed presets. All the usual parameters and controls are accessed and set from your PC.

>There were two new products from Formula Sound - the Q18 foldback mixer system for use in small studios and the AT-1 controller, a noise control device for use in conjunction with the company's Sentry unit for power socket control. Essentially, Sentry will cut power to club/bar audio systems where over-excited DJs feel impelled to exceed agreed noise level limits. AT-1 provides a more sophisticated intercept, taking the Sentry system measurements and controlling the output levels to the PA system.

>In the market since 1982, Bryant Broadcast was a new exhibitor at PLASA this year, bringing a range of power distribution units, audio/video patch fields, flexible multi-pair audio snake cables, microphone and stage boxes and cable drums to the show. New products included a number of cost-effective 'hybrid' audio/video cables for digital projector systems in boardroom and education applications. Bryant's Bob Hart told L&SI that the company's power units and drums went down a bundle, adding: "If the number of catalogues and CD-ROMs we got through is anything to go by, then visitors were previously lacking in equipment suppliers like Bryant for the nuts and bolts of technical installs!"

>The new V12HP and V6 installation loudspeakers were being shown by Tannoy. The former is an up-rated version of the V12 dual concentric enclosure, while the V6 - which will be available in November - incorporates a re-engineered 6.5" dual concentric driver. A range of lower-priced bracketry is now also available. For the studio market, the first fruits of the partnership between Tannoy and the TC Group were on show - the Ellipse iDP monitors, featuring integral digital signal processing. For its own part, TC Electronic, launched the EQ Station-8, EQ Station-4, EQ Station-2 and the MotoFader-64. Together with a PC/MAC editor, these products form a high-end equalizer system designed for use in touring monitor and FOH applications, as well as fixed installations in theatres and concert halls. Coming in 2-, 4- and 8-channel configurations, the EQ Stations are all 2U units featuring AD/

>Two new PA ranges were the focus of the Cerwin Vega stand. Vision is the company's new flagship product, comprising four dedicated enclosures - 1200 and 1400W subs, plus 1200 and 700W mid/highs - along with a 12" coaxial unit which can be used either as a wedge monitor or small PA enclosure. Aimed at the entry/mid-level PA market, ProStax also features five models - two single 15" mid/highs, a dual 15" mid/high, sub and 12" coaxial wedge/PA unit.

>Rolec Music and Marquee Installations were sharing a stand on the upper deck, with Rolec's VHD-3 video/music playback system for the installation market launched at the show. Available in SVGA, flat and touch-screen versions, the unit schedules and mixes audio, video and colour graphics into a seamless AV program. A pause facility allows DJs to select individual video tracks for mixing into their set. Rolec's other installation-based music management products were on show, including the low-cost PHD1 and the higher-spec'd LHD2 and LHD3.

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