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Sound

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>RAT Music Stands showed its new Jazz and Performer stands: the Jazz stands offer a full range of height adjustment from under 40cm to 120cm. The stand has similar stability to a fixed-stand and a full size music tray with pencil shelf. Its patented design means that it can fold away in three moves to a flat pack no larger than the size of the tray (51cm x 38cm x 5cm). The aluminium alloy legs and stem make the stands lightweight but sturdy. The Performer stands, adjustable from 73-133cm, are aimed primarily at the schools market, and are tough, compact for storage and have no detachable knobs.

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>In pride of place on the Autograph Sales stand, Meyer's UPJ-1P enclosure, designed to fill the gap between the UPM-1P and UPA-1P, was given its world launch: "It's the one people have all been asking for," Autograph's Mike Mann asserted, his confidence underlined by four sales being made by 11am on the first day of the show. The Meyer MILO line array and LD-3 line driver was displayed, as were prototypes of Clear-Com's Eclipse digital matrix and CellCom digital wireless intercoms, the latter winning the PLASA Award for Technical Innovation in the Sound category.
City Theatrical - Banner - July 2025

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>Cheshire-based pro audio distributor VME Ltd showed new product from German loudspeaker manufacturer Kling & Freitag, including the Line 212-9, a horn-loaded, passive cabinet featuring the company's FLC (frequency-dependent line coupling) technology. Also from K&F is the SW112-SP, a self-powered, compact sub enclosure. Also shown, the Digital Intelli X - a 4-in, 8-out digital crossover/ processor incorporating parametric EQ, delay, matrix, HPF, LPF and output limiters, from Belgian audio processing manufacturer, Apex Audio. VME's Dion Davie told L&SI: "This year was fantastic for us - in the first two days we gave out nearly 2000 K&F catalogues. The new stand space and location downstairs was great - the whole vibe was so good. We just need now to convert the enquiries into orders!"

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>Suppliers of speaker systems to Manumission in Ibiza, HZ International had a new floor monitor, a polycarbonate enclosure based around a dual concentric 10" arrangement. Capable of handling 200W, this neat little monitor is designed to clip together with a second unit for simple, protected transportation. Also from HZ, the Nexus 1500 is a two-channel (750W/ch) power amp that weighs in at just 7.5kg.

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>Although seen here once before on a re-sellers stand, B-52 of America decided to take the bull by the horns this year in the search for a more permanent distributor. The company is widely known in the USA for its range of guitar amps and cabinets, less so for its PA systems. Typical is the Matrix1000 - a 700W self-contained three-way speaker system designed for portable karaoke or DJ'ing. The 15" sub cabinet contains all necessary amplification and electronic crossovers for the two satellite mid/high cabs (containing 10" and 0.75" compression driver on 90° x 40° horn). All that and a five-year guarantee for £750 doesn't sound bad.

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>Lake Technology's Lake Contour DSP processor appears to stand apart from this burgeoning market area by accessing "DSP technology no-one else knows about," according to Bruce Jackson, a live sound engineer of legendary reputation. Based in a 1U rack module, this is a 2-in, 6-out controller that provides precise control of all the usual parameters - crossover, dynamics and delays. The most striking demonstration of how this system differs was in the display of EQ curve, where selected frequencies could be adjusted on the graphics display (as is normal) but the resultant curve/peak/trough created is much tighter and more confined than the more usual 'flared skirt' we see on comparable devices. Carry such precise control through into the realms of setting crossovers, especially for prickly HF areas of line arrays, and the benefits become obvious.

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>Mackie Designs announced its change of name to Loud Technologies during the Show, but whatever you call them, they had plenty of new product on stand. For studio types, Mackie Control is a control interface for software-based recording systems. A development of Emagic's former Logic Control interface, the new unit works with a range of products including ProTools, Logic Audio and Cubase. Alongside were pre-production prototypes of Spike, a two channel USB:audio interface with onboard processing, plus the 626 studio monitors and SRM350 active loudspeakers.

In the company's lower-priced Tapco range, the S5 active studio monitors were complemented by the 6306 six-channel mixer and three Juice series power amplifiers, delivering 800, 1400 and 2500W respectively into 4 ohms bridged.

EAW's Small Line Array Modules were enjoying their first UK outing, while the Avalon series of nightclub l

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>Two new amplifiers were on show from Chevin Research - aimed at both touring and studio applications. The A1004 is a 2 x 1000W into 4ohm amp weighing just 13.3kg, whilst the Q1004 is 4 x 1000W into 4ohms, weighing just 3kg more.

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>Although Midas provided the focus, Shuttlesound did not neglect its other clients. Electro-Voice has a new pole-mounted, self-powered mobile PA system: the Sx A1000 features a 12" and 1"" to horn rated at 200W. The Sb A750 is the powered sub to go with it, a dual voice coil device rated at 750W. EV's Gladiator is a three-way passive system with separate sub designed specifically for modern dance music. Dynacord's Madras system is augmented by the M18 Sub and M15 mid, all self-powered, to form the foundation of larger, pole-mounted type PAs.

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>The Pro 9200 completes the Pro 200 line-up from Peavey. The 9200 is the flagship system, a 2100W into 4 ohm amplifier and despite its high power rating, this 19" rack-mount device is just 12" deep. Peavey showed a pre-production model of its new Nion 6, described as "a big, fast, powerful Media Matrix for everything". To be more specific, this is a floating point, Cobranet-enabled DSP device based on the powerful Shark chip. 32-in, 32-out, grouped in blocks of four, the Nion 6 can be linked as a central system (up to 1000 channels, approx) but has internal scripting for local control so very much a building block device. Also of note, the X Bridge links Cobranet to X Frame 88.

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UK - SJM Consultants, was recently commissioned as the main contractor by Richmond town centre management and Richmond tourist office to provide PA for the Totally London Tour, Great River Race at Richmond. The event took place on Saturday 6 September 2003 and SJM Consultants specified a system consisting of six Bose 802 cabinets, two AKG RM300 hand held radio microphones, two HH V800 amplifiers and controlled by an Audio Developments AD145 16-channel mixing desk. All equipment was hired from Richmond Film Services.

The afternoon entertainment was provided by The Allbeats, a four-piece R&R band who played a selection of covers from 60s bands originally from Richmond such as the Kinks, Small Faces and The Who. The event was a great success

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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>There were new and updated products in abundance on the Lamba stand. The company was showing products from its exclusive KAM entry-level mixer range, in addition to products from Cerwin Vega (see earlier copy), Nady, Road Ready and Stanton. The new Stanton ST-150 turntable was attracting particular interest after its star turn in winning the DJ-Turntable of the Year award at the DJ Magazine T-Scan Awards.

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>Amplifier manufacturer MC2 Audio showed its new E Series (switchmode) range of amplifiers. These lightweight amplifiers have been designed for the touring market and will initially be available at 750W/channel into four ohms and 1250W/channel into four ohms, both in 2U chassis. The series will be expanded with a bigger amplifier (2000+W/channel into four ohms), also in a 2U chassis, later this year.

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>Well known as a producer of domestic hi-fi, Mission showed two new pro products; the FS Business Music System is literally an 'out of the box' (or rather briefcase) PA for business presentations and small (<40 persons) meetings. An amp, with mic and line input, tone and volume control, feeds to an NXT panel radiating sound front and rear. Small and very portable, the system can be scaled up with more panels. In the realms of concept speaker, Mission also presented the ViSound, an extension of a Swiss developed LD TV screen mounted into a bathroom mirror; Mission has added a discrete flat panel speaker fronted by a polycarbonate mirror along the top edge. IP rated (though not enumerated at the time) this device will doubtless appear in the bathrooms of many a posh hotel in the future.

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>A most unusual amplifier from Danish manufacturer MTI, the MPA82000 is a standard 19" rack-mount, eight channel, 1000W into 2 ohms (or other variants W-vs-ohms) that is just 550mm deep. Offering full DSP plus an 8-way matrix, it's possible to link up to 16 amps via RS485 and control laptop, with 16 resident programmable presets onboard. At 27.5kg, this is a highly flexible amp for complex installations.

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>With improvements and additions coming on a monthly basis to users of Stardraw, to list them all would be problematic. The new online symbol libraries feature allows users to build their own 'favourites' library, making the enormous and growing range of adopted symbols far more manageable, whilst retaining easy access to updates. Another new addition gaining much attention at the show was automatic cable labelling. It sounds simple, but think about all the spadework it saves with complex wiring layouts. Also, Shure and Middle Atlantic Products now endorse Stardraw Weblink, the program that allows manufacturers to embed custom data within the symbols that represent their products in Stardraw design and document applications.

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>As well as launching the company's brand new website, the Shure Distribution UK stand featured another wide array of new products, including the ConferenceOne discussion system for the corporate and rental market. From QSC Audio, the ISIS WideLine line-array was being demonstrated, with the AcousticDesign AD-C52 and AD-C52S ceiling loudspeakers on show. The Presonus Eureka mic preamp made its European debut, featuring compressor, parametric EQ and switchable staging. Also in signal processing, three new ranges of Phonic audio equipment took a bow: the A (analogue), T (tube) and i (digital) series, including pre-amp, EQ and effects units. Phonic's new P series monitors are available in four different versions, each either active or passive. Finally, three Aviom digital audio snake products made their European debuts - input/output modules and a system bridge.

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>A company new to the PLASA Show, but with origins deep in the roots of pro audio, KV2 Audio showed two new PA systems - the ES and the EX ranges. The EX10 is a two-way active speaker comprising a 1.75" compression driver onto an 80° x 100° horn with a 10" for bass. Capable of working full range down to 65Hz, the EX10 can be augmented with the EX2.2, a self-powered 2 x 12" sub that can also drive a pair of EX10s.

KV2's ES system comprises the ES 1.0 a three-way high pack loaded with 1.75" with a tighter 90° by 40° horn, a 6" horn-loaded mid-driver with identical pattern, and 12" mid/bass driver. Three subs are available - ES1.5, ES1.8 and the ES2.5 being loaded single 15", single 18" and twin 15" respectively, and designed for different application demands. KV2 also designs and builds all its own amps and processing, the EPAK 2500 provid

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USA - Loud Technologies Inc (formerly Mackie Designs Inc) has announced plans to position RCF as the worldwide commercial sound brand within the Loud Technologies family. With this announcement, the company will begin transitioning current Mackie Industrial branded products to the RCF brand, beginning with the DX8/DX810 digital mixer and the SP400C ceiling monitor.

The company announced at the PLASA Show on Monday its plan to change its name from Mackie Design to Loud Technologies in order to eliminate the confusion between 'Mackie' the company, and 'Mackie' the brand - as well as clarify the positioning for each individual brand under the now Loud Technologies umbrella.

"We have a fantastic network of dealers, distributors, system designers and contractors in place that have been very supportive of the Mackie Industrial brand and we are fully committed to this team,"

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>Addressing the mid/low-end speaker market, Acustica Beyma introduced a whole new range of 10"-18" drivers, the main improvements being more power handling from use of flat-wire voice coils and stronger basket design. Beyma also presented four new compression drivers in 2" and 1.5" versions, utilizing titanium domes and neodymium magnets.

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>From the Sennheiser stand came two new audio systems from D.A.S. Audio. Inevitably, the CA28 and CA215 combo is a line array. Highly compact, the system is based on DAS's own 2 x 8" drivers with a DAS1.5" compression driver on a 6° by 90° SERPIS plane wave generator for the highs. The accompanying2 x 15" Sub integrates onto the D.A.S. flying hardware. Delivery from a four-box coupled system, 80Hz-20kHz is claimed at 143dB peak SPL, while the sub delivers 147dB down to 37Hz. The new D.A.S. Dynamic Series is a three-way system comprising DS-115/Sub-18F passive, or add an 'A' suffix for the active models. Stand-alone or pole mounted, these are light, easy to use and would suit small installs or touring applications.

Also on the same stand was a new digital EQ unit from Rane, the DEQ60 and 60L ('L' denoting long-scale faders). Designed for live tours, this regular looking

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>Audio-Technica was giving a European launch to the AEW4000 and 5000 Artist Elite wireless microphone systems and T1000 body pack transmitter; AE5400 and 3300 condenser mics; AE4100 and 6100 dynamic mics and a prototype DA860 wireless distribution amplifier. Also new was a number of microphones in the Engineered Sound series.

A-T was also showing the latest from Sabine, which it distributes in the UK. Centre stage was Sabine's SWM7000 Series 2.4GHz true mobility wireless microphone systems, incorporating the patent-pending 'Smart Spectrum' technology which allows up to 70 simultaneous wireless systems to operate with maximum fidelity. The receivers have built-in Targeted Input Processing, including the FBX feedback exterminator, a compressor/limiter, an adaptive de-esser and parametric filters. New on-board DSP allows the selection of a number of dynamic or condenser mic elements. Up

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>Prototypes of Chameleon Audio's Atlas digital amplifiers heralded a potential series of 14 models! Ranging from a 700W mono unit for bass drivers to a five-channel 2 x 700 and 3 x 350W model for 5.1 surround sound, it's not certain whether all 14 will make it into production. However, the potential for Atlas seems very big, with a 1U stereo version for the MI market also being considered.

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>Digigram's EtherSound ES8 in/out modules were nominated for a PLASA award this year. As the names suggest, each module allows up to eight analogue inputs into an Ethernet sound network and eight out for playback. The unit offers transmission of 24bit at 48kHz resolution with a claimed latency of just 1-2msecs. Both modules manage GPIOs and use RS232 for bi-directional control and thus simplify the installation of complex systems as the need to run back to a central hub is removed. Also from Digigram, the Audio Manager a very user-friendly control interface, not just for Digigram systems, but also other network set-ups such as Cobranet.
  1. L-Acoustics
  2. Rubber Box
  3. Five new models added to Apogee AFI Series
  4. Midas // KlarkTeknik
  5. Cloud Electronics
  6. Out Board
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