UK - Hertfordshire-based RK Sound Engineering, recently installed Allen & Heath's programmable DSP system as part of a new audio system for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club's main ticket office. The company was asked to install an improved 'talk through' system covering eight ticket booths, replacing the existing system, which needed regular maintenance, and provided poor 'gain-before-feedback'.

RK Sound selected Allen & Heath's iDR fixed installation/live sound system, specifying an iDR-8 digital processing unit and the expansion units iDR-In and iDR-Out, providing a 16x16 matrix. The system can be set up, managed and controlled by PC and includes sophisticated digital processing features such as paging, delays, EQ, gates, compressors, limiters and remote pre-amp control.

Eight Shure MX412D/N microphones feed the iDR on the cashiers' side, which drives eight Work Studio 3 loud

UK - Contrary to popular belief, smaller companies are not being forced out of the market by their larger counterparts. In fact the larger companies are fighting each other, leaving the smaller companies to prosper. So say the results of a new analysis by Plimsoll Publishing, which focuses precisely on the top 39 companies in the UK sound equipment industry. These companies should be the pinnacles of financial performance. With the overall market showing a healthy turnaround, why have so many of these major players failed to exploit such favourable conditions?

David Pattison, senior analyst at Plimsoll Publishing Ltd, commented: "There is clear evidence of stagnation at the top of the market: 12 of these Top 39 companies failed to increase sales above inflation compared to 17 last year. With many also experiencing rising costs, their future direction now looks uncertain.&qu

Italy - During the summer, Rome gives free rein to its calling as a city of art and culture. Last year, ten million people attended over 4,000 events, exhibitions and performances that took place across Rome as part of the Roman Summer billboard. Naturally, an important part of this program is the opera, which takes place in the Baths of Caracalla. Built in about 217 AD, the Baths of Caracalla were a later and grander example of a culture already well established in Rome by the middle of the 4th century BC. The huge, vaulted interior, which contained space for 1600 bathers, offered baths, swimming pools, lecture halls, lounges, and exercise facilities. Once lined in marble, the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla now provide a majestic open-air setting for opera performances.

Madema SpA, one of Italy's premier rental companies, was contracted to provide a sophisticated EAW sound rei

Germany - HK Audio will be launching three brand new products at PLASA 2004 (12-15 September). An eagerly-anticipated addition to the German manufacturer's Cohedra (Coherent Dynamic Response Array) system is the CDR 210 F direct-radiating 2 x 10" flyable subwoofer. Based on the acoustic characteristics of the Cohedra CDR 210 Sub subwoofer, the CDR 210 F has the same basic shape as the CDR 208 S/T mid/high units and can be flown with the same rigging hardware. The enclosure, sloped by 2.25° on top and bottom, allows for the curving of flying bass arrays, enabling up to 20 CDR 210 F units to be mounted directly on the flying frame above the mid/high units. Alternatively they can be flown as a separate bass array or to serve as the basis for ground-stacked Cohedra mid/high units using the Cohedra stacking frame (see below). For transportation, two CDR 210 F units fit into one m

UK - Marquee Audio has been appointed as a main dealer by Garwood, for the new APM 12 dual stereo headphone amplifier. The APM 12 provides two musicians with high-quality audio feeds for any type of headphone - from the classic DT100 type to miniature Walkman-style headphones. Ideally suited to orchestras and choirs, it also provides simple and convenient distributed audio feeds for applications such as news conferences. It is designed to partner an APM 200 or APM 400 main station to form a complete APM Series distributed personal monitoring system, with power and audio signals for up to 15 APM 12 amplifiers provided by the main station through a single XLR cable. More APM 12s can be added to the system by adding further APM 400 main station extender units. Like the main stations, the compact and highly durable APM 12 provides superb audio quality with ultra low distortion and ext

UK - Audio specialists, RG Jones, recently completed a season working in the picturesque setting of Leeds Castle, near Maidstone, for Relevant Productions. The flown Synco Martin W8LC Line array (configured 16 enclosures a side) was put through its paces during a variety of performances spanning a ten day period - including a classic event, children's concert and a Glen Miller tribute orchestra. The ten day stint concluded with a repeat of the opening classical show, in which the sound reinforcement was required to provide first class coverage for a crowd of 13,000 people. All shows were mixed digitally on a Yamaha PM1D console.

"We had taken stock of the new Martin system only a couple of weeks earlier, and we had the entire 32-box system straight out on duty," reports RG Jones project manager, Simon Hodge. Measuring 11m from the ground to the top of the hang, and com

UK - International - Autograph Sound Recording, which recently celebrated 30 years of sound design and rental supply, has in addition to their usual dominance in the West End, been in high demand outside the UK, across Europe and as far a field as Asia. The company is currently supplying or is about to supply large-scale theatre productions in Athens, Berlin, Utrecht, Stuttgart, Madrid, Moscow and Tokyo.

Having just designed the new Miss Saigon UK tour, Nick Lidster one of Autograph's designers, is now in Tokyo working on another new production of this popular musical, which opens in mid August at the Imperial Theatre. Supplying the equipment for this Japanese version of Miss Saigon demonstrates how successfully Autograph has expanded their global market.

Another hit show to make use of not only Autograph's sound design but also rental expertise is Mamma Mia!

USA - Wharfedale loudspeakers are featuring in Andreas Buechele's successful sound design for the touring theatre show, Alma Mahler. First performed in 1996 at the Vienna Festival Week (and made into a film in 1999), the cult film - about the wife of the celebrated composer, known for her many high-profile relationships - moved to Venice/Italy in 2002 and to Lisbon/Portugal in 2003.

After three months in Portugal, the production now arrives in Los Angeles, and will perform at the famous Los Angeles Theatre between 30 September and 5 December. ATEC Audio Technology, Wharfedale's Austrian distributors, originally equipped the show with 14 x EVP12P (powered 200W trapezoidal enclosures, with 12" woofer and 44mm compression driver) which worked so well that Andreas Buechele decided to take them around the world with him.

However, the sound designer's first task on takin

Tunisia - Since Marantz' workhorse PMD320 was installed in 'Dar Zamen', a visitor attraction in the Tunisian cultural tourist complex of Dar Cherait, back in 1997, the 20 rack-mount CDs have provided continuous playback over a full duty cycle - without a single aberration.

Situated in the southern resort of Tozeur, the park, which is open seven days a week, recalls 3,000 years of Tunisian history. "To this day, the PMD320s continue to function impeccably over an eight-hour cycle, operating until midnight on a daily basis," says M N Chelli, from Backstage Technology - a company created with the visitor attraction's owner Chérait Jallel back in 2002 to take care of all the Chérait Group's technical requirements.

But times have moved forward and the professional playback device has now evolved into the PMD325. In addition to playing conventional CDs it will handle CD

UK - Cadac is celebrating 20 years of dedicated design for live sound applications this summer, with its extended product portfolio including the all-new M16 Remote Mic Amp, and the production D16 Digital Input Mix Matrix, alongside the S-Type Compact Live Production Console.

The M16 remote mic amp is a direct response to market demand for a high quality remote microphone amplifier for seamless interoperation with all marques of analogue and digital console. Designed to address live, broadcast and recording market requirements, the M16 integrates directly with Cadac's new D16 Digital Input Matrix, and up to 16 M16 units can be controlled within a single system. A remote control option is available, via the Cadac RM16 Remote Control Unit, or via Cadac's SAM software. The M16 demonstrates high headroom throughout the whole system, as well as an extended response frequency, say Ca

UK - Shure Distribution UK, exclusive distributor of Shure, QSC Audio, Phonic and Sound Devices, will be exhibiting the latest audio technology from each of the said manufacturers at the forthcoming PLASA Show. Shure will present its new SLX Wireless Systems, ideally suited to installed sound applications and working bands, delivering superior audio quality in an easy-to-use and quickly configurable package. Offering Shure's patented Audio Reference Companding technology, along with an innovative set-up featuring automatic synchronization, SLX supports up to 12 compatible systems per frequency band (country dependent).

From Phonic will be the new MU range of compact mixers, ideal for a variety of applications with a great combination of features and with competitive pricing, say Shure Distribution. Also on show will be Phonic's new RoadGear range - a fully integrated mobile soun

UK - Stage Two Ltd, the Watford-based sound and lighting company, has recently completed a project to supply and install a new paging system at the large Watford Sorting Office for the Royal Mail. The Watford Sorting Office covers a large area and following the re-structuring of the postal delivery pattern is subject to significant variations in the ambient noise level within the sorting hall itself when the letter-sorting equipment becomes active.

The project called for some 150 speakers in a combination of ceiling and wall units, together with outside projectors for the loading bay. It was also important to create a zoned approach and Stage Two opted for the Cloud Electronics range of products for the amplification and signal processing equipment, augmented by an ambient noise computer from Symetrix and a telephone interface from Baldwin Boxall. Speakers were selected from Pen

UK - Canegreen managed the sound at the 40th Cambridge Folk Festival, where an eclectic line-up mixed the traditional folk of Ralph McTel with contemporary sounds of Beth Orton and classic reggae in the form of the legendary Jimmy Cliff. The audience and artists alike commented on the sound quality produced by Canegreen, says production manager Ken Rankin: "A high percentage of our audience are musicians and the quality of the sound really affects their enjoyment of the weekend. Since Canegreen has provided our PA, there has been a huge improvement and I have had loads of compliments about the sound."

Cambridge Folk Festival has never been easy to work on, but Canegreen, now on its third consecutive year, has always risen to the challenge, creating a system unique to this event. The festival is situated in the middle of a residential area, so sound levels have to be c

Germany - After the successful prelude of the Stralsund Festival of the Zar und Zimmermann opera last year, this summer season opened with the premiere of Mozart's Magic Flute on the open-air stage of Stralsund. Once again, the cargo ship Ursula B is serving as a floating stage between 20 July and 28 August, during which time it will provide room for 1,600 visitors, five times per week.

Every year since 1995 sound engineers of the Theatre Vorpommern have been faced with the challenge of staging open-air performances during the summer season with a symphony orchestra and choir performance in front of an audience of up to 2,000. The sound system varied each year, according to the specific requirements of each performace, and it was decided that a more permanent solution had to be found for the next few years. After intensive research, the final decision fell on K.M.E

Sudan - The Ministry of Energy and Mines in Sudan has placed an order for a complete conference system, to be supplied by Brähler ICS UK Ltd. The system is to be installed into the Ingaz Conference Hall by local Sudanese company, Federal Information Technology Co. The Ministry's premises is located adjacent to the UN headquarters offices in Khartoum.

Brähler ICS was chosen as the principle supplier for the project. Facilities will include an 85-user Automic microphone system, linked to an Infracom simultaneous interpretation system with infra-red delegate receivers and a full public address system. A flexible and robust system was required, as uses will include conferences, seminars and training sessions in multiple languages.

The Automic microphone system comes with portable delegate and chairman's microphones, both with gooseneck stems and interfaces with the interpretati

UK - Following the sale of a suite of Yamaha's new generation mixing desks by Marquee Audio to Blitz Sound, the Shepperton-based suppliers helped the service company to organise a training day at the latter's plush demo facility in Elstree.

With a number of high-profile shows and events in prospect, Blitz had systematically purchased a DM1000, PM5000 and PM5D digital desk from their long-term suppliers over the past couple of months - and all were on display, allowing a number of leading independent freelance, corporate and theatre engineers (including the National) to get hands-on training by Marquee and Yamaha support teams.

"This is part of our ongoing inventory upgrade, and Marquee have supported us as they always do," said Blitz Sound regional manager, Chris Jordan. "Today is overview-type training . . . when we need to do intense training we can either do

Denmark - Martin Architectural's has introduced its new Flat panel speakers, aimed at generating ambient audio in a multitude of commercial applications. Easily mounted in or on walls and ceilings, Flat offer high quality audio reproduction in an innovative, slim speaker construction, which the company says manages to seamlessly integrate sound with interior design. A collection of stock themed designs is available, or custom designs to match your concept. Users can also print or paint directly onto the Flat panel surface itself.

Based on NXT technology, Flat panel speakers are a flexible, plug-and-play sound system with 1-8 channels of audio. Sound is generated by vibrating a plain panel surface resulting in audio radiating in all directions. This room-filling effect makes Flat panel speakers the ideal solution for any public space where even sound distribution is a must.

Co

UK - Pure Distribution, a division of Stirling Audio, has supplied a number of Sanken COS-11 microphones for use on the current ITV hit series, Bad Lads Army. The brand new reality show takes 30 young men who have gone off the rails and puts them through their paces with a dose of 1950s-style military training to try and get their lives back on track.

Richmond Film Services' founding partner Nigel Woodford provided location sound supervisor James Godard with a total of 20 COS-11 lavalier microphones from its stock of nearly 100, which has been built up over the years with a number of purchases from Pure Distribution. The COS-11 is an omni-directional miniature lavalier microphone that is so small it is almost invisible, yet still provides superb sound, with the frequency response being consciously adjusted to the human voice which makes it ideal for use on this kind of s

Denmark - Jens Moeller, the MI and concert sound sales representative for Ascon Trading a/s (the Danish distributor for EV, Dynacord, Midas and Klark Teknik), has become the proud owner of his first Midas console. A Midas Verona 400 now occupies pride of place at the heart of his home recording studio in his small apartment in central Copenhagen. Moeller and his musical partner Peter Alfred form the electronic duo 'Transport' and are currently in the process of putting together their first album.

Moeller is reportedly delighted with his purchase, despite the fact that he had to consign most of his furniture to the skip in order to make room for it in his apartment. Home also happens to be on the fourth floor, so he was obliged to call in a few favours from several of his skinnier musical friends to help him lug it up the stairs! "It was a fair amount of effort, but definit

UK - CP Sound has supplied a complete lighting and sound design, specification and installation to the new independent club, 90 Degrees - The Right Angle in Grantham, with the technical work being completed in just four days! CP's Colin Pattenden was approached by the owners after they researched the nightclub trade press to find good options for sound and lighting. Pattenden asked David Linger from Robe UK to supply the lighting, whilst he concentrated on the sound and lighting design.

90 Degrees is located in a cavernous old building above a wine warehouse and consists of several rooms, including a main DJ/dance area, a secondary dancefloor and a seated 'booth' area with rounded, cocoon-like seats. From the outset, the club has been designed to be truly multipurpose. The name '90 Degrees' refers to the owners wanting everyone to have a clear view of the performance area in fro

UK - Sound Division has been nominated Installer of the Year in the prestigious National BEDA Awards, for its AV installation at London's Lonsdale House. The National BEDA Awards traditionally recognize the best individuals, venues and products in the industry, and this year, for the first time, has created a brand new category to honour installers. Lonsdale House has become a Mecca for connoisseurs of high-class London nightlife. Owner Charles Breedan chose Sound Division as a direct result of the company's work for top London restaurant, Momo.

Sound Division managing director David Graham is very pleased with the nomination. "I feel that it's a great achievement for Sound Division," he stated. "We've made a conscious effort over the last two year to focus our energies on the London contracting market, and we are fortunate to be able to count a number of very pre

UK - As part of a recent refurbishment of Elly's Bar & Restaurant on the Jersey resort of La Pulente, Channel Islands-based Project Audio has installed 10 of the new QSC Acoustic Design AD-S52 loudspeakers.

Purchased from Shure Distribution UK, the AD-S52s are fed from background hard drive computer by day and live DJ playback sources after dark. Each of the restaurant's four zones is addressed by a single channel of a four-channel QSC CX254 amplifier, which occupies just 2U of rack space. Two AD-S52 enclosures are located in the main restaurant, with a further two in the conservatory, two in the smaller restaurant area and two in the bar. The final pair are installed upstairs and run on an independent system.

Project Audio's Dave Findlay, who was introduced to the AD-S52s at last year's PLASA Show, believes he is the first person to install them in the UK. Commenting on the p

UK - Theatre sound specialist Orbital reports that seven Yamaha PM1Ds from their rental stock are currently in use on major London West End Musicals, including Andrew Lloyd Webber's latest production, The Woman In White. This musical adaptation of Wilkie Collins' renowned Victorian novel stars Michael Crawford and Maria Freidman, and opens at The Palace Theatre in October.

Freelance sound designer Mick Potter, who first specified the PM1D for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Bombay Dreams has again opted for the console for The Woman in White. His configuration at the FOH position involves one PM1D cascaded to a Yamaha DM2000 giving 160 mix channels. A second PM1D, running in mirror mode, allows Potter to make complex adjustments to the mix without interfering with sound operator Tim Clarke's concentration. While Clarke mixes the show on one surface, Potter and his pro

UK - Sennheiser 's popular annual audio industry event, the Golf Challenge Trophy, took place in July at the Mill Ride Golf Course at Ascot, where 65 customers and staff took to the green. Thankfully the rain held off and the standard of play was as high and competitive as always, with everyone making it to the 19th hole in good time and accounted for - at least at the start of the evening. Congratulations go to this year's golf-meisters: The trophy winner was Praful Patel (ASK Electronics), runner-up was Howard Till (Canegreen) and third place went to Michael Storey (Netcom).

Helped by generously donated prizes and possibly a little alcohol, the evening dinner and charity auction went on late into the night, raising £30,000, which will be divided between Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy for Children and the charity for Breast Cancer. Sennheiser UK would like to say a very sincer

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