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USA - Loud Technologies has announced a reorganisation of its marketing, sales and engineering functions which will, the company says, "generate a net reduction of 90 full-time positions". The restructure is expected to be implemented by the end of 2008.

Under the new organisation, product strategy, development and marketing for the company's MI and Pro businesses will be managed by separate, dedicated product management teams, while marketing communications for all Loud brands will be consolidated and managed by a shared marketing support team.

The company's worldwide engineering resources will be scaled accordingly to support a more focused product development schedule. Loud says it will also move North American sales from its current captive sales force to a group of independent sales representation firms and consolidate portions of its international sales force.<

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USA - In a move that could prove a precursor to future decisions in the UK, the United States' Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted to allow technology companies like Google, Microsoft, Dell, and Motorola to produce 'white spaces' devices that will use the same radio frequency (RF) spectrum now being used by wireless microphone systems.

Final text of the rules is not yet available, but the order is purported to greatly reduce the amount of clear spectrum available for use by professional audio and communications equipment.

The Commission adopted certain important elements of Shure's recent wireless microphone interference protection plan. However, Shure is concerned that, despite technical evidence to the contrary, the Commission's action opens the door to a new breed of wireless gadgetry that relies on unproven technology as a safeguard against interference to wi

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India - At the recent PALME India exhibition in Mumbai, Rivera International, the Mumbai-based pro audio distributor representing Lab.gruppen and Kling & Freitag among its portfolio of brands, marked the sale of eight Lab.gruppen PLM10000Q 'Powered Loudspeaker Management' amplifiers to audio rental company Sound.com, also based in Mumbai.

Rivera International's managing director Rajesh Sadarangani was joined on the stand at the show by Lab.gruppen's Thomas Mittelman and Warren D'Souza and Sunil Karanjikar of Sound.com.

(Lee Baldock)

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France - Pope Benedict XVI recently made his first visit as pontiff to Paris, praying together with more than a quarter million followers on the lawns of the Esplanade des Invalides. Sound designer Fred Goguet created a mammoth audio system for the event, using Meyer Sound components provided by a coterie of French audio firms, including Dispatch, Ateliers Lumiere, Projectis and Audio-Technique.

Spread over an area nearly 500m wide, Goguet's design comprised a total of 96 Mica, 78 M'elodie and 20 Milo line array loudspeakers, along with a handful of UPA-1P and UPM-1P loudspeakers for fill.

"Considering the architectural perspectives of the scenery and the constraints of limited heights and no scaffolding, I created a distributed system of 22 main and ten secondary arrays," Goguet explains. "The coverage was seamless across the entire audience area, with excellen

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Turkey - Around 20 participants from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, and the Lebanon took part in the Telex RoIP Radio Dispatching Academy in Istanbul at the beginning of October. Conducted by Dan Bixby and Paul Mayer, the three-day workshops dealt primarily with Telex radio dispatch systems. In addition to a number of lectures outlining the latest technological developments from a theoretical perspective, the radio and VoIP experts attending the course were offered plenty of opportunity for practice-oriented, hands-on training.

"On the first day, we laid the theoretical foundations," reports Kamil Swobodzinski, sales director ACT&CCS for the regions Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "We built on this in the following days, through intensive lab sessions in small groups in which the participants were able to put what they had learned into practice."

The Tel

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USA - Biamp Systems, the manufacturer of audio and conferencing solutions equipment, has said it will appeal a judgment against it in the US District Court of Central Utah in a lawsuit with ClearOne, a provider of audio conferencing systems.

In 2007, ClearOne named Biamp Systems as co-defendant in a suit claiming that it knowingly licensed an acoustic echo cancelling algorithm from a third party that ClearOne alleges was stolen from them. Biamp stopped using the software in question prior to the filing of the lawsuit, and has denied any knowledge or guilt in the case and maintains that the facts do not support the claims.

Company president Ralph Lockhart is adamant that Biamp Systems would never enter into a licensing agreement that would knowingly infringe on a trade secret or steal intellectual property from another entity.

"We were shocked when we were named in this

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France - L-Acoustics has appointed Jochen Frohn as international business development director, effective 3 November 2008.

Frohn has extensive managerial experience in the pro audio Industry, notably 14 years at US manufacturer Crest, where he served in a variety of roles including director of sales and marketing, Crest Europe, Middle East, Africa, and managing director of the company's German subsidiary.

"It is great for me to finally work for a European company - and for one of the top leaders in the live sound industry," says Frohn. "I am amazed by the fantastic team of talented, professional people at L-Acoustics, and with the new K1 system on the verge of release, there are lots of opportunities for an ongoing success story. I am looking forward to being part of that."

Frohn's initial remit will be to take responsibility for the sales, development an

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UAE - Mamemo Productions has taken delivery of the first Adamson system present in the UAE. Mamemo Productions which was awarded several distinctions during the 2008 Middle East Event Awards, is an events management company headed by Sam Katiela. Its portfolio includes a spectrum of projects including corporate, sports and private events, galas and exhibit solutions, as well as promotional video and film production.

The multi-city festivities for the announcement of the world's first Michael Schumacher World Champion Tower, which will be located in a spectacular setting in the Central Business District of Reem Island in Abu Dhabi, were hosted on 57ft Yachts parked at Marinas in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi. For the multimedia shows presenting the new tower and the performances by soul-diva Salhar & Band, Mamemo relied on Adamson.

Mamemo's mobile stereo system is made up of two Ada

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USA - The new 700 seat home of Shelter Cove Church in Modesto, CA provides its parishioners with services that have an intimate and personal feel. But when the house audio started to compete with the monitor audio, Shelter Cove turned to Aviom's Pro16 Series of monitor mixing systems to bring balance to the church.

In the new space, the congregants are situated around the stage area. A key challenge for West Coast Sound and Light, who handled the audio, video and lighting for the sanctuary, was to ensure that the stage audio was loud enough for those in the audience to hear without drowning out the people singing or speaking on the stage during worship services. Compounding the issue was the short distance between the stage and the audience, making it difficult to keep the stage sound from overwhelming the audience, especially if those performing used speaker monitors.

"I

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USA - Audio-Technica has introduced three new shotgun microphones: the BP4071, BP4071L and BP4073 Line + Gradient Condenser models. Designed for critical extended-range pickup in broadcasting, film/TV production and theatre sound reinforcement applications, these mics offer "extremely focused pickup throughout the entire frequency range".

Based on extensive in-the-field research and user input, the BP4071, BP4071L and BP4073 microphones are suitable for capturing high-quality audio for documentaries and feature films, wildlife recording and theatre sound reinforcement. They offer low self-noise and improved resistance to Radio Frequency Interference (RFI). All three mics require 48V DC phantom power, and feature a switchable 150 Hz high-pass filter and rugged housing made of lightweight structural-grade aluminum alloy.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - HHB Communications has appointed Apex France as exclusive distributor of HHB professional audio products in France, with immediate effect.

Apex already enjoys a strong partnership with HHB in its native Belgium where the company has successfully distributed HHB products for some time. Now APEX continues the development of its business in France with the addition of HHB products to a portfolio that already includes Chromatec, Digico, Lawo, Riedel, Soundtracs and LSB Virtual Studio Manager.

The new appointment was celebrated at the recent Siel-Satis-Radio Show in Paris where interest in all HHB products was strong, and from where Apex sales director Rik Hoerée predicted a bright future for HHB in France.

"We see great potential for HHB in France based on our very positive experience in Belgium, says Hoerée. "Products like the FlashMic demonstrate t

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UK - At the recent Music Industry Association's Awards Dinner in London, Focusrite's ISA One microphone preamplifier won the award for the 'Best Live Sound' and the Novation Nocturn won in the 'Best Music Software' category, echoing its Automap software's recent recognition by the Queen's Awards for Innovation.

Managing director Phil Dudderidge was there to accept the awards, which recognise "Focusrite's efforts in bringing their classic pre-amp designs within range of more people than ever before". "This has been a valuable contribution to engineers and musicians in what has undoubtedly been a challenging year for the industry," said Dudderidge.

(Jim Evans)

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USA - James Cowan, president of Neutrik USA, died on 5 November from cancer at the age of 52. He worked for Neutrik for 20 years, starting out as general manager, then vice president and was named president in March of 2000 and was well-known and widely liked by the pro audio industry. He will be greatly missed.

Prior to joining Neutrik, Cowan held various positions with such companies as Texas Instruments, Panduit Corp. and Dialight-Kulka-Smith. He received a bachelor of science in marketing and economics as well as a master's degree in marketing from Monmouth University in New Jersey.

Beyond those organisations with ties to the professional audio community, he was a philanthropic benefactor to organisations such as Oceans of Love, which provides help for children with cancer, ALS Association (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, aka Lou Gehrig's Disease), the Food Bank of New Jers

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UK - Patrons of Theatre Royal Stratford East are currently enjoying an extended run of the new Ray Davies musical Come Dancing. The show, starring Davies himself, is based around his childhood memories of family and social life in post-war London. As a cast of likely characters trudge their way through the daily grind with one eye firmly set on Saturday night at The Palais, the audience are treated to a selection of original numbers with a few Kinks classics thrown in for good measure.

With such a dynamic and ever evolving show, a large audio tool box was essential. To achieve this, audio rental company, Thames Audio supplied the show with a 48 x 24 Digidesign Profile system.

Sound designer James Tebb reports: "First and foremost it is a fantastic sounding console but when you combine this with its flexibility and onboard processing power you have everything you ne

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Epic News: A stage production of Ben-Hur is to open next year in London's O2 Arena, marking the movie's 50th anniversary. The highlight of the show, about the life and destiny of the Jewish prince, will include the famous chariot scene. The production will require 400 performers and 100 animals including horses, donkeys, chickens and eagles.

Creator Franz Abraham said the show would have a "high level of artistry that would excite the audience". He added: "The show will have the speed of a musical, the depth of great theatre, the power of a rock concert and the visual opulence of a Hollywood blockbuster."

The thoroughbred horses will undergo 12 months of intensive training with a team of trainers and charioteers. A combination of light, sound, water, wind and pyrotechnic effects will also be used. Tickets for the new production will go on sale on 14

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USA - The Soundcraft Vi6 was among the attendees invited to the final stop of a 24-hour non-stop party hosted by Diesel to celebrate its 30th anniversary around the world. The Diesel xXx Rock and Roll Circus took place in 17 major cities across the world; commencing in Tokyo and moving to Beijing, Dubai, Athens, Amsterdam, Milan, Zurich, Munich, Paris, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Oslo, Helsinki, London, Sao Paulo, and finally had its grand finale on Pier 3 in Brooklyn, New York on 11 October.

ESP New York chose the Vi6 for its audio quality and its ability to handle The Rock and Roll Circus that hosted numerous music artists performing in front of thousands of VIP guests.

T.I., N.E.R.D., Franz Ferdinand, M.I.A., Hot Chip, and Chaka Khan performed on the Brooklyn waterfront in front of a crowd of 5,000 VIP attendees.

All the engineers involved with the s

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UK - These days, archiving nightly shows on tour is standard fare, with many A-list bands spending upwards of $50,000 to build a touring recording rig. But as Jim Ebdon found on the current world tour with Maroon 5, he was able to turn his DiGiCo D5 and Apple Mac PowerBook into a powerful and flexible mobile workstation with RME's HDSPe MADIface 128-Channel 192 kHz MADI PCI ExpressCard.

"With this setup, I'm able to have a fully functioning recording studio on the road," Ebdon reports. "The MADIface card takes up virtually no space and I can get it in my computer bag. With that, along with the D5's fantastic functionality and very small footprint-I've got one small rack at FOH and one on stage with one thin cable linking it all-I can get great results."

Ebdon has been able to get most of what he needs from the D5's onboard sound palette, and is carrying on

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Canada - Adamson's M-215, first revealed at this year's PLASA in London, was introduced to the North American marketplace at the AES in San Francisco. The M215 power wedge is Adamson's newest addition to the M-Series Monitor line, which will soon see two more products added; the first being the sub-compact symmetrical M12 Monitor, for which a prototype was also displayed at the AES Show.

The trapezoid cabinet features symmetrical driver placement with a 50 x 50-degree conical waveguide. Designed for use as a stage monitor, it can also double as a superior drum- or stage-fill enclosure, specifically aimed for performers wanting extra high SPL without losing intelligibility.

The M215 exhibits low distortion thanks to the qualities of its multilayer Kevlar cone driver. The two long excursion, lightweight Neodymium ND15-L drivers, supply power handling with a solid low frequency r

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UK & Ireland - Snow Patrol has performed four gigs in 48 hours across four different cities: Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh and London. A Midas PRO6 Live Audio System for monitoring travelled with them for the first three shows, with an XL8 Live Performance System used for the final gig in London. Both systems were provided by Britannia Row, with Heritage 3000s sourced locally for front of house.

The epic undertaking started at 01.00 on Sunday 26 October, when Irish rental company Litton Lane loaded their Midas Heritage 3000 and speakers into the Gate Theatre, Dublin. Meanwhile the PRO6 was loaded with new software and set up. Monitor engineer Tristan Farrow had transferred the show files from the XL8 during production rehearsals in London and the band sound-checked at 10.30 for the midday show.

The show finished at 14.00 and half an hour later the crew hightailed it up to Belfas

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Argentina - The 13th edition of the Atahualpa Festival opened at the Club Central Córdoba, Argentina, earlier this year. This folk music marathon lasted over eight hours and was a colourful gathering of the leading Argentinean folk music stars. The festival was held in conjunction with a regional gastronomy fair. The esplanade that hosted the event was packed with over 30,000 people. D.A.S. Audio Aero line array systems provided sound reinforcement for this major event.

Martí Audio, under the direction of Ariel Martí was in charge of the installation and handling of the PA, comprised of 18 Aero 48 systems. The impressive low frequency reproduction was achieved by using 16 units of the new LX-218 for bass reinforcement. As front-fill, two Aero 28 systems were installed to provide coverage for the first rows.

Given the large audience, Marti also set up eight array syst

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USA - Denon Professional is now shipping the DN-C620 CD player. Housed in a compact one-rackspace enclosure, the DN-C620 offers contractors and system integrators "a versatile CD player at an extremely cost-effective price point".

The DN-C620 is compatible with standard audio data file formats including CDDA (.cda) and MPEG-1/2 Layer III (.mp3) and WAVE (.wav), allowing for up to 20 hours of MP3 or similar audio playback from a single CD, CD-R or CD-RW, making it suited to serve as a continuous audio playback device for houses of worship, health clubs, restaurants, and various broadcast applications.

The DN-C620 features intuitive front panel control, which allows customisable programme playlists and output of ID3 or CD-TEXT Title, Artist, and Album information via RS-232C. Additionally, standard 25-pin Contact Closure (GPIO) and 9-pin RS-232C Control connections ar

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USA - A high powered Renkus-Heinz ceiling loudspeaker system is at the heart of an acoustical solution for a large, multi-purpose dividable lecture room at the Great Hall of the Centre for Continuous Learning at Mount Royal College in Calgary, Alberta.

The Great Hall is a 'L.E.A.D.S.' energy efficient design with exposed concrete surfaces that warm up and then release the stored energy back into the building. The room, being walled in concrete with tall glass windows, posed a tough challenge for consultant Fred Gilpin and local contractor Apex Audio Visual.

The room can be used either as a single large space or can be reconfigured as two or three smaller seminar rooms by giant brushed stainless steel room dividers. Either way the space presents a battery of hard, reflective surfaces. A single audio system was required to serve the needs of both configurations and, the design b

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UK - Sennheiser UK has confirmed that it is now the exclusive distributor of K-Array products in the UK. At PLASA08 Sennheiser UK introduced K-Array to a select group of individuals. Designed and manufactured in Florence, Italy, K-Array loudspeakers and amplifiers are designed for a range of applications.

For medium to large-scale live performance applications, the K-Array range includes the KH4, a self-powered two-way line array speaker with impressive power reserves.

The KH4 has been designed to be easily integrated with other K-array products, including the KS4 self-powered dipole high performance subwoofer, which itself is only 16cm in depth, while weighing just 37Kg. In terms of dispersion, the KH4 offers a variable vertical coverage pattern of between seven and 37 degrees, and a broad 120-degree horizontal coverage pattern. Both the KH4 and KS4 have been designed for fas

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The Netherlands - Dutch rental company Triple Showtechniek is one of the first companies worldwide to pair the new Midas PRO6 Live Audio System with the Midas XL8. Triple Showtechniek is using its PRO6 for monitors on the current Jan Smit tour, which also features an XL8 at front of house.

With FOH engineer Marc Pardon having already used the Midas XL8 earlier in the tour, monitor engineer Donovan Kemper insisted on starting this leg with the PRO, and Midas Consoles Holland was able to supply Triple Show techniek with the second system off the production line.

"Based on my experience of using both the Midas Heritage 3000 and XL8, I didn't want to work with another brand of digital console, so I had to wait until PRO6 was available," says Kemper. "And it was worth waiting for. Having used the H3000 in the past, I wasn't prepared to accept a reduction in sound qua

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  6. Adamson's new partner takes on Sazavafest
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