UK - CIE-Group continues the development of its own UK designed and built Clever Little Box range, with the launch of the new So.Net Cat 5 Audio Distribution System.

Priced at a fraction of alternative, more complex sound-over-ethernet systems, So.Net has been designed to simplify and speed up audio installations where multiple microphone inputs or line level inputs need to be situated a distance from the amplifier equipment, says the company.

Using only one shielded Cat 5 cable to run up to four channels of mic and/or line over a distance of up to 1km, So.Net removes the need for multiple cable runs from remote audio inputs to the amplifier equipment.

Comprising of two double-gang faceplates - Input and Output, each featuring four XLR connectors - the signals can be independently configured for balanced or unbalanced signals and mic or line level. There is also an option to

USA - Pro Media/Ultra Sound (PMUS) of Hercules, California recently installed One Systems 312CIM speakers at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the largest domed stadium in the world.

With speakers mounted near each entrance, on either side of the quarter-mile long imported steel trusses running the length of the stadium, the new system provides seamless pre and post-game production coverage to fans. The speakers, installed nearly 85ft from the ground, are secured to the trusses with custom One Systems 212IM-U brackets, designed specifically for these applications.

"We thought we would have to give up sound quality for aesthetics due to the architectural requirements, but the 312CIM's provide both," says Demetrius Palavos, senior sales and design engineer for Pro Media/Ultra Sound (PMUS). "The compactness of these speakers is incredible and wor

UK - Scottish producer and songwriter Calvin Harris took his studio wizardry on the road this summer with an array of equipment from Sennheiser. Harris has been using SKM 945 G2 wireless mics paired with ew 500 G2 receivers for his vocals, while both the singer and drummer Benny Clavert have been taking advantage of the benefits of ew 300 G2 IEM monitors.

"We chose Sennheiser equipment mainly for the IEM system," explains monitor engineer Jimmy Nicholson. "I have had plenty of experience with Sennheiser in-ears previously and found them to be extremely reliable. The lightweight, compact receiver packs in the G2 system are leagues ahead of the competition. The frequency agility is also vital. We are using B and C range, so we quite often have to tune all over the range to fit around local RF conditions. And aside from the frequency agility, the backlit LCDs on the

UK - Out Board has been appointed global re-seller partner for the entertainment and presentation technology sectors by Ubisense, the Cambridge, UK-based leaders in precision real-time location systems (RTLS).

The move follows on from Out Board's substantial successes with their own audio show control application of the Ubisense technology, TiMax Tracker, which tracks actors and performers around stages and arenas to automatically localise their amplified audio signature via real-time control of the TiMax2 SoundHub audio matrix processor.

Out Board has also supplied this highly versatile precision tracking technology to control other third-party audio show controllers such as the Meyer LCS system, and provided support to developments in further disciplines such as control of lighting, cameras, multimedia servers and advanced show control environments such as the CAST BlackBox

UK - Delta Sound has won Most Innovative Installation in the first Audio Pro International Industry Excellence Awards for The Atrium, the event space at Westfield London, which has also just celebrated its first birthday.

Launched this year as a virtual ceremony - saving on cost of to both pocket and liver - the awards acknowledge the best products, companies and people in all sectors of the business, with each nominee put forward by people in the industry and the finalists picked by a panel of judges from the industry.

Delta's Lee Dennison, who designed and oversaw the project, is delighted that Delta has been recognised in this way and is full of praise for everyone involved, particularly equipment manufacturers EM Acoustics, Yamaha Pro Audio and Lab.Gruppen.

"The on-going support and consultancy that they have provided is phenomenal," says Dennison. "

UK - Ateis UK is part of the award winning installation at the Brit Oval cricket ground, which won a Noise Oscar on 4 November 2009. Ateis Messenger L loudspeakers are a key part of the design by acoustic consultancy the Sharps Redmore Partnership, which won the Noise Abatement Society's John Connell Award for Innovation.

The Award, named after the Society's founder, was presented at the Society's 50th Anniversary ceremony held at the House of Commons and recognises innovative ways to deal with the problem of noise pollution. Sharps Redmore was honoured for its forward thinking approach to solving the problem of extraneous sound escaping from the cricket ground and potentially disturbing residents in neighbouring flats.

Three Ateis Messenger L loudspeakers were specified by Sharps Redmore's Clive Bentley to achieve this goal. The management of the Brit Oval has always c

Germany - The d&b audiotechnik E-Series range has enjoyed quite a few new additions in recent times. Notable as the smallest subwoofer in the entire d&b audiotechnik product range, the latest addition is the new E12X-SUB. Being a small, lightweight, low profile, bass-reflex subwoofer fitted with a 12" long excursion neodymium driver, its looks disguise the extra dimension it brings to the E-Series, says the company.

The E12X-SUB can be deployed in two different ways, firstly in an active mode with a dedicated d&b amplifier configuration with the smaller E-Series loudspeakers. In the second operational mode, the internal passive crossover of the E12X-SUB enables connection in parallel with an E8 loudspeaker driven by an appropriately configured single d&b amplifier channel, giving the same functionality of the larger E15X-SUB with E12 or E12D. The E12X-SUB will completely re

UK / India - ASL Intercom has confirmed Setron India Private Ltd as an ASL distributor in India. Now in its 15th year of trading and with offices in New Delhi and Mumbai, Setron India Private Ltd is one of the leading importers and distributors of broadcast and pro-audio equipment in India.

"Setron India Private Ltd is a very forward-looking company and we have been very impressed with the way that the company has embraced India's rapidly expanding and technically improving broadcast and live entertainment industries," says ASL sales and marketing director Susan McLohon.

"Setron has an excellent reputation for customer support and so, as a forward-looking company ourselves, we believe that it is the ideal partner to help expand our interests in the region. We are sure that it will prove to be a very rewarding relationship for both companies."

(Jim Evans)

USA - JBL Professional 's MSC1 Monitor System Controller includes features found in large mixing consoles to control essential monitoring functions from the mix position. Since acoustic issues in the room can compromise the quality of the mix, the MSC1 includes the new third generation of JBL's RMC Room Mode Correction Technology that tunes the monitor system to overcome low frequency room problems that can affect the quality of the mix.

The affordable MSC1 works with any speaker system, and is designed as an add-on to JBL's new LSR2300 Series studio monitors.

"JBL has led the charge to tackle problems in the room that have plagued music recording and post customers," said Peter Chaikin, JBL Professional director of recording and broadcast marketing. "Our LSR6300 and LSR4300 studio monitors with RMC are helping mix engineers create better mixes. The new MSC1 giv

UK - Chris Whybrow is the man tasked with designing the sound for the London West End production of The Rat Pack Live From Las Vegas. "We're using a lot of Shure microphones on this show," he reports, "but the star is undoubtedly the KSM9 handheld condenser. We needed mics that looked authentic, so we chose eight of the KSM9s. We have two in black, but the six main ones we use are in champagne. So yes, they look authentic, but it's not just that. I use the KSM9s because they sound fantastic.

"With the KSM9s I don't need to treat the sound of their voices coming in to the desk - it's pretty much just flat, natural sound. You don't really have to put any EQ on the desk as they're a very natural sounding microphone. We add some light compression, but nothing major like you'd find on pop vocals."

Whybrow continues, "During the show the mics com

Fuji - L-Acoustics' Chinese distributor Rightway Audio has supplied the Fujian Broadcasting and TV Centre with a dV-DOSC sound reinforcement system for its multi-functional studio theatre. The 3,000sq.m theatre, which has a 1,069-capacity auditorium, hosts large-scale drama and musical TV productions, both live and recorded, as well as conferences and parties.

The system supplied by Rightway Audio consists of eight dV-Dosc line source cabinets with a dV-SUB low frequency extension unit for the central channel, and six ARCS for each left and right array. Two SB28 subwoofers have been flown per side, and the system also includes eight 115XT HiQ active stage monitors and six 12XT coaxial stage monitors. A further eight 12XT wedges are ceiling-mounted as effect speakers.

A total of 40 8XT compact coaxials have also been deployed, 24 of which are mounted on the three auditorium lev

UK - SSE Sales has announced the launch of a new custom bracket for ProSight Inclinometer systems. The bracket enables a ProSight SLST Laser Sender Unit to be mounted onto L-Acoustics K1 arrays.

What makes the bracket particularly useful, say SSE, is that it mounts the sender unit onto the side of K1 cabinets: this means it can be mounted on any cabinet in the array, so in a configuration with K1 SUBS at the top of the array, ProSight can now be mounted on the top K1 cabinet, beneath the subs.

Following their recent purchase of K1, Jands Production Services in Australia has already purchased four ProSight Touring kits and have called it "the most practical inclimometer system available on the market for use with K1".

A complete K1 ProSight package consists of a ProSight Touring kit, a K1 Mounting Kit (pair of K1 brackets) and a K1 Prosight custom briefcase.

(Lee

UK - A grand reception and private viewing of The British Museum's latest exhibition Moctezuma - Aztec Ruler was reinforced by a Nexo Geo S/PS10 speech system.

A crowd of 900 was gathered in the atrium space of the Great Court of The British Museum in central London, which event services supplier David Wise describes as "one of the most demanding environments we work in." His company Wise Productions is a preferred supplier to The British Museum, and, on this occasion, brought in a combination of Geo S1230 and PS10 cabinets to handle the speech-making.

Installation time was just 35 minutes to set up two Geo S1230 on tripods as main PA, and to arrange 12 PS10s around the stage as side, front and rear-fill. NXAMP 4x1s were used to power the system, NX242s to process it, and a Yamaha LS9-16 to mix it.

"The venue has told us that this was the best speech so

France - Rental company Jmson, located in Agen in the South of France, has added two Midas PRO6 live audio systems and a Klark Teknik DN9696 high resolution audio recorder to its inventory, purchased from French distributor EVI Audio France.

Jmson has specialised in music and corporate events for over four decades, supplying packages comprising sound reinforcement systems, stage structures and lighting as well as backline. The purchase of the PRO6 consoles was in line with the company's policy of offering state-of-the-art solutions to their customers, as well as a response to the growing demand for digital technology. Adding the DN9696 multitrack recorder to interface with the PRO6s completed the package, allowing for full digital solutions.

"We were already familiar with Midas analogue consoles and were convinced that we could expect the same design, sonic and ergonomic

USA - When The Starry Plough Pub and Nightclub, Berkeley's legendary live music venue, decided to overhaul the outdated sound equipment and install a Meyer Sound CQ-1 loudspeaker system, the goal was to draw top talent and their fans with nothing less than world-class sound quality.

"One of my conditions before agreeing to come onboard was that they would redo the sound system," says Matthew "Smitty" Smith, the programming director and venue development consultant for The Starry Plough. "Now when I'm booking national touring acts I can say, 'The money and the hospitality may be the same as the other clubs, but our sound is better.' When I tell bands that we've put in this Meyer Sound system, I get their attention."

A cornerstone of the Bay Area music scene since its debut 35 years ago, the 250-capacity Starry Plough had fallen into a state of disr

Germany - Intellimix Corp has been appointed as distributors by dBTechnologies to help develop a stronger presence for the pro audio brand in the Canadian territory.

Montreal-based Intellimix Corp is the exclusive distributor in Canada, well-equipped to address all markets with the dBTechnologies range, as their President, Stephen Kosters explains: "With retail and small rental companies, the Opera series fits the bill; whereas we are finding the larger touring, install and contractor markets are well served with the line array."

dBTechnologies' international sales manager Harald von Falkenstein adds: "Working with Intellimix Corp, which has a variety of pro MI and pro audio products in its portfolio, means dBTechnologies can now reach a far wider range of customer groups in this territory."

"I am very proud to be the new distributor in Canada,"

UK - When the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in Hampshire opened a new exhibition featuring BBC's Top Gear, it was decided at an early stage in the planning that the visitor experience had to reflect the excitement and adrenaline rush that is a major factor in the TV programme's enormous success.

As well as exhibiting many of the cars that have appeared on the show, the museum was able to turn an existing exhibition dome into the Top Gear Enormadrome, creating much the same atmosphere as is experienced by the show's live audiences in the Top Gear hangar from which the show is transmitted.

Both sound and visuals are important in creating the experience, and it was fortunate that Bose Pro Partner, DJW (D J Willrich), a company with strong local ties to Beaulieu, was able to bring a wealth of experience to the project. David Willrich has been involved in many vis

Italy - Proel has announced the launch of a new compact polypropylene-housed active speaker system - the 500 Watt Flash12HA.

Offering significant advantages of the previous Proel Flash equivalent, the Flash12HA is the first Proel speaker system to be fitted with custom designed Celestion neodymium speakers - a 12" woofer and 1" compression driver. Significantly, despite the massive increase in power, the weight of the new Flash12HA is just 19kg as opposed to the previous 250 Watt model, which weighed 20kg.

UK distributors Proel (International) say the new Flash12HA delivers an extended bass response, a powerful, defined high-end and superb definition in the vocal range. It's designed for applications where no-compromise sound quality has to be matched with ease of portability and reliability.

The Flash 12HA's onboard amplification delivers a bi-amped continuous 400

USA - The Daytona State College Mike Curb College of Art, Music and Science features a 48-channel Solid State Logic Duality console for its new music production technology programme.

"We assembled a team of experts to examine what console would work best for our new recording arts programme and the decision was unanimous for the SSL Duality," says Jake Niceley, instructor of music production technology at the school. "We are teaching the craft of sound recording and, in addition to the excellent EQ and dynamics processing on the console, we will use many types of analogue outboard gear.

"Interfacing this gear cannot be easily accomplished through a control surface. Duality also allows us to address our different DAW platforms right from the console and that is very important to us. We will use a wide variety of equipment to educate our students in the art o

UK - TV One has expanded its extensive range of RGBHV over Cat 5 transmission products with the introduction of the new 1T-CT-420 system. Big on capability, but small in size, this lightweight, economical system was designed for installations where space is limited and budgets are tight, says the company.

The 1T-CT-421 Transmitter accepts resolutions of up to 1280x1024 and is a unity gain device, which requires no adjustments for the encoding of the signal. The included 1T-CT-422 Receiver has Gain and Equalization adjustments to compensate for cable runs up to 180m in length. This avoids the loss of high frequency portions of the signal and results in clear text and picture elements with sharp edges and no degradation.

Both units are supplied with TV One's space saving and twist secure locking power connector.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Restaurant chain Zizzi has appointed PEL Music & Media as its music supplier. Zizzi is a young but rapidly growing company - 100 restaurants in 10 years - with quality Italian based menus. Following a rebranding exercise to position Zizzi as "the sexy local Italian with a broader menu and new look restaurants", the company wanted to change its style of music to fit the stylish new image. Sister company Ask recommended its recently appointed music specialist, PEL Music & Media, as suitable candidates for the task.

With the rebranding exercise nearly finished it was imperative that a new play list was created quickly and PEL Music & Media rose to the challenge. PEL's studio programmers worked closely with Zizzi to define the style, tempo and volume required to create the right atmosphere. The result is a mixture of Latin and Jazz based music that isn't overtly comme

UK - Sadly, we report the untimely death of Cadac's Mark Ray. The following statement was issued by Cadac yesterday:

"With great sadness, Cadac Holdings Ltd today announced the sudden and tragic death, at the age of 49, of Mark Ray. Mark died of a heart attack in the early hours of Monday 9 November 2009, whilst visiting New York."

Ray fronted Cadac's sales and marketing activity around the world for nine years, joining Cadac in November 2000.

Cadac's Bob Thomas said, "We are all devastated, losing a good friend as well as a colleague. Mark gave every element of his life 100% - as a passionate advocate for Cadac, as a gifted musician and as an active contributor to the pro-audio industry. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Mark's family and friends. All of us at Cadac will miss him enormously."

After serving in the Army, Ray's career had included spell

USA - The Alley Theatre in Houston, TX, which mounts numerous plays year-round on its two stages, has installed Clear-Com's CellCom digital wireless intercom system to maintain easily accessible, reliable communications between crew members responsible for staging its shows.

The Alley Theatre, home to the 824-seat Hubbard and 310-seat Neuhaus stages, uses the CellCom system as the main method of communications for the entire backstage crew, from stage manager, to light and soundboard operators, to wardrobe and house managers.

According to Pierre Dupree, the sound supervisor for the Alley Theatre, the CellCom solution is miles ahead of its competition. "The reception and sound are fantastic," he says. "It's much better than other wireless communication products; the sound comes through very clearly. We also appreciate the ease with which we can recharge the beltp

UK - The Institute of Sound and Communications Engineers held its annual Institute Day on Thursday, 15 October 2009 in Watford. During the AGM, Terry Baldwin CompInstSCE was appointed president of the Institute, taking over from Bryan Robinson FInstSCE, who held office for the past three years. Both paid tribute to fellow past president and council member, the late David Hopkins OBE.

Terry Baldwin has been a prominent figure in the sound system industry for over 50 years. As joint founder of Baldwin-Boxall Communications, he has rarely been out of the limelight, and he has earned for the company, an enviable reputation for quality and reliability (and hospitality!).

The Institute says it is extremely grateful for Terry's acceptance of the Presidency at short notice after the sad death of David Hopkins, who was due to take on the role.

The day comprised the ever popular Warre

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