UK - QFlex, Tannoy's range of digitally steerable array loudspeakers first launched in 2008, has recently been updated with some major additional features designed to meet a range of industry needs. These enhancements give the product improved functionality and superior capabilities for integration within large scale PA/VA applications, says the company.

The new features that Tannoy has introduced on QFlex deliver more resolute safety and monitoring facilities, making it fully compliant in any life safety or mass notification environment. In addition QFlex has been weatherised for outdoor or harsh environments without compromising on the product's sleek aesthetic, making it suited for large scale transport hub applications such as within airport terminals and major train stations.

Among the key improvements on this front are the addition of Pilot Tone Detection capability, Sen

South Africa - The Potters House Church in Bloemfontein is utilising QSC's active K Series, with integrated 1000W Class D amplifier lightweight portable PA system.

Senior pastor at Bloemfontein, David Kennedy, was eager to replace his existing system with QSC's and when a friend offered to buy the previously installed rig (including sub), he said it was just the break he needed.

"I wrapped up the deal and ran to Toms [QSC's South African distributor] to buy my new K12's. As soon as I had installed them the difference was like night and day; even people untrained, or unobservant of such things, could tell immediately the difference in quality."

David Kennedy had been introduced to the K12's by Nico Greyling, who looks after the Bloemfontein branch of Toms Sound and Music.

Said Greyling, "I have known David for a few months, and on many occasions we have discu

UK - DB Systems has taken on two new members of staff and promoted three others as it prepares for a busy final quarter to 2010.

Richard Woodward has joined DBpixelhouse, which is DB's content building division. In addition, Alex Copson and Nick Beard have both been promoted to the DB project management department with responsibility for liaising with a variety of organiser and agency clients. Usama Dafaalla is been appointed Logistics Coordinator and will work alongside Mark Danvers, Operations Director.

David Bulley, said: "We are about to embark on a very busy few months, which will see us servicing clients at over 30 events and exhibitions events in the UK and throughout Europe. These guys will be in the deep end but I have no doubt that they will rise to the challenge of working for a global leader in IT & AV rental.

(Jim Evans)

On The Move - The Brit Awards are to move to the O2 arena in south east London from Earl's Court. The annual UK music awards ceremony has been held at Earl's Court for the past 11 years. Next year's Brit awards will be held on 15 February. Brits bosses have also announced a further three-year deal with ITV to show the event live on television.

"Looking at what The Brits stands for - the 'must-see' spectacle - it was clear that moving to a state-of the art venue like the O2 was an obvious evolution," said Brit Awards chairman David Joseph.

Down The Bookies - The odds of Paul Weller winning the Mercury Prize have been slashed after a bookmaker took an "unprecedented" rush of bets from people backing him to win. William Hill dropped its odds from 20/1 to 1/10 over the weekend after what it called "extraordinary" activity. Its spokesman said m

UK - Where are we with Remote Device Management? What are the benefits? How do I use it, install it, specify it? For the answers to these and many other questions about RDM, just come along to stand 2-P37 at PLASA 2010. Sponsored by the PLASA Technical Resource Office and 25 industry supporters, the RDM 'Compatibility Corner' is a must for all consultants, specifiers, users and manufacturers of lighting systems.

Peter Willis and a team of industry experts will be on hand to explain each of RDM's key features with hands-on examples of RDM interoperability and connectivity using a range of manufacturer's compatible products. They will be offering one-to-one briefings for consultants and specifiers and regular mini-presentations on specific aspects of RDM benefits. There is also a special session for RDM developers, which will take place on the stand on Monday 13th September from 5

Europe - Faithless have been on tour since early this year, playing in clubs, theatres and on the summer festival scene across Europe. Throughout, the band's monitor engineer Ben Milton has been relying on the DiGiCo SD8.

MIlton has been using DiGiCo consoles since the company started in 2002, when friend and prolific theatre sound designer Bobby Aitken introduced him to the brand.

"I have been specifying DiGiCo consoles when I can ever since," says Milton. "When I was putting together the monitor spec for Faithless, I wanted to use the best sounding console with the smallest footprint. We were starting the tour in European theatres, some of which have very limited space onstage - the Paradiso in Amsterdam springs to mind - so it was crucial that I kept my footprint small and flexible."

Milton has seven wedge mixes on stage and eight stereo in-ears, and t

UK - Adlib Audio's Summer festival season continued apace with the Liverpool- based company supplying three trucks of audio equipment for 8 stages plus 20 of their technicians to the new three-day Vintage Festival at 'Glorious' Goodwood.

Vintage 2010 - "Celebrating 5 decades of British Cool" was the first of what will be an annual music and fashion-led festival of 'cool', dating from the 1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s & 80s . It features leading DJs, bands, collectors, purveyors of vintage clothing and classic vinyl, alongside contemporary bands and brands inspired by the UK's richly expressive music and fashion heritage.

The refreshing entertainment concept was set in the beautiful surroundings of the Goodwood Estate, ensconced in a secluded valley overlooking the Sussex coast, with a capacity of 20,000. James Neale crew chiefed the 20-strong team and oversaw all of the proje

UK - Event organiser UBMi BV has extended its contract with DB Systems, the IT and AV rental company.

As part of the new agreement, DB will supply bespoke AV systems and services for eight shows between now and 2012, including CPhI 2010, CPhI 2011, CPhI 2012, as well as Food Ingredients Europe 2011.

Oliver Richardson, DB's sales director, said, "I'm delighted that UBM has extended our contract for another two years. Our relationship with UBM is built on a solid foundation of trust developed over years of working together."

(Jim Evans)

UK - Audinate will be seen and heard throughout PLASA 2010. Many of Audinate's OEM partners such as, Yamaha, Allen & Heath, Peavey, XTA, Lab.gruppen, EV, Link, Midas, ASL and Outboard will be showcasing products that incorporate Audinate's Dante media networking technology.

John McMahon, VP of sales and support for Audinate comments, "We are excited about the growing number of licensees showing Dante at this year's PLASA. It is a validation that Dante is quickly becoming the de-facto standard in digital media networking. This is due largely in part to our migration path to AVB and our ability to provide our partners with a high-performance TCP/IP solution today."

Aidan Williams, co-founder and CTO of Audinate, will be speaking on the Manufacturers' Panel at the first ever AVNetworks 2010. The conference will explore issues surrounding networking technologies and prot

UK - beyerdynamic will exhibit a number of new products at this year's PLASA show including the Stegos digital wireless boundary microphone, the DT 290 and DT 790 professional series headsets with integral level limiters and the Opus 600 wireless microphone system.

Stegos is fully encrypted 2.4GHz digital wireless boundary microphone system designed for use in both video and tele-conference applications. Key features include global microphone muting via a single button press, over 14 hours of operation, short battery charging time and an easy to use software interface. Stegos allows up to 12 microphones to be used simultaneously.

The beyerdynamic DT 290 series headsets have undergone a major makeover for this year's show. The new DT 290 offers an improved pivoting gooseneck microphone and further enhanced immunity against Radio Frequency Interference (RFI). With its highly fle

UK - Two of Scotland's market-leading professional audio companies have committed to a joint venture which they say will "raise the bar" in their specialised industry.

Glasgow-based WS Steele has signed a memorandum of understanding with Dalgety Bay company Clear Audio Systems, known in the industry as Claude, to work together to develop opportunities.

WS Steele, established 70 years ago, is a leading provider of high-end audio-visual systems while Clear Audio Systems specialises in a niche audio market - the supply and installation of induction loop systems and audio enhancement products to assist the 15% of the population who have hearing difficulties. The two companies have a combined turnover of just under £2m and a joint workforce of seventeen.

WS Steele managing director Stuart McArthur and Claude's CEO Kim Rose say there is sound synergy and strategy u

UK - Aviom will launch its AllFrame Multi-Modular I/O System at PLASA 2010. The system replaces traditional analogue I/O boxes with a modular digital solution. It is designed for permanent installations in theatres, schools and conference centres, as well as providing an effective solution for touring and portable live sound applications. The AllFrame system keeps analogue cabling to a minimum by digitising the audio input signal where it connects to the network, reducing system complexity and labour costs while delivering improved performance and flexibility.

The AllFrame requires a single Cat 5e or fibre connection eliminating the need for soldering, terminating, testing scores of analogue connections, installing conduit, and pulling separate cables for each audio signal. The unit can be powered over Cat 5e cable or from a dedicated DC power line. Each AllFrame device supports

UK - Despite two multi-platinum selling albums, being a three time Grammy Award nominee, Ivor Novello and MOBO award winner and enjoying a public profile that most singers can only dream about, it took 2006 X Factor winner Leona Lewis until the summer of 2010 to embark on her first headline tour.

Monitor engineer Ant Carr did some promo work for Lewis earlier in the year and has previously worked for Syco, her management company, so he was ideally placed to get the best from the singer's voice in the array of arenas that the Labyrinth tour took in.

"This year Leona was to tour with a fresh band, so it was a good opportunity for me to come in," he says. "To be honest, choosing Sennheiser was a no brainer for me. It's my choice of microphone and the in-ear stuff is great."

Carr has Lewis, plus her four-piece backing band, two backing singers a

UK - JoeCo Limited has confirmed a PLASA preview of its new Blackbox Player. Based on the Blackbox Recorder's's technology, the Blackbox Player is a dedicated 1U multi-channel device specifically designed for replaying backing tracks for live shows. Able to replay 24 channels of 24bit/96kHz audio, the player can be triggered with a footswitch or keyboard, or controlled via MIDI commands, giving the live engineer, musical director or artist full control of the show.

Audio for playback can be loaded onto a standard USB2 hard drive, or Flash RAM drive, from any workstation capable of creating Broadcast WAV files. A simple naming convention ensures that the correct file is replayed through each output. The 'set list' can be configured into a simple playlist file written in an easy to understand XML format. Multiple playlist files can be stored on the external media allowing for quic

Denmark - Guitarist, composer and producer Henrik Andersen has chosen a DPA SMK4061 miniature stereo miking kit for the live debut of possibly the most advanced guitar in the instrument's history: the 52-stringed, three-neck Manzer Medusa.

The concept for the Medusa sprung from Andersen's success on the Indian classical scene and a desire to create a personal trademark encapsulating his musical identity. Accordingly, the Medusa features necks of a veena, sitar and conventional guitar.

"The sonic range and acoustic colours of the Manzer Medusa are fantastic and outstanding, so I needed to find a mic solution for live concerts," says Andersen. "I ended up choosing the SMK4061 stereo miking kit from DPA. The 4061 miniature mics are extremely small, but catch the overall sound of the 52-stringed beauty. For me they set a new standard, because the small size of the m

UK - Celestion has announced the appointment of Ken Weller in the newly created role of product marketing manager. Based at the company's headquarters in Ipswich, UK, Ken will take responsibility for Celestion's marketing function, with particular focus on professional audio product management.

"As the company continues to be successful, it's important that we invest in the right personnel to facilitate further growth" Commented Nigel Wood, Celestion managing director.

"Ken offers a wealth of experience and knowledge within the audio industry, and of loudspeakers in particular. Bringing Ken on board enables us to strengthen our product management capability and will help drive the business forward through the development of a new generation of innovative and market-leading new products."

With a strong background in physics and a keen interest in loudspeak

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies has confirmed its status as an official sponsor of the Jack Goff racing team for the 2010 ELF Renault Clio Cup with Michelin Championship.

For this year's Championship, Jack Goff is sponsored by several entertainment technology companies, including Avolites, Fibre Optic Systems, GLP, HSL Group, Litestructures, Pixel Range, Robe, Rope & Rigging and SES.

Jack Goff and his Renault Clio racing car will be appearing in the JG-Motorsport Lounge at PLASA 2010. Visitors to the lounge have a chance to enter a free prize draw to win an exclusive track day experience with Jack.

AC-ET's UK sales director, Phill Capstick comments, "Further to AC-ET's sponsorship of the BRDC's exclusive Rising Stars Programme supporting promising young British racing drivers, it was a natural progression to sponsor a talented up and coming driver from the local ar

UK - Electrovision reports that it has secured its continuing relationship with Behringer, after over 10 years of successful association with the German company.

A Behringer statement says, "Electrovision will now be authorised to service regional dealers in the European market who are not participating in the group's container programme with fulfilment of Behringer and Bugera product orders. The appointment marks a significant milestone in the existing relationship between the two companies."

Richard Fox, managing director of Electrovision, comments, "We have been fortunate enough to have a long and successful relationship with Behringer and we firmly echo their goal to offer 'the best equipment at fair prices', which helps us to stay competitive and makes the Behringer and Bugera ranges accessible for our customers."

Fox continues, "Electrovision's

Austria - Tannoy's QFlex steerable array system has recently been specified to good effect in Austria, solving a long-standing intelligibility problem in a historic ballroom. Located in the town of Wiener Neustadt, 30 miles south of Vienna, the opulent classical ballroom is housed in a 350 year old building that began life in the 17th century as a church and then later home to the Mayor's Office following a long stint as a factory for most of the 19th century.

The building was then acquired for use by a local bank with a grand opening in 1898 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Emperor Franz Josef I, and has remained in the hands of the financial institutions ever since with numerous renovations and a number of sound systems for the ballroom space having come and gone over the years.

To mark the 150th anniversary of the bank, the owners (Sparkasse Wiener Neustadt) sought to a

USA - Aviom's Pro16 personal mixing system is proving a big hit on Broadway, where it is being used as part of the monitoring setup by three of the season's hottest musicals - Promises, Promises, Come Fly Away, and La Cage aux Folles - to help the orchestra to stay on cue.

Promises, Promises, a musical adaptation of the hit 1960 Billy Wilder film, The Apartment, has the most traditional arrangement of the three shows, with a large orchestra playing in a pit near the stage. Production Resource Group (PRG) supplied Promises, Promises with its Aviom A-16II Personal Mixers and mounted them on the orchestra musicians' microphone stands, so musicians can easily access and customize the mix they need to listen to in order to properly get their cues.

With an A-16II, individual performers can create custom monitor mixes tailored to their indivi

USA - Renkus-Heinz has announced the appointment of Rik Kirby to the position of vice president of sales and marketing.

Kirby has been with Renkus-Heinz for five years, most recently as vice president of operations, and previously as national sales manager. A pro audio veteran, his resume includes stints at Turbosound and BSS Audio and before that several years as a live sound engineer. In his new position, he will be responsible for the direction and coordination of all sales and marketing activities, as well as overseeing product management, and supporting the company's growing application engineering department.

"Rik is truly the ideal candidate to lead the company's sales and marketing efforts," says Harro Heinz, Renkus-Heinz founder and president. "He brings many years of experience and dedication to the position, and we are confident that under his leaders

Switzerland - reports that Montreux-Oberland-Bernois Railways in Switzerland will become the first customer of the new Barix Annuncicom 155, a networked Audio over IP device specially designed for harsh everyday operation on railways, buses and ships. Barix partner Railtec Systems will exhibit a new panorama carriage with the device on the open-air grounds at the Innotrans show in Berlin, Germany, taking place September 21-24 at the Messe Berlin Exhibition Centre.

Railtec Systems, based in Switzerland, is currently outfitting 14 locomotives and railcars and about 60 passenger carriages operated by MOB Railways with networked Annuncicom 155 devices. The devices are integral to the configuration of MOB Railways' pioneering passenger information and announcement system. The Annuncicom 155 is responsible for the bidirectional exchange of live announcements as well as priority, monit

UK/USA - Blackbox Recorder manufacturer JoeCo and Audinate, creators of the Dante digital media networking solution, have announced the start of a collaboration which will see Dante technology incorporated into a range of Blackbox Recorder products.

JoeCo is the latest pro audio manufacturer to announce an incorporation of Dante technology, under licence, in its products. "Successful capture and play back of large amounts of audio data in different live situations depends on sample accurate synchronisation and low latency", comments managing director Joe Bull. "With BBR products increasingly used in broadcast, film and TV applications as well as live sound, it has become increasingly important to find a protocol that enables fast, reliable and integrated data transfer while keeping costs and complexity to a minimum. In this respect, Dante has proven itself to be t

France - L-Acoustics has announced that a new GLL (generic loudspeaker library) is now available for its WST systems, including Kiva, Arcs, Kudo and Kara. The development now provides complete compatibility between L-Acoustics Soundvision and AFMG's EASE software applications for acoustic source data, as well as for audience area.

The new GLL format allows quick insertion and setup of WST systems in EASE 4 system design software. The library provides true line source radiation patterns, and audience area data can be shared by both applications using import/export functions.

"We were the first to develop the previous version of GLL, EASE DLL, and we are thrilled to bring this new evolution to L-Acoustics system integrators around the word," says Cédric Montrézor, head of installation support at L-Acoustics. "This follows our overall installation dev

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