Italy - Powersoft has extended two of its most popular fixed install ranges with the introduction of the two-channel Duecanali 6404 DSP+D and the four-channel Quattrocanali 8804 DSP+D. Both products feature Dante digital audio networking architecture and on-board, high-end signal processing, as well as being able to deliver 175 Vpeak, making them ideal for applications where high SPL is required, such as clubs, performance venues and stadiums. As with the other models in their respective ranges, the new Duecanali 6404 DSP+D and Quattrocanali 8804 DSP+D amplifier platforms are able to deliver this high level of performance at a competitive price point and with the same low operational cost and carbon footprint as any other Powersoft product, says the company. With this new extension, the new Duecanali 6404 DSP+D and Quattrocanali 8804 DSP+D series now sits coheren
Europe - Following the recent expansion of Yamaha’s flagship digital console series with the new Rivage PM3 and PM5, the latest firmware for the entire range, V4.0, is now available as a free download, providing even more powerful tools for mix engineers. Yamaha’s commitment to listening to customers, providing more flexible systems and improved mixing environments has resulted in a number of important user interface and function updates in Rivage PM firmware version 4.0. These include Eventide’s SP2016 premium reverb plug-in which, in addition to a large selection of top-quality presets, allows detailed editing for engineers who want to customize their sound. The new firmware improves the mixing capacity of the Rivage PM7, expanding the number of input channels from 120 to 144 and increasing matrix outputs from 24 to 36, allowing the construction of even larger
USA - Audinate, developer of the Dante AV networking technology, is adding two new models to Dante AVIO line of audio adapters, offering USB-C and Bluetooth connectivity for use with Dante networks. The Dante AVIO family of adapters allow users to easily use non-networked audio equipment on a Dante audio network. Cost effective, compact and rugged, Dante AVIO is available in 1- or 2-channel analogue input or output configurations as well as AES3/EBU, USB and now Bluetooth versions. The Dante AVIO USB-C adapter allows devices with USB-C ports to deliver and receive 2 channels of audio with a Dante audio network. It is a class-compliant USB audio device that requires no additional drivers and works with any application, making it ideal for rapid setup of conference rooms, background music and more. The Dante AVIO USB-C adapter may be powered by the connected device or vi
UK - The Royal Society of Chemistry has upgraded its audio-visual systems at its Burlington House headquarters with the addition of a K-array loudspeaker system supplied by 2B Heard and installed by the Torpedo Factory Group, enabling the Society to offer better quality sound and vision as a leading central London venue for its many rental clients. Key to the library’s attraction as a venue - prized by users for seminars, conferences, lectures, award ceremonies, fine dining and private functions – is its integrated audio-visual facilities and, taking an opportunity to benefit from the latest technological advancements, the RSC decided this year to upgrade its audio systems in order to provide better coverage and improved intelligibility to meet the growing requirements of its corporate clients. In consultation with the Torpedo Factory Group (TFG) and following an o
France - As Culturespaces opens the world’s largest digital art centre, the cultural operator continues its successful collaboration with Modulo Pi. Opened on June 10, 2020, the Bassins de Lumières (The Ponds of Lights) in Bordeaux relies on 30 Modulo Kinetic media servers to provide an outstanding immersive art experience. Culturespaces Digital turned to Modulo Pi and chose the Modulo Kinetic media server solution in 2018, when it created the first digital art centre in Paris, the Atelier des Lumières. Opened in April 2018, the Atelier des Lumières already welcomed more than 2m visitors eager to experience a new immersive approach to the work of famous artists such as Klimt, Van Gogh, Monet, and more. Since the opening of the Atelier des Lumières, Modulo Kinetic has become the exclusive media server for each existing or new digital art centre by Culturespaces
UK - Martin Audio’s virtual tradeshow has been “a resounding success” according to the company, which reported the number of registrations for its web event had come close to the numbers of visitors the British pro audio manufacturer would typically expect to meet at traditional large tradeshows. The company held its event on 20 May taking the form of three 90-minute webinars matched to different time zones. “We achieved over 800 registrations for the event,” reveals James King, Martin Audio’s director of marketing. “To put that in context, this is the amount of people we would engage with at ISE or InfoComm in our demo room in a given week, and probably four times the amount we get to our UK Open Day events. So, this was a very efficient exercise.” The virtual trade show gave Martin Audio the opportunity to speak in detail about its overall por
Italy - Italian loudspeaker manufacturer Outline will hold a free webinar in English on OpenArray, the 3D acoustic prediction, modelling and simulation software written in the Brescia company’s laboratories and now at its second release. From CAD to OpenArray will take place on 18 June and comprise two sessions, starting at 9am and 6pm CET respectively. Users will be guided step by step through the preparation of the designs to be imported into OpenArray, starting from CAD programmes. Giulio Gandini, who will host both sessions with the support of Paolo Calza, states: “I’m pleased to have the opportunity of explaining in depth what in my opinion is one of the software’s most interesting features: how to import designs into OpenArray directly from DXF files. We’ll begin with a recap of the key characteristics of the simulator and the audience section, f
France - Public address systems specialist Active Audio and manufacturer of professional loudspeakers APG have formed the Arbane Groupe. This completes their strategic alliance initiated in 2016. Régis Cazin, CEO of Arbane Groupe, comments: “For the past four years, APG and Active Audio have been able to leverage a number of technological and organisational synergies, supported by strategic recruitment and exceptional results. We've seen many successful innovations come directly from our strategic alliance, including APG's Uniline Compact and Active Audio's Ray On.” He adds: “The creation of Arbane Groupe is the natural outcome of our strategy of bringing together and perpetuating the two brands.” Arbane is the name of a grape variety used in the production of champagne, which shares many similarities with the two French manufacturers, as Cazin e
India - Immersive audio specialist Out Board has appointed Alphatec as its new exclusive distributor in India for TiMax SoundHub spatial audio processing and TiMax TrackerD4 precision stagetracking systems. Devasis Barkataki, Alphatec managing director, comments: “We are very happy to welcome the TiMax products into our distribution range for the Indian market. TiMax fits well with our other high quality brands and suits perfectly our core activities in premium system solutions and integration.“ Out Board director Dave Haydon, adds: “We’ve been fortunate previously for TiMax to be involved in some great projects with premier local event producers and venue integrators, and now is the right time to partner with a nationally established full-service distribution, design and turnkey operation such as Alphatec. “We have now undertaken online TiMax intro an
Russia - A recent upgrade of AV systems in the central conference hall at the Moscow head offices of the Mosenergosbyt AO energy company – the largest wholesale energy company in the Russian Federation – saw the installation of an Amate Audio Xcellence X208 line array, providing the complete audio reinforcement for the 180 seat auditorium. Charged with bringing the company’s principal conference facility into the 21st century, system integrator Atanor group – an Amate Audio authorised distributor in the Russian Federation – opted to ensure even distribution of high intelligibility audio signals throughout the auditorium by means of a line array. The X208 was chosen as providing a highly efficient, effective and compact solution by virtue of its novel coupling of X208A active and X208P passive array elements, where power and DSP loudspeaker system management i
Brazil - When rental company Maxi Audio had to close the doors on the planned in-store Maxi Academy training programme, it was determined not to let its customers down and swiftly set up an alternative, online programme. Broadcast and Front of House engineer, Renato Carneiro, Audio Systems' DiGiCo support, a regular supporter of the Maxi Academy and long-time DiGiCo user, delivered the first session, based on the mix he had done for popular Brazilian duo Bruno & Marrone’s first live YouTube performance. “Maxi's training programme is 100% free and open to the market,” says Carneiro. “The idea of my original, face-to-face session was to have a quick description of an SD12 and rebuild the actual session used in Bruno & Marrone live shows - remember those shows we used to do on a proper stage, with an audience? - using the multitrack show recordings. We ha
Australia - FOH engineer James ‘Oysters’ Kilpatrick is one of Australia’s most experienced and has mixed for a who’s who of Australian music. The COVID-19 pandemic left him with no work so he decided to put all his gear, knowledge and contacts to good use creating The Roadie Show. Along with key contributors Barry Brody, Alex Saad and Christian McBride, the team behind the project have a combined history of more than 100 years of stage, screen and touring experience in the live music business. “The Roadie Show aims to provide fun-filled and creative opportunities to keep going and stay busy in this fragile climate of uncertainty,” commented Oysters. “Essentially, it brings long-time mates, roadies and musicians together with a Plan B to keep a small part of the once-thriving global entertainment industry alive.” “This project is gu
France - As many countries slowly lift confinement restrictions, L-Acoustics will re-open in-person education programmes this month. Simultaneously, L-Acoustics is pre-launching a new Online Education Platform. The first programme on the platform is a complete, but remote, version of its renowned System Fundamentals training, a prerequisite for all other L-Acoustics training modules. In 2019, L-Acoustics hosted training courses in 60 countries, completing 670 training days and awarding 6,000 certificates. Of these, 240 training days and 2,400 certificates were for the Systems Fundamentals course. “This education platform will foster the creation of a learning community where participants can share questions and develop a useful network of L-Acoustics users, as well as benefitting from the expertise of the instructors and the other trainees,” explains
UK - Sadly, we report the passing after a short illness of long-time Sennheiser executive and well-known industry personality Paul Whiting. “It is with deep regret that we inform you that Paul Whiting passed away on the evening of Friday 5 June,” says Sennheiser. “Paul was taken ill suddenly in early May and, although he came home for a short period, it was quickly apparent that he would not recover. The family were given the opportunity to visit Paul at the end of last week to say goodbye. On the Friday evening, Paul passed away peacefully in hospital.” The statement continues, “For those that did not have the privilege of knowing or working with Paul, he began his career at Sennheiser in 1990, after 15 years with former UK partner Hayden Laboratories as the head of its Professional Division as Sales and Marketing Manager. Paul was instrumental in establishi
UK - A new company specialising in immersive technologies for theatre, performance and live events has won funding from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency. Copper Candle will use the funding to develop a platform to help the grassroots of the UK theatre and music industry, both in the short-term during the COVID-19 crisis and far beyond. Copper Candle’s innovative Break A Leg platform will help community theatre, choirs and schools to continue collaborating while under pandemic restrictions. But that’s not all: it will also open possibilities for more widespread online collaborations among creative communities in the future. “This funding enables us to build a platform which will allow anyone, but particularly community theatre groups, to easily navigate through technology to create collaborative performances and turn them into shareable content,” explai
UK - Torpedo Factory Group has upgraded the audio-visual system at the London headquarters of the Royal Society of Chemistry, one of the UK’s oldest professional scientific associations, established in the mid-19th century with the goal of advancing the chemical sciences. Burlington House, Mayfair, has been the RSC’s residence since 1857, and is famed for its historic library that not only houses a world-class collection of scientific journals but is also a leading event venue in central London. Key to the Library’s attraction as a venue – prized by users for seminars, conferences, lectures, award ceremonies and private functions – is its integrated audio-visual facilities and, taking an opportunity to benefit from the latest technological advancements, the RSC decided this year to upgrade its systems in order to provide better coverage and improved intelligi
China - When construction began on the Xi’an Olympic Sports Centre, home of China’s 14th National Games, officials wanted the modern 18,000 seat venue to feature a PA system that would give every seat a memorable experience. With help from pro audio distributor EzPro International, officials found the solution they were looking for in EAW’s Radius (RSX) Series loudspeakers and subwoofers. “In designing the sound system, the goal was to provide the same frequency response for each listening area and to address any unevenness throughout the audience areas,” says system designer Zhang Xianjun. “We first built a 3D model for the stadium in AutoCAD, according to the architectural drawings. We then imported the model into EASE4.3 acoustic analysis software, followed by a 1:1 EASE model setup. We choose EAW’s RSX line array for its strong directivity, ability to optim
USA - Audio Precision has released the latest update to APx500 audio measurement software, version 6.0. With this release, APx software supports multiple simultaneous input types, enabling the concurrent measurement of up to 16 channels of digital and eight channels of analogue audio data. This new multi-input capability, paired with the highest channel count and widest range of digital I/O available, provides APx users critical cross-domain insight and the opportunity to reduce testing time. Multiple simultaneous input types, or multi-input, is the ability to activate a second input type on any APx modular audio analyzer, or APx515 analyzer, and make measurements simultaneously on analogue and digital signals. With two input types enabled - for example, analogue for one or more reference microphones and PDM 16 for an array of MEMS microphones - there will be measureme
USA - In accordance with City of Chicago guidance, Sensaphonics has reopened its Chicago headquarters. After nearly three months of required closure, all facilities are back in operation, including the Musicians Hearing Clinic and the adjoining manufacturing lab. All Sensaphonics operations are being conducted under the social distancing guidelines suggested by the CDC and City of Chicago. The company has issued a simple set of rules for its staff and visitors, designed to protect employees and clients by minimizing any possible virus exposure. For the Musician Hearing Clinic, only one client will be permitted in the building at a time. All visits are by appointment only, and all guests must pass a temperature scan before being admitted. Visitors must bring and wear their own facemask, and the use of gloves is encouraged, though not required. Sensaphonics staff will w
Italy - With three decades of pro audio expertise under its belt, Funky Junk Italy has enjoyed a lengthy relationship with API Audio. Now, both companies are have announced that Funky Junk has been officially appointed as the exclusive Italian distributor for the US manufacturer's entire range of analogue consoles and signal processing equipment. "Funky Junk is the place to go in Italy if you are looking for professional and high-end equipment, and for good advice when it comes to planning an investment in a music production setup," said Funky Junk Italy's managing director, Paolo Orizio. "The recording market has changed greatly over the years, especially combined with the introduction of new genres of music. Computers and virtual devices have become a typical choice for a generation of musicians and producers who have grown up in the digital era. “At Funky Junk, we
Europe/USA - The 2020 AES Spring Convention, AES Virtual Vienna, was presented in real time to a global audience, 2-5 June as the Audio Engineering Society hosted its first-ever completely online convention. Despite being moved from its original, physical venue in Vienna, Austria, due to recent worldwide travel restrictions, organisers report that the AES Virtual Vienna Convention thrived, with attendees from 59 countries logging in to view and take part in over 200 presentations in live-stream and on-demand formats, many of which offered real-time Q&A discussion with the presenters and other attendees. The entire AES Virtual Vienna Convention will remain online through 30 June, 2020, for those currently registered, and registration (for as low as $50) will remain open through that time for anyone wishing enjoy the AES Virtual Vienna Convention on their own time,
South Africa - Digital signal processing technology specialist Xilica has appointed TOA Electronics Southern Africa, a subsidiary of TOA Group, as its distribution partner for Xilica DSP products in South Africa and select markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. Headquartered in Johannesburg with regional offices in Cape Town, Durban, and Port Elizabeth, TOA Electronics Southern Africa offers ‘a full-service approach that equally values sales, solutions engineering, training and pre/post-sales support’. “Our reputation for reliability, coupled with our engineering calibre, go a long way toward allaying any fears of system failures and breakdowns,” commentsRalph Singer, director, sales and marketing at TOA Electronics Southern Africa. “Xilica’s product range meet the same standards we value, and their products are especially ideal for the many installations that are
Myanmar - Total Electronic Solutions recently equipped mCube Family Karaoke’s two locations in Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon) with JBL KP Series loudspeakers and Crown XLi amplifiers. mCube is a popular karaoke chain with two locations in Myanmar’s largest city. Their Waizayandar location features 18 karaoke rooms of varying sizes, while the City Mall St. John location features 10. To provide loud and dynamic music, clear and intelligible vocals and consistent, focused coverage for large and small groups, mCube required cutting-edge sound systems tailored specifically for karaoke establishments. Total Electronic Solutions outfitted both locations with complete Harman audio solutions featuring specialised JBL KP 4000 and 6000 Series karaoke loudspeakers powered by Crown XLi Series amplifiers. "As the seating capacity for karaoke rooms ranges from 4 to 30 p
Europe/USA - Yamaha Pro Audio has added an extended programme of webinars dedicated to the latest Rivage PM Series digital mixing systems. Demand for in-depth information about the newly-introduced compact Rivage PM5 and PM3 systems has been high, says the company. Joining the established Rivage PM10 and PM7 systems, they allow a much wider range of applications and budgets to benefit from Yamaha’s flagship mixing technology. Produced by, and co-ordinated between, Yamaha’s three main technical centres in the UK, Japan and the USA, all live Rivage PM Series webinars are streamed globally and many are presented twice, to ensure people in as many time zones as possible can take part. Yamaha also runs online Q&A sessions, where people from all over the world can directly interface with the company’s experts to get answers to any technical enquiries.
