USA - This month’s NAMM Show is the first public outing for Nexo’s new Geo M12 line array, a flagship addition to the successful Geo M family of sound reinforcement systems by the French manufacturer. ‘The Big Twelve’, as Nexo calls the kit, will make its performing debut on the NAMM Yamaha Grand Plaza Stage in Anaheim. Sharing the same aesthetic design and sonic signatures as the other models in the Geo M Series, the Geo M12 offers ‘flexibility, coverage and superb sonic performance in a thoroughly modern package’. Launched together with the MSUB18 companion subbass cabinet, the Geo M12 is aimed primarily at the mid-size rental company, although its competitive pricing will make it a popular investment for all types of user, from corporate presentation to live performance venues to houses of worship, says the company. “The Big Twelve is a logical complem
USA - San Diego-based Pacific AV has joined the EM Acoustics North America sales team. The announcement was made by EM Acoustics operations director Mike Wheeler. “Pacific AV has the experience and knowledge to help us expand our user base in the States,” explains Wheeler. “Scott and his team have strong relationships with a large network of key contractors, consultants and rental companies. They bring a lot to the table and we’re glad to have them on board.” Principal Scott Wrege started Pacific AV in 2006. Since then the company has received numerous awards, from outstanding achievement to rep of the year, for their sales efforts in southern California and southern Nevada. “Our goal is to not only be a valued resource to our customers, but to introduce them to products that solve their specific audio system challenges,” Wrege adds. “We do our b
The Netherlands - Powersoft will use this year’s ISE as the first chance to demonstrate its new product, Mover - a small yet powerful linear transducer that can be used in audio applications and as a linear motor or shaker. Adaptable to various purposes, including 4D cinemas, theme parks, or venues with vibrating acoustic floors - as well as applications that go beyond entertainment - Mover lets audiences feel the sound through haptic perception by vibrating the surrounding environment, which the human body picks up and, through bone conduction, translating the vibrations into perceivable frequencies, says the company. Mover is available in two versions; Direct Drive and Inertial Drive. Visitors to Hall 7, Y195 - one of Powersoft’s three booths at ISE - will be able to experience Mover first hand on a custom-built platform as it interacts with VR content. Users s
USA - California rental company Rat Sound Systems has decided to purchase some Newton 16+8, Outline’s FPGA-based processing platform. Jon Monson, project manager at Rat Sound Systems states: "Rat Sound has been searching for several years for a solution to drive our festival sound systems and Outline has met the challenge with an elegant solution. With the Newton we can combine consoles and drive outputs in a multitude of popular formats, and we appreciate all the various clocking options. “Our system engineers instantly appreciated the intuitive, easy to use software control. Rat has immediately started deploying Newtons on a multitude of festivals, and we plan on utilising them on all our festival events in 2019 and beyond." Top bands, performers and venues serviced by the company from Camarillo, including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Warped T
Malaysia - The Rainforest World Music Festival takes over the Sarawak Cultural Village tourist attraction every July, drawing renowned international musicians as well as indigenous musicians from the island of Borneo. The festival has been attracting large audiences from all around Southeast Asia and beyond for several years. During each afternoon, cultural workshops take place combined with lectures on ethno-musical topics, jamming sessions and breakout gigs, and then in the evening the main performances hit the two stages erected by Kuching-based rental company Projection House. Kevin Phua has been a key figure at Projection House throughout its 18-year existence, and for the past four years has deployed the d&b V-Series at the festival. This year once again the Jungle Stage and the Tree Stage were built at ninety degrees to each other and were set up for ‘ping
UK - Chord Electronics will be making its NAMM show debut this week as it celebrates 30 years of UK audio manufacturing in consumer and pro audio. The Kent-based company will bring several of its DAC/headphone amplifiers to NAMM, with the company’s senior team, including owner, MD and chief designer, John Franks, in attendance. The company, which has exclusively designed, engineered and manufactured in Great Britain since its formation in 1989, produces a range of proprietary-technology high-performance digital and analogue audio products, which are active in a number of leading studios and production facilities around the world, including Abbey Road, Metropolis Studios, Air Studios and Sony Music. Chord Electronics’ stand 10627 will feature a number of critically acclaimed devices: the portable Mojo DAC/headphone amplifier, transportable Hugo 2 DAC/headphon
Australia - Pro AV Solutions Queensland and avt installed AMX SVSI Networked Media Solution at The University of Southern Queensland (USQ) to create flexible teaching spaces leveraging the university’s standard network infrastructure. With campuses in Toowoomba, Springfield and Ipswich, USQ offers courses in law, health, engineering, business, education, arts and the sciences. USQ recently deployed a series of POD-based learning and teaching techniques to facilitate interconnectivity both within and between campuses. USQ turned Pro AV Solutions Queensland and avt to design an affordable and easy-to-use AV solution. Pro AV Solutions Queensland suggested the AMX SVSI networked media solution, capable of delivering high-definition audio and video with minimal latency across a variety of end-points on multiple campuses. "We realised that we couldn’t approach this proje
Europe - Outline has announced the immediate availability of v.93 firmware for their (patent Newton digital hub, in addition to software version 1.8.1 for their proprietary ‘Dashboard’ remote control application. This is the latest operational upgrade following the successful launch of Newton at prolight+sound 2018 and is largely based on input from Outline’s international group of Newton users, who have thoroughly road-tested the units in a wide variety of applications. The full list of new features can be found on the Outline Newton’s website but the principal improvements from a user viewpoint include: - Alerts and notifications: immediately signals to the user any major event (for example, input back fallback, clock change, power supply fault etc) within Newton and / or Dashboard, and simultaneously logs the event to a database. - Permanent link
USA - Adamson Systems Engineering is set to formally introduce the CS7p point source enclosure, billed as “the first entry in a new generation of loudspeaker technology”, at The 2019 NAMM Show. Beginning with the CS7p, the new CS-Series will be “the world’s first family of mobile loudspeakers to feature onboard Class-D amplification, DSP, and Milan-ready (AVB) network endpoints”. The CS-Series builds atop the proven foundation of the tour-grade S-Series and install-focused IS-Series. In its first iteration, the CS7p has been successfully used as a FOH near-field monitor at high-profile events such as the Hillsong Conference (Australia) and on the Drake and Migos North American tour. “Today, the CS7p gives us the luxury of streaming audio over AVB with console manufacturers that are co-authoring the Milan specification alongside their industry peers. In an a
UK - From an opera house to a university creative centre, an audiophile’s nirvana to an 18th-century theatre, and even a cathedral, theatre planners and acousticians Sound Space Vision (SSV) has unveiled its finished projects and reveals future plans for a variety of spaces in around the world. SSV’s newly completed projects include one of several high-profile buildings for Hong Kong’s extensive West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD), the Xiqu Centre. As the first finished building in the new West Kowloon Cultural District, the Xiqu Centre serves as the gateway to the district and is, fittingly, dedicated to the performance of Chinese Opera (Xiqu) and the centre for preservation and development of the variety of Chinese Opera art forms. SSV was responsible for the acoustics and audio systems in all of the Centre’s spaces, including both natural and amplified pe
UK - Sister companies Shooting Partners and Anna Valley have merged under the Anna Valley brand, which has been redesigned to represent a broader service offering and modern style. A new, responsive website has also been created to support the new brand. The two companies were subsidiaries of the Shooting Partners Group, which launched in 1989 as a camera-hire business and expanded to include AV technology, with the acquisition of Anna Valley in 2000. This announcement comes three years after the Shooting Partners Group underwent a management buyout and follows considerable business growth in existing and new markets. As well as establishing a new AV integration business unit and significantly increasing their rental business year-on-year, in 2017 the group also purchased live event specialists, Matrix UK Solutions which remains unaffected by this re-brand. The decis
UK - Adlib’s installation division are part of a team which has helped to deliver Europe’s first installed L-Acoustics L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound system at EartH (Evolutionary Arts Hackney), a vibrant new arts centre for live music, mixed arts, and performance located in the former Savoy cinema in Dalston, east London. Adlib worked closely with client Auro Foxcroft and his team, with support from L-Acoustics’ sales manager, Paul McMullan and applications engineers, Jeff Woodford (installation) and Sergey Becker (touring) to specify and install the 360° L-ISA system with the aim of delivering an all-round audio experience for audiences and artists alike. EartH is the brainchild of Auro, champion of Hackney nightlife and founder of Shoreditch venue Village Underground, a commercially successful, sustainable and community driven initiative that also provides a
Denmark - Originally founded in 1926 with just 12 members, what is now known as the Aalborg City Church in northern Jutland is one of the largest church organisations in the region. Having outgrown its previous premises, the church has recently moved to a new, fully renovated modern building able to accommodate around 1000 people in total including a main auditorium for 750. In order to provide clear, consistent audio coverage throughout the auditorium, the church’s AV department selected a Halo-C compact line array system from EM Acoustics supplied by EM’s Danish distributor, Alfa Audio. According to Alfa Audio’s Torsten Matthiessen, the requirement was for a compact, efficient sound system that would cover the whole venue with no holes or hotspots. “A line array system seemed to be a no brainer for the venue – we just needed to find the right one,” recal
UK - British rockers Bring Me The Horizon (BMTH) kicked off the European leg of their First Love World Tour in November 2018 to promote the release of their sixth studio album, amo. Seeing this as an opportunity to showcase the band’s new music with greater transparency and enhanced LF definition, the band’s sound team decided to take the d&b KSL System on the road for one of its first ever major tours. The hot-off-the-press KSL System is the latest loudspeaker line from d&b, designed to deliver all the recognisable features of its SL lineage, from broadband directivity control to advanced rigging options. The KSL System can be used as a standalone, self-contained package, a delay, or fill accompaniment to GSL. BMTH kicked off their First Love World Tour with performances in Germany before travelling through Switzerland, Austria, Italy, the Netherlan
UK - Celebrating its 40th anniversary tour at the end of last year, Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of The Worlds showed it has lost none of its momentum or ability to thrill. The production is constructed around a three-tonne 35ft tall Martian Fighting Machine, which fires real flames against the backdrop of a 100ft-wide animation wall - and there are many other special effects. From a musical perspective, the 36-piece ULLAdubULLA strings performed alongside the nine-piece Black Smoke Band (which included many musicians from the original tour in 2006). Now on its seventh tour of duty, the production has been played out on its last three outings through Martin Audio’s MLA PA - and sounded as fresh as ever. As for the cast, Liam Neeson retained his role (in 3D holography) as The Journalist, and was joined for this tour by Jason Donovan, reprising
USA - Panduit Corp has acquired global AV manufacturer Atlona. As part of the acquisition, the Atlona team will join Panduit’s Enterprise business group. Atlona will continue to serve its customers from its global headquarters in San Jose, California for all sales, customer support, and training related inquiries. “Atlona has been at the forefront in developing cutting-edge AV technology that embraces the full potential of the convergence of AV and network infrastructure,” explains Dennis Renaud, president and CEO of Panduit. “Their industry-leading solutions complement Panduit’s extensive physical infrastructure portfolio, which will allow us to offer customers a quality end-to-end solution as they move to increasingly complex network infrastructure systems.” Ilya Khayn, Atlona CEO adds, “There are strong synergies between our companies including
UK - Billed as the glorious finale to the Flat Season, QIPCO British Champions Day brings together leading jockeys, horses, trainers and owners from Europe and beyond for one of the most prestigious fixtures in the UK sporting calendar. As a grand finale to the proceedings, the 2018 event closed with a suitably grand after party for over 5000 guests. The event was staged within a giant Igloo domed roof structure provided by Fews Marquees which was built on the lawn directly adjacent to the main grandstand at Ascot Racecourse. The party featured performances from House of Angels, Ella Eyre and culminated in an epic DJ set from Jax Jones. Working on behalf of clients Generate Events, Light Fantastic provided full technical support to the show, including lighting, audio, video, staging and rigging along with design and fabrication of a host of bespoke scenic elements.
South Korea - The Korean K-Pop phenomenon celebrates itself every year at the Golden Disc Awards, staged in Seoul. Audio production provider for seven years, Way Audio has found the means to tame the huge space that is the Gocheok Sky Dome, using a large modular PA system, the STM Series from Nexo. 2018 saw K-POP take the USA by storm, as boyband BTS filled baseball stadia in Los Angeles and New York, as well as European capitals, with their loyal fanbase known as the Army. Every January, this musical genre holds its own awards ceremony; the Golden Disk Awards event featured performances by many of its big names: BTS, EXO, Twice, Red Velvet, Black Pink, Momoland and Mamamoo, among others. The domed baseball stadium houses 25,000 K-Pop fans, and the show is broadcast live by JTBC. The Sky Dome is one of Korea’s largest indoor venues, and the largest-capacity sta
Canada - The Canadian Football League’s 2018 season concluded on Sunday, 25 November when the Calgary Stampeders defeated the Ottawa Redblacks 27-16 in the 106th Grey Cup, held in Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta. While fans in the stands of the largest open-air stadium in Canada (seating capacity of 55,819) saw a great game, they also heard from some fantastic entertainment. Brother-sister country duo The Reklaws got the audience fired up during the pre-kick-off show, and then Canadian songbird and Grammy Award-winner Alessia Cara rocked the half-time show. FM Systems ensured that all sounded fantastic thanks to a uniquely deployed L-Acoustics K1 sound system, loaded on custom-fabricated carts that were brought onto the field for the performances, and then wheeled out during game play. “The deployment was incredibly smooth,” says Josh Burnett, ge
USA - Vanguard Audio Labs will show the V7 at NAMM 2019. The V7 features an interchangeable capsule system that is a modified version of the company's V34C ‘LOLLI’ pencil-mount capsule, which allows for different capsule styles, sizes, and voicings that can operate in any of nine selectable polar patterns. The transformer-coupled solid-state circuitry consists of combining desirable elements from several legendary circuits. The V7 is housed in a vintage bottle style body, finished with deep-gloss 'pinot noir'r colour and accented by polished chrome trim. The rear of the microphone allows for a selectable 140Hz/70Hz rolloff and -10/-20dB pad. Included is the VLSM shockmount, a padded pinewood storage box, a microfiber mic sleeve, and locking case with space for additional capsule heads. (Jim Evans)
Germany - Pro audio and broadcast audio specialist DirectOut Technologies has announced changes in the structure and leadership of the company. As of January 2019, Claudio Becker-Foss is promoted to the role of CTO and CEO of DirectOut GmbH. He takes over both positions from Stephan Flock, who will now focus on the research and development of FPGA-based interface and DSP design. As co-founder of the company, Becker-Foss has worked as product manager and software developer since its beginnings in 2008. Over recent years, he has become a networked audio specialist as DirectOut has progressively adopted network-based transmission technologies such as Ravenna, Dante and SoundGrid to its portfolio. Together with Jan Ehrlich, who has been CEO and sales director of DirectOut since 2014, Claudio Becker-Foss will be responsible for technical strategy, and preserving th
Thailand - Allen & Heath has announced the appointment of Sonos Libra as its exclusive distributor in Thailand. Sonos Libra has a strong presence as a pro audio distributor in SE Asia and already represents the Allen & Heath brand in Vietnam. With an experienced team they have quickly garnered a reputation for first-class service and customer support. Allen & Heath’s comprehensive product portfolio allows Sonos Libra to fully address a broad range of market segments, from audio installations through to the most demanding touring applications. Markus Sinsel, sales director at Allen & Heath, says: “We are very pleased to be working with the Sonos Libra team in Thailand. They are a young, dynamic company who have rapidly built an impressive standing in the region. We are looking forward to continuing to work together to further strengthen the brand.
Turkey - Harman Professional Solutions has announced a new distributor partnership with Ertekin Elektronik in Turkey. The distribution agreement entitles Ertekin Elektronik the right to distribute the full range of products offered by Harman Professional Solutions. The agreement covers the JBL Professional, AMX, Martin, Soundcraft, AKG, Crown, dbx, BSS, Lexicon, and Studer brands, providing a 360-degree solution to customers requiring audio, video, lighting and control solutions. “We are excited to partner with Ertekin Elektronik in this very important region,” said Mark Coombes, regional director, MEA at Harman Professional Solutions. “We are looking forward to our collaboration with Ertekin Elektronik to lead our iconic brands towards the future. We are confident their experience and in-depth knowledge of the Turkish market to support our customers’ needs on
Turkey - One of Istanbul’s largest nightclubs, the latest in the group of Jolly Joker venues, is making a big impact on the city’s entertainment scene, thanks to a high-specification Nexo STM Series modular line array installed by Alkor and Yamaha Music Europe Turkey. The Jolly Joker Vadistanbul has been opened by Hakan Polat, İbrahim Sayın and Ahmet Çelenk, a new addition to a collection of clubs spread all across Turkey. The 2,000-capacity club has a large stage, and plays host to a busy rota of popular Turkish artists. Installation company Alkor collaborated closely with Yamaha Music Europe Turkey to present a Nexo proposal to Hakan Polat and the Jolly Joker’s audio engineer Eren Öztürk. After a live demo, they selected the Nexo STM Series modular line array system, with Nexo’s 45 N-12 line monitors on-stage, from a competitive tender, citing the system
