Keeping Music Live - Campaigners fighting to preserve Cardiff’s live music scene have heralded a breakthrough after plans to develop flats in the heart of the city’s entertainment district were withdrawn.
A campaign to protect the city's grassroots music scene has been underway since the start of this year, with campaigners fighting in particular to preserve the entertainment venues on Womanby Street, which is home to several live music venues but has seen a string of closures in recent times.
The campaign attracted thousands of signatures, and calls on Cardiff Council to protect the area as a cultural hub. Venue owners and music fans also condemned a planning application to create a hotel to be built above a Wetherspoon’s pub on Womanby Street.
Plans for a residential housing development comprising six flats had been submitted for the street, however these

UK - Penton UK is introducing an extensive range of electronics covering Public Address / Voice Alarm (PA/VA) and Audio over IP products to complement their range of PA/VA Loudspeakers.
The addition of these products will allow Penton UK to offer a fully integrated service across PA/VA and Audio over IP. The flexibility of products will also give Penton clients a greater opportunity to obtain both product and systems from one source.
Penton’s management team said: “We are delighted to bring this range of ATEΪS and Terracom products under our UK wing. The products have shown to be of very high quality and allow us the flexibility to now offer an all in one solution for our customers.”
The new range is available now and will be stocked and serviced from the UK, ensuring shorter lead times, better availability and technical support.
Notable site referen

UK - Bose Professional is now shipping its EdgeMax in-ceiling premium loudspeakers.
The loudspeakers feature proprietary Bose PhaseGuide technology, which provides ‘room-filling coverage’ while improving overall sound quality compared to the performance of conventional ceiling loudspeakers.
Designed for mounting near wall boundaries, EdgeMax loudspeakers project high-frequency sound throughout rooms up to 65ft (20 m) wide using only perimeter mounting locations, and can effectively cover an area that would require up to four conventional conical-coverage models.
EdgeMax loudspeakers can eliminate the need for conventional ceiling speakers mounted in the centre of rooms, or surface-mount loudspeakers mounted on walls. Their design and consistent coverage pattern reduces the total number of in-ceiling loudspeakers required, enabling installers to move efficien

UK - HD Pro Audio is staging a one-day technology showcase event, featuring a selection of its premium brands and products.
Taking place from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Thursday 19 October at John Henry's Studio 3, London N7, the event will include the SSL Live L200 console with Dante stagebox system, L'Acoustics Syva loudspeakers, KLANG:technologies 3D binaural IEM mixing system and Green Go digital intercom, including wireless.
Manufacturers' representatives will be on hand to give a detailed overview of each technology, as well as hands-on demonstrations.
Numbers are limited, so anyone wishing to attend should call HD Pro Audio on 01784 433687 or email info@hdproaudio.co.uk as soon as possible. Bookings can also be made on-line at https://goo.gl/R2uoei
(Jim Evans)

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) has supplied Allen & Heath's dLive S7000 digital mixing console to Aberdeen-based production company Granite City Events for use on live music events, festivals and theatre productions.
Granite City Events is one of the premium production companies in Aberdeen and the Scottish Highlands and, with over 20 years of industry experience, puts on events ranging from concerts and live shows through to weddings and corporate functions.
The sale, which also included an Allen & Heath DM48 mix rack, was handled by Steve Eaton, sales executive in the company's dedicated audio sales division.
Barry Sherriffs, Granite City director, comments: “After various discussions with, plus help and advice from Steve, we decided the dLive was the way forward. The versatility of dLive, plus the speed of the system, made it perfect fo

UK - dBS Solutions has adopted a Martin Audio theatre system for the newly opened Legally Blonde The Musical.
dBS Solutions purchased Martin Audio’s XD/WS218X model, deploying the larger XD15 unit for the production, as the 15” LF drive unit and 1.4” neodymium HF compression driver has reduced weight and several pairs can be mounted up the vertical proscenium truss to the rotatable horns.
Musical theatre and panto specialists UK Productions contacted dBS Solutions based on the audio company’s past success with their flagship Christmas pantomime in Sunderland.
dBS Solutions sound designer Chris Bogg recognised that this latest challenge would not be an easy one. “The show’s American girl-heavy production numbers have a tendency to sound ‘squeaky’ to me so the main aim was to make the sound less shrill and much warmer,” he said. “We h

USA- A 32-channel AXS console has been commissioned in Studio A at Made In Memphis Entertainment (MIME).
The new music venture opened its doors this past April, and serves not only as a studio, but also a music label, production company, and publishing group.
Kerry Kernan, chief engineer at MIME says, "The AXS has been a fantastic addition to our studio and has been a joy to track and mix on. I really like the way the AXS has remained truly analogue, yet the automation features can still integrate well with the modern DAW workflow. We are still discovering all of its capabilities."
MIME's CEO David Porter adds: "The legendary API sound combined with the AXS's feature set made for an unbeatable combination for Studio A. We couldn't be happier with our new console."
(Jim Evans)

UK - Audio-visual consulting company Consultancy Team UK has appointed a PR manager and a technical specialist.
Amy Harker has become business public relations manager and will manage the company’s public relations and marketing as well as contributing to their business development strategies. With 20 years’ experience in the media industry, Amy comments, “Consultancy Team UK are strongly committed to continue to offer a full spectrum of highly regarded audio-visual consulting, design and installation services and I look forward to driving forward global growth whilst maintaining a strong history of high standards.”
Emrys Jones has been appointed as technical specialist and will be overseeing all elements of design, installation and production for numerous projects within the company’s portfolio. With 20 years industry experience Emrys has led many key accoun

USA - Out Board will exhibit its TiMax spatial audio and showcontrol products on the booth of its US distributor 1602 Group at this year’s New York AES 2017 show to be held on 18-21 October 2017 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center (booth 451).
TiMax SoundHub and TiMax Tracker will be demonstrated, combining adaptive object-based spatial reinforcement techniques for live vocal, instrument imaging and immersive audio with precision performer stage-tracking for automated vocal mic localisation. Out Board’s Dave Haydon and Robin Whittaker will introduce the new dimensionally-aware StageSpace intelligent object programming interface for TiMax. This adaptive spatial audio rendering resource automatically configures fully-editable delay-matrix localisation objects for TiMax SoundHub spatial audio processor and TiMax Tracker automation.
Also showcased is the new TiMax

Italy - An Allen & Heath dLive S Class mixing system was selected for a recent large scale classical music production at Mandela Forum, Florence, which saw over 460 musicians and choristers perform a selection of works to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Florence Foundation.
La Piazza Incantata included members of the Choir of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino with the soloists of the May Academy, the Orchestra of the Conservatorio Cherubini, the Italian Youth Orchestra of the Music School of Fiesole and the Orchestra of Tuscany.
Production company ABC srl Rome was responsible for the audio for the event, which required 148 mic inputs, over six stereo matrix, and multiple Aux groups for monitor mixes. To achieve this, ABC used a dLive S7000 surface, with a DM64 mix rack and three fully-loaded DX32 I/O expanders to handle both FOH and monitor mixing.

UK - London-based electronics engineering company PEL Services was commissioned to design and install upgrades to the public address and emergency sound systems at Celtic FC’s 60,000-seat stadium Celtic Park.
With a stadium-wide IT network and existing public address infrastructure already in place, PEL advised the selection of Bosch Praesideo digital Public Address and Emergency Sound System with Electro-Voice pro audio loudspeakers to improve coverage, clarity and fidelity within the main bowl area of the stadium.
Because both systems can be interfaced to the Dante networking standard, the Bosch Praesideo system and all Electro-Voice loudspeakers are monitored and controlled remotely via Electro-Voice N8000 NetMax digital matrix controllers.
Vic Swain, engineering director for PEL, says: “The club wanted a state-of-the-art emergency notification system, an

Japan - Martin Audio Japan recently launched the British manufacturer’s latest range of products at the Nakano Zero Theatre in Tokyo. This was the first territorial exposé of the new suite which received its global premier earlier this year at Frankfurt’s Prolight+Sound Show.
Supporting the Tokyo event was Martin Audio R&D director, Jason Baird. He first introduced the LE and XE floor monitors before turning to the Wavefront Precision WPM and WPC line arrays after the intermission.
Developed in consultation with leading monitor engineers and combining sleek, low-profile enclosures with unique Coaxial Differential Dispersion technology, the XE300 (1 x 12” LF) and XE500 (1 x 15” LF) are designed to deliver perfect monitor sound with a defined coverage pattern that allows the artist freedom of movement, while reducing overlap with adjacent monitors. The LE100

South Korea - Sungeun Church in Uijeongbu has selected a Qu-32 compact digital mixer, two AB168 remote IO racks, and a ME personal monitoring system from Allen & Heath as part of a new digitally-based AV system upgrade to its main chapel.
The new system needed to manage live sound reinforcement for services and events, multi-track recording for web streaming content, and personal monitoring for the musicians.
“The Qu-32 is intuitive, with plenty of outputs, great handling and quality faders and rotaries. The touchscreen is a good size and sensitivity, and gives a great overview as well as enabling fine control with a screen-dedicated rotary. And thanks to the custom layer function, you can assign fader strips as you want. I also really like the GEQ. Unlike other consoles, I can apply GEQ on every output channel, and there are 4 different EQ models in the library

The Netherlands - The latest AV and display tech were deployed at the Canon of The Netherlands exhibition which opened at the Netherlands Open Air Museum in Arnhem in September.
The exhibition, which covers the highlights and low lights of Dutch history since the Stone Age, combines historical objects on loan from collections throughout the Netherlands with deployments of the latest audio-visual and display technologies.
Working in intimate collaboration with exhibition architects Kossmann.dejong and a multi-disciplinary team of film, animation and interactive designers, Rapenburg Plaza of Amsterdam were engaged to implement the lighting, show control and audiovisual technologies for the exhibition.
“We work in parallel with Rapenburg Plaza in most of our projects and they help bring our ideas to life. They have an expert, specialist team who work t

UK - While the overarching memory of BBC Radio 2’s big weekend in Hyde Park was of James Blunt crowd-surfing in a dinghy at the end of his set, for Capital Sound it was just another monumental production, successfully deploying their Martin Audio MLA PA to bring the summer season to a close.
Radio 2 Festival in a Day followed BBC Proms in the Park. Sir Ray Davies headlined the first day, designed to coincide with the Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, joined by Steps and Sir Bryn Terfel, while Take That and Shania Twain were the headline acts on the Sunday, bringing the curtain down on another wonderful Weekend in the Park for the BBC, despite the weather.
With PA control and set up in the capable hands of system tech Toby Donovan production standards again met and exceeded the requirements of promoters, Festival Republic, and thei

Sweden - Adamson Systems Engineering and Benum Sweden have announced a strategic new distribution agreement for the Swedish market, which finds the two companies working in tandem with previous distributor Stonehouse Show Technologies AB to build the premium loudspeaker brand’s sales and profile in Scandinavia’s largest economy.
In the new arrangement, Benum will oversee Swedish distribution while Stonehouse will maintain its strong focus on AV installations as an Adamson integration partner. Stonehouse’s sister production rental company Soundforce Scandinavian AB will remain a key Adamson rental account and provide senior consultancy and demo support across the country, especially for larger and higher-profile projects.
“Our partnership with Adamson is built on a shared set of values and has been very successful in Norway,” begins Peter Engström, CEO of Ben

UK - UK-based international entertainment industry engineering design and safety specialists and consultants BLUMANO Ltd has launched Stage DB - a unique new multi-lingual software tool for co-ordinating and collating all the necessary machinery / equipment documentation to meet production health and safety requirements.
Stage DB has been developed for BLUMANO by Lluis Diaz-Guerra, also one of three directors of the company which launched in 2014. Since then, BLUMANO has led the way in establishing important health and safety related working practices for the world of concert touring, special events and large spectaculars.
Any tour or event needs to produce a fully organised bundle of documentation, including all the mandatory certificates and reports mandated by the H&S work regulations. This is often required in different languages, all of which also have to be

USA - Audio industry veteran Chris Caiazzo has joined Orlando-based Professional Wireless Systems as technical sales manager. In his new position, Caiazzo will be responsible for sales, technical support and project management. The announcement was made by Jim Van Winkle, general manager for Professional Wireless Systems.
“I am very happy to be working with Chris again,” said Van Winkle. “His vast experience in the industry, and knowledge of wireless systems integration will be invaluable to our customers. I am very confident that he will be a key part of our growth for years to come.”
Caiazzo began his career working for Van Winkle at Masque Sound, parent company of Professional Wireless Systems, in 1994. He began his own audio company, Technically Sound LLC, in 2006. Since then he has provided a variety of sound reinforcement services in the broadcast, corpo

USA - A/V integration firm Essential Communications recently added an Ashly Audio digiMIX24 digital mixing console to the Meyer sound reinforcement system at the Django, a jazz club located under New York’s Roxy Hotel.
“The Roxy is our client, and they were in the market for a new live mixer for The Django,” explained David Schwartz, president of Essential Communications. “They wanted all of the functionality and processing power of a large console, but they didn’t have a lot of physical room to put it.
“The Ashly digiMIX24 is compact and packs a ton of features into a small footprint. However, Ashly was very clever in the design so that all of the functionality appears seamlessly. It’s uniquely powerful, but also uniquely easy to use. They will use its full power for jazz shows, but they’ll also use its ‘EZ Mode’ for meetings and other events.”

USA - Grace Church’s new campus in North Carolina’s Research Triangle benefits from AVL system installed by the CSD Group.
With its sweeping inwardly curved stage, gently arched ceiling, fanned seating arrangements, the inside of the church resembles a contemporary theatre or conference centre yet makes worshippers feel at home by projecting a sense of warmth and intimacy via the Chauvet Professional Ovation and COLORdash LED luminaires that CSD used to anchor the lighting system.
“This church is fully contemporary in style, but its leaders also wanted an immersive environment with a sense of transcendence,” says Doug Hood, president of the CSD Group. “The even warm white front and stage lighting we got from the Ovation fixtures makes it easy for worshippers to see the stage and connect to the people on it. When you look at a well-lit stage, you are more like

UK - Flare Audio has received recognition by the Government as a leading UK innovator, following the publication of The Parliamentary Review this autumn.
The annual review, published by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, showcases businesses that demonstrate best practice at every level of industry, and features a foreword by the Prime Minister, Theresa May.
Flare Audio founder Davies Roberts described how, since launching in 2010, the company developed a revolutionary new type of loudspeaker and earphone technology for professional and consumer use, providing a previously unheard level of audio clarity.
Sir Eric Pickles, chairman of the Review, said: “It has never been more important for government to hear the views of business and the public sector in a constructive forum. It is also a vital time to share best practice and progre

Australia - Ariana Grande brought her Dangerous Woman Tour to Australia this September and JPJ Audio joined her on the road.
FOH engineer Simon ‘Si’ Thomas specified a Clair Cohesion PA to be utilised for her entire tour – unless when unavailable in certain country when an L-Acoustics K1 or d&b J series were use.
“It’s very compact and lightweight compared to other line arrays in its class and it’s got lots of headroom,” commented Thomas. “It has a really good high/mid which is very smooth. With this kind of music there’s a lot of odd sub content that goes down really low with which the CP-218’s do a really good job. The CP-218 sub is particularly good, it’s very powerful.”
In Sydney, Ariana played the ICC Sydney Theatre with 16 CO-12 per side in the main hang, 12 CO-12 per side in the side-hang and three CP-218 flown per side i

Russia - The Spy Moscow Club in the city’s Triumphal Square has specified a matched system of Nexo Geo S12 and PS Series loudspeakers.
The installation was completed by DJSOUND Company, which had to design a system that fitted with the club interior and met the most stringent audio performance requirements.
“The system had to provide uniform coverage with awesome sound quality,” explained Gulya Zaripova of Nexo’s Russian distributor SIM. “The Spy Moscow club has a varied itinerary of entertainments and events; live music, DJs and karaoke, as well as background music, so the system had to work across all those applications. And the club wanted it installed within very tight deadlines.”
For the live music stage, a main PA of Geo S12 Series was selected, together with RS18 subbass. In the VIP zones, a combination of Nexo PS8 and PS10-R2 speakers were fit

Europe - German fibre network company BroaMan has reported an “overwhelmingly successful launch” of its new Repeat8-NANO and Mux22-Intercom devices, which were introduced to distributors, broadcasters and the media at this year’s IBC 2017 in Amsterdam.
According to technical sales manager Maciek Janiszewski the response from customers in this sector could not have been more positive. He said: “Despite other similar products populating the market there remains a constant need for smaller interfaces, which we have identified - and one with the ability to handle 12G-SDI and 4K transmission for which this is perfect. We have reduced the channel count and size from the original Repeat48, but have maintained the same highest quality.”
BroaMan MD Tine Helmle, added: “At the same time the price/performance ratio is amazing, and at the same time we have managed to

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