Sound

Details

28 June 2024

UK - Focusrite has announced the acquisition of UK-based Innovate Audio, the company behind the panLab spatial audio solutions. This follows the earlier acquisition of TiMax and builds on Focusrite Group’s commitment to immersive sound.

With the acquisition, it has been agreed that panLab solutions will join the TiMax brand, meaning TiMax can now offer a comprehensive range of immersive sound solutions, from entry-level panning software through to full delay-matrix spatial processors and performer stagetracking. Innovate Audio founder, Dan Higgott, will also join TiMax as a senior product developer.

Both panLab 3 and panLab Console have proved popular with sound designers the world over with over 10,000 downloads achieved and the solutions being used in venues from Sydney Opera House to the National Theatre. With panLab 3 users enjoy a spatial audi

Details

28 June 2024

UK - BPM Show, originally re-scheduled for 9-10 November 2024, is now postponed to a date to be confirmed in 2025.

This decision, taken in collaboration with PLASA, Headliner, SEDA, Mastermix, AVSL, Chauvet DJ, NADJ, Paladin Innovations and Promo Only, reflects our commitment to providing an unmatched experience for our attendees.

The team at PLASA – alongside our esteemed partners – have decided to take this extra time to completely revamp the BPM Show, including a brand-new venue. This is so that we can deliver a world-class event that sets new standards in the UK for the DJ and electronic music community.

BPM Show 2025 will focus on several key areas:

Music: Featuring some of the biggest names in the electronic music industry.

Technology: Creating a hands-on tech playground with cutting-edge DJ equipme

Details

28 June 2024

UK - The Isle of Wight Festival 2024 is setting a benchmark in sustainability by integrating hydrogen-powered generators into its power infrastructure. GeoPura's hydrogen powered generators (HPUs) replaced traditional diesel fuel to power crew and artist catering and part of the guest village; supplying zero-emission electricity from hydrogen for the first time at the festival.

This initiative is part of the festival's commitment to becoming the most sustainable in the UK. By introducing hydrogen power, the festival is making a significant leap towards reducing its carbon footprint and setting an example for other events.

Caroline Giddings, director at The Isle of Wight Festival, said: "By introducing hydrogen-powered generators, we are taking a proactive step towards our goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. This initiative is jus

Details

28 June 2024

“DirectOut's approach to audio distribution and processing has caught the attention of many professionals in recent years and further strengthened their reputation,” says Simon Rains, chief engineer & education director of Sonos Libra. “It was therefore a great solution to add to our catalogue. The highly flexible clocking and redundancy options of the Prodigy series are obviously highly desirable and add tremendous value to projects and applications where downtime is not an option.”

The partnership with Sonos Libra will enable DirectOut to bring its solutions to an even wider customer base in the region. With offices in Bangkok, Ho Chi M

Details

27 June 2024

China - The architecturally stunning Xiao Theatre inside Beijing’s Huilongguan Cultural and Art Centre Theatre has installed a Green-GO ethernet-based digital communications system to aid clear, seamless interactions between the technical team.

The theatre, which is named for renowned Chinese director Rao Xiaozhi, has become a go-to venue for immersive sound technology, attracting a range of dance and theatrical companies. China Green-GO dealer and AV expert EZPro specified a complete AV solution for the theatre, helping it to gain a reputation as a pioneer in audio system design that brings audiences a more involved experience.

To ensure clear communication and efficient workflow, EZPro introduced the Xiao Theatre’s technical team to the Green-GO system. During the planning process Wei HE, Green-GO product manager at EZPro, demonstrated its wire

Details

27 June 2024

Singapore - Changi Airport in Singapore recently unveiled its latest attraction: Terminal 2 which now boasts an immersive experience across two installations aimed at recreating the wonders of Singapore’s natural environment.

The two multimedia installations, named Digital Sky and Wonderfall were created by multimedia studio Moment Factory, in close collaboration with the design studio Boiffils Architectures, and implemented by systems integrators Electronics & Engineering (Wonderfall) and Electro-Acoustics Systems (Digital Sky).

Moment Factory also designed the soundscape of both installations and a K-array system was chosen to provide sound reinforcement for this ambitious installation.   “For our third collaboration with Changi Airport Group, the trust already established with the client allowed us to push the envelope, both creatively a

Details

27 June 2024

USA - When the University of Michigan set out to enhance the audiovisual experience for spectators at Michigan Stadium, one of college football’s best-known venues, university officials pledged to take the game-day atmosphere to ‘unprecedented heights’. To deliver on that promise, the university chose the technology of the Anya 3-way Full-range ADAPTive Array Module and Otto ADAPTive Subwoofer from EAW.

Led by Paul Haley, lead audio/visual engineer at University of Michigan Athletics, the multi-million-dollar project included the new EAW audio system, two new video boards (the main North videoboard and a South videoboard), as well as lighting and production studio upgrades.

“The decision to integrate EAW speakers into the renovation project came after meticulous consideration and consultation with industry experts,” says Haley. “We wanted

Details

27 June 2024

South Korea - Nothing But Thieves were very happy with their touring set-up, but a ‘fly-in’ gig in South Korea changed everything. The in-house desk was a DiGiCo Quantum 338 and Gary Curtis, front of house engineer, knew as soon as he heard it that there was no going back, and once the band had heard his multi-track recordings, they agreed.

The Quantum 338 is now their desk of choice at both the front of house and monitor positions. “We had been using another system for about seven years,” Curtis explains. “But when we heard the Quantum, we all knew it was really good. I was able to do a recording of the sound check, so we could A-B it. The other console was great, but the DiGiCo is completely different.”

David Ruffle, monitor engineer, was unable to attend the dates in South Korea and the last thing he expected was to come back to a comp

Details

26 June 2024

Indonesia - Void Acoustics has appointed PT Electro Audio Engineering as its new, exclusive distribution partner for Indonesia.

Founded in 2009, PT Electro delivers professional audio solutions for premium hospitality clientele in Indonesia. It provides its customers with a holistic service that includes sound system design and consultancy, product demonstrations, design & build services, and extensive after-sales support.

Wilson Buana, president director of PT Electro Audio Engineering, states, "Partnering with Void Acoustics allows us to introduce premium audio solutions filled with top-notch innovation and extraordinary design aesthetics to Indonesian consumers. This partnership propels us to new heights in the Indonesian market, enabling us to compete aggressively with industry competitors."

This partnership marks the next stage of Vo

Details

26 June 2024

Slovakia - For almost half a century, Jean Michel Jarre has pushed the boundaries of studio production and live performance.

Jarre’s most recent appearance saw him take to the stage in the Slovakian capital Bratislava to perform his Bridge From the Future show in front of 100,000. The gig opened STARMUS, a science and music festival founded by Queen guitarist Brian May and astrophysicist Dr Garik Israelian, with the aim of uniting science, art, and music to explore critical questions about the future of the planet.

For what would be an audio tour-de-force involving additional contributions from Brian May, the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra and a 19-strong chorus form the Slovak Philharmonic Choir, delivered from the largest stage ever constructed in Slovakia, Jean Michel Jarre specified a Coda Audio system to meet the challenge.

Exp

Details

26 June 2024

France - Poised at the gateway to the Champagne vineyards, Châlons-en-Champagne is steeped in heritage and culture, blending history with innovation. Its cathedrals and gothic architecture house a vibrant creative community. Le Capitole en Champagne's multi-purpose venue showcases creativity, serving the community with events ranging from one-person shows to live music and musicals in a versatile space. Opened in 2012 and managed by S-Pass TSE group, the modular space can hold 3,600 in a mix of seated and standing audiences.

In 2023, faced with an expanding lineup of events, Le Capitole en Champagne updated the existing audio system, aiming for top-tier sound quality and versatility to meet diverse demands. Julien Dejonckeere, technical director at S-Pass TSE, which manages the venue, specified an L-Acoustics professional audio system and contacted local ce

Details

26 June 2024

USA - The David H. Koch Theatre, nestled in the heart of Lincoln Centre and renowned for its dedication to dance, has recently undergone a transformative technological upgrade. In a collaborative effort with Clear-Com, the theatre has revamped its wireless intercom, and installed all new panels to enhance communication efficiency.

Originally constructed in 1964 as the New York State Theatre, the venue was designed by the esteemed architect Philip Johnson. Over the years, it has played a pivotal role in the cultural landscape of New York, serving as the home to the New York City Ballet and hosting various other theatrical performances, including classic Broadway musical revivals. Most recently, the 2024 Tony Awards were held at the theatre, utilising Clear-Com's advanced communication systems to ensure a smooth and successful event.

In a generous comm

Details

25 June 2024

UK - Keane20, Hope and Fears, was the hotly anticipated tour from Keane, celebrating 20 years since their debut album was released in 2004. The tour continues with festival dates around the world over the summer.

For Philip Harvey at the front of house position and Hannah Brodrick on monitors, it was important the set-up was as streamlined as possible, so using DiGiCo consoles for shared stage racking was essential. Utilising KLANG for immersive mixes kept the monitor footprint compact, while at front of house, the integration of Quantum’s onboard technologies ensured the workflow was efficient and consistent across all venues.

Harvey is an engineer with over 25 years of experience touring. For the Keane20 tour the brief was clear: working within the ethos of a striped back, clean-lined stage design, the sound set-up needed to justify every centime

Details

25 June 2024

France - The latest edition of ibis RockCorps returned recently with a major gig at Paris’s Accor Arena, featuring the triple bill of Macklemore, Franglish and Rosinia. The concept of the event is that anyone giving four hours of their time as a civic project volunteer in the French capital is eligible for tickets to this free concert.

Martin Audio partner, production company 22live, tendered and won the contract, having worked for the show’s producers CC-Lab in the past.

However, 22live director Paul Timmins was aware that to service a gig economically within the Eurozone would require a marriage of careful logistics and high-octane sound - knowing that working in Europe post-Brexit poses a bureaucratic nightmare of Kafkaesque proportions.

He rationalised that by flying Martin Audio’s large format Wavefront Precision W

Details

25 June 2024

UK - The new Coyote Ugly Saloon in Bristol is bringing a slice of the Big Apple to south-west England with a high-energy audio installation powered by Powersoft T Series amplifiers.

Inspired by the original Coyote Ugly bar in New York, immortalised in the cult 2000 film Coyote Ugly, the first UK Coyote Ugly Saloon opened its doors in 2016 and instantly proved popular in Liverpool and Birmingham. The newest venue, which also has sister bars in London, Cardiff and Swansea is located on Bristol’s Bordeaux Quay, with long-time integration partner Spartan Audio Visual adding the audio muscle.

“We’ve worked with the UK franchise owner for a long time and understand a lot about how they like to work in order to deliver maximum value without compromising the overall AV product,” explains Dave Morgan, Spartan Audio Visual’s sales and instal

Details

25 June 2024

USA - Renkus-Heinz has announced the appointment of a new manufacturer’s representative for the states of Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan - C. L. Pugh & Associates.

Joe Fustolo, Eastern regional sales manager at Renkus-Heinz, comments, "I am very excited to bring on C.L. Pugh as our new representative. Their reputation from KY to MI is second to none for customer service and support. We here at Renkus-Heinz are constantly striving to improve and adapt to today’s ever-changing environment, and C.L. Pugh has a great hand on the heartbeat of their territory. I know we will do great things together.”

Bob Tevs, president of C.L. Pugh & Associates, adds, "We are excited and proud at C.L. Pugh & Associates to be representing Renkus-Heinz in our territory. The product line fits in very well with the

Details

25 June 2024

UK - Wharfedale Pro has announced the release of a significant update to its popular MP Series amplifier range. Designed for the most extreme operating environments, the updated MKII models build on the hard-working reputation of this reliable, high-performance product series.  

“Our MP Series analogue amps have been used and abused by customers around the world for decades,” explains Peter Peck, marketing manager at Wharfedale Pro. “Often found in the most extreme working environments, MP series have earned their reputation as a real ‘tank’ of amplification, but updated component and technological advances now allow us to make some practical improvements.”

By optimising component selection and refining the chassis design, the updated MP amplifiers now deliver increased power output and have improved damping factors to control loudspeak

Details

24 June 2024

UK - Take That’s This Life world tour takes in arenas and stadiums with audio design, equipment delivery and crew from Skan, a Clair Global brand. Led by tour director Chris Vaughan and production manager Wez Wearing, Take That still attract multi-generational fans in their tens of thousands per night.

Now a three-piece comprising Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald, FOH engineer Gary Bradshaw has had the same objective since their inception in 1993: “I must get the show to sound as close to the records possible, it’s what their fans expect. With the live band, the arrangements are different, but the overall sound needs to be similar. Mike Stevens, our musical director, is very good at arranging the music, and the musicians are brilliant.”

Gary has used DiGiCo desks since they came to market, this time taking an SD7 Quantum out.

Details

21 June 2024

USA - Sphere Entertainment has announced that Sphere will celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Exosphere’s first illumination on 4 July with an all-new Exosphere content and audio experience – the Sphere Fourth of July Celebration presented by Verizon.

The Sphere Fourth of July Celebration will also mark the launch of two new features of the Exosphere experience: XO Stream presented by Verizon – an official livestream of the Exosphere that will be available 24/7 on thesphere.com, and XO Audio – custom audio synced to content on the Exosphere that will be audible both onsite within Sphere’s property and online via XO Stream.

Earlier in the evening, Sphere will honour the Las Vegas-based student artists who participated in the Sphere XO Student Design Challenge with a special pre-show ceremony

Details

21 June 2024

USA - EAW has announced its new certification programme: a collection of online courses aiming to expand public knowledge of EAW Loudspeakers and technologies used across each series. These modular trainings, available now at https://education.eaw.com, include courses on ADAPTive Systems, the AC6 Column Loudspeaker and Resolution Software, and will expand to cover additional products and systems in the EAW catalogue.

“As part of this training, students will learn more than just how to use EAW technology,” explains Bryan DiFabio, technical training manager for EAW. “We cover why this technology exists and how it helps customers achieve optimal results. Understanding these two concepts makes for a better user experience.”

EAW has launched three new online courses. The first, ADAPTive Level 1 Training, explains the ADAPTive algorithm and takes a

Details

21 June 2024

USA - LEA Professional has announced the launch of the Connect Series Touch wall controller which joins the company’s extensive technology catalogue.

The Connect Series Touch is a wall-mounted touch-enabled control panel designed for simple and intuitive control of LEA Connect Series amplifiers. The controller is PoE-powered for easy installation and can be used for individual zone or group control. Primary features include source selection, volume adjustment, and the ability to mute - all by zone or group. The controller features a colour touchscreen with a rotary knob and is available in black and white versions. Additionally, the Connect Series Touch is fully configurable, for any group or zone configuration up to 100 amplifiers, providing ultimate control from one device.

The wall controller enhances LEA Professional’s Network Connect series

Details

20 June 2024

Europe - DirectOut has announced the expansion of its partnership with Audmax. While Audmax has been a distributor of DirectOut audio solutions in Hungary for more than a decade, the two companies are now extending their cooperation to additional territories in Central and Eastern Europe, including Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Under the leadership of managing director Krisztian Varga, the agreement solidifies Audmax as DirectOut's primary distribution hub for Central and Eastern Europe.

Commenting on the partnership, Krisztian Varga says: "We are thrilled to deepen our relationship with DirectOut. Having worked closely with them since their early days, we understand the value they bring to the professional audio industry. With our established network and expertise in the region, we are committed to providing exceptional support

Details

20 June 2024

UK - A Thameside location in the well-heeled town of Marlow is the setting for Tom Kerridge’s firmly established Pub in the Park festival.

Thiis is more of a four-day community event than a festival - complete with stages, pop-ups and a line-up of top chefs, mingling with the DJs and artists of the calibre of Van Morrison, Paloma Faith, Busted and Example, while the array of DJs ranged from Judge Jules to Gok Wan via Vernon Kay.

Martin Audio partner SWG Events have a had a long history with the event, this year bringing their flagship WPL line array to main stage. The rental company will also be providing a turnkey solution for the other three Pub in the Park events, in Chiswick, St Albans and Reigate.

In Marlow, they populated the stage with hangs of 10 WPL enclosures a side, with four of the smaller Wavefront Precision WPS arrays providin

Details

20 June 2024

UK - Forty years in the business have seen Nils Edstrom cover the full range of audio engineering duties. Having started life as a performing musician, Nils moved into studio engineering, where he amassed credits on more than a hundred and fifty commercially released albums. After that, itchy feet took him out on the road as a freelance touring engineer, a role he occupies to this day alongside his gig as an educator at South and City College (SCCB) in Digbeth, Birmingham.

Nils has enjoyed a plethora of career highlights, not least of which was the Easy Star Allstars performance of Dub Side of the Moon on the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, next to the Lovell Telescope at Bluedot Festival. Punjabtronix at Washington’s Kennedy Centre, Maximo Park at Kendall Calling, and a series of TEDGlobal events, are further examples of Nils’ versatility. He is a