UK - Sound design and installation specialist CP Sound has completed a JBL installation at Octave - Covent Garden's newest live Jazz Bar and restaurant. CP's Colin Pattenden was asked to handle all Octave's audio elements, after completing other successful projects for owner Glendola Leisure.

The intimate new venue consists of one large area with bar, divided into several different level zones - raised or sunken - complete with two separate areas for live performance, which together with the low ceilings produced an interesting set of acoustic conundrums.

The Stage B position is the favoured one for performances - an expediently sized area with just enough room to get a duo on stage, adjacent to the resident piano.Pattenden's sound proposal was designed to allow them to stage simple live acts with mic inputs, as well as a background music system with full zone control for the

UK - Metropolis AV & FX has completed its latest sound, lighting and AV design and installation project for Sports Café UK, at their newly opened Leeds site. It's the third SCUK that Metropolis has been involved in since Manchester in 2002, and follows hot on the heels of Glasgow, which opened in the summer.

The Sports Café continues to enjoy great success as a leading UK sports orientated multi-entertainment venue. Metropolis's Head of Engineering Shane Winterbourne explains that the company has perfected a flexible technical formula designed to adapt and work for all sites in the group. The entertainment system needs for each are fundamentally similar, although the individual venues are all unique in layout and space.

A mix of top quality brands are selected specifically for SCUK's venues, including HK and JBL loudspeakers, Allen & Heath sound processing, QSC amplification

UK - Working with two key suppliers, Northern Light and New Box, Kelsey, the leading manufacturer and supplier of professional audio and lighting cables, has taken a central role in the infrastructure for The Performance Academy, the new further education music, performing arts and media centre opened by Newcastle College, and the largest of its kind in the UK.

One of the first such centres for mixed media studies, the building provides accommodation for all Newcastle College's music, performing arts and mixed media courses. It contains a 250-seat flexible theatre, a music venue for an audience of 500, a 60-seat studio theatre, 10 recording studios, rehearsal rooms, television studio, drama and dance studios, and a radio station.

New Box and Northern Light were involved in different areas of the Performance Academy's construction. However, both turned to Kelsey Acoustics for h

USA - 24,000sq.ft of luxury retail space opened at the Prada Epicenter Store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills on 16 July, and Pathway Connectivity helped deliver the unique design for this high-concept environment. Prada is renowned for avant-garde architectural design; the Epicenter stores blend commercial functions with "experiential and spatial typologies," a working laboratory for application of new material, technologies and service strategies.

It begins on the exterior - or rather the absence of one: the entire 50ft along Rodeo Drive is open to the street, without a storefront or glass enclosure, inviting the public into the space. At night, an aluminium panel seals the store by rising from the ground. When open, an air curtain controls the interior temperature and repels environmental elements such as rain.

Plasma screens, both hanging and imbedded in stor

USA - Kansas City's historic Argosy Casino has recently undergone a complete renovation and is now in a new home. Sound-wise the casino has integrated a brand new way of processing, routing and controlling audio within this far more complex and demanding sound environment than the original facility. TSI Inc, the St. Charles, Missouri-based AV systems integrator that coordinated installation of the casino's AV system, made SymNet - the modular audio mixing, routing and processing system from Symetrix Audio - the hub of the casino's sophisticated audio system.

"As we began designing the system in July 2003, we realized we were going to need something with more control and flexibility, to do things with the audio system, than the old casino facility provided," says Mark Schultz, the TSI design specialist who helped coordinate the Argosy project. "With SymNet, we hav

UK - Edwin Shirley Staging, the international staging and structure specialist, has unveiled the first ever European Wine Tower. ESS acted as design co-ordinator and main contractor working closely with its client, Radisson SAS, to deliver this centrepiece Wine Tower for a new flagship hotel at Stansted Airport.

The structural challenge of the project was to deliver a tower capable of supporting the 6.5 tonnes of glass, four thousand bottles of wine and four flying performers known as 'wine angels'. Adding to the already stunning complexity of the project the air-handling system had to deliver chilled and warm air to individual wine cases throughout the tower, maintaining ambient working temperatures for the Wine Angels and ensuring that there is no condensation on the glass.

To make this complicated system work, every element of the tower had to be perfect with the largest

USA - US-based design firm Environmental Acoustics Inc (EAI) and Performance Audio Video Lighting & Stage Systems Inc (PAVL) have chosen Digigram's EtherSound audio bridges as the cornerstone of the audio distribution system in the new Student Life Center at the Lancaster Christian School, Lancaster, PA, USA. The signal routing flexibility of EtherSound networks and the low cost of standard Ethernet components like switches and Cat 5 cables were key for EAI and PAVL to design a highly flexible audio control system, which allows for operator control at four different locations and meets the budget requirements of this privately funded institution. EtherSound networks distribute up to 64 channels of 24-bit digital audio at 48kHz, plus control information, over a single Ethernet cable - with only 125 microseconds latency.

The challenges of implementing sophisticated technologies i

UK - Xtreme Audio Visual has installed a complete audio visual package at Sky Nightclub for client Ware Leisure, including a new sound system from KV2 Audio. The main club is split into two rooms, Daylight, the main dance area and the Sunset VIP Lounge. Daylight presented an acoustical challenge to Xtreme having multiple levels of vaulted ceilings along with raised floor levels. To overcome these problems, Xtreme opted to use the KV2 ES Active driven system consisting of four ES1.0, two ES2.5, 2 x ES1.8 and two ES1.5, powered by four EPAK 2500s, using an Audia Solo for the processing and routing.

The system was designed in conjunction with KV2's Andy Austin Brown. Due to the layout of the venue, and the wide variety of events planned for the system, the design was far from straightforward, but Austin Brown's knowledge of the KV2 products enabled an audio solution for all the pro

Turkey - Biamp Systems reports that AVS in Istanbul, Turkey, has installed a pair of multiple-zone AudiaFLEX systems in the city's newest Volkswagen office and showroom. "To be chosen by AVS for such a prestigious installation as the executive office headquarters and showroom in Istanbul is truly a validation of the versatility and cost effectiveness of AudiaFLEX," said Romano Cunsolo, East European sales manger for Biamp. "It proves that Audia solves the dilemma of offering easy-to-use technology that is still powerful and flexible."

As one of the world's most highly recognized brands, Volkswagen insisted the Dogus Groupe, which manages dealers and service in Istanbul, have its headquarters showcase the newest cars in a state-of-the-art showroom featuring the most advanced technology. This technology was to extend to the executive offices in their main buil

Croatia - When the Lisinski Hall - a multi-function venue in the Croatian capital of Zagreb - was refitted recently, great importance was attached to the quality of the sound reinforcement and communications equipment. To achieve the highest possible degree of compatibility (and therefore system security), the managers of the complex, which boasts two stages and seating for up to 2,300 spectators, opted to combine stage manager and public address systems from EVI Audio. In addition to their technical capabilities, ease-of-use and sound quality, the ability of these systems to function flawlessly in tandem was a key factor in this decision, say the company.

The outlay in terms of equipment was considerable: the two systems had to cover all areas (and the entire staff) of the complex. For the 2,000-seater theatre alone this meant the two stage manager's desks (stage right and sta

UK - Famed Italian hoteliers, the Baglioni Group has created an exclusive London location as its UK flagship. Harman Pro UK and authorised installer The Sound Division Group collaborated to design and specify the premier sound system at the recently launched luxury 5-Star Baglioni Hotel in Kensington. The hotel's Brunello club and bar area, used for private parties and functions and as a members club, is a chic new evening haunt.

Following recommendations from high profile clients at top West End nightspots, Islington-based Sound Division specified Harman Pro products to Baglioni. Sound Division is a strong advocate of the JBL brand, says MD David Graham: "Primarily because of the breadth and flexibility of their range, and its uniform quality and power." Turning to JBL's Control Contractor series to handle Brunello's requirements for background music, DJ evenings and

UK - Newton Preparatory School, a co-educational school in Battersea, South London, recently opened its new 288-seat theatre in a ceremony led by renowned theatre director Sir Peter Hall. Also in attendance were White Light's technical sales manager Roger Hennigan and projects coordinator Esther Heaslip, marking White Light's close involvement with the creation of the new venue.

During the project's design phase, the school's electrical consultant, Phil Whiffin from Engineering Co Partnership, contacted White Light for advice as to how to equip the venue. Roger Hennigan and David Howe from White Light's projects team devised a comprehensive, flexible lighting system that suited both the school's needs and its budget.

The theatre's new dimming system uses four 12-way ETC SmartPack rackswith RCD protection controlled by a Strand 300-series lighting console. An internally-wired

Australia - UK-based manufacturer Turbosound reports that Wollongong's hottest nightspot - Cooney's Tavern, with its brand new nightclub Bustin' - has been equipped with a new Turbosound system, installed by Sydney-based Innovative Lighting and Sound.

The main room system comprises a mix of TXD-121 mid/high and TXD-081 mid/high delay speakers, complemented by TSW-718 subs. Innovative also supplied a separate outdoor portable DJ system of TXD-121s and TXD-215s, with additional TXD-081s installed for the bar area audio system. Designing the main system from the ground-up, starting with the subs, Innovative arranged for Turbosound's TSW-718 models to be trialled in the venue for three months prior to the installation. The depth and tight response of the 718s proved to be ideally suited to the club's dance music requirements, say the company. A variety of mid/high speakers were als

UK - When the 26-lane Tenpin Bowl in Gloucester was gutted by fire almost a year ago, owners Tenpin Ltd saw the opportunity to upgrade the design template, and establish a blueprint for the future. The £4.2m multi-zone rebuild of the 500-capacity venue includes an American Pool area, Café Bar and three interlinked conference facilities - in addition to the lanes themselves. It operates from 10am until midnight seven days a week. And when Kevin Hughes' Technation (UK) Ltd successfully tendered for the sound and vision element of the rebuild, he decided to break from the company's traditional speaker brand and use Nexo PS 10s for the first time.

Hughes explains: "While I was familiar with the Nexo PS range I had never installed it before. I was determined to measure all the specs alongside the brand they had been using previously. I looked at dispersion pattern and SPLs, a

Ireland - The Prince Bar in Athlone, Ireland, has undergone a large-scale refurbishment programme. The new design is wholly suited to the bar's active lunchtime trade but can also be revolutionized into a warm, up-beat haven in the evenings. Owner John Callanan of the Callanan Group wanted something contemporary and attractive, and knew that a good lighting design would be the key to the look and identity of the venue, so he brought in ICAN Technology, who has previously worked on similar projects all over the country.

The large Prince Bar was divided into zones, each with its own innovative décor and purpose to meet varying customer requirements. Downstairs is the carvery area, sandwich bar and a modern lounge and bar section, another small cocktail bar and various seating areas, subtly divided from the rest of the floor plan for privacy. The main fixtures that were used to c

UK - A colour-matched Martin Audio architectural PA system has been specified and fitted in the new Riverfront Theatre in Newport. Containing a 493-seat main auditorium and 150-seat studio theatre, gallery and conference facilities, the audio installation work in the arts complex was undertaken by AJS Theatre Services, working to a tender document produced by Carr & Angier to a sound system design by Peter Mapp.

AJS followed the formula they had established so successfully with the similarly-configured Brindley Arts Centre in Runcorn (where Carr & Angier were again the consultants). "Martin Audio is our preferred loudspeaker for an installation such as this," confirmed AJS project manager, Chris Coates. "It produces good quality sound - crisp and round - and is perfect for this kind of environment. On top of that the support we receive from Martin Audio has been

UK - Newtown-based sound specialists, Sound Induction Systems (SIS), has completed two installations which combine Sennheiser SDC 3000 digital conference and Sennheiser IR systems. The first system was for Monitor Facilities Management at Monmouthshire County Council and the second for the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority HQ in Brecon.

Monmouthshire County Council assessed a number of other systems before arranging a demonstration of the SDC 3000 system with SIS and Sennheiser's John Willett. "In the end," said Phil Nicholes of SIS, "there were two deciding factors, clarity of sound and simplicity of use". The system supplied was an SDC 3000 with 57 delegate units and, as the installation is for permanent use, all wiring is concealed. In addition to the delegate mics, two Sennheiser evolution wireless systems also feed into the system for use in present

UAE - tsg, the Chesterfield-based media programming and installation company has completed its most demanding music profiling assignment to date, after candyrock, the media programming arm of tsg, was tasked with providing themed background music to 40 separate locations within the Madinat Jumeirah Hotel in Dubai.

Set in the shadows of the world-renowned Burj Al Arab, on the Jumeirah beachfront, the Madinat Jumeirah is a development of grand scale, even by Dubai standards, and on completion will be a self-contained city covering a 40-hectare site with two grand boutique hotels - each comprising 300 guest rooms and suites, 340 guest rooms in stand-alone courtyard villas, a souk-style retail complex and the region's largest conference and banqueting facilities - together with a 500-seat theatre, a spa and a nightclub.

With nearly 100 audio zones and eight processor locations t

UK - Turbosound reports that London-based Audio-Tek International has completed a variety of bar, club and corporate installations using Turbosound's TXD, QLight and Impact systems. Audio-Tek International's recent projects have included Birmingham club venue Air - home of Godskitchen; the Hard Rock Café in Manchester; and the brand's Hard Rock Bar in Bristol, plus the Anam Bar in north London.

At Air in Birmingham, Audio-Tek has installed six Qlight TQ-440 units, along with four THL-828 bass enclosures and TXD-151 systems, while Bristol's Hard Rock Bar features TXD-121 and TSB-110 loudspeakers. As part of a new mezzanine-level development, Manchester's Hard Rock Caférequired a new audio system to provide a medium-level wash throughout the area, with Audio-Tek installing 12 diminutive Impact 50 loudspeakers for the purpose. The company's installation at the very stylish Anam

Finland - Summit Steel has supplied a Kinesys automation system to the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki, for its current production of Der Rosenkavalier. Summit was approached by FNO's production manager, Timo Tuovila, to help fly and automate three large mirrors for the show, as part of the Opera House's busy winter 2004/05 season.

These are suspended over the stage and used to reflect the onstage action and the floor itself using 12 model LL Lodestar hoists, controlled by Kinesys flexible Vector software, running via 12 Kinesys Elevation 1+ variable-speed hoist controllers. The floor consists of a set of printed scenes, specifically designed to be read in themirrors, providing either an atmospheric 'set' backdrop or a more stylistic, abstract effect. One mirror is used per act. Each is moved throughout the act to highlight and convey particular elements of the print or parts of th

UK - London-based A/V system integrator Live Business International (LBI) has continued its relationship with P&O Ferries with the commissioning this month of a brand new entertainment lighting system (following the extensive new audio system that LBI installed onboard the Bilbao 18 months ago) for its cruise ship Pride of Bilbao, the latest step in the ship's facilities upgrade programme.

The ship plies one of P&O's most popular routes - three-day mini-cruises between Portsmouth and Bilbao, capital of the Basque region of northern Spain. The complete installation had to be carried out during one such cruise - and even during a gale-force storm.

LBI was asked to design a new lighting system for the 700-seat Silverstone Lounge, the Pride of Bilbao's multi-function entertainment suite which hosts a multitude of different events including speech-based entertainment, live theatre shows

UK - Bill Bailey's one-man stand-up show, Part Troll, toured for 11 weeks prior to its present residency at the the Lyric Theatre, Shaftsbury Avenue and has so far had its West End run extended twice, such has been its popularity and success. So what makes Bailey's show so unique? Perhaps the way he combines music with stand-up and delivers both so ingeniously, using a combination of music genres, story-telling and three carefully crafted jokes - which are spread thinly through the show!

Featuring plenty of audience participation and some pretty weird and wonderful musical instruments, the show depends on communicating every intonation, facial expression and word to the audience - making sound and lighting both essential ingredients to the successful delivery of the material. Prior to the show, I met up with FOH engineer Ian Horne and LD Arturo Ollandini, both of whom are generally mo

UK - Wembley London Ltd and Quintain Estates & Development Plc have announced that work on the new Wembley Arena Pavilion has begun. The state-of-the-art temporary structure is being built to host all shows while the £29m refurbishment programme on Wembley Arena begins in early 2005. John Probyn - Clear Channel Entertainment's head of production - has been contracted by Wembley as project manager for the site.Probyn, who has built a successful reputation as one of the UK live music industry's leading production and site managers has been responsible for events such as Clear Channel shows in Hyde Park (see L&SI August 2004) and Donnington.

The Pavilion will take two months to build, with a team of 80 staff on site to oversee construction. The fully insulated and sound-proofed structure will be built with over 45,000m of scaffolding and will weigh over 250 tons. A special secondary mem

Sweden - Located in a historic food market on the picturesque riverside of Uppsala, Saluhallen is a new venue which functions as a food market by day before reverting to a chic nightclub complex after dark. All the leisure hospitality areas are operated by Svenssons Krogar (responsible for a number of bars and restaurants in the city), with the signals digitally processed and routed using the BSS Soundweb DSP platform.

The system design was carried out by BSS' Swedish distributors, Septon Electronic AB, in collaboration with local contractor Scenteknik AB, who were responsible for the installation. Septon's solution was to specify two SW9088iis networked signal processing devices and an SW9026 audio switcher to cover a total of seven zones (two bars/dancefloors, two restaurants, two VIP rooms and an outdoor patio), with access to 12 sources via custom wall panels.

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