UK - Off-road running's answer to the Iron Man triathlon, the Hell Down South event in the Brooks HellRunner drew around 6,500 competitors to the Longmoor Military Training Camp near Bordon in Hampshire, with a sell-out crowd of 5,000 spectators cheering them on.

The inhospitable conditions, however, posed a challenge not only to the men and women taking part but also to the loudspeakers and amplifiers deployed by the Surrey-based public address and communication hire specialists,. Show Hire. Although the company has been active in the pro audio business for some 30 years, overcoming many production challenges in the process, those posed by the HellRunner series are particularly severe.

"The area to be covered is very, very extensive," explains managing director Nick Chubb, "and the weather here in November is anything but equipment friendly." The Show Hire

Czech Republic - The 130-year old Mahen Theatre in the Czech Republic has recently installed a full Yamaha DME-based Ethersound network, complementing its existing Yamaha digital mixing consoles.

One of the cultural hubs of Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic, on its opening in 1882 the Mahen Theatre was one of the first public buildings in the world to be lit entirely by electric light. This was in response to a spate of fires in gas-lit theatres across Europe.

Installed by Prague-based Audiopro, the latest upgrade adds an Ethersound audio network which features four Yamaha SB168-ES stage boxes, four DME4io-ES digital mixing engines and an NAI48-ES Ethersound interface to work with the theatre's twoM7CL-48 and 01V96V2 digital mixing consoles.

"The theatre's main auditorium uses the two M7CL consoles and a second, smaller stage which uses the 01V96V2,&qu

UK - Located in one of the city's most exclusive areas, the Sofitel London St James is one of the UK capital's leading five-star hotels, combining traditional British design with a French contemporary style. When one of the hotel's most elegant areas needed a new audio system, a K-array loudspeaker system and Sennheiser G3 radio microphones were chosen to meet the strict criteria.

Sofitel London St James is housed in the sympathetically renovated, Grade II-listed former Cox's and King's bank building. A flexible, high quality audio installation was required to cover the grand brasserie, The Balcon, the Champagne Balcony and the St James Bar where the décor is inspired by the 1920's Paris apartment of Coco Chanel. With interiors designed by the Russell Sage Studio, a quality sound system that would be invisible to the eye was a necessity.

"The hotel delivers a stand

France - Radio France has just invested in their third Eclipse digital console from Innovason. The national broadcaster already owns seven Innovason desks including two Eclipses, one of which is installed in Radio France's legendary Studio 106 which, amongst other things, broadcasts the daily show on France Inter, Les Affranchis, hosted by Isabelle Giordano.

Head of sound reinforcement at Radio France, Bruno Lompech, explained why he decided to go for another Eclipse. "I felt it was important that we have a back-up console that could be available quickly for the studios that are broadcasting every day, in particular Studio 106. Not that we expect to have problems - on the contrary, all of our Innovason consoles and especially Eclipse have proved to be extremely reliable, but it's good practice to have a spare.

"By the same token, we also needed a spare for the

UK - The new Westfield Stratford City retail and leisure destination in East London, which opened its doors to the public last September, is the largest urban shopping centre in Europe. Boasting over 250 shops, 70 places to eat and drink, three hotels, a 14-lane bowling alley, and a 17-screen all-digital Vue cinema, not to mention the UK's largest casino. Westfield Stratford City is also the prestigious gateway to London's Olympic Park for the forthcoming 2012 Games.

Systems integration and project management company, Media Powerhouse were the elected contractors for the supply and installation of all the audio systems throughout Westfield Stratford City's Events Spaces, which included two systems from UK loudspeaker company EM Acoustics.

In fact, Westfield used the successful audio installations at the Westfield London site as the blueprint for Westfield Stratford City. Follo

UK - TV chef Gordon Ramsay's latest venture is Bread Street Kitchen in London's East End. Drawing inspiration from its industrial surroundings, the 250-seat gourmet temple is aesthetically reminiscent of a warehouse.

Since Gordon Ramsay conceives of a meal as a feast for all the senses, he attaches serious importance to the sound distribution systems installed in his restaurants. Responsibility for the system design and installation in the Bread Street Kitchen was entrusted to CGA Integration, specialists in sound, light and video integration.

"Russell Sage's restaurant design posed a real challenge," says CGA's Chris Gunton. "Very high ceilings and a monopoly of hard surfaces are treacherous - especially when the restaurant is full. The sound system we installed needed to focus on eliminating the reverberation characteristic of large open venues such as warehou

UK - Newly formed installation business, Push the Button Ltd (PTB), launched in January 2012, is the brainchild of Nick Ewins.

"PTB's full time staff members, alongside our team of skilled specialist electricians and engineers, bring a friendly, expert approach to the demands of entertainment installation projects. Whether it's a top West End theatre, a cruise ship or a multipurpose arts venue, PTB understands the client's needs and has the ability to respond productively and positively every time," says Ewins. "This philosophy has brought work to our doors from the moment we opened them for business."

Push the Button's mission is "to bring an intelligent and sympathetic approach to its clients' projects". The business covers the fields of electrical design, installation, project management and test & inspection.

Although PTB is effectively a st

Qatar - An Optocore system has been used by French rental company De Préférence for a one-off show by Vangelis, to inaugurate the new Katara Amphitheatre in Doha.

The Greek composer had written a celebratory opus for the grand opening and the Paris-based production company, which specialises in large-scale spectacular events such as this, was tasked with constructing an optical fibre ring using seven of their Optocore and SANE converters to deliver the sound to an audience of 3,000 people.

The concert also brought together the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (a multinational ensemble) and Moscow's Yurlov State Academic Choir, boosted by superstar soprano Angela Gheorghiu and tenorissimo, Roberto Alagna.

This required De Préférence, and their 14-strong crew, to construct an elaborate network loop via Optocore fibre and SANE Cat 5 Ethernet platforms, u

UK - Broadcast audio specialists HHB Communications is holding the world premiere of the new RØDE Stereo VideoMic Pro during the BVE London show at Earls Court 2 this week.

TheStereo VideoMic Pro builds on the features of the popular VideoMic Pro by using a matched pair of high sensitivity, half-inch cardioid condenser capsules in a coincident XY pair.

Designed for videographers, as well as recording music and atmospheric ambience, the Stereo VideoMic Pro has an ergonomic form factor perfectly suited to DSLR, consumer camcorders and large sensor video cameras. An integrated shock mounting system is also provided to offer isolation from vibration and mechanical noise.

The Stereo VideoMic Pro's solid construction and high-quality capsules are complemented by features such as power and equalisation controls, including a high pass filter at 75Hz, a robust multi-strand cab

UK - out post sound has been working closely with the team behind the Batman Live World Tour for several months to create fully synchronised, dubbed version of the show for foreign language audiences.

Ros Cranmer, general manager for the production said: "Having never even seen a live theatrical performance dubbed into another language, I was nervous about how it would work for our arena production of Batman Live. The final result, however, was fantastic, and it became clear that a foreign language voiceover actually translates incredibly well into that entertainment medium, making our show accessible to audiences all over the world."

Working closely with production company Water Lane Productions, sound designer Simon Baker and sound engineer for the show Simon Fox, out post sound developed a unique workflow process that enables the English cast to perform to a fully

USA - For the 15th year in a row, Audio-Technica microphones appeared on the Grammy Awards Show. This year, the 54th Annual Grammyss, held 12 February at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, featured a wide selection of artists from various genres of music. For the live show and broadcast, Audio-Technica supplied over 250 of its microphones, including an impressive array of hard-wired mics and Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless Systems.

The Grammy Awards ceremony itself has garnered widespread notice throughout the years as it continually raises the standard for broadcast entertainment.

The sound system was provided by ATK AudioTek with FOH (front-of-house) Engineers Ron Reaves and Mikael Stewart, with the house audio supervised by Leslie Ann Jones, a prominent member of the Producers & Engineers Wing of The Recording Academy.

New Jersey/California-based remote facilities c

UAE - The Official Ceremony for the UAE 40th National Day saw Zayed Sports Stadium in Abu Dhabi full to capacity as thousands turned out to celebrate the achievements of the nation, and Audinate's Dante was there to make sure all the networked audio delivery functioned without a hitch.

The 360 degree stadium production placed complex demands upon audio contractors Britannia Row Productions. The stadium was covered by eight hangs containing L'acoustics Kudo, SB218, VDOSC, D-VDosc, 108XTs, Kiva, Kilo and other various distributed speakers, all controlled by 17 Lake LM26 Processors, three Yamaha DME Processors, six XTA Breakout Boxes and connected by a Dual Redundant Fibre-optic IP network.

The Lake LM26 processors, which were distributed throughout the system, provided crossovers, EQ and time alignment were all connected by Audinate's Dante networking technology. This proved ess

USA - Prompted by the growth of its digital product line, Meyer Sound has announced promotions for two key design services team members. Todd Meier, formerly director of design services, has been promoted to the newly created position of digital products manager. Meanwhile, Michael Creason, who had served as a design services associate since 2008, is taking over duties for Meier as design services manager.

"Our engineers have pushed the boundaries of digital audio since as early as 1984 when the first SIM audio analyzer and CP-10 equalizer set a new standard for acoustical measurement and correction," says Helen Meyer, executive vice president of Meyer Sound. "As we look ahead, it's important to expand our resources so we can continue the mushrooming growth of our digital efforts in a structured manner, while making sure we are meeting our customers' project suppo

UK - As part of their 2012 sponsorship package, Coca Cola Enterprises (CCE) were given permission to stage an event for 3,000 of their employees at the newly constructed Velodrome, one of the first Olympic venues to be completed. Designed by FPP and produced by Rocket Science, the event was based on the theme of 'Creating the Extraordinary', and took place on 5 January 2012. Paul Hutton, managing director at Blitz, worked closely with the event team as technical consultant for the project.

Staged in the in-field area (inside the track), Blitz provided the video, audio and lighting equipment for the production. Fulfilling the video requirements, the presentations and entertainment were relayed to an audience of 3,000 via two 20m2 9mm LED screens, sourced from a digital video playback system, and a combination of fixed and radio HD cameras, all controlled by a Barco Encore switchi

Saudi Arabia - Sennheiser's ADN conference system is proving a major success in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia now boasting the highest number of installed systems in the world. Sennheiser Middle East recently supplied two further examples to prestigious Saudi venues, via Jeddah-based Abu Moammar Est (AME).

The first system was installed at the Royal Exclusive Management Meeting Hall (Prince Mohammad Bin Nasir Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud,Ministry of Interior Government of Jazan). AME was invited to tender for a conference system and, having every confidence in the Sennheiser ADN system, the company's general manager Moammar AL Harbi requested that they be allowed to arrange a demonstration.

"We were given the chance to demonstrate the equipment and the client was so impressed that, after the demo, the ADN system was the only one he wanted," says Mr AL Harbi. "It

Norway - Rental company Pro Systemer AS has become a new Rental Network Agent with the purchase of an L-Acoustics Kara WST line source system and 115XT HiQ monitor system from local distributor, Scandec Systemer.

The company has added 12 Kara cabinets with eight SB18 subs and four LA8 amplified controllers, plus 12 115XT HiQ active coaxial speakers with two 8XT compact coaxials and four LA8s, to its inventory.

"As a rental company in an increasingly competitive industry, when purchasing a new sound system we understand the great benefit of choosing L-Acoustics," says project manager Marius Lindaas."Adding industry-leading products to our inventory gives us a great advantage over our competition. The Kara/SB18 system is the perfect choice for fulfilling most of our projects throughout the year. Based on the same user interface and amplified controller platform, e

USA - M3 (Music Mix Mobile), a New Jersey/California-based remote facilities company is a collective consisting of industry veterans John Harris, Jay Vicari, Joel Singer, Mitch Maketansky and West Coast-based partners Bob Wartinbee and Mark Linett.

On 12 February, M3 was commissioned to capture and mix the music audio for the 54th annual Grammy Awards, broadcast live in 5.1 on CBS-TV from the Staples Centre in Los Angeles. In the company's dual Eclipse and Horizon trucks, mixers John Harris and Eric Schilling, along with M3 Engineer-in-Charge Joel Singer, were on site to ensure the audio would be of the highest quality, and they chose Genelec 8200 Series Active DSP Monitoring Systems.

Genelec DSP systems consisting of 8250A Bi-Amplified Active DSP Monitors (in an L-C-R array) and 8240A Bi-Amplified Active DSP Monitors (L-R rear), along with 7260A Active DSP Subwoofers, were us

World - Popular German electro house duo, Digitalism, has been touring the globe this year carrying an Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing system to manage FOH and monitors.

"Early on in the tour, the band only carried one iLive system, to keep monitors consistent," explains FOH engineer, Daniel MacBean. "However, we were so impressed with how easy the system is to tour with and set up that we decided to get a second system in for FOH. It literally takes 30 seconds to set up at FOH: plug in Ca t5, turn on power, and I'm good to go."

The band has performed in America, Europe, Asia and the international festival circuit this year using two iDR-48 MixRacks and iLive-T80 Control Surfaces connected using Dante, which provides a digital split between the FOH and monitor systems and provides additional recording facilities.

"After ease of use, the most strik

USA - Located in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, the Imperial Palace has been a prominent tourist destination for years - thanks in no small part to the fact that it houses the world's largest classic car showroom, a wealth of entertainment options, as well as the property's prime location for the city's booming convention business and its easy access to the Las Vegas monorail.

The hotel's Human Nature Theatre is particularly popular and features Australia's Human Nature - The Ultimate Celebration of Motown, showcasing the distinctive, dynamic harmonies of members Toby Allen, Phil Burton, Andrew Tierney, and Michael Tierney. The theatre recently received a substantial upgrade of its sound reinforcement system, all of which is derived from the Aero Series 2 catalogue of D.A.S. Audio.

J. Eric D'Richards is technical director at the Imperial Palace and oversees a myriad of resp

The Netherlands - A beautifully renovated museum boasting Europe's largest collection of street organs has had its central space turned into a live performance area, attracting top Dutch artists, with its acoustics tamed by a Renkus-Heinz IC Live system installed by TM Audio.

Dedicated to Europe's largest display of street organs, Museum Speelklok was founded in 1956 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. In 1984 the museum acquired a large church, whose restored interior now houses the collection.

Visitors are given a guided tour with explanations of each organ's backstory. Some of the pieces - which range from hand-cranked barrel organs to vast, mechanically driven multi-instrument extravaganzas, rate among the world's first and finest digital instruments, programmed by the equivalent of computer punch tape, a long strip of tough paper dotted with differently shaped holes that the org

UAE - L-Acoustics recently hosted a two-day Certified Provider System Integrator Training programme in Dubai, UAE. The seminar, attended by seven providers from four countries, was hosted by L-Acoustics sales manager Peter Owen and tech support engineer Germain Simon and covered the LA Network Manager, Soundvision, Wavefront Sculpture Technology and other installation related issues and features that the manufacturer offers.

As the course concentrated on installation, the control and monitoring modules (Crestron, AMX) which allow control of L-ACOUSTICS amplified controllers were also covered.

"I was delighted that all the recently appointed certified providers were able to attend," says Owen. "We plan to host another course later in 2012 as we identify more system integrators who share our approach to installation in the Gulf area. We aim to create a standard wh

UK / China - Theatre sound automation specialists Out Board have appointed Sound Works Supplies Ltd as their new Hong Kong & PRC distributor for TiMax2 SoundHub audio showcontrol matrix and TiMax Tracker performer tracking system.

SWS principals Freddie To and Daniel Chan hosted a TiMax workshop in Hong Kong where Out Board director Robin Whittaker presented and demonstrated the principles of TiMax delay based Source-Oriented Reinforcement to around 40 guests. Delegates learnt how continuously varying audio localisation could be applied to wireless vocal mics using the TiMax2 SoundHUb dynamic delay matrix, and how this could be automated via continuous control by Out Board's market-leading TiMax Tracker performer tracking system.

TiMax2 SoundHub's sound effects and playback server capabilities were also demonstrated using multiple atmos and spot effects played off the units in

USA - When the movie industry gathers in Arizona for the 18th Sedona International Film Festival on 18-26 February, 2012, a Meyer Sound EXP cinema loudspeaker system will help transform the intimate Mary D. Fisher Theatre into a stunning 120-seat, DCI-compliant cinema. Converted from a former bank building, this new screening venue will present Sedona International Film Festival films throughout the year.

The 7.1 surround installation comprises Acheron Studio screen channel loudspeakers, X-800C high-power cinema subwoofers, HMS-10 cinema surround and UP-4XP loudspeakers, and a Galileo loudspeaker management system with a direct digital connection to a Dolby CP650 cinema processor.

"We wanted a sound experience that was like no other," says Patrick Schweiss, the festival's executive director. "When we found out that Meyer Sound was custom-designing a system just

Germany - What the four Grand Slam tournaments are to tennis, and the four Majors to golf, the Four Hills Tournament is to ski jumping. The four legs (Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen) of the Vierschanzentournee, as it's known in the vernacular, are the competitions that are the most keenly contested, the most widely watched, and in which victory carries the most prestige. Such has long been the case. In fact, this winter's was the sixtieth edition of the tournament, so the level of interest among spectators and in the media was especially high.

Despite adverse weather conditions, over 18,000 fans made their way to Garmisch-Partenkirchen on New Year's Day to watch the tournament's second leg. To ensure spectators were kept abreast of the unfolding competition and their spirits maintained during lulls in the action, for the fourteenth year running t

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