UK - Centric Commercial Finance, an expert in SME funding, has provided Martin Audio with a £1.3 million invoice discounting facility. The additional working capital will be used to ensure the on-going growth of the business.

Martin Audio is an affiliated portfolio company of Sun European Partners, LLP ("Sun European Partners"), the European advisor to Sun Capital Partners, Inc. This is one of a number of deals completed by Centric with private equity houses in the first quarter of 2012, the company says.

Tim Hawkins, commercial director at Centric, comments: "As the popularity of ABL [asset based lending] grows and proves itself to be a flexible alternative to traditional bank overdrafts, we're increasingly working with private equity houses. Thanks to its superior products and established position, Martin Audio is an ideal candidate for the type of fundi

USA - When it was ready to upgrade its venerable Meyer Sound MSL-3 loudspeakers of more than two decades at its 2,472-seat Andrew Jackson Hall, the Tennessee Performing Arts Centre (TPAC) in Nashville chose Meyer Sound again, this time a system based on the M'elodie line array loudspeaker.

"The MSL-3s had served us well since the mid-80s," says Larry Bryan, TPAC's chief audio engineer. "But we were ready to step into the 21st century with the latest Meyer Sound line array technology."

As typically deployed, the system comprises left and right flown arrays of 16 M'elodie loudspeakers each, plus six deck-stacked 700-HP subwoofers, eight MINA line array loudspeakers spaced across the stage lip as front-fill, and a Galileo loudspeaker management system with a Galileo 616 processor for drive processing. The system was provided by Blackhawk Audio of nearby White

UK - Roland Systems Group (RSG) has announced the appointment of Chris Webster to the newly created position of market support manager, a field based role which will see him working directly with potential RSG customers, meeting their audio and video solution needs across the UK.

Webster started his working life in high end audio, progressing to a career in commercial business management which saw him take leadership roles in the software telecoms industry as well as at BMW before returning to the audio industry in 2011. For the past 12 months, Webster has been running his own live sound company, working extensively with the RSG product range, providing PA/sound system and sound engineering services.

"We are pleased to welcome Chris to the RSG team and feel that his wealth of experience in client management, sales and as a solutions provider will be invaluable in developi

USA - Developed by OTG Management, Bar Brace and Croque Madame in JFK's Terminal 3 are not your average airport restaurants. In addition to allowing customers to order directly from their seats via iPads provided on site, the award-winning eateries feature menus developed in collaboration with local chefs.

To create that atmosphere, OTG depends heavily on custom music programming and Audica Professional MICRO series audio systems provided by NYC's EL Media Group. "Airports aren't known for good sound," says EL's chief creative officer, Ernie Lake, "but it's not just about the food for OTG. They're very in tune to music, so we have to have incredible programming and incredible sound."

Featuring Class D amplifiers and onboard EQ, Audica's MICROzone controller/amp and MICROplus 4-channel power amp combination are compact enough to fit into a small cabinet at e

The Netherlands - Fans of the Dutch football team Ajax are getting a kick out of the new Ajax Experience visitors' centre in Amsterdam. The multimedia site was designed and produced by Montreal's gsmprjct with audio-visual systems integration by Electrosonic.

Ajax formerly had a 'museum' in its stadium some distance from central Amsterdam. The new visitors' centre is within walking distance of popular areas of the city and easily accessible via public transport to team supporters and tourists alike.

The highlights of the Ajax Experience are the interactive exhibits, which give visitors an opportunity to experience what it's like to be an Ajax player. The exhibits include T.I.P.S, which emphasises Technique, Insight, Personality and Speed; and a series of virtual exhibits where visitors take the place of players in the locker room, players' tunnel and stadium.

T.I.P.S. Techni

UK - March 2012 saw Sennheiser UK hosting a series of Digital Mic Days at Koolworld Studios in Luton, Bedfordshire. The 'Digi Days', held in conjunction with UK digital console manufacturer, DiGiCo, were designed to demonstrate to engineers from different sectors of the pro audio industry just how simply digital microphones can now be integrated into today's audio systems.

Sennheiser UK's sound reinforcement specialist, Dave Wooster, was on hand to show attendees the benefits that digital microphones can offer. A full complement of microphone models from both Neumann and Sennheiser were deployed in the studio's live room, with musicians on hand each morning to provide live signal feeds that were captured, via the digital mics, into Protools.

Microphones used included Neumann TLM 102 D large diaphragm condensers, KM D digital output stages fitted with a variety of capsules and,

UK - Independent distributor of pro-audio products Nova Distribution, has announced its UK exclusive distributorship of Eve Audio speakers, the new range of active monitors from Berlin based manufacturer EVE Audio. Nova will be supplying dealerships across the UK.

EVE Audio was founded and owned by Roland Stenz, a man with a long background history in the audio industry. The products cover a range of sizes and applications from the SC204, the smallest in their studio monitors line to the largest four-way system monitor that EVE Audio produces at the moment, the SC408. Along with a range of subwoofers, built with quality in mind.

The SC204 may have a small footprint. But they will probably be the biggest sounding speakers in your setup, says the company. They also have the added convenience of threaded screw inserts on the bottom and the back so that the SC204 can be mounted on

UK - Bill Woods has joined Funktion One in the role of Director of Business Development. "Bill's vast experience of working with distributors and dealers worldwide makes him the ideal addition to our company" commented Funktion One's Ann Andrews. She added "As our business expands we have found ourselves spread just a little too thin. We decided we needed to add another sales person. Bill has been a friend of Funktion One for years so it made sense to talk to him".

Funktion One's Sales Director, David Bruml said "We are extremely pleased to be welcoming Bill to the Funktion One team. We have been on the lookout for someone of his calibre and experience for some time now and we very much look forward to working together."

Bill Woods commented, "Having witnessed the growth of Funktion One first hand as a supplier with XTA and MC2 I was very exc

UK - AudioStix are Switchcraft's newest additions to its expanding line of premium pro-audio products. The range consists of audio adaptors and impedance matching transformers which are supplied in compact, all-metal cases.

The two audio adaptors have 3.5mm stereo inputs and are designed to connect MP3 players, laptops, etc., to house sound systems - model 318 provides mic level output via an XLR connector, and model 319 provides line level output via a 3-way terminal block. Both products feature level controls and ground lift switches, and transformer isolation provides immunity from hum and buzz caused by ground loops and RF interference.

The impedance matching transformers have XLR to BNC connections and adapt 110 ohm to 75 ohm for AES/EBU, etc.

The range can be used as stand-alone adaptors, rear mounted into modular rack panels or permanently installed into any number of

Australia - In these financially difficult times, maximising the potential of facilities has become a key issue for the education sector. At the same time as delivering high quality education in line with modern expectations, schools need to ensure that their facilities generate their own revenue. These are the reasons why one Australian primary school has invested in DiGiCo, opening up a new market for the console manufacturer.

Helensvale Primary, located on Queensland's Gold Coast, recently finished a new performing arts centre, complete with a full audio-visual solution designed, supplied and installed by Dominica Sound via DiGiCo's Australian distributor, Group Technologies.

"The school was previously hiring halls at its local arts centre for its events, but wanted to become self-contained in order to cut some of the operational overheads," says Steve McCallum, d

Spain - French loudspeaker company APG has announced the appointment of well-known Spanish industry figure, Juan Antonio Cuevas, to represent APG throughout Spain. A renowned sound engineer in his own right and former systems engineer for Meyer Sound, Cuevas knows the pro audio industry in Spain well.

"When I first heard the demo of the New Generation products from APG, I was blown away," says Cuevas. "The natural-sounding acoustics, endless headroom, precise electronics and excellent build quality... let's take, for example, the SMX15 wedges: frankly, I've never heard such quality from a monitor, I sincerely think that this is one of the best stage monitors in the world - and subsequent comparisons with other brands confirmed my opinion. DX12 and DX15 exhibit the same excellent sound quality for continuity throughout the range.

"As for Uniline, I thought t

Slovakia - Midas has announced the first sale of the PRO2 live audio system into the Slovakian market. Facilitated by Midas' Slovakian distributor SBL Acoustics, the sale was made to Patrik Kvacka, who runs his own rental company in Slovakia's political and cultural capital of Bratislava. The new console has already been used for concerts by eclectic Berlin collective Jazzanova and British jazz and electronic band The Cinematic Orchestra.

Kvacka ordered the first PRO2 after attending a demonstration of the new console for the Slovakian sound industry, held by SBL and attended by more than 60 sound specialists and engineers.

"The dimensions of the PRO2, combined with its weight, capabilities and price, is exactly what I was looking for," says Kvacka, who has several years' experience of mixing on a Midas PRO6. "The PRO2 gives me everything that I need."

(J

UK - CP Sound has completed a full sound system installation at an upmarket Mexican restaurant in London's Soho district.

The brainchild of Will Ricker (who heads up Ricker Restaurants), top New York nightlife designer, impresario and 'cultural engineer' Serge Becker was brought in to create the interior of this two-in-one operation. With a fully featured DJ booth set downstairs in the 95-cover basement restaurant lounge, the designer, also responsible for such places as the similarly conceived La Esquina as well as Joe's Pub and The Mercer Hotel - specified RCF sound reinforcement throughout, based on his positive experiences with the brand in the Big Apple.

Designing the sound for the hacienda style basement into five zones, Colin Pattenden of CP Sound has wall-mounted four C3110 full range, compact 10" + 1.5" horn, wide-dispersion, low profile loudspeakers, one in

France - Key debates of the Council of Europe are now taking place under a double cluster of Nexo Geo loudspeakers in its primary Strasbourg council chamber.

Not to be confused with the EU, the Conseil d'Europe is primarily concerned with ensuring legal and cultural cooperation between the 47 countries of Europe, with responsibility for human rights and democratic development. Under the famous blue flag with its 12 stars, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe uses the large debating chamber in the centre of the Palace of Europe, called the Hemicycle, famous for its unusual architecture.

This auditorium has been equipped with a substantial Nexo Geo S8 speech reinforcement system by installation company Lagoona. According to Denis Fenninger from Lagoona, the most important criteria in the tender process were for perfect speech intelligibility and uniform sound cove

USA - EAW has announced the expansion of its Application Support Group (ASG) with the appointment of Adam Shulman to the position of installed systems support manager, effective immediately. The announcement was made by Jeff Rocha, EAW president.

In this newly-created role, Shulman will manage ASG support for all permanently installed sound systems, while longtime ASG resource Joe Fustolo will focus on mobile production customers. Rocha states, "Expanding ASG and bringing in a world-class resource like Adam, who is dedicated exclusively to the installation markets, further demonstrates our commitment to supporting our customers and partners. "

"Increasing global demand for ASG service, particularly in overseas markets, necessitated the expansion. Jerrold Stevens, Director, EAW Application Support Group, adds, "Adam's experience in system design, project man

USA - Set to debut at InfoComm 2012 next month, Equipson's Work DCA 1 is a mixer amplifier designed designed for use in a variety of applications.. One of the biggest advantages of DCA 1 is its ability to receive remote instructions by RS232 or RS485 via ASCII, or even using DMX, says the company.

DCA 1 is a versatile amplifier featuring two channels, designed for for integrators to amplify installations like restaurants and small shops.

It features eight mono inputs, one of them with mic selectable priority, and also features double output of (120 W + 120 W RMS) with terminals. Its operating modes are different because the integrated microprocessor is able to set up an eight inputs- two outputs matrix, so it is like having two totally independent amplifiers. This way, DCA 1 has the following operating modes: Stereo: 1 stereo input to the stereo output; Parallel: the stereo in

UK - Birmingham Ormiston Academy (BOA) has admitted its first 325 students. This independent, state-supported school for 14 to 18 -year-olds offers, alongside courses in the creative and performing arts, instruction in the rapidly developing digital arts. Using the most modern digital technology, students are being schooled in all aspects of TV, film and radio production as well as allowed opportunities to work on productions of their own.

The commission posed a challenge for Altered Images of Shepperton, the company charged with the conceptual design, equipment specification and installation of the system, because it was desired that the studio surroundings in which the students worked should offer teaching and training facilities as close as possible to those encountered in reality.

"We wanted to build a studio of the kind the students will work in later in their day-to

France - Audio Technique is the leading full service production and rental company in the Rhone-Alpes region of south-eastern France. Headquartered in St Etienne with a further, vast 4000m2 warehousing and logistics centre in Villeurbanne near Lyon, Audio Technique has the largest inventory of integrated sound, lighting, video and staging equipment in the region, and one of the largest in the country.

The company prides itself on remaining at the forefront of technology to ensure continued high quality service, and to that end has invested in a significant Uniline line array system from APG and become a member of the Uniline Solution network of service providers. The Uniline Solution now numbers some 25 companies across Europe, without counting those who are members (trained professional users) but not yet system owners.

Audio Technique opted for maximum flexibility in select

UK - Tannoy, Lab.gruppen and Lake have announced the appointment of Patrick Lau and Stephan Grawe to their international sales team covering installed sound and touring products.

Patrick Lau has been appointed export sales manager for Asia-Pacific while Stephan Grawe joins in a similar capacity covering Europe and Africa.

Based in his native Hong Kong, Patrick Lau is an industry veteran who brings over 25 years of experience with him to TC Group International (TCGI) - the organisation responsible for sales of Tannoy, Lab.gruppen and Lake. He rose from his position as sales manager for leading Hong Kong audio technology distributor Dah Chong Hong (DCH) to become international sales manager for Martin Audio in 2008. In both these positions he oversaw the rapidly rising fortunes of the Martin Audio brand in China, particularly in the entertainment sector.

Commenting on his new

USA - Clear-Com has introduced the latest additions to its line of professional headsets, the CC-300 and CC-400, which offer "extra comfort, better performance and more flexibility for users who employ intercoms for long hours". These new systems are compatible with Clear-Com's wide range of wired and wireless intercoms.

The new Clear-Com CC-300 single-ear headset and CC-400 double-ear headset were designed to reduce fatigue and accommodate individual preferences by offering a clear and comfortable audio experience, the company says.

The CC-300 and CC-400 headsets' microphone booms can be rotated 300 degrees, allowing the microphone to be worn on the right or left side of the head. Users can also make the headsets larger or smaller by manipulating the slide adjustments on either side of the headband. In addition, the enclosed headphones have very soft padding and a s

UK - At the forthcoming ABTT Theatre Show at the Old Truman Brewery, d&b audiotechnik will be presenting some of the more miniscule loudspeakers from the d&b range.

The teenyweeny E4 and E5 from the Black range are powerful two-way passive loudspeakers. Both are coaxial with100° dispersion and are commonly used for delay, in-fill, and surround sound. The comparably sized 4S and 5S from the xS-Series of the White range exhibit almost identical performance data and like their Black counterparts they too can reach 115 dB SPL and 117 dB SPL respectively, the company says. Yet White range loudspeakers are not designed for the rough and tumble of touring theatre; instead they are purpose designed for permanent installation and offer a comprehensive variety of mounting options, so too an almost inexhaustible range of colours from the RAL European standard.

For those eager to lear

India - Baylon Fonseca has achieved prominence among the Indian film community for his ability to produce great sound. He has won numerous awards, including the National Award for Best Production Mix, 2012 for his work on Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and the National Award for Best Sound Design and Best Sound Mixing, 2012 for his work on Game. Fonseca credits much of his success to the capabilities of his Lectrosonics equipment.

Presently, Fonseca's Lectrosonics equipment arsenal consists of SMQV, UM450, and UH400a transmitters, a Sixpack multi-channel wireless receiver system fitted with two UDMS 230 UHF RF distributor units, and UCR411a receivers. For IFB purposes, he also uses T4 transmitters and R1a receivers. These are augmented with SNA 600 dipole antennas and an RM remote for use with his SMQV transmitter.

"The sound quality of this equipment is fantastic

USA - On 17 March, 2012, Bruce Springsteen's Wrecking Ball tour kicked off at Atlanta's Phillips Arena, with an L-Acoustics K1/Kudo WST line source system provided by Solotech US Corp of Las Vegas.

Harnessing the power of Springsteen and his 17-piece band is FOH engineer, mix veteran John Cooper, who has provided mixing services for the Boss for the past 10 years and also performs mixing duties for artists including Sheryl Crow, Wynonna Judd, Ringo Starr and Lionel Richie.

The K1/Kudo system provided for the Wrecking Ball tour consists of 60 K1 enclosures, 16 K1-SB subwoofers, 24 Karas, 48 Kudoss, and eight SB28 subs. In many venues, the audience is in 360 degrees as the set design allows for unobstructed views from the rear. Sixteen V-Dosc cabinets are also brought along to provide delay-fill in venues when necessary. All speakers are processed and powered via t

Romania - The impressive Timisoara National Theatre in Romania stands within the Palace of Culture, an arts centre conceived in the Viennese style by architects Hellmerand Felmer, and was opened in 1875 at the height of the Belle Époque. The horseshoe auditorium conforms to the traditional three balcony format, and the stage these days welcomes classical theatre, musical drama, childrens' theatre, and some challenging contemporary works. It has most recently welcomed a small German intrusion, not that this was challenging, but was apparently one that has been on its wish list for some time.

"The main problem of the venue in reference to the acoustics is related to the length of the balconies," said the National Theatre's technical manager. He has a point, the auditorium seats 600 people and is relatively shallow; the balconies are deep and steep. "This make

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