France - Nexo has just conducted the first 'official' audio demo of a full STM Series PA, its new flagship sound reinforcement system. Joining forces with Yamaha Music Europe, the sister companies used the JTSE Live trade show event in Paris to demo Nexo's latest concert sound loudspeakers on a Dante network with Yamaha CL Series digital control.

For the first time, the Nexo team put its STM Series sound reinforcement system into action in a public arena, with front of house control provided by the Yamaha CL5 console over a Dante network - another first for both Nexo and the team from Yamaha Music Europe in Paris.

STM is the first scalable modular line array on the market. Standing for Scale Through Modularity, the STM Series for touring use offers a wide variety of design options using four loudspeaker modules - main, bass and sub cabinets, with an 'omni-purpose' down-fill. F

UK - Orbital Sound has just completed a major installation at one of the UK's premier concert halls, Fairfield Halls, in Croydon, south London.

Forming the first part of a technical upgrade, Orbital has installed a new sound reinforcement system into the Concert Hall, with the principal components comprising d&b audiotechnik Q1 line arrays, augmented by flown 27A cardioid subs, ground-stacked B2 subs, and a Yamaha M7CL console with DME64 mix engine. The Q1 array is complemented by a T-series centre-fill cluster, using three Ti10L d&b audiotechnik loudspeakers.

Fairfield Halls' 1800-seat Concert Hall is ranked as one of the very best orchestral performance spaces in Europe, with an acoustic quality particularly favoured by chamber orchestras, as well as hosting a varied programme of musical styles and events since the early 1960s - from rock bands to stand-up comedy. The invest

France - Innovason has announced the signing of an important partnership with Sennheiser France for the distribution of all Innovason products throughout France with effect from 1 December 2012. Announced at JTSE 2012 in Paris, the move further strengthens Sennheiser France's presence in the live digital technologies market, taking advantage of the existing synergies between Innovason digital consoles and Sennheiser's digital microphones by Neumann.

In order to fully optimize the opportunities presented by this new partnership, Sennheiser France has taken on Axel Brisard, an expert in digital audio mixing and sound capture. Brisard, who worked as a sound engineer at Radio France for many years, is fully versed in the use of Sennheiser Group digital microphones with Innovason's Eclipse consoles, currently the only consoles on the market to offer complete control of all Sennheiser

UK - Studiomaster is now shipping its new high performance, ultra-portable XPX Series PA. Shown earlier this year at both NAMM and Prolight+Sound, the injection-molded PA is the company's most advanced, powerful portable reinforcement series ever; a product category in which the famous British marque is a long time market leader.

Available in both active and passive variants, The XPX Series employs the company's latest design and engineering innovations in an ultra-lightweight, high performance portable PA cabinet, offering unrivalled standards of quality, performance and cost competitiveness.

Soundking Group Europe marketing manager Patrick Almond says, "We have had very positive feedback regarding the quality and reliability of the XPX. This is backed up by the regular substantial orders we are receiving from most of our worldwide distributors; one far east customer ord

USA - Meyer Sound Laboratories Incorporated, a Berkeley, Calif.-based professional audio equipment manufacturer, announced that it has settled the lawsuit it filed last June against VUE Audiotechnik, LLC of Escondido, Calif.

The lawsuit was filed in the Federal District Court for the Northern District of California. In its suit, Meyer Sound alleged VUE infringed Meyer Sound's iconic wave trademark, and asserted other claims against VUE and a former Meyer Sound employee currently working for VUE.

"This legal action was necessary to protect Meyer Sound's intellectual property rights and to prevent confusion in the marketplace," says Helen Meyer, co-founder and executive vice president of Meyer Sound. "We are pleased with the settlement. It resolves issues related to our company's valuable trade secrets, and eliminates the possibility that people might be misled in

UK - Researchers at the University of Salford have been awarded £249,719 to develop new technology which will greatly improve the modeling of the acoustic performance of buildings and open spaces.

The grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council will enable the Salford team work with global design and engineering firm, Arup, the University of Reading and BBC R&D. Together they hope to solve the problems associated with demonstrating to clients how building designs for large spaces like concert halls, sound once they've been built.

In practice, designers programme the designs of a building or room into a computer model which calculates how the structure affects the sound sources which inhabit it, such as musicians in an orchestra. The modified sound of the sources is then reproduced through a special loudspeaker system, allowing the client to hear wha

USA - Since its Amsterdam debut in 2000, Sensation has grown to become one of the world's most successful and respected indoor electronic dance music (EDM) festivals. After producing more than 70 events for over two million people in two dozen countries, creator ID&T recently teamed up with promoter Live Nation to bring Sensation to North America for the very first time. As with all of its other productions, ID&T specified the deployment of a full L-Acoustics system to keep the high-tech party hopping well into the night.

Quickly selling out Brooklyn's stunning new Barclays Center on both 26 and 27 October, the two-night event - dubbed 'Innerspace' - attracted over 30,000 house and techno music fans dressed entirely in white according to the festival's tradition. A roster of renowned DJs - including Dennis Ferrer, Fedde Le Grand, New York's own Danny Tenaglia, and the show's hos

UK - Roland Systems Group (RSG) is joining with some of its biggest dealers to put on a series of video training events across the UK with the next scheduled for 12th December at Wigwam Acoustics. The afternoon event will be free to attend and will cover web streaming, HD video switching, conversion and much more - showcasing the RSG video product line up including the V-800, V-1600HD, VR-5 and VR-3 - as well as the brand new V-40HD released earlier this month.

The informal event will be packed with information, expert tips and real world advice, says the company, and registrants will get the opportunity in advance to request specific questions and subjects to be covered on the day.

To register visit the web address below.

(Claire Beeson)

Japan - Located in the lively Shibuya Ward near the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, the Toho Gakuen Performing Arts College has recently been visited by one of its old Alumni; Shinichiro 'Yone' Yonekura. Yonekura is better known to the professional audio community as the head of d&b audiotechnik Japan, but it was in 1990 that he graduated from Toho Gakuen and he has carried the reputation of that college with him ever since.

"Toho Gakuen was originally established as the Tokyo Broadcast School in 1979 and was approved as an educational foundation establishment a year later," he explained. "Today four colleges comprise the campus: TG Media Training, TG Film Techniques, TG Performing Arts and TG Sound Technicians."

The purpose of Yonekura's visit was twofold; the school purchased a d&b Q-Series system from him a year earlier and he was keen to learn of the experi

South Africa - 18 August saw some of South Africa's highest profile musicians come together in Johannesburg's Botanical Gardens to play at Talk Radio 702's Concert In The Park. A Coda Audio PA system and DiGiCo mixing consoles ensured that the large audience enjoyed a day to remember.

The concert drew on the heritage of the original Concert in the Park, which saw 125,000 South Africans pack out the city's Ellis Park Stadium in 1985. This year's event drew a more modest crowd, but all enjoyed a bill including Sipho Hotstix Mabuse, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Steve Kekana, PJ Powers and Hotline, Dr Victor and the Rasta Rebels, Mango Groove and Clint & Co.

The show's technical infrastructure was supplied by Sound Stylists, one of South Africa's leading production companies, which is this year celebrating its landmark 25th birthday.

The main audio system comprised 12 flown Coda Airline

USA - L-Acoustics certified provider Audio Video Electronics (AVE) of Maple Grove, Minnesota, reports that it recently installed a Kiva loudspeaker system at St. Andrews Lutheran Church in nearby Mahtomedi.

According to AVE Vice President Kevin Crow, "St. Andrews has a beautiful 1,200-seat sanctuary with a nearly five second reverb time, so going into this project, we knew that speech intelligibility was one of our primary issues of concern. Furthermore, with an 80-member choir, chamber group and huge pipe organ, St. Andrews' services feature quite an emphasis on music as well, and they were wanting to have it feel more 'present' in the sanctuary seating areas."

With those requirements in mind, AVE specified an L-Acoustics line source system featuring left and right arrays each comprised of nine KIva enclosures flown adjacent to three KIlo low-frequency extension cab

UK - The audio industry should test its products to a higher standard and publish the results in its sales material, according to a white paper released by loudspeaker manufacturer Flare Audio this month. The paper argues that a test currently used extensively by audio professionals to measure the sensitivity of loudspeakers does not tell the whole story about loudspeaker sound quality. It claims that a less well-known test, Waveform integrity (Wi), allows artists, audio professionals and the listener to compare the sound reproduction of different products much more effectively.

Flare Audio believes that loudspeakers should provide 'as pure a sound as possible', to enable an unaltered reproduction of the sound created by the musician. In its white paper, the company defines a sound as 'pure' if it loses none of its detail in the transmission from artist to listener in the proces

Italy - RCF has announced the launch of the DXT 9000 - a digital voice-alarm system with the brains of network technology and the soul of professional audio. The system will be launched formally at ISE 2013 in Amsterdam, where RCF will be demonstrating it on a dedicated stand (7H230) designed to showcase the DXT 9000 system's capabilities in real-world applications.

The DXT 9000 voice-evacuation system is completely scalable. The first fully digital PA/VA system to be designed from the ground up by RCF engineers, the DXT 9000 is sufficiently versatile to be used in almost any kind of application, from the smallest school or hotel to huge campuses that include multiple buildings.

The DXT 9000 is a distributed system in which every component, including the loudspeakers, has its own physical address, can be monitored according to the latest EN 54 standards, and can be configured

UK - With only four stands remaining, exhibitors need to act now to secure a presence at the fifth annual PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013, taking place at the Royal Armouries, on Tuesday 30 April and Wednesday 1 May 2013.

Following record attendance in 2012, the premier entertainment technology trade show in the North has attracted even more companies that are keen to access the 50% of visitors who do not attend any other trade show during the year.

Mark Priestley, project manager at Unusual Rigging explains the rationale behind their decision to book for the first time: "Although a committed supporter of PLASA, 2013 will see Unusual Rigging making its exhibitor debut at PLASA Focus. We have completed a lot of projects in the north of England and Scotland but we believe we will be able to introduce our range of services to new customers at Leeds. When we visited the show last yea

Germany - Every club owner likes to see a full room; bar owners are no different. What about other public venues? When German pro audio manufacturer d&b audiotechnik announces the introduction of the next version of their ArrayCalc simulation software at ISE in Amsterdam 29-31 January, a room full of sound will become an altogether more achievable prospect.

"This is the planning tool that makes that target of fullness complete," said Ralf Zuleeg from the d&b Education and Application support department. "For any installer or integrator the new ArrayCalc Version 7 offers the ability to perform acoustic simulations quickly, easily and intuitively. One can now choose from a selection of d&b point source loudspeakers, most notably the xS-Series from the White range as well as Black range Q and E-Series loudspeakers. The White range has been specifically developed to a

UK - Global B2B event organiser, UBM Live, has rewarded DB Systems with a new supplier contract for seven UK shows in 2013.

Among these new shows is RESI 2013, the leading event for the residential property market. The 2012 show attracted more than 1,000 delegates.

In addition to the new supplier contract, UBM Live has also renewed an existing contract with DB, which means the AV & IT rental company will continue to work as official AV supplier at four European shows next year.

Oliver Richardson, DB's sales and marketing director, said, "We have a really strong working relationship with UBM and we've been supplying their European events for over many years. These UK shows are a really fantastic opportunity for us to work the London based team.

"I believe our approach of going the extra mile for our clients is why we are so highly regarded in the industry. The ser

UK - Cambridge-based MI Broadcast have been taking full advantage of the flexibility of the Roland S-4000 Series Digital Snakes, hiring them out to their customers including Arena Television for prestigious projects such as the Olympics and Champions League football. Having purchased two systems comprising S-4000S-3208 32 x 8 Modular Stage Unit, the S-4000S-0832 8 x 32 Modular Stage Unit and S-4000R Remote Controller for their hire stock, MI Broadcast have found them a perfect fit for the requirements of their TV industry clients.

"The requirements change from client to client with different configurations of XLR ins and outs but the S-4000 Series offers us the ease and flexibility to adapt," commented Robert Mackman, director at MI Broadcast.

Supplying products and complete solutions including hire, design, installation and commissioning of fibre based systems mainl

Slovakia - Based in Bratislava, the Slovak Philharmonic is the leading symphony orchestra in Slovakia. Since the early 1950s, the orchestra has resided in the Reduta Bratislava, which was constructed in 1773. In 2011 and 2012, the centrally located Baroque building, which is capable of accommodating audiences of up to 700, underwent a thorough renovation that included modernisation of all the building's electrical systems.

As well as new audio and video equipment, the Reduta now possesses a professional communications system designed to cover a wide variety of needs - a modular system offering outstanding sound quality, easy setup and user-friendly operation. To ensure the solution chosen met these requirements, the Reduta's operators called in Bratislava-based specialists Centron Slovakia to plan and install the new system.

After giving the matter careful consideration, Centr

Norway - Midas' long time Norwegian distribution partner AVAB CAC is celebrating its fiftieth sale of the PRO2 and PRO2C consoles in just 12 months.

Although most of the consoles have been sold to rentals companies AVAB CAC has also seen a number go direct to end users, including concert venues, theatres and even individual sound engineers.

"It's good to see engineers investing in their own personal consoles," says Asle Nilsen, head of Audio sales at AVAB CAC. "The ability to use the same showfile on all MIDAS Console models, combined with the new G2 software, makes the PRO2C an extremely powerful control platform in a conveniently small frame."

Midas brand development manager, Richard Ferriday comments, "When we launched PRO2/C, we knew that we were offering a fantastic package - the major concept of the PRO2 and PRO2C is to take the audio quality,

Off Stage - Stevie Wonder has pulled out of a concert raising money for the Friends of the Israel Defence Forces. The singer had been scheduled to perform at the Los Angeles event on 6 December. In a statement, Wonder said: "I am and have always been against war, any war, anywhere."

A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is currently in place, after a week of violence in Gaza last month. But tensions still run high. This week's gala concert supports an organisation which raises money for Israeli soldiers and their families. Wonder said the United Nations had recommended cancelling his performance because he is an official UN Messenger of Peace.

Festivals 2013 - Rihanna and Mumford & Sons have been announced as headliners for next year's T in the Park festival. The event, Scotland's biggest festival, is celebrating its 20th year in 2013 and will see US singe

UK - Capital Sound was recently approached by Trigger, Professor Green's tour manager, and Ben Ashbourn of Relentless Energy Drink promoter Vision Nine to supply an audio package for the Professor's last UK gig this year, before he heads into the studio to work on his next album in early 2013.

Held at St John at Hackney Church in London for Relentless, Capital's production manager Charles Ellery knew straight away that the gig was going to present him with an acoustical challenge

"Essentially, St John's is a stone box that measure 45 x 45 metres, with a domed roof 18 metres high and the natural acoustic properties of a swimming pool!," says Ellery. "Initially, we looked at a system comprising Martin Audio LCs and WS218X subs, but in the back of my mind I knew we should be looking at the Martin Audio MLA Compact system for this, as it would be a great test of wha

Germany - Riedel Communications, one of the leading providers of real-time networks for video, audio and communications, celebrated its 25th anniversary on its premises in Wuppertal.

More than 1,400 guests from the broadcast, event, theatre and industry markets joined the celebration. The event included a total of five different areas with accessible installations, 3D project mappings, outdoor whirlpools and a captivating fire-show. Numerous acts in changing locations from Klezmer and jazz performances over high wire acrobats to a heavy metal playing robot band were the ingredients for an inspiring night.

"It is incredible, what my team realized in the last 25 years", Thomas Riedel remarks. "Their dedication and passion play a vital role in our success. We are looking forward to the coming years. We already have some interesting ideas for projects and products l

USA - The Detroit suburb of West Bloomfield is known for its lush, rolling hills, palatial homes, and sense of community. And the Jewish Community Centre is a local nexus, a sprawling campus offering athletic facilities, continuing education, a range of community outreach programmes. The JCC is also home to the Berman Centre for the Performing Arts, a newly-built 600-seat theatre hosting a steady calendar of music, dance, performance, film festivals, and special events.

The theatre is designed for flexibility, with movable walls that close to form two adjacent ballrooms, or open to create a single large theatre, with pull-out seating that expands the main room's 300 seats to 600. "It's very much a multi-use facility," explains Advanced Lighting and Sound's Bob Sullivan, the contractors on the project. "The system had to be adaptable to several different room confi

Japan - ARX Systems has appointed Tokyo based Studio Equipment Corporation as their new Distributor for Japan.

Specialising in the broadcast, studio, and installation markets Studio Equipment Corporation exhibited ARX products at last month's Interbee Exhibition in Japan.

ARX's managing director Colin Park said, "Studio Equipment Corp's Toshihiro Inada told ARX that the exhibition was very successful for them with many visitors expressing interest in the ARX product ranges, especially the USB Direct Box & MSX Mic Line Splitter ranges which were being exhibited in Japan for the first time.

"We're excited to be working with the Studio Equipment Corporation team in Japan, they're enthusiastic about the bpossibilities for ARX and our products amongst their extensive client base."

(Jim Evans)

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