Sound

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16 July 2024

Portugal - Linea Research has announced a new distribution channel for Portugal, taking AV event production company, Sons do Marquês, as network partner in the region to extend the reach of Linea Research into that territory.

Based in Pombal, Sons do Marquês has supplied the audio products to the Portuguese rental and installation markets for over 20 years.

Sons do Marquês MD, Rogerio Lopes, said, “The Linea Research range of amplifiers will be a popular choice in Portugal and already there is interest from larger rental companies and for multi-zone installation project, in the 8-channel M- and C- series models. Linea Research enhances our offering to existing clients seeking an extensive preset library combined with a powerful range of amplification and DSP technology.”

Linea Research sales manager, Martin Hildred, added, “We are de

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16 July 2024

China - Located in the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China, Guangzhou Hertz Audio Co is a large-scale professional audio systems integrator and installer covering theatres, concert halls, TV studios, stadiums and convention centres, and with a particular focus on nightclubs and music venues.

By adhering to a business philosophy of ‘honesty, cooperation and win-win for customers, partners and employees’, the company has built a solid reputation for designing and installing sound systems that deliver an excellent return on investment for their clients. And central to that success is the consistent specifying of Nexo loudspeaker solutions.

“Nexo products deliver unrivalled power and coverage at a price point that really makes sense and we have made many successful Nexo installations in nightclubs in China,” reports H

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16 July 2024

UK - Although only a small, 220-cap venue, the Half Moon in Putney has hosted some of the biggest names in show business over the last 60-plus years. It was the venue for U2's first ever sell-out show, the place where Kate Bush first performed publicly, hosted KD Lang's debut, and has had the likes of Bo Diddley, The Who, and The Rolling Stones gracing its stage.

But its sound system had been installed almost a decade previously and was nearing end of life.

The venue’s head engineer James Beck has been working at the venue all of that time and more. It was when Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason came through back in 2018 carrying Martin Audio’s MLA Mini loudspeaker array that the vast improvement in sound quality arrested his attention.

“I was well aware of the Martin Audio brand, and when I heard this I was super-impressed. It had already b

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15 July 2024

Saudi Arabia - When facilitating a massive broadcast and live sporting event like the Next Gen ATP tennis finals, play cannot be interrupted for any reason. DirectOut’s PRODIGY.MP ensured that the event stayed on air, without the possibility of failure due to lost signal.

Marco Galizia, technical director for Next Gen ATP Finals, insists that DirectOut hardware and audio solutions are the only way to secure total peace of mind, as he discovered when utilising two PRODIGY.MP at the final of the tennis tournament for the superstars of tomorrow, held in Jeddah at the end of last year.

DirectOut’s PRODIGY.MP is designed to provide flexible I/O, dual network audio and sample rate conversions. The FPGA-based, low-latency processing provides Matrix Mixers, summing busses and channel processing. With its seamless I/O structure including network convergen

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15 July 2024

UK - Established for more than 15 years, Lancashire PA Hire is a supplier of audio systems for a wide range of events both locally and nationally. Festivals, gigs, weddings, corporates, parties, and mobile DJs are all catered for.

Over a year ago, Lancashire PA Hire took the decision to upgrade its large event system, and decided to invest in HK Audio products as owner Darryl Fraser explains:

“To begin we had invested in six HK Audio L4000 subs and four Linear 5 LTS tops. They proved to be a real success, taking us through 2023 and enabling us to comfortably cover shows of 800+ audiences. The only minor gripe we had with the system was a lack of control, but we got round this issue with our Allen & Heath SQ5 desk.

“Then at the end of 2023 we spoke to Andy Taylor from SoVeryAPT who mentioned that HK Audio were releasing MKII versions o

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15 July 2024

Albania - On 27 June, production house Kuadr Events hosted the highly anticipated Alpha Show III, the largest hip-hop event ever staged in Albania, at the newly upgraded Air Albania Stadium in Tirana.

The production featured a 360-degree stage design, offering an immersive experience with impressive audio and lighting that captivated the audience and set a new standard for live performances in the region.

Rental provider, ASLV [Albanian Sound, Lighting & Video], was behind the audio setup, deploying a comprehensive 360-degree stadium-filling system with 90 Outline GTO C-12, 16 Superfly, 28 Mantas 28, 12 GTO-SUBs, and 80 DBS 18-2 sub-bass enclosures.

The entire system was powered by Outline GTA-Series amplifiers, with part of the GTO-series loudspeakers supplied by Gigant Sound Letus through a collaboration within Outline’s rental networ

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12 July 2024

UK - XTA and MC² amplification, enjoyed a strong presence at Glastonbury 2024, with a number of audio suppliers choosing the brands’ robust and ultra-dependable units for what can be a challenging environment.

At the Glade Stage, which featured a lineup of high-profile artists, Stefan Imhof of Audio Plus deployed XTA’s DPA100 to power a Funktion One front of house system and monitors. A total of 17 DPA100 powered the Funktion One Vero, Vero VX, F124 subs, front-fills and side-fills, with a further 12 units powering the monitors, all controlled via Globcon XTA MC² Edition control software.

The West Holt Stage was a magnet for festival-goers seeking an eclectic array of sets from artists from around the globe. RG Jones in collaboration with 22live delivered all the audio for the stage, with Paul Hatt of CS audio providing 48 channels of splits vi

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12 July 2024

Japan - Kani is a city located in the south-central Gifu Prefecture of Japan. With a population of approximately 100,000 residents, Kani is known for the multitude of golf courses in the eastern part of the city, which collectively cover almost 10% of the city’s land. At the heart of the city lies the Kani City Cultural Creation Centre. The venue was built to present civic activities, including large-scale performances that involve local talent, community-building workshops, and nurturing performing artists and community arts workers.

The main theatre of the Kani City Cultural Creation Centre is designed primarily for live theatrical performances with an acoustic reflection pattern that has a short reverberation time of about 1.6 seconds.

In early 2024, the venue hosted an event in which contemporary dance was performed to an orchestral accompanime

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12 July 2024

USA - Nicknamed the Queen City, Charlotte is one of the 25 largest cities in the U.S. and the largest city in North Carolina. Home to more than 10 Fortune 1000 companies, including Bank of America, Lowe's, and Duke Energy, Charlotte is also home to the University of North Carolina Charlotte campus (UNC Charlotte).

A public research university of 30,000 students, UNC Charlotte’s athletic team’s nickname is the 49ers, indicative of the fact that UNC Charlotte (then Charlotte College) was saved from permanent closure in 1949. The mascot is, aptly, ‘Norm the Niner’, a gold miner.

UNC Charlotte's Division I FCS football team kicked off in 2013. The team plays at Jerry Richardson Stadium, which holds approximately 15,000 people and can be expanded to up to 40,000 people.

As a result of the football team’s immediate success, the football p

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11 July 2024

Japan - Three prominent companies specialising in various facets of the AV industry in Japan have joined forces to form GizaGiza, a commercial distribution company dedicated to representing 1 Sound as their exclusive distributor in Japan. With its headquarters strategically located in Shibuya, Tokyo, GizaGiza brings together ‘decades of expertise in audio design, installation, and comprehensive support and system maintenance services’.

GizaGiza has integrated 1 Sound loudspeakers into several high-profile installations and events in Japan and is ready to start audio demonstrations showcasing the full spectrum of 1 Sound’s catalogue.

Commenting on the collaboration, GizaGiza stated, “There is a growing demand in Japan for superior sonic quality, meticulously engineered loudspeakers. The sonic excellence and design fit with the needs of the mar

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11 July 2024

Italy/USA - K-array has announced the expansion and renovation of both its Italian and USA headquarters. These state-of-the-art facilities, featuring the latest KSCAPE RAIL and RAIL S technology, showcase the brand’s lighting and audio solutions.

“By integrating advanced design elements and cutting-edge technology, we have created an environment that fosters creativity and collaboration,” says Alex Tatini, K-array CEO. “The new spaces enhance our research and development capabilities and embody the K-array spirit of ingenuity and quality.”

At the Italian headquarters, nestled in the heart of the Tuscan countryside just outside Florence, the upgrade was focused on the brand’s R&D, software, mechanical, electrical and audio research departments. The new pavilion, comprised of two floors, has been completely renovated to encompass the ex

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11 July 2024

USA - The US Olympic Swimming Team Trials, which took place from 15-23 June, were held for the first time ever in an NFL stadium - Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis, home of the Colts football team - instead of at the CHI Health Centre Omaha, the Nebraska arena where they had taken place ahead of four consecutive previous Olympics qualifying trials. The nine-day event was predicted to generate over $100m of economic impact locally, according to the Indiana Sports Corp.

The stadium venue, which would be able to seat 30,000 after the construction of two Olympic-sized pools over the football field, more than twice the number the earlier arena could accommodate, presented significant live-sound challenges for the event, which was also broadcast on NBC Sports.

A DiGiCo SD12-96 console - supported by DiGiCo SD-Racks and SD-MiNi Racks connected via

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11 July 2024

Europe - Amadeus and Holophonix have installed a 34-speaker system with Holophonix spatial control into the Royal Theatre of Namur in Belgium. The concept was to offer the listening audience the best sound possible from every seat in the Italian-style theatre, using Holophonix spatial sound technology and discreetly placed speakers without breaking the architectural theme of the ornate theatre.

“The previous sound system essentially consisted of two pairs of L-Acoustics Arcs installed on two DV-Sub speakers mounted on the stage frame, plus a few delays to open up the less well-served areas of the balconies,” says Patrice Dhautcourt, sound department manager at the Royal Theatre of Namur.

“The venue is a magnificent, listed Italian-style theatre, restored at great expense during a project that lasted from 1994 to 1998 – gilt in every corner, v

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11 July 2024

UK - The 4,500 capacity New Road cricket ground in Worcestershire has sat on the banks of the River Severn since 1896. Frequently referred to as one of the world’s most beautiful cricket grounds, the sporting venue is home to Worcestershire County Cricket Club (WCCC) – one of 18 first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales.

The ground recently turned to audio-visual integrators Hadleigh Technical Support (HTS) and distributors CUK Group for a new PA system that could provide clear announcements, music and entertainment across the site. A sound solution from Renkus-Heinz was chosen to keep New Road at the top of its game.

“HTS has a long-standing relationship with Worcestershire Cricket Ground,” says Mark Bromfield, director of system solution sales at CUK. “The ground needed a new PA system that covere

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11 July 2024

USA - Feid, the Colombian musical phenomenon with over 17.6bn streams on Spotify, is currently taking his hits and his band out on the road. Produced by Live Nation, the FERXXOCALIPSIS Tour 2024 kicked off in Sacramento on 24 April at the Golden 1 Centre and has taken Feid across major US cities from coast to coast, offering fans a chance to experience his brand of high-energy reggaeton live.

On stage, all six musicians’ and vocalists’ IEMs are plugged into KLANG immersive monitor mixing in the form of a DMI-KLANG card loaded into a Clair Global-supplied DiGiCo Quantum338 console for monitors, mirroring another Quantum338 at front of house. This marks the first time the KLANG setup has been used by Feid, any of his band members, or Carlos ‘Carlitos’ Dickson, the veteran monitor engineer on the tour.

Dickson, a Latin Grammy-winning and multi-n

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11 July 2024

Malaysia - Powersoft’s T Series amplifier platform, known for its efficiency, flexibility and performance, is powering the Crossover store in the vibrant Exchange TRX shopping centre in Kuala Lumpur’s international financial district.

Crossover is a multi-label retail space and concept flagship store housing labels such as Carhartt WIP, Aries and Patta. The shop needed to transform the in-store audio experience to match its avant-garde retail ambiance.

In pursuit of clear, consistent and high-quality audio, the sustainability-conscious store approached loudspeaker manufacturer NNNN, which specified Powersoft T Series amplifiers to power its speakers. In choosing T Series, NNNN aimed to deliver maximum energy efficiency and clear, consistent and high-quality audio throughout the store, as well as a long-term value proposition for the client withou

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10 July 2024

UK - Head of installation at Bristol-based Enlightened, Henry Parr took a weekend off from his usual role to mix on the company’s Nexo Geo M10 line array system on the Sensation Seekers stage at the Glastonbury Festival.

With six M10s flown per side and six subs on the ground, the job called for a throw of 30m to cover a maximum anticipated audience of 3,000.

“I’ve had some experience using the larger Nexo Geo M12, but this was my first time using the smaller, single 10-inch M10,” reports Henry. “I was really impressed by the power of such a compact system and the way it performed, with consistent SPL even at the back of the field when the crowd swelled to more than 10,000 at times.

“With such a diverse range of artists and performances on the Sensation Seekers stage, it wasn’t possible to tune the system for any single genre, b

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10 July 2024

Germany - Straßenparty-Geldern is a three-day summer festival in the heart of Geldern, in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia region. This free, open-air event includes live concerts from a rich range of musical genres across a total of five festival stages. For the 2024 edition of the festival, two of the largest stages featured line array PA systems from Wharfedale Pro.

Sound specialists, Rockline, deployed the sound system for the main stage, whilst the second stage was handled by event technicians, Ambiento. Wharfedale Pro was chosen for both stages to ensure consistency for the event’s most anticipated performances. On hand was Wharfedale Pro’s local applications and solutions manager from IAD GmbH, Christian Boche.

“There were a lot of different bands in the mix with very short change-over times between acts, so I was on hand to ensure th

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10 July 2024

Italy - Powersoft has announced the expansion of its global team with the appointment of two new business development managers and three new solution engineers.

With over 20 years of industry experience, Jonathan Wu, newly appointed business development manager for China, possesses a deep understanding of the pro-audio market. He aims to enhance user experience and product knowledge for Chinese clients, as well as continue to raise Powersoft’s brand awareness in China.

Jinfu Chen, business development manager for the Southeast Asian market, will focus on Indonesia, Thailand, The Philippines and Vietnam ensuring growth objectives by creating direct relationships with key integrators and consultants and utilising regular meetings and training sessions within the distribution network. Chen has an extensive background in the industry, having previously

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09 July 2024

UK - Located on the edge of London’s Regent’s Park, 229 is a multi-purpose venue with two spaces: Venue One has a capacity of 700 and Venue Two can hold around 200 people. Both are busy every night, often also hosting events during the day. There is residential housing above and the whole complex is managed under the umbrella of the charity International Student House, which provides a home and community for young people studying internationally. A hundred percent of 229’s profits go back into supporting the charity’s mission.

“We had been using our previous desk for about 10 years,” technical manager Alessandro Bonifacio explains. “Every investment is thought about very carefully, we have to think in terms of longevity and value. I’ve been using DiGiCo consoles on my freelance jobs for years, so I got in contact through Andy Huffer at HD Pro

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09 July 2024

USA - One of the premier roots festivals in the US, DelFest has steadily evolved the technical infrastructure at its Allegany County Fairgrounds site in Cumberland, MD, since the event was originally established 17 years ago.

Supporting the multi-stage event with sound reinforcement from the beginning has been Martin Audio partner Southard Audio. This year they fielded three Wavefront Precision systems - a WPL rig and two WPS hangs.

“We only switched to WPL and other Martin Audio systems at DelFest post-COVID (from 2022) and it really shines for these applications,” notes Southard managing partner, Jason Misterka.

Their three-stage Martin Audio deployment was headed by the large-format WPL line array. The Grandstand system used 24 WPL for main PA (12 a-side) with eight WPL out-fill stage right (to cover the grandstands), four XD15 front-f

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09 July 2024

China - It’s not often that a nightclub is named for its sound system, but that’s what has happened in Meishan in the Sichuan province of China – the latest addition to Meishan’s cultural landscape is an entertainment venue with a capital investment of over 50m RMB (over £5.4m).

The principal investor – a successful Chinese media and showbiz entrepreneur – visited several large clubs before deciding on what he wanted for his own venue. He was so impressed by what he heard at the Forever club in Wuhan – a massive KV2 venue that was billed as China’s biggest nightclub project of 2022 – that he decided not only on a KV2 system for his own venue, but that he would even name the club after it. KV2 Hub in Meishan opened earlier this year.

Conveniently situated in the heart of the Rose International M District in Meishan, KV2 Hub offers a

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08 July 2024

UK - 2B Heard has announced its partnership with Naostage. 2B Heard will now offer Naostage's products to a broader market covering live events, theatres and entertainment venues.

"We are excited to collaborate with Naostage and bring their ground-breaking technology to our customers," said Sam Nankivell, director of 2B Heard. "Our commitment to providing the best in audio-visual solutions aligns perfectly with Naostage's vision of enhancing live performances through advanced automation. This partnership will allow us to offer unparalleled tracking solutions that elevate the quality and creativity of live events across the UK."

“Naostage represents an exciting concept of merging innovation into the creative process, allowing us to work with visual and audio concepts simultaneously,” says Sam Nankivell, director of 2B Heard. “The system, backed

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08 July 2024

Italy - Outline has entered into a distribution agreement for Italy with Audio Link, the Parma-based pro audio distribution company.

"Integrating Outline solutions into our portfolio, Audio Link can now offer a complete, highly-trusted audio signal chain of utmost quality and long-term value – with links by DiGiCo, Optocore, Sound Devices, Klang, TiMax, and Waves, to name but a few," says Federico Bianchi, Audio Link's general manager.

"Backed by Audio Link's undisputed tech support, Italian rental operators of any magnitude can now finally turn the superior audio performance of Outline solutions into a strategic advantage – in the entertainment, business and lifestyle events sectors", says Fernando Rey Méndez, Outline's sales director.