ROCHESTER, NY and WHITINSVILLE, MA – Fulcrum Acoustic has released a new coverage pattern for their AH series of High Output Coaxial Horns.

More details from Fulcrum Acoustic (www.fulcrum-acoustic.com):

The AH66 is a bi-amplified 2-way, high sensitivity, arrayable coaxial horn loudspeaker that provides a precise 60° x 60° pattern with control to below 400 Hz, low frequency extension to 75 Hz, and extremely high output with modest amplifier power.

The unique Compression Head horn architecture of the AH series provides exceptional low frequency loading to its twin 10 inch low frequency compression drivers, while a pair of Oculus phase plugs extends the 10s’ high frequency response to smoothly mesh with a 4 inch diaphragm high frequency compression driver. The AH66’s unique 60° compact trapezoidal shape allows it to be mounted very close to ceilings with minimal effect on sight lines.

Read more about the AH66 on Fulcrum’s website at www.fulcrum-acoustic.com/product/ah-high-output-coaxial-horn

GLASGOW, KY – Red Ranger Media worked with Coral Hill Baptist Church on a sound system for the church’s new-but-reverberant sanctuary. Red Ranger Media owner Allen Cothran noted how Danley gear overcame the challenges posed by the new, 300-capacity space.

More details from Danley Sound Labs (www.danleysoundlabs.com):

Located near Mammoth Cave National Park, Coral Hill Baptist Church has long been a cornerstone for the community in Glasgow, Kentucky. Without going so far as to include moving lights or haze machines, Coral Hill’s blended services offer a tremendous range of musical styles, both within a given service and from week to week. When steady growth made its old, traditional sanctuary too cramped, Coral Hill Baptist Church made plans for a new sanctuary adjacent to the old sanctuary with seating for three hundred. Local AV integration firm Red Ranger Media worked with the church to design and install a Danley Sound Labs sound reinforcement system that would support their wide variety of musical styles and deliver crystal-clear intelligibility despite an abundance of reflective concrete and dry wall surfaces.

“In moving from their old sanctuary to a new sanctuary of their own design, Coral Hill Baptist Church wanted to decrease the distance to the back row to make the services as intimate as the senior pastor of 32 years had always wanted them to be,” explained Allen Cothran, owner of Red Ranger Media. “The new sanctuary is thus very wide with a short throw – no more than forty feet to the back row of seating. The floor is concrete and the walls are dry wall, so good pattern control was essential. On top of that, Coral Hill’s services might include everything from traditional hymns to a high-energy praise band. There might be pedal steel one week and no guitars at all the next week. They even have a Bluegrass service once a month!”

Given their reflective nature, the subject of acoustical treatments for the walls came up repeatedly throughout the process. “Since they were on a tight budget, I suggested we could achieve the goals of the sound reinforcement system without acoustical treatments if we went with Danley’s patented point-source technology,” Cothran said. “Danley boxes are well-controlled and, with the right models in place, keep energy on people and off of the walls and ceiling. When we inevitably got into budget-cutting conversations, I said we can cut on microphones, amplifiers, and other system components, but I wasn’t gonna budge on Danley. I knew we needed Danley technology to pull it all together, especially on a tight budget.”

Cothran used Danley Direct modeling software to perfect his design. “I started with a left-right design using Danley SM96s, but it was clear I’d be missing the edges,” he said. “But when I swapped them out for SM60Fs and added an SM96 in the center, everything came together beautifully. I ran the model past the engineers at Danley, and they made a few small tweaks. We installed the system as designed and then had to pull our scaffolding down immediately so that carpet could be installed on the stage. We fired the system up and were relieved to find that the coverage was perfect and exactly as the model had predicted. From previous Danley installations and this latest experience at Coral Hill, I have come to appreciate Danley’s predictability.”

Cothran intended to give Coral Hill Baptist Church a full-range sound system, and the church wanted a full-range sound system. But the church was also oddly cool on the idea of including “subwoofers” because a well-meaning congregant had brought one into a service years ago and hooked it up to their existing system. “It hadn’t gone well,” Cothran reported. “They told me the whole service had a roaring sound that was distracting and awful. So, their idea of a ‘subwoofer’ was a bad experience!” Since the Danley SM60Fs already include extended low end to 66Hz and since the church didn’t need concert-level slamming kicks, a simple Danley THmini15 flown above the center SM96 fills out the sonic picture perfectly.

An Ashly nXp 1.54 powers the system with onboard DSP for modest input and loudspeaker conditioning, and an Allen & Heath SQ-6 digital mixer gives church tech volunteers control of the system. “System commissioning was fast and easy,” Cothran said. “We fired it up, adjusted the crossover point, set the levels, and that was basically it. There’s a little bit of equalization in the 300-500Hz range, but it’s modest – less than 4dB.” A custom 20-foot by 8-foot Draper Onyx screen illuminated by two edge-blended NEC PA-series laser projectors gives Coral Hill visual impact commensurate with the new sanctuary’s sound quality.

The Danley sound quality at Coral Hill Baptist Church is not subtle. “I can’t tell you how many people have come up to me and commented on how good the system sounds,” said Andy Brownfield, youth pastor & media director at the church. “We’re blown away!”

SYRACUSE, NY – USITT announced Oct. 16 that its 61st Annual Conference & Stage Expo will be presented as an online event in March 2021. The event previously had been scheduled to take place in person in Columbus, OH.

While continuing concerns for the health and safety of the Institute’s members and event participants, due to Covid-19, precipitated the move to a digital format, “USITT is committed to not putting on just another online meeting,” according to David Grindle, executive director.

“We are working to take the very best ideas from virtual gatherings and finding new ways to bring the networking, job seeking, and learning that people want, and transform those things into a format that brings the value that folks have come to expect from USITT,” said Grindle. “As a design and technology association, we are looking at this event as being an important step in the evolution of our industry. And we intend to be at the forefront.”

USITT’s Board of Directors voted unanimously to move the Conference online. Even though most theatres and performing arts venues in the U.S. are unlikely to have reopened prior to the Conference, the Board is keenly aware of the impact that keeping the industry engaged in this work will have when productions do resume.

“This event is quite exciting,” continued Grindle. “We actually have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to engage a global audience in deep thinking about our industry, bring even more focused interaction between exhibitors and participants than ever, and educate ourselves about how the industry might function in the future in a new format. We’re also going to have a lot of fun.”

Grindle and Kasey Allee-Foreman, USITT’s vice-president for conferences, will be on hand to field questions about the planning of the event and what participants might expect, in a Facebook livestream on Monday, Oct. 19, at noon EDT.

USITT cancelled its 60th Anniversary Conference & Stage Expo just weeks before it was scheduled in April 2020, days after the global pandemic was declared. The Institute later presented much of that content as webinars, gathering hours of content streamed by thousands of people throughout the world, thus setting the stage for the 61st annual event, which participants can experience from virtually anywhere.

The Institute encourages interested parties to join its Conference mailing list to ensure they receive up-to-the-minute information about attending this exciting digital event.

For more information, visit USITT at www.usitt.org

NEW YORK – The 2020 Tony Awards nominations were announced Oct. 15. They cover 18 eligible shows – all of which opened before the Broadway shutdown on March 12. A date for the ceremony has not been set, though early December seems likely for a virtual event. The Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. Here’s a video from the Tony Awards of the 2020 Tony Award Nominations Announcement, hosted by James Monroe Iglehart:

The Full list of 2020 Tony Award Nominations here.

Waves Audio announced the availability of V12 (Version 12), the new version of Waves plugins.

More details from Waves (www.waves.com):

Waves V12 adds exciting new features to Waves’ entire massive catalog of plugins. This includes the ability to resize Waves plugins, highly requested by Waves users. Other new additions include a new accelerated preset search engine, sharp retina-ready graphics, and plugins added to select premium bundles.

Waves V12 plugins now let you resize your plugins, in order to view them however large or small you want to. You can choose from five GUI sizes – up to 200% of the original plugin size. You can also customize different default sizes per plugin, to have them open in whichever size you prefer them. You can now see and tweak your plugins more easily, maximize your screen real estate, and boost your productivity.

With V12 you can also find and audition presets instantly using the new lightning-fast preset browser. You can now find the perfect preset for your tracks more easily than ever. No need to browse manually through preset menus and sub menus – you can now search presets by text, filter them by name, and quickly audition different presets on the fly, while playing your track.

V12 also adds retina-ready graphics to all Waves plugins. You can now take full advantage of retina displays and reduce CPU load by processing plugin graphics on your GPU (graphics card).

Owners of Waves’ premium Platinum, Horizon and Diamond bundles who update their bundles to V12 get three bonus plugins added to their bundle without extra charge: LoAir, Submarine, and the Smack Attack transient shaper.

Updating your plugins to V12 helps you future-proof your sessions and ensure your Waves plugins will remain fully compatible with the latest operating system and DAW versions. This way you can stop worrying about technical details and focus your attention on what matters most – your creative workflow.

To update to V12, your Waves plugins need to be covered by the Waves Update Plan, the complete care and support plan for Waves products. The Waves Update Plan comes free for one year with every new Waves plugin or bundle purchase, and is renewable at any time afterwards. Owners of products covered by the Waves Update Plan also get:

Second licenses for any covered products, for the duration of their coverage; second licenses can be used on a different computer, without having to move licenses back and forth between devices.

Premium tech support, including phone, email & personal remote assistance via TeamViewer

Vouchers towards any Waves software purchase

Exclusive access to Waves Premium Masterclasses – a new series launched in tandem with V12. The first masterclass in the series – available exclusively to Waves Update Plan owners – features GRAMMY-winning mix engineer & producer Young Guru (Jay Z).

Waves V12 plugins – New Features & Additions:

Resizable plugin windows – V12 plugins offer five interface sizes to let you organize your screens however you like.

Lightning fast preset search – Find the perfect preset with instant text search, instead of browsing manually through menus, and quickly audition your results.

Retina-ready sharper graphics – Take full advantage of retina displays and reduce CPU load by processing plugin graphics on your GPU.

Future-proofed compatibility – Full ongoing compatibility with the latest major DAWs & operating systems.

Free plugins added to selected premium bundles: Platinum, Horizon, and Diamond owners get LoAir, Smack Attack and Submarine.

Waves Audio devotes considerable effort and software development resources in order to ensure that the plugins that users have invested in, whether recently or twenty years ago, will always remain compatible with all the latest major DAWs and operating systems. V12 is the latest in Waves’ ongoing updates, allowing users to continuously focus on what is important: creating the best music and audio they possibly can, now and in the future.

Videos:

“Introducing Waves V12 – Resize Plugins. Find Presets Instantly”: https://youtu.be/I1djkkpaKGg

“How To Resize Waves Plugins | Waves V12 New Feature”: https://youtu.be/4ApbP3FWJr8

“Find & Audition Plugin Presets Instantly | Waves V12 New Feature”: https://youtu.be/61qIfyTvKfI

To learn more, visit www.waves.com/v12.

iHeartRadio Theater’s new DiGiCo Quantum338 console (right) and Usher’s own Quantum7 (left) in monitor world at the tenth annual iHeartRadio Music Festival

BURBANK, CA – The tenth annual iHeartRadio Music Festival, a two-day virtual streaming, radio and TV broadcast event in late September, marked the debut of DiGiCo’s Quantum338 digital mixing console, along with a new DiGiCo SD12 mixing console, at the iHeartRadio Theater Los Angeles.

More details from DiGiCo (www.digico.biz):

Monitor engineer Matt Russell on the iHeartRadio Theater stage, seen on the display over the DiGiCo Quantum338 monitor console

The virtual event featured a lineup of international chart-topping artists performing live in front of a virtual audience, including Alicia Keys, Bon Jovi, BTS, Coldplay, Kane Brown with special guests Khalid and Swae Lee, Keith Urban, Migos, Miley Cyrus, Thomas Rhett with Jon Pardi, Usher and others. The festival also marked the debut of the recently introduced DiGiCo Quantum338 digital mixing console, along with a new DiGiCo SD12 mixing console, at the iHeartRadio Theater Los Angeles in Burbank, California, where many of the artists recorded their performances in the lead up to the festival’s air date.

Jason Batuyong, the venue’s head of audio for the past year, has worked at iHeartRadio Theater Los Angeles since the 20,000-square-foot space—formerly NBC Studios and home to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno—opened at the Burbank Studios in 2013. He reports that the two-console upgrade has significantly improved the setup process at the venue. The original sound system installation, on which Batuyong also worked, was performed by ATK Audiotek, and included digital desks that, while rider-friendly, were of a previous generation of technology, he says.

“Most of the time acts would bring in their own tour package desks or rent them in for their shows. The idea was to streamline everything and make it easier for artists to not have to bring in all their own stuff. We picked DiGiCo, because that was all we had been using, really, for every show,” says Batuyong, who regularly works on America’s Got Talent, X-Factor and numerous other TV shows and live events.

Batuyong and his team, which includes FOH mixer Josh Manville and monitor mixer Matt Russell, knew that they wanted a compact SD12 at the front-of-house position in the theater, which has a capacity of around 500 standing plus another 150 to 200 on the mezzanine. “Having an SD12 at front-of-house saves us so much space because it’s so small, yet it still has all the functionality. And that made everybody happy, because everyone that normally congregates at front-of-house suddenly had more room,” he says.

When he contacted Matt Larson, vice president of professional audio for DiGiCo’s US distributor, Group One Ltd, in late 2019 to see what options might be available for the monitor desk, “Matt said, ‘Don’t buy yet; wait until the NAMM Show. I can’t tell you what’s coming, but you’re going to want it.’ I said, ‘Sign me up; I trust you.’ We didn’t know it was going to be Quantum, although we hoped.”

But then, says Batuyong, “We found out that it was a whole new Quantum machine. It was everything we’d hoped for and more—way more.” The venue’s new Quantum338, which is based on seventh-generation FPGAs and an entirely new system architecture, is fitted with 112 inputs and 48 outputs, all incorporating DiGiCo’s new “Ultimate Stadius” 32-bit ADC and DAC conversion, plus DMI-AES cards supporting 16 AES I/O.

Two SD-Racks are connected optically, he also reports. “We run everything on a loop and share the head amps, one mixer using the gains and setting them, and then everybody using trims beyond that. No one is using gain tracking. We found that that works the best for us.”

The iHeartRadio Theater Los Angeles had been closed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, so the festival marked the venue’s debut of its new Q338. “We shut down, like everyone else, in March. And we didn’t receive the Q338 until June,” says Batuyong. “We did use the SD12 on a few shows earlier in the year, but the tenth anniversary music festival was the maiden voyage for the Q338, and it was 100 percent amazing.”

He continues, “Everyone was extremely excited because, with quarantine, nobody had been able to see this console. Some artists’ FOH mixers were little bit worried about bringing their files and how the file converter was going to work, but all of that worked seamlessly and was absolutely great. But most people started the mix from scratch. That was easier for the shortened sets that they were going to play. And everyone said, on their next tour, they want a Q338.”

The weekend-long virtual festival, hosted by Ryan Seacrest, was broadcast on iHeartMedia stations nationwide September 18 and 19, and was also televised on The CW Network on September 27 and 28. The iHeartRadio Music Festival, which debuted ten years ago in celebration of the launch of the iHeartRadio digital service, was additionally available for streaming via the iHeartRadio app, iHeartMedia’s free all-in-one digital music, podcasting and live streaming radio service.

Miley Cyrus performing at this year’s iHeartRadio Music Festival

This year’s iHeartRadio Music Festival included performances not only from Los Angeles but also from the broadcaster’s theater in Nashville, as well as from Seoul, South Korea. “We had eight artists come through in seven days, including two on one day,” Batuyong says. For example, he says, “Miley Cyrus was the big showstopper,” headlining the second day of the festival. Enrique Santos, winner of the 2017 iHeartRadio Latin Personality of the Year Award, introduced Kane Brown onstage in Nashville for a performance of “Be Like That” alongside special guests Khalid and Swae Lee on the iHeartRadio Theater Los Angeles stage, a collaboration made possible via PORTL, a new hologram technology. “Alicia Keys came through, and Usher was also here,” he says.

Usher performing at the tenth annual iHeartRadio Music Festival

A couple of artists did bring their own setups, Batuyong reports. “Which was fine, because we have a little room now,” he says, thanks to the space-saving compact SD12. “And everyone brought in DiGiCos.”

For more information on iHeartRadio Theater Los Angeles, visit www.iheart.com.

ATK Audiotek can be found online at www.atkaudiotek.com.

Outline is highlighting the durability of its compact L3000 multi-purpose amplifier.

More details from Outline (www.outline.it):

And now for something completely different…again! Leading European pro-audio innovators Outline are delighted to announce the launch of their latest design, the all-new L3000 multi-purpose amplifier.

The L3000 has been created to offer a compact, powerful DSP-equipped multi-channel amplifier that can be configured to drive most loudspeaker configurations. Additionally (and uniquely) its form factor eschews the traditional 19” rackmount format, its mechanism being housed in a super-tough, lightweight chassis using the same materials and roadworthy polyurea external coating as Outline’s tour-grade loudspeakers.

Its modest dimensions make it ideal for a huge range of audio installation projects, notably those where space constraints (especially at home) make it impossible or impractical to find space for traditional amplifier racks. L3000 allows 3,000w of pure audio power to be tucked away out of sight, under a bar, on a shelf, in a cupboard or anywhere that’s convenient to the application…but if you really want to put it in a rack, Outline also supply a dedicated rackmount kit that allows one or two L3000s to be secured in standard enclosure.

Featuring two inputs and four outputs, the unit’s routing and operational parameters are configured using Armonía Plus, the amplifier’s management software which also offers control of input / output levels and EQ, delay, polarity, crossover filters and limiter settings. Its combination of power, onboard DSP control and flexible operation make it an extremely cost-effective option for powering virtually any installed sound system.

Like all Outline products, the L3000 is 100% designed and manufactured in Italy using only the highest quality components. Visit l3000.outline.it to find out more about true innovation.

More Info: l3000.outline.it | L3000 video

New management team of the Stamer Group: Holger Kartes ( Chief Technical Officer) , Lothar Stamer (CEO and co-founder), Thomas Bittel ( new CEO of the Stamer Group), Christian Jordan ( Chief Sales Officer )

ST. WENDEL, Germany – The Stamer Group, owner of the HK Audio and Hughes & Kettner brands, announced that Hans Stamer is departing after more than 40 years as managing director and CEO, and a new four-person management team is stepping up, effective November. They include (pictured here from left) Holger Kartes, Lothar Stamer, Thomas Bittel and Christian Jordan.

More details from The Stamer Group (www.stamer.group):

The rejuvenation of the management is an important step towards reorienting and securing the future of the company as a family business.

Hans Stamer, co-founder of the Stamer Group based in Sankt Wendel, is departing after more than 40 years as Managing Director and CEO, thus paving the way for the new management team. From November 2020, the new four-person corporate management team will be made up of executives who have been with the company for many years. Lothar Stamer, brother of Hans Stamer and second co-founder of the Stamer Group, remains with the company as Managing Director, bringing many years of experience in the audio sector to the management team. Thomas Bittel is appointed as the second Managing Director and new CEO of the Stamer Group. Over the last few years, Thomas Bittel has headed the ‘Finance & Controlling’ division as the Chief Financial Officer and has used his position and expertise to shape the future of the company.

Holger Kartes, Chief Technical Officer, who has also been an integral part of the management team for some time, is responsible for ‘Manufacturing & Development’ divisions. The ‘Sales & Marketing’ division is led by Christian Jordan as Chief Sales Officer, who has continuously expanded the sales network since joining the company.

Thomas Bittel, new CEO of the Stamer Group, says: “We are very grateful to Hans Stamer for his accomplishments and his commitment to the Stamer Group. In over 40 years, together with his brother Lothar Stamer, he has transformed the family business from the small workshop where the first speakers were produced into a globally renowned company manufacturing high-quality sound systems (under the name HK Audio) and guitar amplifiers (under the name Hughes & Kettner). He leaves behind a team of competent and highly motivated people who will lead his life’s work further into the future. We are therefore delighted to be continuing the successful development of the Stamer Group together with our customers and partners”.

Christian Jordan, Chief Sales Officer of the Stamer Group, says of the management change: “With Thomas Bittel, we have a highly competent Managing Director on board, especially when it comes to finances and securing the future of the company. This is a particularly good thing for us — especially at this time when the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are being felt in our industry. But the change of leadership will not turn everything upside down. Existing, established structures which we have built up in recent years, will of course be maintained for and with our customers and partners. We have achieved a great deal together towards the company’s positive public image. I will continue to work towards this together with my whole team”.

Holger Kartes, Chief Technical Officer, comments on the management change: “Despite the departure of Hans Stamer as Managing Director, we are very well prepared for the next stage of the company’s history thanks to the development work in management and processes. Lothar Stamer’s enormous experience combined with the creative will of Thomas Bittel on the new management team will steer us not only through these Covid times but also into a secure and successful future. The teams led by Christian Jordan and myself are dedicated to continuing to provide customers of the Stamer Group with technically sophisticated and high-quality products at an attractive price. We are all looking forward to this challenge”.

GDAŃSK, Poland – Polish sound specialist, Offstage, installed a bespoke sound system at Woosabi driven by Powersoft’s compact Mezzo amplifier platforms.

More details from Outline (www.outline.it):

Overlooking the waters of the Motława river, Woosabi is Gdańsk, Poland’s latest high-end restaurant, with Asian-inspired food and drink and some of the best music and atmosphere the bustling city has to offer.

No expense was spared during Woosabi’s creation, with great consideration being given to the venue’s prospective audio system and the way it can affect diners’ experience.

Although the restaurant’s owners – Jocki Koeffler and Diana Sadłowska – had no prior relationship with local sound company, Offstage, they quickly identified the company as being the ideal partner for this particular installation.

Offstage’s Przemysław Waszkiewicz said: “I showed them around Gdańsk so they could hear some of our other installations with their own ears. They were more than happy with what they heard, so we then went on to discuss their specific needs.”

He continued: “The customer was quite certain about what kind of system they wanted. One of the main goals was a strong low end, but they wanted to make sure that the bass wouldn’t spill to the upper floors of the building.”

The look of cabinets was important as well, as Waszkiewicz explained: “Instead of using black or white cabinets straight off the shelf, we decided to build them from the scratch and put the Woosabi logo on them, together with their slogan, ‘good sound, good vibes’, on the other side.”

The four main speakers installed in Woosabi contained a forward-facing 10-inch coaxial driver and a backward-facing 6.5-inch driver, which created a cardioid-like effect in the bass range.

“It was quite difficult to find a coaxial driver capable of producing good low end while also being able to cover 100 degrees of the restaurant at any one time,” said Waszkiewicz. “To avoid playing the music from just one direction, we placed 10 smaller speaker cabinets (containing a 4-inch driver and a ribbon tweeter) around the restaurant, which were divided into three 100V lines with different time alignments. A fourth line (also Hi-Z) was dedicated to ceiling speakers in the restrooms.”

In a modern restaurant like Woosabi, where great demands are being asked of the audio system on a daily basis, only the very finest amplification could be considered; with energy efficiency at the forefront of the decision-making process.

With this in mind, Waszkiewicz decided early on in the process that Powersoft amplifier platforms would be ideal to drive the audio system.

“We used a Quattrocanali 1204 DSP + Dante to drive the four cardioid main speakers, he explained. “Each speaker needs two channels to obtain cardioid behaviour, so we also used one of Powersoft’s Mezzo 324A amplifier platforms for this purpose. Each one of the four channels of the Mezzo 324A was driving a 100V line containing a few smaller speakers with transformers. One of these lines was also used for ceiling speakers in toilets.”

Mezzo offers the same sound clarity, reliability, and overall build quality of any other Powersoft install amplifier; and does so in a half-rack unit form factor. It also comes with a state-of-the-art DSP, in two power sizes with either two or four channels of output.

All Mezzo models offer multiple analogue input options, and the 2 channel versions feature line-level outputs.

“The advanced processing (including FIR filtering) offered by Powersoft DSP platforms helped me to get an amazing sound, said Waszkiewicz. “It also allowed me to create cardioid behaviour in the low frequency range. I had to make the speaker cabinet and passive crossovers by myself, which was quite challenging, but I had less work with concerts at the time due to Covid-19, so I could give this aspect the care it required.”

Given that Waszkiewicz was familiar with both Powersoft amplifier platforms and ArmoníaPlus software, no additional tech support was needed during the installation.

Although the order was placed with Offstage prior to the Covid-19 lockdowns coming into force across Europe and the rest of the world, the restaurant’s opening was substantially delayed. Although this gave Offstage plenty of time to design, build, and install the system, it also meant that the payment schedule had to be changed.

With the end user already running two successful restaurants (in Innsbruck, Austria and Wrocław, Poland) with different sound equipment, Offstage’s main task was to show a significant progression with the audio system in Gdańsk.

“Everyone at Offstage did a great job,” said Woosabi co-owner Jocki Koeffler upon hearing the installation for the first time. “We’re 101% satisfied with the system and the next restaurant is already planned, of course with Offstage speakers and Powersoft amplification.”

FORT WAYNE, IN — Sweetwater, the world’s leading music technology and instrument retailer, today announced the continuation of its partnership with Little Kids Rock, the national nonprofit transforming K-12 childrens’ lives by restoring, expanding, and innovating music education, with a pledge to donate $500,000 over five years to help them on their mission to build the next generation of music makers.

The partnership will also include the development of a unique portal that provides Little Kids Rock teachers and parents of more than 550,000 participating students with access to discounted pricing on instruments. Additionally, a portion of the funds will be used to invest in Fort Wayne Community Schools District’s Little Kids Rock program, including teacher and student performance events.

“We are proud to continue to support our friends at Little Kids Rock on their mission to see that every student has the opportunity to participate in fun and engaging music programs,” said Chuck Surack, founder and CEO of Sweetwater Sound. “It is important for us to continue to dedicate resources that enable children to become involved in activities when they are facing so much uncertainty today. Music is an outlet that can have a profound impact on a child’s life and we are honored to be a part of that.”

The Sweetwater and Little Kids Rock partnership was born three years ago and has since helped bring music to more than one million students and build music programs in public schools across America. In support of this goal, Sweetwater is the official distributor of instruments and equipment to Little Kids Rock programs across the U.S. and provides annual funding via its corporate philanthropy and customer donation program totaling over $675,000 since 2016 and resulting in over $1.2 million worth of musical instruments placed directly into classrooms every year.

This partnership provides the Sweetwater community with the opportunity to actively support the emerging music makers of tomorrow through their philanthropic giving strategy and distribution of thousands of instruments to public schools each year. Sweetwater’s loyal customers are encouraged by Sweetwater sales engineers to make a donation to Little Kids Rock at Point-of-Sale.

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Sweetwater. Their commitment to supporting our mission will have an incredible impact on our work,” says David Wish, founder & CEO of Little Kids Rock. “Since our partnership began with Sweetwater in 2016, more than 2,000 teachers have received gear from Sweetwater and nearly 40,000 instruments have been distributed thanks to donations to Little Kids Rock and discounted purchases by teachers.”

To learn more about the partnership, visit https://www.sweetwater.com/feature/little-kids-rock/.

Auburn University Arena

AUBURN, AL – Daktronics designed and installed an upgrade for Auburn University’s 9,000+ seat basketball arena that included Fulcrum Acoustic AH High Output Coaxial Horns as the main loudspeakers along with CCX 12” coaxial cardioid loudspeakers, P 8” coaxial loudspeakers and US221-4 direct radiating subwoofers.

More details from Fulcrum Acoustic (www.fulcrumacoustic.com):

Designed and Installed by Daktronics

The Auburn University basketball arena seats more than 9,000 and guarantees every fan a close view of the action. With the furthest seat just 43 feet away from the court, Auburn Tigers basketball games are an exciting and clamorous experience.

Challenges

Reverberation and high crowd noise levels interfere with speech intelligibility and music clarity.

The compact design of the arena results in increased build-up of crowd noise.

Solution

Daktronics deployed AH High Output Coaxial Horns as the main loudspeakers for their combination of high output and excellent pattern control. The AH’s were deployed in vertically arrayed pairs to cover the lower seating area and the middle section.

26 CCX 12” Coaxial Cardioid Loudspeakers were distributed around the upper seating areas to provide supplemental coverage for the upper seats. Fulcrum’s Passive Cardioid Technology reduces excess low frequency radiation from the rear of the CCX loudspeaker, an important feature for delay speakers. “Without Passive Cardioid, the sound coming off the back of the speaker will cover a greater area than what goes out the front, thereby degrading clarity and intelligibility,” says designer Dave Sturzenbecher. “Fulcrum’s cardioid products avoided leakage for the upper delays.”

Fulcrum’s Prophile P 8” Coaxial Loudspeakers provided high output and wide dispersion to cover the last rows in the back of the main section. These rows were shadowed from the main loudspeaker arrays by the upper level of seating so supplemental coverage was required.

The US221-4 Direct Radiating Subwoofers were flown in two closely coupled vertical arrays to provide wide low frequency dispersion to the crowd. Each box had a slight delay added for steering low frequency energy away from the ceiling.

“It’s an incredibly articulate and intelligible system overall,” says Sturzenbecher. “What’s really remarkable is how good it sounds without a crowd to dampen any reflections. It provides impressive fidelity that is much beyond what they had before.”

Project Details

Location: Auburn, Alabama

Market: Sports Stadiums and Arenas

Type: 9,121-seat capacity arena

Fulcrum Products: (24) AH – High-Output Coaxial Horn

(26) CCX12 – 12” Coaxial Cardioid Loudspeaker

(50) P 8” Coaxial Loudspeaker

(12) US221-4 Dual 21” Direct-Radiating Subwoofer

Supporting Products: QSC Q-SYS DSP

Dynacord IPX Amplifiers

AH – High-Output Coaxial Horn

AH – High-Output Coaxial Horn

CCX12 – 12” Coaxial Cardioid Loudspeaker

CCX12 – 12” Coaxial Cardioid Loudspeaker

P 8

P 8” Coaxial Loudspeaker

US221 Dual 21

US221-4 Dual 21” Direct-Radiating Subwoofer

TEL-AVIV, Israel – TechTop Marketing worked with Charmer Group on an upgrade to the Mandel Cultural Center’s audio system using LEA Professional solutions that included three Network Connect CS704 amps and one Network Connect CS352.

More details from LEA Professional (www.leaprofessional.com):

Established in 1991, Mandel Cultural Center is a community space located in the Jaffa Region of Israel. The center caters to the needs of the local community, and because of its prime location beside one of the largest stadiums in Israel, it is in high demand for private functions. For this project TechTop Marketing, the largest importer in Israel for professional audio equipment worked with Charmer Group, Israel’s leading AVL systems installers to dramatically upgrade the facility’s audio system using LEA Professional solutions.

“Once Charmer Group recognized the team behind LEA Professional, they knew the technology and solutions provided would be nothing short of revolutionary,” explained Shimon Pick, Director at TechTop Marketing. “LEA has a huge depth of pro audio experience behind them, and going into a significant local project like this, that level of expertise is incredibly reassuring to all parties involved.”

What initially started as a system upgrade led to a complete new install in the center with Charmer Group choosing four CONNECT SERIES amplifiers from LEA Professional, including three Network Connect CS704 amps, and one Network Connect CS352. Perfectly suited for small- to-medium scale installations, these two-, four-, and eight-channel amps feature direct HiZ (70V or 100V) or LoZ selectable by channel. With three ways to connect, integrators can engage the built-in Wi-Fi access point, connect to the venue’s Wi-Fi, or use the FAST Ethernet to connect to any local area network via Cat5 or Cat6 cable.

Mandel Cultural Center is a 200-person multifunctional space that is split into one large room and one smaller space. The center hosts music and art classes, live performances, lectures and various other community-led activities. The team at Charmer Group was committed to providing the center a flexible, high-performance audio system that could be enjoyed by all.

“I am very open-minded when it comes to new technologies,” explained Babu Levy, Co-Founder of Charmer Group. “We had initially looked at a different amplifier company for the project but when we were introduced to the LEA Professional products, including the Cloud control functionality, I knew we could better serve the venue and the community with their technology.”

With industry-leading solutions, all LEA Professional amplifiers leverage the built-in Amazon Web Services (AWS) IoT Core. The cloud platform allows integrators, such as Charmer Group, to control and monitor critical operational data points that are integral to maintaining system health securely and remotely. Individual amplifiers or entire venues of amps can be accessed and controlled securely, from anywhere in the world without the need to VPN into a Local Area Network.

“For us at Charmer Group, we don’t want a system that requires intense training and set up,” commented Levy. “From the first time we saw LEA’s amps in action we knew this was a product we could easily implement into many of our projects. They’re just easy to work with and you can tell these products were manufactured with integrators in mind.”

For David Budge, Founder of Blue5 Technology- LEA Professional’s representative in EMEA, this project marks the beginning of a strong growth journey in the region. “The demand for LEA Professional in the region is beyond anything we could have imagined,” commented Budge. “Cloud technology has never been more integral to a functioning society then it is today and we look forward to collaborating on more projects in the region over the coming months.”

While Mandel Cultural Center has yet to re-open to due to health and safety guidelines, the team is looking forward to welcoming the community back into the upgraded space when it is safe to do so.

CHRISTCHURCH, NZ – Lectrosonics notes that its Digital Hybrid Wireless was chosen for contestants engaged in obstacle courses and other physical challenges. The mix of gear includes HH handheld wireless, HMa plug-on, UM400, SSM, LT, and watertight WM transmitters, a Venue modular receiver, and SRC slot-mount receivers.

More details from Lectrosonics (www.lectrosonics.com):

Brain Busters is a distinctive competition show produced by Whitebaitmedia based from their Christchurch studios in New Zealand. It encourages children to do their best mentally and physically. Students 12- and 13-years-old progress through rounds of questions, then run a physical obstacle course. Every contestant receives $100 to start and up to $500 based on their performance. It shares its host — Chris Kirk — with What Now?, which may be the messiest show on TV as kids and hosts alike endure water, slime, foam cannons, and whipped cream. Audio Directors Mike Papworth and Steve Hartley tell us why Lectrosonics Digital Hybrid Wireless is their only choice for these shows, rugby matches, and more. Their impressive mix of gear includes HH handheld wireless, HMa plug-on, UM400, SSM, LT, and watertight WM transmitters, a Venue modular receiver, and SRC slot-mount receivers.

“I first came across Lectrosonics working with Steve at Sky TV in Auckland around 2006,” recalls Papworth. “It’s heavily used for sporting events and is the backbone of production in the entire country. It was very reliable even then, and we’ve grown to trust Lectro beyond anything on the market.”

“New Zealand is full of Venue receivers” Hartley agrees. “I was working at a regional TV station when the first Venue came out, and I believe we had the first rig in the country. For IFB, the T1 and R1a have become prominent.”

Brain Busters in particular poses two main challenges: the sheer volume of contestants and the physical nature of the obstacle course. “Originally we were going to have wired mics on the four contestant podiums,” says Hartley. “That was impractical because we’re shooting five episodes a day. We just finished the first 50. With the wireless we can pre-mic the kids, get levels, get good RF, all that, before they step onto set.”

“When the kids finally do the obstacle course,” explains Papworth, “its frame is steel trussing. That would create RF problems for a lot of gear, but with Lectrosonics, we’ve got it to where we have clear signal. We had UM400s on the backs of the kids’ safety helmets, and one time, a kid came up too fast under an obstacle and smacked the transmitter very hard. When it came back, the T5A and antenna connectors looked completely trashed. Yet it had powered through and we kept receiving audio.”

“We’re hoping to switch to the SSM for the helmets,” adds Hartley. “With their tiny size, they’d be perfect.”

Having worked on What Now?, the team was more than prepared for Brain Busters. The variety show, also a Whitebaitmedia production, is produced live weekly from new locations all over New Zealand. The sight gag of drenching those onscreen with messy concoctions (“gunge” in Kiwi parlance) to extremes. “It’s all live and the kids and hosts create chaos,” says Hartley. “This is where we’ve used the WM transmitters, and they’ve been excellent. We have protocols to protect the equipment, but something always gets soaked. If you’ve seen people get ‘slimed’ on Nickelodeon, it’s that times a hundred, all the time. We have WMs on the children and the three hosts, and they’ve proven resilient to everything from submersion in slime to being mashed with cream pies!”

Papworth and Hartley also work many outdoor shoots. There, they appreciate Lectrosonics’ range. “I recently did a shoot in Vanuatu for a Canadian production company —we had everything from people out in canoes, long range RF runs across beaches and hikes through dense native bush — that sort of thing,” says Papworth. “I just had a little SRC portable receiver in my sound kit with a couple of LT transmitters, and was surprised at the range I got as the canoes paddled farther away, even traveling through heavy native bush following a local tribe I had complete faith in the kit I was using. The SRC can do a quick scan and quickly sync with the LTs was a great help in that environment.”

“I’m mainly involved with live sport such as rugby,” Hartley chimes in. “Lectro is prevalent everywhere in NZ, which is testament to their performance and reliability. On the paddock, we mic the referees. We have up to six HH handhelds for our presenters. Then we have two audio assistants walking the sidelines to capture the sound of the plays. Where in the States you’d use parabolic mics, we use shotgun mics with HMa plug-on transmitters. It works exceptionally well.”

Currently, New Zealand’s spectrum is more generous than North America’s, but Papworth and Hartley aren’t taking any chances. “We’re quite lucky to still have blocks 24, 25, and 26, but that 600MHz range might disappear on us soon, like in the States,” notes Hartley. “We lost our 700-800MHz range a few years back due to 4G towers going up. Even though we have very thorough pre-planned frequency plot’s for the entire country, you never know what’s going to pop up the day of the shoot, do you? Lectrosonics receivers can all scan for clear frequencies, then share that information with the transmitters. You want that there.”

Last but not least, Papworth praises Lectrosonics’ audio quality: “We use radio mics everywhere we can’t run a cable. I’ve never had anything sound robotic or out of place. What we send to post-production is always transparent. Lectro is pretty much superior to everything else in this regard. It’s as close as you can get to a wire.”

Watch full episodes of Brain Busters at https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/brain-busters.

Harman Professional Solutions launched their JBL IRX115S powered subwoofer. This newest addition to IRX Series family of portable P.A.s extends system low-frequency response to 35 Hz.

More details from Harman Professional Solutions (http://pro.harman.com):

The JBL IRX115S powered subwoofer, the newest member of the JBL IRX Series, draws from JBL’s top professional touring technologies to deliver superior sound without the guesswork, thanks to its custom driver and amplifier designs; tuned, ported enclosure; and built-in crossover and polarity settings. It all adds up to an impressive 128 dB of deep, powerful low-frequency coverage in a rugged, compact cabinet weighing just 65.3 pounds.

“With our IRX Series, we’ve drawn from 70 years of JBL innovation to design a portable P.A. that’s lightweight, powerful and doesn’t take a lot of work to sound great,” says Craig Lambrecht, Director, Portable P.A.s, Harman Professional Solutions. “JBL IRX Series loudspeakers already deliver stunning sound in an incredibly compact footprint. By adding the IRX115S subwoofer, users can enhance their systems with room-shaking bass, without breaking anyone’s budget—or back.”

The IRX115S leverages more than 70 years of JBL speaker innovation to deliver superior fidelity, range and output. Inside, a powerful 15” woofer with 3” voicecoil produces powerful bass coverage from 35 Hz to 147 Hz (-10 dB); a high-efficiency, 1,300-watt amplifier protects components while ensuring top-level acoustic performance. Selectable 80 Hz, 100 Hz and 120 Hz crossover points smooth out system response, especially when used with JBL IRX Series loudspeakers; a tuned port optimizes response and reduces woofer noise.

With the IRX115S, perfect sound is just a button-push away. Simple, intuitive settings adjust crossover and polarity to optimize system response in any space. Pair the IRX115S with the 8-inch IRX108BT and 12-inch IRX112BT powered loudspeakers and access Bluetooth audio streaming, dbx automatic feedback suppression, ducking and EQ presets that’ll have you instantly sounding your best.

The innovations don’t stop at acoustics: A durable MDF enclosure features a tight-gauge, reinforced honeycomb grille that offers rugged protection without compromising acoustic performance. A built-in pole mount expands system configuration options. Transport is easy, thanks to thoughtfully designed ergonomic handles. And, like every JBL product, the IRX115S undergoes JBL’s legendary 100-hour stress test to ensure it’ll perform flawlessly in real-world conditions.

JBL IRX Series powered P.A.s offer legendary JBL fidelity, power and ease of use at a fraction of the price and size of comparable systems. Budget-conscious musicians, DJs, presenters and fitness instructors can count on versatile, full-featured JBL IRX Series portable P.A.s to deliver stunning sound, no audio engineer necessary.

Availability

The JBL IRX115S will be available in Q4 2020. For more information, please visit www.JBLPro.com.

TEMPE, AZ – The Canopy by Hilton Downtown is a boutique hotel that is positioned to welcomes guests with a unique assortment of amenities. These include a variety of loudspeaker systems using components from DAS Audio including Quantum, Ovi, and WR Series loudspeakers and DAS IA Series amplifiers.

More details from DAS Audio (www.dasaudio.com):

Spanning 14 floors and featuring unique dining options, a gym, more than 3,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, and a rooftop pool with a terrace bar, cabanas, and a fire pit, the Canopy by Hilton Downtown is a boutique lifestyle hotel that re-defines elegance. And to ensure the best possible sound reproduction throughout the venue, management invested in the installation of a healthy assortment of loudspeaker systems drawn from catalog of Valencia, Spain-based DAS Audio.

‘Skinny’ Greg Gilman, who is involved in a wide range of music and sound endeavors, including both work as a DJ and as an AV installation professional, was contracted to manage the Canopy’s sound system installation. Working in conjunction with Oakland Park, FL-based TM Sound, an AV design/build firm, the combined team deployed an assortment of DAS loudspeakers that drew from the company’s Quantum, Ovi, and WR Series catalogs. Gilman discussed the project.

“The hotel’s entrance is equipped with two black DAS Quantum Q-43-T loudspeakers and, due to installation limitations, we got creative and installed them facing the building so they reflect in the high-rise entryway,” Gilman reports. “Just past the front desk is the lobby, which also doubles as the first restaurant/bar. This space was fitted with ten white Ovi-12s, suspended 14 feet above the concrete floors and 2 feet from the ceiling, providing equal coverage for Alter Ego (the restaurant & bar) and Myrtle Corner (a lounge/waiting area)—without the undesired reflections from a nearby large room with glass garage doors. We also managed to hide four Q-10 subwoofers and tuned them perfectly so they wouldn’t disrupt guests calling or checking in. Further, just outside the aforementioned garage doors, we placed two Q-23-T loudspeakers with IP Kits for the outdoor patio dining area.”

“Moving into the display kitchen area,” Gilman continued, “is an optional private dining space where we hid two more Q-10 subs and four Q-43-T loudspeakers to match the room’s décor. Exit the elevator on the 14th floor and turn left, and you enter Alibi, a cozy top level bar surrounded by one of the best views of Arizona. Here, there are six Q-23-T loudspeakers, which provide coverage right up to the bar. This way, the bartenders don’t have to constantly ask guests to repeat their orders, and yet the energy remains high. Two Q-10 subwoofers are hidden behind the bare columns of the room.”

“Just outside of the bar on either side, we placed two DAS WR-8826 enclosures for the outdoor dining area on the East Patio or outdoor lounge on the West,” Gilman added. “While the East Patio has a dedicated Q-10 Subwoofer with an IP Kit tucked away in a corner, another Q-10 with an IP Kit that is custom mounted to the ceiling is shared between half of the pool area and the West Patio. Exiting the West Patio lands one on the pool deck, which features two Q-43-T loudspeakers joined as one unit above the white cabanas on each side of the deck, amounting to a total of four loudspeakers pointing at the rooftop pool. Finalizing the design, there are two Q-10 subwoofers with IP Kits in black that are hidden in the planter area. These provide the other half of the low-end for the pool deck. Of course, DAS Audio power amplifiers drive the entire setup.”

The Canopy hotel’s overall design is intended to be flexible to accommodate a wide range of activities in each area. To address this with the audio equipment, Gilman made special reference to the fact that, “all zones can be tied to whatever activity is taking place because of the sound system’s overall flexibility.”

While Gilman is enthusiastic about DAS loudspeakers, he also made special reference to the company’s power amplifiers, “While we usually praise the loudspeakers, I must admit that I believe the champions of this installation are the power amps at the back of house. The flexibility and multiple models of the DAS IA Series amplifiers are responsible for a cost effective and space saving design. The amps played a huge role in this system’s versatility.”

The Canopy by Hilton Downtown installation was completed in August 2020. Since that time, Gilman reports the system is drawing rave reviews, “In the end, the project came out even better than expected. Between the power and flexibility of DAS amplifiers and the fact that DAS has a wide range of loudspeakers that enabled us to make the perfect match to the various spaces, we created a versatile system that sounds terrific throughout the venue. Equally important, the Miami-based DAS Audio team not only believes in their products, they genuinely care about the installers and the end users—and that attitude always makes DAS the perfect fit!”

For information about ‘Skinny’ Greg Gilman and TM Sound, visit their respective websites at www.skinnymaninc.com and www.tmsound.com.

LOS ANGELES – Performing at West Hollywood’s Troubadour, Save Our Stages’ virtual #SOSFest was streamed to fans Oct. 18 as part of a collective action weekend in support of independent music venues. Britannia Row provided a remote mixing solution.

More details from Britannia Row (www.britanniarow.com):

A total of 35 artists – including Miley Cyrus, The Roots, Major Lazer and Leon Bridges – played in multiple venues in cities across the US and joined the Foo Fighters in raising awareness and funds to keep North America’s cherished independent concert venues from closing indefinitely.

Named #SOSFest, the three-day virtual music festival was created to support the Save Our Stages initiative and America’s National Independent Venues Association’s (NIVA) Emergency Relief Fund. NIVA’s YouTube hosted the festival, with individual sets also aired on artist channels.

Prior to the gig, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl told Forbes why raising awareness is vital: “The smaller music venues are the ones that are really struggling and are not only culturally important, they are emotionally important.”

The LA-based rock band’s production team had just five days to produce an unforgettable show for the cause. With the pressure on to deliver a clear message, the long-time clients of Britannia Row Productions were in capable hands when travel restrictions called for a creative approach to their traditional monitor set up.

Monitor Engineer Ian Beverage – the band’s longest serving crew member – was unable to travel from his home in Canada to L.A. for the show, meaning the audio team had to find a new way of working, and quickly.

Brit Row Sales Director Lez Dwight suggested implementing a virtual remote mixing (VRM) solution to solve the issue. Clair Global Chief Audio Systems Engineer Dave Skaff, who himself was a touring monitor engineer, headed up the technical delivery from the U.S.

“Ian told us that a recent postal delivery took four weeks to arrive to him due to border restrictions in North America, so we decided not to send any physical equipment,” says Dwight. “Luckily, he had a couple of laptops at home and was able to source a suitable audio interface.”

On site in L.A., a monitor rig was set up at the venue, including a Yamaha PM10 console. VRM add-ons comprised two computers running a combination of Team Viewer, PM10 Offline Editor, Unity Connect and Webex for comms. At Ian’s home mixing studio, he used two Apple MacBook Air laptops that were remotely configured by the Clair Global team, affording him the ability to see and hear everything required to mix the band as if he was at side of stage.

“As this concept was a first for both us and ‘Foos, we sent junior techs Anthony King and Jimmy Nicholson to the venue to help patch the stage,” reveals Dwight. “All of the feedback during setup, testing and from the gig itself has been amazing. Ian, our techs and, most importantly, Dave Grohl and the band were happy!”

Beverage confirms that this futuristic method worked for him: “Calling line check from my house on the shout out was absolutely incredible.”

Having worked on site for #SOSFest, Anthony King was also pleasantly surprised: “Seeing Ian create this mix was like watching one of those pianos playing itself in a hotel lobby – bizarre, but I loved it!”

Far from a novelty experience, Dwight believes the VRM solution could find its way onto more gigs, not only as the pandemic continues, but if a more environmentally-friendly and budget-conscious approach is taken to crew location in the future: “I can see this service becoming common place right now and it could catch on even more when we do get back to doing what we all love.”

And, if this solution needed artist endorsement, the results are in, with Dave Grohl declaring: “Ian Beverage is the best monitor engineer in the world, and he’s now available online!”

Viewers can watch the full Foo Fighters set – which culminates in a spotlight on Grohl for an acoustic version of ‘Everlong’ – here.

For more info on Save Our Stages, visit www.saveourstages.com.

OLIMP/MANGALIA, Romania – Martin Audio’s long-term partner, Paradigma Teknik, provided Adorn loudspeakers for the Belvedere and Panoramic hotels in Romania’s coastal resort area of Olimp/Mangalia. Hotel company Phoenicia Hotels Group operates both, and will add a third, the Amfiteatru Hotel, to the area next year.

More details from Martin Audio (www.martin-audio.com):

Two luxury hotels from an eventual complex of three have just been opened by Romanian-based Phoenicia Hotels Group in the popular coastal resort of Olimp / Mangalia.

Operating under the Phoenicia Blue View brand, the first two—Belvedere and Panoramic—which will flank the Amfiteatru Hotel when it opens next year, have been equipped with Martin Audio’s popular commercial ADORN loudspeaker series.

These were supplied by Martin Audio’s long-term partner, Paradigma Teknik, who were awarded the contract.

Traditionally a popular tourist destination, the hotels had been closed for more than 20 years and became derelict until the Phoenicia Group purchased and rebuilt the original structures, investing €35m (a figure that is expected to rise to €50m by the end of 2021).

Paradigma have called on the powerful ADORN A55T several times on projects since its launch early last year, and along with the A40T these have been perfect for the outside terraced areas, installing over 50 of the two transformer based products, finished in white. They have been weatherised courtesy of Martin Audio’s AIPKIT weatherised cover, which upgrades these speakers to IP44 rating.

The ultra-compact series fits a wide range of applications, from retail outlets, bars and restaurants to corporate offices. The elegantly designed A55T is a two-way 100V line passive speaker with a 5.25in driver, and the A40T a 4in version in a similarly profiled housing.

Explaining the layout, Paradigma project designer, Marius Craiu, said that all three hotels were designed to create an overall amphitheatre, which will be completed with the arrival of the Amfiteatru Hotel. While this is being built over six levels the two on either side occupy three levels only, with a total room capacity of 769. “When the complex was originally built, it was considered an architectural masterpiece,” he stated.

“We opted for ADORN partly because they offer great value for money, but also because they are discreet,” he said. They populate all the obvious outside areas, wall-mounted using the dedicated bracket, with the A55T designated for the beach bar areas.

The system largely reproduces background music, but with plug-in points supplied around the venue it is sufficiently flexible to reproduce music derived from DJ or live musicians.

In conclusion Marius highlights the growing popularity of ADORN. “We consider it represents extremely good value for money,” he says. “And when combined with subs it provides a great extended full range sound.” He confirmed that ADORN is also on the specification for the renovated Amfiteatru.

RTS’ new OMS (OMNEO Main Station) is a hybrid IP/digital/analog main station for partyline intercom systems and the core component of a major new product family: RTS Digital Partyline.

More details from RTS (www.rtsintercoms.com):

Presented in a compact 1RU enclosure, OMS is a uniquely versatile and cost-effective solution capable of interconnecting both wired/wireless and IP/digital/analog devices. Full TCP/IP connectivity is supported. Whereas current systems on the market offer analog-only, digital-only, proprietary or non-Dante-compatible products, OMS encapsulates the RTS philosophy of bridging all standards and formats.

OMNEO* IP technology – incorporating Dante (audio transport), AES70 (device control) and more – allows OMS to interconnect with RTS Digital Matrix products (including ADAM, ADAM-M, ODIN, KP series keypanels and ROAMEO DECT wireless) and forthcoming new members of the RTS Digital Partyline family. OMS can therefore provide a path from legacy equipment to the latest technology, allowing users to migrate to the flexibility of an IP infrastructure without the complexity of a matrix system – all while protecting the investment value of their existing analog partyline hardware.

OMS is a communications multi-tool for a wide range of customers, including theaters, houses of worship, broadcast, AV rental, industrial facilities and entertainment/event venues. It is available in five licensed configurations to suit the user’s budget and application requirements: Advanced, Intermediate and Basic digital (each with OMNEO); Analog Plus and Analog (main station options for analog-only partyline systems). Software upgrades allow for increased capacity and functionality as needs evolve. Users requiring both analog and digital should upgrade to OMS Intermediate or OMS Advanced.

All OMS configurations feature a high-resolution full-color front panel display and an intuitive icon-based menu structure to simplify system configuration and control. The panel layout will be immediately familiar to partyline users, and has dedicated color-coded controls for each channel (talk/listen/call/volume). Each of the four button sets can be programmed to function with any destination in the system. For example, button set one does not necessarily need to control partyline one; it can be assigned as a relay, to a keypanel, etc. Three headset variants are supported. The AC power supply has a locking IEC connector, and the unit’s low power draw and venting enclosure design mean that no cooling fans are necessary, saving energy and ensuring quiet operation.

Support for four ports of analog AIO four-wire, four ports of analog two-wire (equipped with echo cancellation), two program inputs and one stage announce output are included. Ethernet connectivity is via copper or fiber (for OMS Intermediate and OMS Advanced versions with OMNEO). Additional OMNEO expansion audio ports are included for networking with other OMS units, enabling additional system capacity and partyline capability as part of a distributed or multi-site system. OMS Intermediate and OMS Advanced configurations support the TIF-2000A digital telephone interface.

The fully equipped OMS Advanced version allows the user to convert between four different formats: OMNEO, RVON, four-wire AIO and two-wire. G.711, G.722 and G.729AB codecs are supported. Up to 40 OMNEO devices may be connected, including ROAMEO beltpacks (for which OMS can also serve as a standalone base station), up to eight keypanels and up to 16 partylines. OMS Advanced supports four channels of RVON (RTS Voice Over Network) via RTS KP series keypanels, for robust remote networking with other RVON-capable equipment (RVON Trunking not supported).

OMS overview video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABfZw4VyVuc&feature=youtu.be

OMS product page: https://products.rtsintercoms.com/na/en/oms/

DuraPlex mics are available in lavalier DL4 and headset DH5 models

DuraPlex, Shure’s new subminiature (5mm) omnidirectional lavalier and headset microphone. Designed to stand up to the toughest conditions, DuraPlex boasts Shure’s first IP57 certification rating, keeping dirt, dust, water, and perspiration from upstaging the audio. The minimalistic form factor offers a supreme out-of-the-box experience and features the same award-winning cable durability of TwinPlex – Shure’s premium line of lavalier and headset microphones. DuraPlex was developed with input from esteemed audio professionals and supports the diverse needs of film and television, theater, broadcast, and corporate presentations.

DuraPlex consists of the DL4 Omnidirectional Waterproof Lavalier Microphone and the DH5 Omnidirectional Waterproof Headset Microphone. Complementing Shure’s expansive portfolio of mid- and high-tier wireless systems, the IP57 rating and cable durability of DuraPlex offers the market an entirely new tier of audio performance and ruggedness. The MEMs element yields consistent and neutral sound quality with low self-noise for vocal clarity in multiple environments.

“In developing DuraPlex, we wanted to provide a simple, consistent, reliable solution, ready to tackle any environment,” commented John Born, Senior Global Product Manager at Shure. “The neutral response, easy-to-use accessories and design, combined with best-in-class cable durability and waterproof element, quickly make DuraPlex an outstanding leader at this price tier.”

DuraPlex comes complete with the accessories needed to support simplified usability: a carrying case, snap-fit and foam windscreens, single tie clip, and a presence cap are all included. DL4 also comes packaged with a sticky mount. The easy-to-conceal form factor and ultra-lightweight/easily mountable design allows for quick applications, costume changes, and discrete placement under wardrobe with no impact on sound quality.

DuraPlex’s 1.6 mm cable is the same that is found in TwinPlex, Shure’s highly-regarded premium subminiature omnidirectional lavalier and headset microphones. To simulate years of intense use, the ultra-thin cable was flexed, stretched, and pulled to the absolute limit in internal tests. The cable is immune to kinks and memory effects, resulting in unmatched flex performance due to an innovative spiral construction with redundant shielding. Ideal for unpredictable, high-stakes environments like reality TV, theater, or even fitness instruction, DuraPlex was tested to ensure uninterrupted audio in all conditions.

DL4 lavaliers are available in four colors (Black, Tan, Cocoa, White)

DL4 Lavaliers are available in four colors (Black, Tan, Cocoa, White) and are available starting at $299. DuraPlex DH5 Headsets come in multiple colors (Tan, Cocoa, Black) with a sleek, brushed steel frame for quick, confident, and stable placement. DH5 pricing starts at $399. Both products are now available globally.

For complete details, visit www.shure.com.