France - Following the worldwide success of its flagship K1 touring PA system, L-Acoustics has launched the new K2 system which, the company says, "offers K1 performance in a rescaled package". Pitched as a replacement for the company's successful V-DOSC system, the K2 system's flexibility makes it suited to both permanent installation and touring applications, from theatre to stadium productions. The main system components are the K2 full-range element, with Panflex horizontal steering, operating from 35Hz to 20kHz; the K1-SB low-frequency element, reinforcing LF contour down to 30Hz or LF throw down to 35Hz; the

SB28 low-frequency element, extending the operating bandwidth down to 25Hz; and the LA4X/LA8 amplified controllers or LA-RAK, touring rack fitted with three LA8s.

With its 3-way quad-amplified design, K2 has "an exceptional ability to perform in many a

Germany - Cadac launched its MegaCOMMS System Network at last week's Prolight+Sound exhibition in Frankfurt. Built on the company's proprietary digital audio protocol and based around the MC CDC Router, MegaCOMMS System Network incorporates the CDC I/O 6448 and CDC I/O 3216 stage boxes, and the MC MADI Bridge and MC Dante Bridge, allowing the configuration of large-scale digital audio networks of up to 3072 audio channels.

Cadac's proprietary protocol offers advanced performance advantages over current systems, with superior bandwidth and latency, supporting 256 bi-directional channels of 96kHz 24bit audio, along with all control data and clock synchronisation, on co-axial cable with runs of up to 150 meters (492 feet). MegaCOMMS networks have only 0.2 milliseconds of delay per link, so even after several links in the network there is negligible aggregated latency. An extensive

Germany - While the launch of the QL series digital mixing consoles was the headline event of Yamaha's presence at ProLight+Sound 2014, there were many more of the company's state of the art audio solutions on display.

Yamaha showcased the brand new R Remote, a software solution which allows engineers to control the head amps of R Series i/o units from a Windows PC. Already used on at least one touring production, R Remote opens up many new possibilities for audio engineers in both the touring and installation markets.

The full range of CL series digital mixing consoles was on show, including the Rio3224-D, Rio1608-D, and Ri8-D i/o units and a range of mini YGDAI interface cards. CL consoles also featured in a major Nexo, Audinate and Yamaha demonstration which took place throughout ProLight+Sound in the adjacent Frankfurt Festhalle.

Now featuring in many significant install

Italy - In a break from its traditional loudspeaker roots, RCF unveiled its new L-PAD range of high performance audio mixers this month at Frankfurt's Prolight+Sound exhibition.

RCF has been producing components such as compression drivers and woofers since 1949 and its own complete speaker systems for over 30 years, but has only now decided to move into the mixer market with the creation of a new dedicated division. The establishment of the 'RCF Mixer Division' represents an important strategic move and considerable investment in R&D. According to RCF chairman, Arturo Vicari, the models introduced in Frankfurt are just the first step in a much wider development plan, and the beginning of next year will herald the arrival of several innovative digital models, he promises.

"To successfully enter a crowded market it requires us to be able to offer advantages and a different

Germany - In Frankfurt, Lawo presented the mirroring of two mc² consoles - a requirement especially useful in theatre applications. This allows an mc² console to be located in the auditorium to prepare and fine-tune the mix during rehearsals.

This is the ideal position to do the mix since it is where the audience is sitting, and it enables the mix engineer to be in close contact with the actors. The console settings are mirrored to a console in the control room, where the show mix is handled without disturbing the audience - and with the first console removed, the seats in the auditorium can be taken by paying visitors.

(Jim Evans)

Europe - Nuage, the flagship integrated system from Yamaha and Steinberg, has brought a new and very welcome approach to audio post-production. Some of Europe's premier post-production studios have invested in it and are enjoying the many benefits that it brings.

"Nuage seamlessly marries dedicated Yamaha control and interface hardware with Steinberg's Nuendo 6 DAW software, delivering unprecedented creativity for professionals in the broadcast, advertising, film and games industries," says the company. "Combining cutting-edge technology from two of the professional sound industry's biggest hitters, Nuage signifies a radical re-defining of what is possible in audio post-production."

Studios which have recently invested in Nuage include The Soundshack in Hamburg, Germany; Stone Post production in Bratislava, Slovakia; Mediaset in Cologno Monzese, Italy; Temp

USA - Headquartered in the heart of the nation's capitol, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is committed to reducing poverty and inequality in Latin America and Caribbean countries by providing much needed loans, grants, technical assistance and research.

In 2005, when the organization first opened the IDB Conference Centre at 1330 New York Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., its 500-seat Enrique V. Iglesias Auditorium was slated to host films, seminars, lectures, and town hall meetings, so the original PA system was primarily designed to accommodate spoken word and cinema playback.

In 2012, however, the decision was made to better utilise the facility for the presentation of concerts and other cultural events featuring live entertainment by Central and South American artists, musicians, and dancers.

Tasked with transforming an existing auditorium into a place for colorful li

UK - POLARaudio has launched a new website in keeping with its recent expansion. Having secured distribution for more major brands such as Mackie and Ampeg to complement existing giants like beyerdynamic and Biamp, this timely move reflects POLARaudio's determination to move forward on every front with the emphasis on quality, says the company.

With a completely fresh look, the new site offers a full online catalogue for both MI and installation product ranges. The catalogue offers detailed information and pricing and is browsable by product type, brand or application. This intuitive navigation characterises the user-friendliness of a site that possesses a high degree of functionality. Further to this, the site's advanced search facility ensures that every possible angle is covered in ensuring immediate access to specific information.

Fundamental to the core business is a full

UK - With the programme for Theatres Trust Conference 14: Community Theatres in place, and a strong line-up of contributors confirmed, including Stephen Williams MP, Peter Stark OBE, Chairman of Voluntary Arts Network, and Sir Peter Bazalgette, Chairman of Arts Council England, momentum is building as delegates take advantage of the generous Early Bird delegate rates.

This year the annual conference is taking place on Monday 28 April 2014 in Leeds, at the famous Grade II* listed City Varieties Music Hall. Early Bird delegate rate runs to Friday 28 March. The community theatres conference is co-locating alongside PLASA Focus: Leeds, the popular regional entertainment technology trade show that runs the following day at the Royal Armouries on Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 April.

Mhora Samuel, Director of The Theatres Trust sa

Germany - TUI Cruises, Europe's leading travel group, began its operations in spring 2009 with the liner Mein Schiff. The second cruiser liner was commissioned in May 2011 and is named Mein Schiff 2.

Further growth is now signalled by the subsequent expansion of the fleet with two new vessels. Mein Schiff 3 will be launched in May 2014, with sister ship Mein Schiff 4 following one year later.

For the cruiser liner MS2 the evacuation system design was carried out by the engineering company Michael Creydt in co-operation with the acoustical design company, Carsten Fromm and installed Lellman.

To assure a high quality speech transmission, the operator decided to install salt-waterproof digital steerable loudspeakers. After testing several different systems the final decision was made for the Pan Beam series of Pan Acoustics, the Pan Beam PB04-SW.

(Jim Evans)

Switzerland - At the Berner Rathaus (Bern Town Hall) in Switzerland, voice intelligibility has been greatly improved with the installation of two steerable Meyer Sound CAL 64 column array loudspeakers. The system is implemented in the Grossratssaal, the acoustically challenging main legislative chamber of the 15th century Gothic structure. Project design was handled by Daniel Zurwerra of Suhr, Switzerland-based Virtually Audio.

"Voice reinforcement in this space is challenging for several reasons," recounts Zurwerra. "First, the reverberation time is more than two seconds, and even higher at some frequencies. We have high background noise levels, and because of aesthetics and historic preservation requirements, loudspeaker placement and positioning is highly restricted. It was clear that beam-steering columns would offer the best results.

"The sound quality

UK - Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd. has named Damian Hawley director of global marketing and sales. Hawley will manage the merged Marketing and Sales departments for the Focusrite, Novation and RedNet brands worldwide including Focusrite Novation, Inc. (the US based wholly-owned subsidiary).

Both Phil Wagner (president of Focusrite Novation, Inc) and Giles Orford (marketing director) remain in their respective positions and will continue to serve on the Board of Directors while reporting to Damian Hawley.

Dave Froker (Managing Director) comments: "Following a period of strong company performance we have decided to bring Marketing and Sales together as a single organisation to position the business for its next phase of growth."

Damian Hawley, who joined Focusrite in 2004 and became Sales Director in 2009 states: "The Focusrite and Novation brands have seen s

Russia - Housed in an impressive purpose built complex in the North of Moscow, Russia's CineLab SoundMix studio complex is considered the flagship for sound in the Russian cinema post-production industry. The complex boasts a variety of studios including three Dolby Premier mixing theatres, built around Avid System 5 consoles and Pro Tools DAWs. One of the mixing stages was recently upgraded to the new Dolby Atmos format.

O M Network owner Michael Tovkalo, responsible for the installation, explained, "The whole setup demanded uncompromising signal quality. We have always found Van Damme cables extremely reliable which is why we immediately decided to use Van Damme cable solutions."

The installation required connected patch panels and dynamic processing devices using digital multicores for which Van Damme Green Series Digi Grade AES / EBU 110 Ohm UP-OFC was chosen. Fo

Germany - Music & Sales, German manufacturers of both Hughes & Kettner and HK Audio, held their annual International Distributors Meeting with all their worldwide partners in St. Wendel, Germany last week.

One of the highlights is the annual awards ceremony, and JHS received two Outstanding Achievement Awards - Best New Distributor 2013 for Hughes & Kettner, and Best HK Audio Elements 2013 Distributor.

Alan Smith, JHS sales & marketing executive director said, "The product ranges from both HK Audio and Hughes & Kettner are truly outstanding and we're pleased our dealers are doing so well with them. There are new products from both families on the way too, so plenty more to look forward to."

(Jim Evans)

UK - Adastra will be exhibiting a selection of new products from their wide range of audio equipment at the PLASA Focus in Leeds (29th - 30th April). During the event special introductory offers will be available to Adastra trade accounts opened at the show.

"We look forward to meeting up with friends old and new," the company says. "Visit Adastra on stand R-C05, leave your details to receive a free gift and collect a catalogue whilst you're there!"

Adastra is an AVSL Group Ltd brand that has been supplying public address systems for over 60 years. Synonymous with quality and reliability, Adastra offers the latest in 100V line, public address and background music systems. The diversity of the range makes Adastra a flexible, affordable solution.

Register now to attend PLASA Focus: Leeds.

(Cla

Denmark - The former Kino cinema in Odense has recently begun a new lease of life as the Danish city's latest and most modern cafe, bar and nightclub. Whether it's quiet background music during the week or loud party tunes at weekends, a Yamaha CIS series system serves up the best taste in sound.

Opened in late 2013, the cinema's new identity as UBN One is intended to deliver a completely new alternative to more traditional 'going out' places in Odense. The 900m2 venue is designed to be very versatile, giving people the opportunity to enjoy a quiet coffee or beer with friends during the day, through more lively evening socialising to committed partying at weekends.

Featuring three floors - a café and bar on the ground floor, a nightclub on the first floor and a space for parties, meetings and other events on the second, the audio system had to be both comprehensive and

Germany - Following the development of new software, enabling Optocore devices to be connected directly to the Optocore-DiGiCo fibre loop, the German specialists created an ambitious network at this month's Frankfurt Prolight+Sound which threatened to steal the show.

The two companies - along with Clear-Com - certainly ring fenced the opening morning with successive 'virtual' press conferences, where the media thronged to the stands - first to see DiGiCo MD James Gordon hosting, with marketing director Dave Webster speaking remotely from the Optocore stand, followed by Bob Boster, MD of Clear-Com, who was beamed in from the Optocore stand as Simon Browne anchored the press call from Clear-Com's stand location.

The three stands were connected via single mode fibre - all made possible by the new DiGiCo implementation. Visitors were clearly able to see the remote X6R mic preamp o

Germany - K-array's booth at the recent ProLight+Sound 2014 was designed so that visitors could enter into a world where they could "discover K-array solutions and the philosophy of the Italian brand, but also to meet, maybe drink a cup of Italian espresso, and learn about new products during the frequent showcase presentations."

In a break between his frequent presentations, Francesco Maffei, Product Specialist at K-array commented: "Now the number of attendees has been split between ISE and PL+S, and Frankfurt attracts more professionals from rental and staging, events and touring, we've showcased our new products launched at ISE; at PL+S we kept some surprises for those who work on the road."

The new products presented in Amsterdam just over a month ago included: KT2 Tornado, point source compact speaker and the KTL2 version complete with integrated LED

Germany - SUVs have become one of the hottest commodities in the automotive industry. Why? Because people love the idea of combining a sedan's comfortable on-road ride with an all-terrain vehicle's off-road capabilities.

Musicians and DJs have something similar in mind, as the latest global trend towards the "smart rig" attests. They want a sound system that is easy to transport, sets up quickly and delivers premium-quality audio - hence the rising popularity of mono columnar systems. However, a stereo setup is the better choice for many situations. Until now, musicians and DJs who were unwilling to compromise on quality and convenience had to buy two different PA systems.

HK Audio's LUCAS NANO 600 is billed as the world's first PA that can be deployed as a single column and as a stereo system. "LUCAS NANO 600 is to PAs what the SUV is to cars - a crossover soun

Germany - Martin Audio adds an important loudspeaker to its comprehensive range, following the official launch of the new multi-purpose DD12 at Prolight+Sound.

The multi-purpose DD12 defines the ultimate in performance and versatility for powered, two-way loudspeaker systems. It combines onboard networking, DSP and Class D amplification with state-of-the-art transducers and Differential Dispersion horn technology to achieve best-in-class performance in terms of fidelity, output capability and coverage consistency across the audience.

Differential Dispersion technology delivers more consistent audience coverage than systems with conventional X° x Y° horns - providing more throw to the rear to distribute sound evenly front-to-back, while having wider close-up horizontal coverage for the front rows.

Versatility is a key attribute of the DD12. The system is designed to m

UK - Two Midas PRO6 digital mixing consoles were recently employed to mix the first in a series of "secret" performances by Prince, at the Electric Ballroom in Camden. The PRO6 consoles were supplied by LMC Audio Systems Ltd., and operated by the well-established production company - DB Audio.

DB Audio and the Electric Ballroom have enjoyed a nearly 30-year relationship, and have seen several digital boards rotate through the historic venue over that period. Most were not able to live up to the company's high demands on sound quality and usability, forged from years of working with state-of-the-art analogue equipment.

DB Audio owners Richard and Steve Waterhouse consulted with Will Hinkly, technical field sales at LMC Audio London, to determine which console would best suit Electric Ballroom's diverse requirements. Hinkly had this to say, "We took them through t

USA - This year, for the first time, the National Hockey League (NHL) programmed four regular season games into outdoor venues in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, scheduling the 2014 NHL Stadium Series between the previously established NHL Winter Classic and NHL Heritage Classic series of outdoor games.

Tasked with mixing the live musical entertainment at the games in all three NHL series for broadcast on the NBC networks, Ron Reaves called on production provider Clair Nashville to supply a DiGiCo SD10 digital audio mixing console with two SD-Racks.

Reaves, who mixed the music and fed it to NBC's broadcast production engineer, who added it into the audio mix, reports that the DiGiCo system's Optocore fiber optic transport capabilities were critical to its successful operation at the Winter Classic. "As it turned out, it was the right choice, because I was 2,000 feet fr

Italy - Yamaha's CIS series installation products are increasingly being adopted across Europe in projects where the requirements of excellent sound quality and reliability are allied with the need for very flexible systems. One new installation with a truly international flavour is in Treviglio, northern Italy, where an Irish pub and live music venue is benefitting from superior CIS sound.

Opened 20 years ago, Treviglio's Clock Tower pub owes its name to the nearby 11th century clock tower of the Basilica of San Martino. One of the Lombardy region's most popular local venues, it is deeply rooted in Irish culture, the furniture all being built locally by Irish carpenters with original materials, following the traditional style of Guinness pubs in Dublin.

Music has always played a leading role in the pub's ambience. It hosts a winter schedule of live shows which attract a wide

Germany - In the world of education, the benefit of high-quality sound reinforcement or media technology is often still neglected, be it for budget shortage or lack of good advice.

The Aalen University of Applied Sciences in Germany knows better. The clearer the sound of a presentation or a lecture can be understood, the easier the mind will follow. So, unhampered understanding and pleasurable sound quality are vital factors for conceiving and memorizing content. Thus, investing in a good sound system would instantly benefit student's learning success.

In 2013, when some of the University's auditoriums needed audio systems, Klartext-Gruppe offered and installed a technically advanced system design, well within budget, that utilised Lab.gruppen's new LUCIA amplifiers to great effect.

The two-channel LUCIA (Localized Utility Compact Intelligent Amplification) is an extremely c

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