UK - At PLASA Focus Leeds, on 30April and 1 May in the Royal Armouries' New Dock Hall, nestled conveniently close to the New Dock Bar you will find the d&b audiotechnik stand at N-A24. Make yourself comfortable, come and chat, come and listen; it's what the d&b team love to do. Questions and answers, discussion and debate, fact and opinion; take your time.

Across the Piazza in the salubrious surroundings of the Bury Theatre another treat lies in store. Oran Burns and Steve Jones from the d&b audiotechnik Education and Application Support team will each be delivering another informativ

UK - Yamaha has released a major upgrade to the firmware for its CL series digital mixing consoles. Bringing a wide range of user-requested enhancements and added functions, the upgrade increases yet further the exceptional flexibility of the CL system, says the company.

CL Series Firmware V1.5 has been developed after carefully listening to comments and 'wish lists' from CL series users. The new features include:

Scene Preview - Pressing the Preview key allows the user to view (and, if necessary, edit and re-store) any other scene. While doing this the scene number area blinks red

Belgium / UK - Audac has appointed Audiologic as the exclusive distributor for the Audac brand in the UK market.

The official agreement for the complete Audac product range was confirmed at the ISE show 2013. Mark Asselberghs, export manager for Audac said, "It is very important for us that our brand is well represented to customers, and our products deserve the professional knowledge and expert support that Audiologic can provide. As a well established and trusted distributor in the UK audio install market, award winning Audiologic is the natural choice for a long term partnersh

UK - Toby Alington and his highly experienced team at Richmond Studios Productions are introducing the latest Online Mastering service to their website. With an exclusive third off all purchases until 31 March, Richmond Studios Mastering will be offering its clients "a truly professional and affordable service".

As a multi-award-winning audio producer and mixer, with over 30 years' of experience in the audio industry, Alington will bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to RSP's Online Mastering service.

Alington's most recent accomplishment was the BRIT Awards 2013. It

The Netherlands - When two of the Netherlands biggest orchestras relocated to a new rehearsal and performance space this year, they needed a high performance vocal PA system which would provide exceptional sound quality, but not detract aesthetically from the historic building. Yamaha DXR12 loudspeakers provided the solution.

Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest (the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, or NedPhO) and Nederlands Kamerorkest (Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, or NKO) work closely together, between them playing to audiences of over 200,000 people in Holland and other countries

UK - The BBC has contracted Toby Alington and his team at Richmond Studios Productions to mix and record the live-to-air music performances from the Give It Up for Comic Relief show at Wembley Arena in London.

"We are delighted to be working on another big project with the BBC, and are proud to be involved with Comic Relief," says Alington.

Once again, the team will be working with this year's double BRIT Award winner, Emeli Sandé, along with other leading artists Kasabian, Noel Gallagher, Paloma Faith, Jessie J, Jake Bugg, Nicole Scherzinger, and Rizzle Kick

Hard Rock - Bruce Springsteen has agreed to return as a headline act at London's Hard Rock Calling festival despite organisers pulling the plug on his show last year after it over-ran. He will play again with The E Street Band at the event's new location at the Olympic Park this summer. Kasabian will also headline, playing their only UK festival. Other performers over the final weekend in June include Paul Weller, The Black Crowes and Klaxons.

Late Show - Teen pop idol Justin Bieber angered parents by emerging onstage for a concert at London's O2 Arena almost two hours late. Wh

USA - Denver Performing Arts Complex's Boettcher Concert Hall, home to the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, was built in 1978 as the first US symphony hall in the round. While the 2,634-seat performance space's unique layout continues to remain enduringly contemporary, the venue's previous PA system has not fared quite so well, recently prompting a full audio system retrofit that included an L-Acoustics amplifier and loudspeaker package.

The City of Denver hired South Norwalk, CT-based acoustician/consultant Akustiks to specify the new system, which features an exploded cluster design usi

Germany - Pro audio company Rain Age has added a further 10 Lab.gruppen PLM Series amplifiers to their extensive inventory, reaffirming the company's faith in the technology available from Lab.gruppen and Lake.

The company - based in Landsberg, Germany - has built up a well-respected reputation over the past 15 years, providing full service production capability to a large number and variety of events, from club concerts to large scale arena shows.

The new purchase of PLM Series amplifiers - which come integrated with Lake Processing - complements the company's existing stock of Lab

UK - Loughborough-based conference and event production company Event Engineering has recently upgraded its audio inventory to ensure that it continues to deliver the excellence that its high profile corporate clients demand. This new equipment has included a Yamaha CL series digital console.

Supplied by SSE Audio Group, Event Engineering invested in a CL3 console and Rio3224-D i/o unit after the company's operations manager, Jim Brown, attended a demonstration day at SSE's Redditch headquarters.

"We are convinced that the CL series will become the standard conference desk, due

Germany - With the launch of the new d:facto II Vocal Microphone, which will be on show for the first time in Europe at Prolight + Sound 2013 (Booth 8.B60), DPA Microphones has now broadened its range of products for the live stage.

In addition to use with the new wired DPA handle, the d:facto II provides singers and engineers with the added benefit of a state-of-the-art adapter system that allows for seamless integration with many professional wireless systems, says the company.

"The launch of the d:facto II Vocal Microphone is a major step for DPA as it means that we now have

South Africa - Stage Audio Works has opened a new regional operations office in Cape Town, in order to better handle clients located in both the Western and Eastern Cape regions. The new base will offer these clients a more direct link to Stage Audio Works' comprehensive turnkey product portfolio, the company says.

Stage Audio Works' territory manager, Jerome Gideon, said the company is "now well positioned to support [their] Western and Eastern Cape partners and customers and the new office is an exciting milestone for growth showing our investment and confidence in the future o

China - JoeCo has announced the appointment of Advanced Communication Equipment International Co. Ltd (ACE) as the new distributor for the BlackBox Recorder and Player in China, Hong Kong and Macau. Headquartered in Hong Kong, with regional offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, ACE has over 30 years of experience in distribution, consultancy and system integration. The company adds JoeCo's BlackBox family of multi-channel live audio recorders and players to an extensive portfolio of pro audio, AV and lighting products.

"We are extremely pleased to welcome ACE to our distrib

India - Turbosound's active/passive two-way TCS-122/64 speakers and TXD-218 dual 18" subwoofers have been installed in one of India's most prestigious private schools.

Three pairs of 60°h x 40°v dispersion TCS-122/64 are on FOH duties in St Helena's Girls School in Pune - dubbed 'the Oxford of the East' - and the second largest city in the Indian state of Maharashtra after Mumbai. Two pairs are affixed to each side of the stage in the school's impressive new auditorium, with a further pair centre stage to cater to the front rows.

In addition, two Turbosound TXD-218 dual

UK - Glastonbury Festival impresario Michael Eavis will be helping UK trade distributor Batmink Ltd celebrate its 30th Anniversary by holding an open forum Q & A session during Batmink's forthcoming week of free professional workshops and training (18-23 March)

These workshops are designed to provide useful 'hands on' experience and core skills and will be presented by some of the industry's foremost companies, says Batmink.

During the week, representatives from manufacturers such as Pioneer, Martin Audio, Cloud, Le Maitre, Shure, Audio Technica and Sennheiser will be conducting pre

Denmark - Following the completion last week of its acquisition of Martin Professional and the foundation of a lighting business unit within Harman Professional, Harman has announced two key promotions at the company which, says Harman president Blake Augsburger, will position the business unit for optimal development while capitalising on selective shared resources and relationships with Harman Professional.

With immediate effect, Lars Dige Knudsen is promoted to vice-president, general manager, Lighting Strategic Business Unit, "taking over from Martin's previous CEO, Christian

Germany - d3 Technologies will introduce their new d3 Release 11 software during Prolight + Sound 2013. Packed with new features specifically designed for complex multi-projector shows, d3 R11 will help you dramatically reduce on-site set-up times, and deliver a faster, smoother workflow from start to finish to give you confidence in the face of tight deadlines, says the company.

d3 R11 features QuickCal, a revolutionary new way to get your projectors lined up on site. Place virtual projectors in the stage simulator, drop reference points onto the 3d model of the projection surface, a

UK - More than 20 years after the late Whitney Houston was immortalized on the big screen with The Bodyguard, London's Adelphi Theatre is staging a musical production of the story, featuring a 151-cabinet Meyer Sound system based on the M'elodie and MINA line array loudspeakers.

The Bodyguard musical has abundant dynamic contrasts. They range from moments of hushed intimacy between the two lead characters to the goosebump-inducing show-stopping hits like I'm Your Baby Tonight and I Will Always Love You.

"The brief was to bring a filmic quality to the

UK - Renowned techno DJ and producer, Gayle San, has adopted the Xone:DB4 as her mixer of choice for touring and production work.

Gayle San started DJing 18 years ago with vinyl, then progressed to CDs, and most recently her set up is digital, originally based around the Xone: 4D and now the new Xone:DB4 mixer and Xone:K2 controller.

"I always choose A&H because every time I play on a Xone mixer at a club or a festival it never fails me. The sound is massive, open, and crystal - it's amazing!" explains San. "Not only can I travel lighter with my new set up but there a

Hong Kong - The Chinese New Year race meeting at the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Shatin racecourse is a key fixture in both the sporting and social calendar of China's special administrative region. The 2013 meeting saw Coda Audio's Airline LA8 system given a high profile, head-to-head trial against another system, with Coda emerging as the clear winner.

As well as the racing, the event featured a lavish opening ceremony at the racecourse's parade ring, featuring entertainment including performances by African and Chinese drummers, vocalists and the famous Chinese Lion dance. Wright Click

Japan - High End Systems' new flagship Hog 4 console made its debut in Japan when Kome Kome Club's Super Natural Carnival arena concert tour kicked off in early February. Formed in 1982, Kome Kome Club is widely recognized and revered as the only Japanese pop musical group to achieve commercial success by blending soul and funk musical styles.

Makoto Shimizu from Lighting Big1 is the tour's lighting designer. Shimizu witnessed the unveiling of the Hog 4 at the LDI 2012 exhibition, and was eager to specify the console for the Kome Kome Club tour. He comments, "I'd been eage

Germany - MC2 Audio will be attending ProLight + Sound 2013 with Atlantic Audio in Hall 8.0, Stand F60, majoring on installation amplification, with live demo systems of Ti Series components offering network audio output (Dante and Cobranet compatible) and signal processing, all controlled from the company's installation software application, iCore.

For studio owners and high-end systems, the latest 'no compromise, S Series will be on show. From their specially chosen Muse op-amps for the most transparent input stages, to their selected output

devices for the most accurate speaker d

Australia - The Arts Centre Gold Coast started in 1986 and after a change of name and some additions to the building, it remains as a major venue for the area of South East Queensland. Although located in Surfers Paradise you still need somewhere to go in the evening and with the 1139 seat Arts Theatre, two cinemas, the Arts Cafe, the Gold Coast City Gallery and other performance and function spaces, this is truly a hub of cultural life.

While it is a community based arts theatre, it hosts performances by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, the Queensland Ballet and the Queensland Oper

Germany - From 8-13 January, this season's Biathlon World Cup was contested in the Chiemgau Arena in Ruhpolding, Germany. During the five days of competition, some 70,000 spectators visited the village in Upper Bavaria to watch the world's elite biathletes in action.

For several years now, the Traunstein-based firm of Musik Mayer has been employed as general contractor whenever the Biathlon World Cup has visited Ruhpolding. They, in turn, commissioned MSE-Tontechnik GmbH of Stubenberg in Lower Bavaria to plan and implement the sound reinforcement for the main grandstand.

The main gr

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