USA - R & B crooner John Legend's Made to Love tour is sweeping across the country playing in 27 different US cities. Concert attendees are treated to intimate, hopelessly romantic presentations of the performer's amorous chart-topping tunes.

Sound Image, located in Escondido, California and Nashville, Tennessee, was once again selected to provide sound reinforcement and support for the tour.

Made to Love is on the road with an Adamson Energia E15 PA. The typical venue configuration features left-right hangs of twelve enclosures per side with front fill support provide

USA - The 'new' Sibley Building in downtown Rochester, New York rose out of the ashes of the original Sibley Building, which served as the city's first department store and burned down in 1906. It has remained an architectural fixture ever since and was admitted to National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

The lower levels serve as retail space and help to anchor Rochester's current downtown revitalization. Its public areas recently benefited from a sound system overhaul that centred on processing, amplification, and control provided by commercial audio manufacturer Ashly Audio of

Germany - With clubs throughout the Germany's Rhineland, including the major cities of Köln and Düsseldorf, Just Fit is one of the region's premier fitness centre chains. The company currently has 18 fitness centres, with two in Frechen and the latest one, in Kerpen, featuring Denon DN-700H Network Audio Players. They will also be installed in two new Köln clubs, due to open in early 2014

"We have chosen the DN-700H because it is very easy to use, it delivers audio from a wide range of different sources, the display provides all the information you need and it can be used full

USA - Mood Media, provider of retail music solutions and sound systems, is seeing recent growth in the design and installation of multi-zone distributed audio in shopping centres and other public locations. Mood Media has turned to components from Bose Professional Systems for many such installations in malls in the US and Canada. Several of these projects have been in properties owned and managed by Simon Property Group.

Craig Breigle, premier systems account executive, Mood Media, based in Austin, TX, notes that the PowerMatch and ControlSpace products are chosen for their reliabili

Switzerland - Every seven years the small Swiss monastery town of Einsiedeln turns itself over to a large-scale open-air production of Calderón's Welttheater. A modern re-work was written for the summer of 2013, and to fully support the scale and complexities of the piece, sound design was again put in the capable hands of award-winning Tom Strebel of Basel's audiopool, using the ubiquitous TiMax2 SoundHub audio localisation matrix system from Out Board.

This year for the first time Strebel also used TiMax Tracker performer-tracking which controlled the TiMax SoundHub delay-ma

Spain - D.A.S. has announced the introduction of a new series of line array systems called the Event Series, aimed at small to medium level sound reinforcement requirements. Ideal for use in both permanent installations as well as in mobile systems, the new series comprises three models, two line arrays and a companion bass system.

The Event series line arrays include two models, the Event 208A and the Event 210A. Both are three-way powered line arrays in double 8" and double 10" configurations respectively. The D.A.S. loudspeaker units have been teamed up with a single M-75

UK - The new range of Adastra 100V line mixer amplifiers and slave amplifiers have been upgraded considerably, each designed specifically with the installer in mind.

All CM and RM mixer-amplifiers feature integral USB/SD audio players, as well as individual microphone and auxiliary channels for maximum flexibility.

CS and RS slave models range from 60W to 360W; delivering stable, reliable power to multiple speaker systems. SMD circuit technology ensures dependable operation with options for DC battery power and low impedance outputs.

All RM and RS models are provided with rack ear

UK - PLASA Focus: Leeds 2014 launches today with free registration and a new website. The leading event for entertainment technology in the north of England will be held on 29 - 30 April, 2014, at the Royal Armouries at Clarence Dock, only a short distance from the centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire.

With a fully sold out floorplan the annual event looks set to continue its success story. Long-standing exhibitors returning include; AC Entertainment, Adam Hall, AED Distribution, Artistic License, Avolites, Bose, Chauvet, Clay Paky, d&b audiotechnik, ETC, Hawthorn, J&C Joel, Martin Audio,

France - French loudspeaker manufacturer APG has expanded its range of versatile micro-format 5" coaxial loudspeakers with the addition of the dedicated MX0 installation loudspeaker.

Following in the footsteps of the popular DX5 loudspeaker that has found favour with a number of major rental companies for its superior sonic performance and versatility as both a stage monitor and FoH speaker, the new MX0 offers the same performance in a format specifically designed for the installation market.

First presented at the JTSE 2013 in Paris last November alongside the DX5, the MX0 see

UK - Midlands-based production and rental company, Codex Audio, has recently invested in an Inspired Audio Optima 5 array system, supplied by Inspired Audio UK distributors, LMC Audio.

Dave 'Lofty' Lockhart, owner of Codex Audio, is system technician, tour manager and head sound engineer (amongst others!) for 'The Blockheads' with whom he is deploying the Optima 5 line array.

Inspired Audio design director, Chris Scott, comments, "That Lofty has invested in the system is great news on a number of fronts; firstly he values the scalability of the system in a way that we had hoped

South Africa - Stage Audio Works Technology and Engineering Group has always been at the forefront of innovation. Strengthening the already well-established track record, the company has acquired a majority stake in Active Music Distribution, one of the most established MI distributors in Africa that offers many world-leading brands.

The synergy between the two companies will result in an increased footprint for the Stage Audio Works Group, who are already well established in the commercial, entertainment technology and house of worship sectors. It will also allow Stage Audio Works to

Prog Rock Returns - 2014 sees the 40th anniversary of the release of Rick Wakeman's landmark concept album, Journey To The Centre Of The Earth based on the novel by Jules Verne. Wakeman and The New World Symphony Orchestra, accompanied by The English Chamber Choir and the English Rock Ensemble, will celebrate this anniversary with "a dramatic, live presentation of this epochal, classical-rock crossover work" - the Journey To The Centre Of The Earth 2014 tour. "This is the start of a new Journey," says Wakeman, "the original score for the album had

UK - Tascam has announced the CD-200iL - a cost-effective professional-grade CD player equipped with an iPod dock with both 30-pin and Lightning connectors to play files directly from an Apple iPod or iPhone. With its rugged construction and ability to playback CD from its front-loading mechanism, the CD-200iL is designed for professional contractor applications where a simple yet rugged solution is required.

In addition to its Apple iDevice connections, the CD-200iL features Tascam's esteemed CD-5020A CD transport to provide quiet playback, smooth loading, longevity and anti-shock me

UK/USA - Allen & Heath will launch the Xone:23, a 2-channel DJ mixer at NAMM 2014. The new mixer is "packed with pro features that would normally be found in the booth of a top-rated club", including an enhanced version of the legendary Xone filter with resonance control, VCA faders, three band total kill EQ, illuminated switches, crossfader curve selector, with styling inspired by the flagship Xone:DB4.

At the heart of the mixer is the analogue Voltage Control Filter (VCF) system offering Low-Pass and High-Pass filters, frequency sweep and 'mild to wild' resonance control.

Australia - Planetshakers City Church at the Dallas Brooks Centre in downtown Melbourne lives up to its name in many different ways. A vibrant and growing church, Planetshakers is home to world-renowned contemporary praise and worship music. The powerful evangelical message led by Pastors Russell and Sam Evans is now driven home by a sound system that would shame many a touring rock band.

"We have an expanding congregation and a venue that can accommodate two thousand, two hundred across the stalls and two balconies," explained production director, Dan Cornwell. "To del

Italy - Andrea Taglia, live sound engineer for the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, is a huge fan of DPA Microphones and rates them as the most technically advanced and sonically transparent microphones on the market. It is therefore no surprise that Taglia personally owns a selection of DPA Microphones and regularly sources additional units whenever he is on tour with Bocelli, says DPA.

"I've been using DPA Microphones for many years and bought my first stereo d:dicate 4006 recording microphone when it was still known by the old Bruel & Kjaer name," says Taglia. "I first

UK - The Institute of Professional Sound (IPS) has announced further details of its post-production orientated 2014 Training Weekend, which takes place in the English Midlands over the weekend of 7-9 February, 2014. The venue for the expanded event is now the Woodland Grange Conference Centre (www.woodlandgrange.com), on the northern outskirts of Warwick and Leamington Spa.

Speakers from the cream of the UK-based post-production industry have now been finalised. Dennis Weinreich and Conor Mackey will be opening the weekend with a look at workstation-based post-production workflows. Ve

UK / The Netherlands - i-Power (UK) Limited is a new company founded by four directors who have a combined knowledge of 120 years in the audio and electronics systems market: Janet Dean, Ray Morrison, Peter Alberry-King and Kevin Tester of Penton UK have long experience of marketing and distribution and a vast array of worldwide contacts.

Janet Dean explains: "Back in 2009 we had identified the potential for an internet protocol (IP) product range to service a new and expanding market place within the Audio industry. During our investigation of IP-based technology we had many sta

Norway - Solid State Logic has appointed Bary Sales AS as its Live console distributor in Norway. Bary, which has long been a leader in the rental market, is setting up a new sales division with the SSL Live as its centrepiece product offering.

"As a brand new sales company, Bary Sales couldn't ask for a better brand than Solid State Logic to kick start the new division," says Marius Ryen, co-owner of Bary AS. "SSL immediately puts a high-quality stamp on our young organization, and sets the benchmark for our work and distributions. SSL has a very strong trademark in th

USA - St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hampton, Iowa, was dealing with a problem familiar to many churches: their existing sound system was simply not adequate. The layout of the church's sanctuary did the system no favours, with a tall ceiling and lots of glass causing any number of reverberations, making speech intelligibility and clear music nearly impossible.

Several attempts were made to improve the system's performance, but these tries amounted to little more than "band-aids" according to Mark Carey, president/owner of Spencer, Iowa-based Carey's Electronics. Ev

Australia - Since the 1990s, Sydney's Darlinghurst Theatre Company have provided a forum for actors, writers and producers to express themselves on the professional stage. Proud champions of independent, sustainable theatre practice, they were chosen by the City of Sydney to be the managing company of the newly established Eternity Playhouse in Darlinghurst.

The Eternity Playhouse is the result of a four-year renovation of the heritage-listed Burton Street Tabernacle by the City of Sydney, a 126 year old Baptist Church, unused for worship since 1996. In consultation with the City of S

UK - Leamington Sight and Sound are major suppliers of audio and lighting equipment to some of the largest bar chains in the UK. They have recently installed MilTec's British made Blakite speakers for one of their main customers in venues in Bradford, Hull, Henley-on-Thames and Bournemouth.

The equipment used features the 8", 10" and 12" inch tops and single 15" and double 15" subs. They also used MilTec's LA20 amps on one of the jobs. The Henley venue required a white finish which MilTec supplied from stock.

Colin Bannister, general manager of Leamington Si

UK - In September 2013 a team of music lovers opened the doors to Control, an impressive, large-scale new night club based in Leeds. Since opening, the club has welcomed a wide range of artists through its doors including: Solomun, 2manyDJs, Tensnake, Groove Armada, Pete Tong, Greg Wilson, James Zabiela, Pendulum, Professor Green and countless others.

As well as being designed in sleek, modern colours, the club boasts an impressive Funktion One sound system along with large-scale lights and lasers, CO2 cannons, gigantic party poppers and exciting extra sensory stimulation in the form

The Netherlands - Dutch audio innovator Alcons Audio will be showcasing its latest pro-ribbon sound system innovations at the upcoming Integrated Systems Europe show in Amsterdam.

The relatively wide scope of the show enables Alcons Audio to display its broad portfolio of system solutions: On booth 6-N148, Alcons presents a selected choice of its point-source, point-source array, line-source and line-array sound systems, based around the company's patented Pro-Ribbon technology and its ongoing pursuit of audio perfection.

The main focus will be on the RR12 point-source array: with s

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