UK - After several years of investment in R&D resources, more than doubling the department's engineering staff, and following on from research projects into loudspeaker protection and adaptive protection, the APA Series makes its PLASA debut this year.

The completely new power and DSP platforms have been designed to interact intelligently and adapt to prevailing conditions, protecting drivers, and significantly enhancing performance from all speaker systems.

Waring Hayes, XTA's technical brand manager explains why this is at the centre of the design ethos for APA. "It's not so

UK - PLASA London opened its doors at 10am this morning and welcomed a surge of visitors in the first few hours of the show. Hundreds of people skipped their typical Sunday activities in favour of a vibrant exhibition floor and an education programme packed with the world's biggest names in entertainment technology.

Here are some of the highlights from today's show:

World Class Exhibitors

Every year, PLASA London brings together the most important audio, lighting, video and staging companies, filling the show floor with a feast of exhibitors. This year is certainly no diffe

Europe - As summer 2014 draws to a close, the UK source-oriented reinforcement (SOR) specialists Out Board have seen their TiMax delay-matrix and performer-tracking systems deployed for a broad and varied season of outdoor shows across Europe.

Thunersee, Switzerland - The perennial TiMax sojurn in the stunning Swiss lakeside setting featured the visual spectacle that is AIDA the Musical. Contemporised by Elton John and Tim Rice originally for a Broadway outing in 2001, the Thunersee production accessed a new dimension with sound design by the award-winning Tom Strebel and audiopool.

Spain - On Sunday 5 October 2014, the curtain fell on another incredible season for Space Ibiza, as it celebrated a summer of unforgettable parties with the Space Closing Fiesta. It welcomed more than 30 DJs and thousands of guests, who bid farewell to the iconic venue for another year. It was a fitting end to a very successful season, which saw Funktion-One complete its takeover of the venue, and helped it celebrate its 25th birthday with an additional outdoor stage at three special events - the Opening Fiesta, Closing Fiesta and 25th Anniversary Party.

At the beginning of the summer

UK - At PLASA 2014, Shure Distribution UK (SDUK) has announced the addition of the PSM300 Stereo Personal Monitor Systems to the existing Shure line of In-Ear Monitoring (IEM) technology.

PSM300 introduces the clarity and precision of stereo, 24-bit digital audio processing to the PSM line, while still offering users the customised mix control for which PSM systems are renowned. The PSM300's two-tier entry-level/pro-grade control interface allows any user to get a personal monitoring mix up and running with speed and confidence, whether they're experienced engineers or new to IEM syst

UK - Shure Distribution UK (SDUK), exclusive distributor in the UK and Ireland for leading pro audio brands including Shure, QSC, Radial, DIS, Sound Devices, Primacoustic and Servoreeler,confirmed at PLASA London 2014 that it is taking on a new line.

Manufactured by Spanish audio company Equipson, founded in 1995 and based in Valencia, WORK Pro Audio products are aimed at sound reinforcement and live sound applications. Effective immediately, SDUK will be responsible for all sales and technical support for WORK Pro Audio products in the UK and Ireland, replacing all previous UK distri

USA - Billed as the 'Largest Event in Bradford County', the 139th Troy Fair opened 21 July 21, 2014 with a new grandstands sound system provided by Gelnett and Associates of Northumberland, Pennsylvania and based on Community R Series loudspeakers.

The new system replaces a 1970s-era paging horn system that was inadequate for modern fair events and had prompted 2013's tractor pull announcer to complain, "We're not coming back unless you fix this!"

After interviewing several integrators, the Troy Fair board chose Gelnett and Associates to provide their new system. Gelnett P

Switzerland - Riedel Communications reports that Riedel Switzerland served as the official radio and intercom services supplier for the 22nd European Athletics Championships, held 12-17 August in Zurich. Throughout the event, which brought approximately 1,400 athletes from 50 countries together for a competition attended daily by 25,000 spectators, Riedel equipment supported communications and provided the main fiber backbone for in-house video distribution.

"Riedel Switzerland provided us with seamlessly integrated solutions for video transport and communications, and the compan

UK - Solid State Logic has announced a major expansion to its Live console range with the release of the SSL Live.L300 console and a new V2.5 software release that brings significant developments to the SSL Live console platform.

The release of the new L300 console and a major new software update signals SSL's dedication to remaining at the leading edge of the live sound industry for many years to come, says the company. L300 and the new V2.5 software release embodies the SSL tradition of listening to engineers and customers and demonstrates our commitment to rapid continuous developm

USA - At AES in Los Angeles this week, British reference loudspeaker manufacturer PMC will launch the QB1 Active, a large-scale, ultra-high-resolution main studio monitor with analogue and digital (up to 192kHz) inputs.

Designed for either soffit-mounted or free-standing use, each QB1-A incorporates the latest generation of PMC's driver designs, Class-D amplification, Advanced Transmission Line (ATL) bass-loading technology, DSP control, and a quartet of 10-inch carbon fibre/Nomex piston bass drivers to create a single reference monitor that has "the transparency, resolution, dyn

The Netherlands - Award-winning sound designer Jeroen ten Brinke has chosen the Meyer Sound D-Mitri digital audio platform as the backbone of his design in Anne, a dramatic presentation of the Anne Frank story in the 1,100-capacity Theatre Amsterdam. With a CueConsole control surface, D-Mitri drives the play's audio mixing, matrixing, and loudspeaker processing.

"Choosing D-Mitri as the foundation of the system was a no-brainer," says Jeroen ten Brinke, who is a design partner at Audio Design International. "The audio quality is second-to-none, which is critical

UK - After working with RG Jones' Martin Audio Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array (MLA) at Glastonbury Festival - as well as the smaller footprint MLA Compact at other events - David McEwan's vision was to fire it up in anger at the holy grail of London venues, the Royal Albert Hall.

And as long term recording and live engineer for Nitin Sawhney, the opportunity came when this British Indian musician, orchestral composer and producer announced his return to the famous London venue to perform work from his forthcoming album Dystopian Dream and a selection of material from his firs

UK - PLM+ is the new touring platform launched in London this week by Lab.gruppen. It offers "all the performance characteristics, flexibility, and raw power of the 20000Q, but with twice the processing power, twice the throughput and a whole host of additional features and improvements designed to deliver real world benefits and make the life cycle of any production easier, smoother and more efficient, from the system design stage, operating, through to the final load out".

PLM+ range offers two models - PLM20k44 and the PLM12k44 - each combining a true 4in/4out configurati

UK - Visitors to the Shure Distribution UK stand at PLASA 2014 took the opportunity to learn more about Shure's QLX-D Digital Wireless system, which is making its UK trade show debut at PLASA. Delivering exceptional wireless performance with transparent 24-bit digital audio, QLX-D features networked control and compatibility with Shure's intelligent rechargeable battery technology.

QLX-D Digital Wireless transmits accurate audio with extended, flat frequency response. The system's automatic channel scan and IR sync make finding and assigning an open frequency quick and easy. Ideal for

UK - The buzz around the aisles and stands of PLASA London 2014 has created an incredible atmosphere for visitors and exhibitors alike. The entertainment technology industry is full of brilliant characters, giving the industry its special personality. While the social side of the show has flourished, so has business, as exhibitors continue to launch new products and make important connections.

Green Hippo has chosen PLASA London 2014 for the launch of the Hippotizer v4. The company has taken the award-winning features of the Hippotizer v3, such as UberPan, Cross-Fade on Layer, Presets

UK - Orbital Sound has announced that it is opening a new demonstration zone this month, in conjunction with loudspeaker technology company, Flare Audio. Equipped with the growing line up of Flare loudspeaker systems, this represents the first facility to provide a comprehensive London demonstration resource for the manufacturer, as a dedicated centre of excellence.

Orbital Sound's MD Chris Headlam comments, "As Flare's UK & Eire distributor, we can introduce the Flare concept to a much wider audience by setting up this new demonstration centre at our Brixton headquarters - compl

Germany - This year, the Marbach state stud farm from Baden-Wuerttemberg celebrates its 500-year existence. The Marbach Classics Open Air, taking place in July, was the climax in the anniversary calendar of the stud farm.

The Ross ballet, consisting of 90 horses from various top European stud farms and 200 performers, fascinated around 7500 visitors in the Marbach Arena. The Württemberg Philharmonic of Reutlingen accompanied the spectacle with symphonic live music. Alcons Audio facilitated a perfect sound everywhere with the LR24 pro-ribbon line-array system.

dlp motive GmbH was en

The Netherlands - Built in 1877, Cinecitta is one of the most culturally significant buildings in Tilburg, Netherlands. Recently it underwent a €6m refurbishment which included the installation of a major Yamaha CIS series audio system.

It was originally built as a concert venue and coffee shop for the Royal Liedertafel Souvenir des Montagnards - a Dutch association, founded in 1845, to further broaden cultural objectives including vocal and instrumental music, opera and theatre.

Since 1916 the building has functioned as a cinema, as well as hosting concerts, theatre, exhibitions,

UK - The PLASA Awards for Innovation (sponsored by Lighting&Sound International) were presented on Tuesday 7 October, revealing the most ground-breaking products of PLASA London 2014. It was a night of celebration and remembrance, as the prestigious Gottelier Award was awarded posthumously to Clay Paky founder, Pasquale 'Paky' Quadri, who recently passed away.

Clay Paky's Chief Operational Officer, Pio Nahum, graciously accepted the Gottelier Award on behalf of his friend and colleague. The other nominees - Richard Belliveau, David Cunningham and Dr Christian Heil - withdrew fr

The Netherlands - Out Board has appointed FACE.nl as the new exclusive distributor covering the Netherlands, of the TiMax2 SoundHub and TiMax Tracker audio processing, playback and showcontrol automation products.

FACE CEO Karel de Piere comments, "We are very happy to widen our Benelux distribution of the TiMax products which we already represent in Belgium for some years. TiMax fits well with our other high quality brands and suits perfectly our core activities in system solutions and integration."

The FACE team's broad skill set and in-depth experience across the live e

The Netherlands - The Apart Microphone Discussion System is a highly flexible small to medium size tabletop discussion system. This easy to set up and easy to use audio system is designed for meeting rooms, board rooms and medium conference rooms. This discussion system consists of a chairman unit (MDS.CHAIR) and up to 19 delegate units (MDS.DEL). The connection interface (MDS.INT) is located at the beginning of the microphone chain.

This MDS system has a unique circuit loop design with an easy set-up using standard Cat 5 cables for linking up to 20 units in a daisy chain (every micro

UK - Blitz Communications, a GES Global Company, was named as the winner in the Creative Industries category of the LondonlovesExcellence Awards, a celebration of excellence and growth in business backed by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The judges praised Blitz | GES' work during the Olympics, and admired the way it had capitalised on that work to propel growth. They added, "Blitz | GES has made smart investments to accelerate performance and is a very well-managed company with a shining future ahead of it. Despite the tough economic climate, Blitz | GES more than

UK - Sennheiser UK has presented its second annual scholarship award of £1,500 to a Buckinghamshire New University Audio and Music Production student.

The scholarship is awarded to students based on their academic performance in their first year, and is part of an education partnership between the University, in Queen Alexandra Road, High Wycombe, and Sennheiser.

It was presented to Callum Paxton, who was among six students shortlisted who were interviewed by Phil Cummings, Sennheiser's marketing projects manager, and singer-songwriter Nellie Bell, who is sponsored by Sennheis

USA / UK - WorxAudio Technologies, a division of PreSonus Audio Electronics has announced that the company's new TrueLine X2i-P/D, X3i-P/D, and X5i-P/D line array systems and X115i-P/D and X118i-P/D subwoofers will incorporate PreSonus Active Integration technology and PreSonus' SL-Dante-SPK card. The TrueLine X2i-P/D, X3i-P/D, and X5i-P/D will be the first line arrays to offer Audinate's Dante technology with PreSonus Active Integration.

All Active Integration loudspeakers feature a powerful CPU that enables many advanced functions and come with a USB Wi-Fi LAN module to connect to f

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