>Behringer unveiled 13 new products. These included three new 31-band equalizers - the Ultragraph digital DEQ1024, Ultragraph pro FBQ6200 and Ultragraph pro FBQ3102 - and a 15-band stereo-graphic equalizer, the Ultragraph pro FBQ1502. For DJs, there was the VMX1000 - a 7-channel, 19" DJ mixer and a new desktop DJ effects machine - the Tweakalizer. On the speaker side, the company launched the MS16 - a new compact stereo speaker system, and also extended its line of professional reference studio monitors with the launch of three new active and passive models - the Truth B2030A, Truth B2030P, and Truth B2031P.
>Wembley Loudspeaker was again in evidence at PLASA, and took a surprise order which was a fine testimonial to the audio quality of the company's speakers. Eight of its B-Line 28-20 sub bass cabinets have been sold to a new reggae club opening in Kingston, Jamaica. The boxes are being shipped this month ready for the club's opening. Apparently, the club owners first heard Wembley's B-Line 28-20 cabinets at this summer's Notting Hill Carnival in London. They subsequently visited the PLASA show where they agreed the order with Wembley MD Paul MacCallum. His only regret is that they're so easy to use, he won't need to fly over and install them personally!
>At the start of July, Penn Fabrication renamed to Penn/Elcom having acquired Elcom, its biggest competitor in the USA. New products on show this year included Cablesafe, which comes in 700mm sections and has slots for four cables up to 50mm in diameter. Also on show was the 'N' case system and 19" rack-mountable products.
>A new professional DJ mixing console approved by Carl Cox doesn't come along every day. Vestax drew many an admiring glance from aspiring spinners with the PMC-CX - easily recognizable from the many competitors in this market for its large control knobs and well-spaced layout. Main features include notch filters, three-band EQ isolators and fully balanced outputs. Also from Vestax was the PMC 007, a new scratch mixer with a special mute for cross-fade tucked out of harm's way. The 007 has easy clip-in replacement faders, quickly accessed by a neat pop-up top cover.
>Corporate bedfellows, and sharing a stand at PLASA, Marantz & Denon both had new niche products of interest to our industry. The Marantz PMD 670 is the offspring of earlier solid-state audio recorders originally developed for radio newsgathering. More robust than its predecessors (it recently withstood a vibration test by Jaguar Racing for use as an in-car recorder), the advent of massive Compact Flash cards and IBM Microdrives (used to store the recordings) means this device is no longer limited, in practical terms, to just making compressed recordings. Four gigabytes of storage make MP3 unnecessary - even recording a full-length concert would be possible. Denon showed two new combination CD/cassette drives, the DN T645 and T625, the 45 featuring mic inputs with both having RS232 inputs for remote control.
>Matrix is one of the largest UK manufacturers of pro audio power amplifiers serving the whole market. The range starts at 200W with the ACT Series, through the UKP with outputs from 500W to 2100W, to the STR series with class H outputs up to 3000W. New at the show was a 150W x 4-channel amplifier.
>The UK arm of Penton, the manufacturer of loudspeakers and microphones for the public address, background sound and voice evacuation markets, reports that 2003 has been a bumper year and that business continues to thrive - not something you hear every day in the current economic climate, but perhaps other aspects of today's climate are driving the demand for life safety and emergency systems installations.
>It's been a busy year for Adam Hall as it has taken on the UK distribution of SKB products. General sales manager Rob Fricker said demand for the cases and 19" racks has been high since selling began in April through a network of UK dealers.
>HK Audio's Cohedra is a so-called 'small' line array system, but with aspirations to large venues, having debuted at Hull stadium just days before PLASA. A mid/high and floor-only sub, the system uses a pair of 8" and a single 1.5" compression driver in each high pack, utilizing an acoustic lens to form the necessary coherent wave for the highs. To optimize the acoustic gap between the stacked enclosures, two different housings are required to produce the classic J-shaped hang and hence even coverage across a stadium.
>PLASA was a great success for Allen & Heath, attracting interest in the eight new products launched across its portfolio of ML, GL, Xone, iDR and PA series, impressively displayed on a new two-tier stand. The company's 48-channel version of the ML3000 completed the ML series. The 'B option' enhancement allows for extra stereo channels to be added to any desk in the range. The existing iDR range of installation systems has been expanded with the iDR4 - a 4-input, 4-output digital processor - while for the DJ market the Xone:V6 club mixer now has two new modules giving cross-fade and an EQ Isolator option.
>California-based manufacturer Apogee Sound showed the AFI-8, a new addition to the company's Contractor series of loudspeakers. Designed with theatre and churches in mind, the passively crossed over AFI-8 is available with 60° x 40° or 90° x 40° horn, with a 15" providing the low end, a 2" exit (3" voice coil) compression driver providing the muscle. The AFI-8B is an active, bi-amp version of the above. Apogee also introduced the ADAM (or Apogee Digital Audio Management) system for full remote digital monitoring and configuration of powered, processor-based Apogee speaker systems. With the simple addition of DSP processing modules to existing Apogee APL speakers, the system allows for quick and inexpensive installation using either RS485 or Cat 5 cable. Users can digitally reconfigure their system using a simple drag-and-drop interface.
>The RT Series is a range of three 3-way speakers from Dare Pro Audio. The main actively crossed over mid/high pack uses a 15", 6.5" and a 1" compression driver. A remarkable Wafer version just 220mm deep exists for installation applications. Two sub bass units, both handling 700W, were also on stand - the Vortex218 is a twin 18", whilst the C1400 uses a single 15" into a cabinet designed for room corner installations. Dare also showed a range of attractive metallic and laminate coatings for any cabinet in its range.
Turbosound has added two new models in its TXD Series of passive loudspeakers, launched earlier this year. Aimed at the club, DJ and live performance markets, the TXD Series has already proved to be one of the company's fastest-selling product lines. Launched here at PLASA is the compact TXD-081, a passive 8" two-way loudspeaker and the TXD-252 - a 2 x 15" + 2" trapezoidal combo. Turbosound is also launching a new range of compact sub-bass cabinets, kicked off by the TSB-110. A dual-coil 10" bandpass design, it enables up to six satellite speakers to be connected via the internal passive crossover in a stereo configuration. The TSB-110 is powerful enough to generate up to 125dB max SPL (peak) of sub-bass energy, from an enclosure volume of less than two cubic feet.
In the company's QLight series, the self-powered TQ-308SP is being joined by an all-passive version, the TQ-308. A space-saving, asymmetrical trapezoidal cabinet makes the TQ-308 ideal for installation, as well as rental applications, and also allows it to double as a powerful, but discreet, floor monitor. Finally, the three-way TQ-440, mainstay of the QLight series, has a backwards-compatible performance upgrade which improves HF directivity and optimizes the co-axial driver loading.
Turbosound - Stand EE20
We have seen the UK debut of EAW's KF730 SLAM (Small Line Array Module) and the European introduction of its new DSA (Digital Steerable Array) Series. The SLAM features a six-driver, horn-loaded KF Series design in a compact enclosure. The full-sized mid/high horn fills the entire face of the enclosure, giving broadband 110° horizontal pattern control. The innovative phase aligned LF design extends horizontal pattern control into the LF, while a bi-amplified powering configuration (passive mid/high) reduces total system cost and complexity. A versatile rigging system allows box-to-box angles of 12, 6, 3, and 1.5°. Under normal conditions, the easily hung arrays can cover listening areas ranging from approximately +10° to -70° along the vertical axis. SLAM also allows for array configurations to cover any vertical angle, say EAW. The system made its touring debut in July with Deep Purple.
The new DSA Series simplifies the KF900/PPST technology that allows for the digital steering of an array's output and adapts it to applications where column loudspeakers would typically be specified. Each driver in a DSA Series loudspeaker has its own amplification and DSP. Using EAW's free DSA Pilot software program, users can vary the vertical coverage pattern from 15° to 120°, as well as aim the coverage ±30°. Power is housed in a compact, column speaker-type enclosure that requires no external amplification or processing. Users only need to connect AC power, audio signal and network communications cables.
EAW/Mackie - Stand J80
UK manufacturer Soundcraft has continued its multi-mode console roll-out with the MH3. The new design follows the company's highly successful MH4 console, bringing the benefits of dual-mode operation to a lower price level, achieved through an appropriate feature set and mechanical and electronic designs which reduce manufacturing costs. This console offers an impressive line up of features for its price range, and is sure to find favour with national and regional touring companies, as well as theatres and corporate production companies, who can use one type of console in several roles - for instance, a single MH3 can be used to fulfil both FOH and monitor duties.
Soundcraft - Stand J70
PLASA is the chosen setting for the debut of several new products from the Deco Leisure Group, including the RT Series from its award-winning loudspeaker brand, Dare Professional Audio. The RT Series incorporates the features of the widely-praised Dare Eclipse system, extending the technology into other areas of pro audio.
The three-way portable version of the RT has a neodymium 15" woofer with a horn-loaded Aerogel 6.5" mid-range driver on a Tractrix horn assembly with a 1" compression driver handling the HF. Dare will also show the RT Wafer: featuring the same components as its portable counterpart, this is just 200mm deep, and can be installed, literally, into the fabric of a building. The RT POD (the replacement for the Eclipse Series) is a moulded lightweight mineral composite shell, incorporating a horn-loaded Aerogel 6.5" and 1" compression driver. Also on show will be new products from the Dare Micro Series: the Micro 121 is a 12"and 1" compression driver, and can be flown in any orientation, whilst the Micro 88HP is an 8" woofer with a rotary 1" compression driver on a 90° x 60° horn.
Deco Leisure is also promoting the launch of its new division, QAD, specializing in the distribution of audio products. The first to boast the new QAD badge is a series of power amplifiers and signal processors, ideal for fixed installations and portable applications, boasting a range from 70W per channel up to 1800W per channel. QAD will also feature a range of multi-channel amplifiers, including a 12 x 120W and a 12 x 70W amplifier
The PLASA Awards for Product Excellence were presented yesterday evening after the close of day three of the PLASA Show. With a record number of new technological innovations nominated this year, the judging panel had a tough challenge on their hands.
This year there were five awards categories and 79 nominations, generating £12,000 for PLASA'S nominated charities - Light Relief, PSA Welfare and Benevolent Fund and the Golden Lions Children's Trust. This system has been running for five years now and every penny of the entry fees is donated. To date this scheme has raised almost £45,000 for charitable causes.
The five product categories this year were Lighting, Sound, Stage Engineering, Software (a new category introduced this year), Audio-Visual, and finally an Award for the product with the most environmental considerations. The PLASA awards were presented by PLASA's Chairman, David Hopkins OBE, and were split into two categories, recognizing both Design Excellence and Technical Innovation.
So, to the winners . . .
Lighting: the winner of the Award for Design Excellence is Element Labs for their Versa Tile - the judges felt that this was a well thought out and engineered concept. The Award for Technical Innovation went to Powergems for their HF575P ballast - which was felt to be a well-engineered, no-nonsense approach to ballast technology.
Sound: the Award for Innovation went to Clearcom for its CellCom system. This was noted for being the first truly integrated wireless intercom system. The Award for Design Excellence went to AKG for their WMS
Mackie Designs Inc announced at the PLASA Show yesterday its plan to change its designation from Mackie Design Inc to Loud Technologies Inc. The change is intended to eliminate the confusion between 'Mackie' the company, and 'Mackie' the brand - as well as clarify the positioning for each individual brand under the now Loud Technologies umbrella.
Jamie Engen, CEO at Loud Technologies, said: "As the company has grown, it has become increasingly difficult to differentiate the corporate entity 'Mackie Designs Inc' from the brand 'Mackie'. The change will enable us to more clearly communicate within the financial and business communities while at the same time, allow the brands under the new corporate designation, Loud Technologies Inc, to strengthen their own unique identities and market positions. The transition from Mackie Designs Inc to Loud Technologies Inc will take place over a period of weeks rather than days. It's a change in designation that is intended to bring clarity to our brands and does not indicate a change in ownership, corporate structure, or in day-to-day business operations. 'Mackie' the brand will remain and as such, will have greater clarity and messaging as a result."
Currently there are seven brands in the Loud Technologies portfolio: Mackie, the primary music industry retail brand; Tapco, the entry level retail brand; EAW, high-end sound reinforcement and professional touring; RCF, commercial/industrial sound; RCF Precision, OEM loudspeaker components, and Acuma Labs, embedded software solutions for professional audio.
Digigram will introduce the EtherSound ES8in/8out. These are Ethernet audio bridges which offer an easy, affordable way to install and distribute up to 64 channels of audio using the company's EtherSound technology. The set-up of an EtherSound network is as simple as plugging an Ethernet cable into a socket. EtherSound ES8in transforms up to eight analogue audio signals into as many EtherSound channels and distributes them via a standard Ethernet network, while EtherSound ES8out extracts up to eight digital audio channels from the network and transforms them into analogue audio signals for playback.
Straightforward management software allows the user to route signals, creating a level of flexibility that analogue audio installations often can't match. A single Cat 5 Ethernet cable can replace dozens of traditional audio cables and numerous patch panels and routing matrices.
Digigram - Stand GG80
TC Electronic has launched the EQ Station-8, EQ Station-4, EQ Station-2 and the MotoFader-64 here at Earls Court. Together with a PC/Mac editor, these products form a high-end equalizer system designed for use in demanding touring monitor and FOH applications, as well as fixed installations in theatres and concert halls. The EQ Station range sets a new standard for live sound equalization.
Coming in 2-, 4- and 8-channel configurations, the EQ Stations are all 2U units featuring the best TC quality AD/DA conversion and the most powerful DSP processing. Each channel includes simultaneously: 6-band Parametric EQ, 29-band Graphic EQ, 3-band Dynamic EQ, Brickwall Limiter and Delay. Internally, EQ Station uses 48-bit processing for wide headroom, analog EQ modelling and no compromise processing. Based on state-of-the-art TC technology, the introduction of the EQ Station range provides a new level of performance previously unavailable in the live sound market, sat the company.
Each EQ Station may be operated directly from the front-panel featuring a high quality quarter-VGA resolution full-colour display and multiple direct-access controls, or from the external PC/Mac editor software via standard TCP/IP based Ethernet. The optional MotoFader-64 remote with 29 high-quality motorized faders (lightweight and only 4U) can be used to directly control up to 64 channels of graphical EQ during live-performances.
At the same time, Tannoy introduced the Ellipse iDP - an intelligent active monitoring system, combining Tannoy's Dual Concentric Wideband technology, with the latest digi
DJ Sunday had the judges on the edge of their seats, and the audience on their feet for the Gemini 'Extreme V' DJ Competition at the PLASA Show 2003. Out of more than 100 hopefuls, three would-be champions emerged for the finals having won through the three previous heats. And when it came to the final scratch - there was only eight points in it.
The DJ Sunday's Gemini 'Extreme V' Champion 2003 is Derby DJ 'Angelo' (who previously won the competition in 2001). His accomplished 10-minute demo was in a league of its own, but that is not to denigrate last year's winner Adie who was invited to contend his title. Angelo decided to enter the competition again ' just for the crack and the fun of being involved in the competition.' However the surprise of the night was 16-year-old Jason Abel from Surbiton who particularly impressed the judges with his grasp of the equipment at such a young age.
The panel of judges - including Gemini's managing director Rob Peck, former world champion scratcher 'TRIX'; the legendary 70s DJ John Penny; Gemini DJ Julie Cook and DJ and record producer Adam 'B' - were on the look out for style, musicality and content, entertainment performance skills and, of course, technical ability. Also on the panel were Steve Brown and Lewis Cook who play football for Wycombe Wanderers and vinyl in their spare time! Angelo impressed by really hooking into the audience and matching their mood, finishing his set with a cheeky vinyl moment repeatedly asking 'Who is the number one DJ?' His confidence was well-founded and he took away £500 of Gemini's best DJ equip
One of the high profile audio product launches at this year's show is Shure's brand new ConferenceONE Discussion Systems - its new product line targeted for use in small to mid-size conferences and meetings. Designed specifically for rental companies and sound contractors, ConferenceONE systems feature Shure's industry standard Microflex gooseneck mics and patented IntelliMix automatic mixing technology to deliver high quality audio automatically - in any environment. Attractively designed, ConferenceONE also features an innovative, telescoping, fold-out microphone arm, making the system simple to set-up, use and store.
ConferenceONE systems include one chairman unit, an expandable base of up to 60 delegate units, and a power supply. All units are equipped with a push-to-talk button, an individual loudspeaker and an adjustable earphone jack and are connected via detachable cables outfitted with Neutrik Minicon locking plugs. The power supply includes a linking port to integrate external mixers, additional wired or wireless microphones and an interface for telephone hybrids or video-conference codecs. ConferenceONE systems are quickly set up in a daisy-chain configuration and are easy to operate in either automatic or push-to-talk modes.
With integrated IntelliMix automatic mixing circuitry, ConferenceONEi systems deliver clear and natural audio, virtually eliminating the need for rental companies or sound contractors to monitor meetings and conferences. With IntelliMix's ability to distinguish between speech and background noise, it prevents false triggers from turning
Leading UK audio rental specialists Britannia Row Productions announced at the PLASA Show today the world's first order for the newly unveiled DiGiCo D5 Live FMX package - the complete, front-of-house and monitor digital mixing system as previewed by Brit Row on Robbie Williams' Weapons of Mass Distraction tour this summer. The company is also purchasing a D5 56EX console. Brit Row's Bryan Grant and Mike Lowe joined the DiGiCo team on the show floor this morning to make the announcement, along with suppliers LMC Audio.
The D5 Live FMX gives a full 112 mic inputs on stage, with a worksurface for monitors and a worksurface for FOH, both with their own local DiGiRacks. Three 150m drums of fibre optic cable are provided to allow for a digital split and full redundancy of your fibre multicore. The D5 Live FMX package can also be split into two D5 Live 56 EX packages, maximising rental flexibility. And because it eliminates the need for outboard gear, splitters and multiple line systems, the setup and get out times are reduced to a matter of minutes and a fraction of the truck space of analogue and other digital solutions is required.
For the first time in a D5 Live system, Gain Tracking (patent pending) allows either console operator to change any input gain without affecting the sound balance on either console, and is selectable on each channel independently on each console. Both worksurfaces are equipped with the full dynamics, onboard effects, matrixes and output processing facilities.
Brit Row director Mike Lowe comments: "Our philosophy has always been to offer
Panphonics' Audio Element, making its first appearance at the PLASA Show, is an innovative type of electrostatic panel transducer technology. Based on technology patented by the Finnish company, the elements are thin, flat and very light, as they include no metal structures or magnets. According to the company, the sound field produced by the element is even and the frequency response is excellent with low distortion. The elements also produce an evenly propagating sound front, so the speakers are directive.
The Element has a range of innovative application possibilities: it's ideal from an architectural point of view - the slim, light structure can be integrated as part of a product or surface material and therefore be virtually invisible. It can be made in custom sizes and shapes, and can be covered or painted with any material which allows air to pass through. With Audio Element, users can create as large a loudspeaker surface as they like, simply by adding elements adjacent to one another.
Panphonics - Stand FF74