FX Rentals have taken on distribution of the new range of Taytrix modular acoustic panels. FX Group's technical director Frank Oglethorpe spotted the panels at a recent AES exhibition."They are incredibly light-weight and can easily be stacked for transporting. Once on site they are assembled using a system of slots and straps into virtually any shape the client wants. We have already used them to isolate amplifiers and to build vocal booths." The panels are available for sale or rental and come in three different models - Plexiglas, Fabric and Combination.

Just opened in Central London, the Dali Universe is the world's first permanent commercial exhibition of Salvador Dali's work. More than 500 works of art are on display, complemented by an extensive Celestion sound system throughout all four galleries. Dali Universe is equipped with a multi-zoned audio system featuring 48 Celestion KR2 and 4 SR1 cabinets, installed by Metropolis of West London. "In true Dali style, the exhibition is a fusion of cutting-edge technology and modern art," explains David Allan of Metropolis, "with the walls covered in blackened steel and all the KR2s are mounted above the ceiling. At the entrance, the designer asked for them to be mounted above steel plates to achieve a big, boomy and decidedly surreal effect." There are five different audio sources, including DVD, CD and MPEG, and the system is powered throughout by Metropolis' proprietary-design amplifiers.

Forefront Audio, Blue Box Company and Funktion One collaborated to present an exclusive preview of Funktion One's new production-series Resolution loudspeakers at the Ericsson@Homelands UK Festival VIP arena. The Resolution system was first installed into the Millennium Dome last year and is now being developed into a production series, available for purchase later in the year. For the tented VIP area at Homelands, four Res 9s and eight Funktion One 218 bass bins were installed. The speakers provided more than enough energy for the space - measuring 35 x 15 metres - which by 11pm was sardined with over 1200 revellers. QSC Powerlight amplifiers and new XTA DP224 processors drove the system. Several DJs spun the decks throughout the day and night - Craig Richards, John Beach, John Digweed and Pete Tong among them.

Celestion's Professional Systems division continues to expand, with the addition of two new sales people. Mark Pearcy is taking over responsibility for system sales in the South of England. Previously working with his BSc in Software Engineering at a large manufacturer of IT hardware, Pearcy joined Celestion because of his personal interests: he has a home recording studio and is a semi-pro club DJ. His brief is to develop closer business links with the current network of retailers and installers, and to expand that network within the installation sector. Also new to the company, David Jackson is now handling export sales to Europe, South Africa and Israel. Jackson originally trained as an accountant, but a keen interest in the entertainment business led him on to the sales team of Martin Professional, where he specialised in the club market and later, the live music sector.

The London branch of LMC Audio Systems recently supplied sound hire company, Dimension with the UK's first Allen & Heath ML5000. The company's recently launched dual function ML5000 flagship console has 24 group/aux busses, 8 VCA Groups and 4 band EQ with fully parametric mids. The desk has its first assignment at a corporate event for B&Q under the direction of production company will be PCI.

Ultimate have secured distribution of a brand new range of headphones from the world famous Ministry of Sound. The range of five specialist headphones are the result of extensive trials between IXOS and the Ministry's own DJs and have been tested on the club's sound system. The Club range's three models - dj1001, 10002 and 1003 - feature unique rotating earcups and a foldaway system that makes them extremely compact, whilst the Bedroom range's two models are aimed at those on a budget.

Cambridgeshire-based Ambient Lighting has set up a new pro audio division - Outline UK - primarily to distribute the Italian-manufactured Outline range of loudspeaker, amplification and audio processing equipment. Outline's latest product, the Kangaroo, is an active two- or three-way system featuring a 500W 18" bass cabinet and a 250W pole-mount mid/high satellite. A unique feature of the system is that the mid/high section fits snugly inside the bass cabinet for compact, easy transportation. Outline UK say the system produces excellent sound quality and is suitable for a wide range of applications. The new division will be headed by Dave Finlay, formerly of Celestion International, who brings eight years of experience in the music industry to the role.

Stage Electrics is to install a new sound and lighting system at Winchester's Theatre Royal. The installation is part of a major remodelling of the theatre and will involve completely removing the roof of the building so the lighting bridge can be installed. The company has also designed enhanced FOH lighting positions in the auditorium and, in conjunction with MRP, a new counterweight flying system. The theatre is owned by The Winchester Theatre Fund, a charitable trust and funding for the project, which is due for completion in early 2001, has been raised by the charity and a grant from the Arts Council of Great Britain.

Newquay-based PSD Electronics has completed a sound and lighting installation as part of a £500,000 makeover at the Twilight Zone nightclub in Redruth. The new lighting rig features four of Sagitter's compact Infinity MSZ1200 (Multi Step Zoom) units, which project down onto the minimalist ground floor dance area, as well as onto the sailcloth surrounding the eight moving arms of the flown mechanism. Sagitter Digiflash Pro strobes also feature in the rig. All of the Sagitter lighting was supplied by Multifom Technology. PSD's Dave Charman said that the fittings were "incredibly bright and powerful - they look amazing in this installation."

A new consultancy company has been formed to oversee sound system installations in all areas of professional audio. Sound Savers founder Brian Levine is using the services of Stephen Court to look at sound system quotations and proposals. He told PLASA Publishing: "Over the last few years, we have been asked to look at several quotations for new sound systems in every area from clubs and theatres to stadiums, and were frequently surprised by, not only the choice of equipment, but the prices where we discovered cost reductions could be made without sacrificing sound quality. We were asked to vet some of these quotes, and in many cases, saved the clients several thousand pounds on the final costs." Sound Saver's latest project is a stadium in France where the overall sound distribution was increased by 4dB and the budget for sound reduced by 15%. The company is also working on a new club installation in London to reduce problems with sound leakage.

Digital Audio Denmark's high-end AD/DA converter, the ADDA 2402 is, the company claims, the only converter on the market which is not affected by Aliasing Intermodulation Distortion - an 'invisible' distortion which affects digital audio equipment. Aliasing Distortion normally appears between 20 - 22.05 kHz (at 44.1 kHz sampling) and by itself is inaudible. However, a recent study by independent consultant Richard Black has shown that these a-harmonic frequencies intermodulate with the frequencies in the audible band and create new audible a-harmonic frequencies when reproduced in loudspeakers. Richard Black has made a CD recording to demonstrate Aliasing Distortion, and can be contacted via e-mail: 100115.3701@compuserve.com

Rio de Janeiro-based TV Globo, the largest TV corporation in South America and among the top five in the world, has just taken delivery of a Midas Heritage 2000 console for its brand new live TV broadcast studio. Henry Spong, president of Libor, Midas's distributor in Brazil, was responsible for the sale. "The studio had been using a Heritage 3000 on rental from Gabisom, a local PA company, and was delighted with it," explained Spong. "TV Globo's audio engineer and specifier, Carlos Ronconi, was determined to have a Heritage desk in his studio, so he approached Libor. We lent him our demo Heritage 2000 by way of comparison, and they decided that in fact it was more than adequate for their needs, so they opted for the 2000 which they have ordered with 12 mono and 12 stereo channels."

Following on from the announcement last month of CIE-Audio's UK distributorship for Communications Technology, the company has now announced its UK representation for Radio Design Labs. With a product range totalling nearly 200 units, RDL manufactures a portfolio of application specific modules for audio, video and control.

Marantz Professional has made two important new appointments at its European Head Office at Longford, Middlesex. Russell Wiles joins the company as UK sales representative from TEAC UK, where he was southern sales manager for the Tascam products, while David Atkinson joins the company in the position of sales support from the world of pro audio editorial, as the former product editor at MI Pro magazine.

TC Electronic has appointed Stephan Israël as new international marketing manager. Israël has been involved with the UK audio business for the last 10 years, and has had responsibility for UK sales and marketing since January 1999. He will take up his new role at the TC Headquarter in Denmark from August 1st 2000. Present international marketing manager, Kenneth Ersgard, has decided to seek new challenges outside the audio business after three and a half successful years at TC and will leave his current position on June 15th.

QSC's new 4-channel Digital Cinema Amplifier models (pictured right) and the two-channel DCA3422 have received THX approval from Lucasfilm, which has now passed the entire DCA line for use in THX-certified cinema auditoriums. The seven-model DCA line includes five two-channel models ranging in power from 600 to 1,700 watts per channel (2 ohms). Two 4-channel models, the DCA1824 (450 watts per channel, 2 ohms) and 1644 (400 watts per channel, 4 ohms), are ideal for tri-amped loudspeaker systems, since a pair of channels can be bridged to feed a three-way speaker configuration. All DCA amplifiers feature PowerWave switching power supply technology for added dymanic range, and are equipped with an HD-15 DataPort for interface with QSC's Digital Cinema Monitor (DCM) Series products.

Audio Design Services' sales director, Bill Mackie, has left the company to join forces with Italian PA equipment manufacturer, Paso SpA. The move follows Paso's recent decision to enter the UK market direct, and Mackie will take on the role of general manager. Paso was previously distributed in the UK by Audio Design Services.

Production Resource Group has restructured, combining the PRG Lighting Group and Audio Group into a single operating unit, the Lighting/Audio Group. The two divisions will continue to be branded separately in their individual markets, but will be managed by a single group of senior PRG management. Some of the key elements of the new organisational structure include the appointment of Don Knezovic as the chief operating officer of the Lighting/Audio Group, whilst Steve Terry becomes President of Lighting Systems. Nick Jackson continues as president of Light & Sound Design (LSD) with Jeff Senkovich promoted to the new position of vice-president of Lighting/Audio. Don Stern, chairman of the Lighting/Audio Group, is assuming responsibility for Production Arts' rental sales and operations.

Mackie UK recently held a successful launch party for its new HDR24/96 hard disk recorder, at Metropolis Studio A, the Powerhouse in Chiswick, London. More than 150 industry people attended the event, including Tommy D of Catatonia, Bill Nelson, representatives from Radio 1's Dream team, Martin Rushent from Human League and numerous studio owners and producers. Two HDR demo stations were running throughout the day showcasing HDR alone, and also in conjunction with Mackie's Digital 8 bus mixing console. HDR is a 24 track 24 bit hard disk recorder will full sample accurate waveform editing software built in, which requires no external computer to operate.

Surveillance specialists Arkonia Systems is investing heavily in DPA Microphones 4060 miniature microphones, exclusively supplied in the UK by pro audio distributor Sound Network. The award-winning microphones are primarily used in broadcast and theatre applications, but Arkonia Systems has incorporated them into surveillance equipment which is sold to military and government departments around the world. Arkonia Systems managing director Len Robinson says: "We needed a very small, highly sensitive microphone that was capable of delivering excellent dynamic range and a particular polarisation field." Over 100 DPA 4060s have now been installed in Arkonia Systems patented surveillance equipment. The company is so impressed with the results it is achieving that it is ordering new stock at the rate of approximately 25 a month.

Pro sound amplifier specialist Chameleon Audio Limited of Cinderford, Gloucestershire won the contract to supply the amplifier/speaker combination for the world-famous Vienna Festival which is running from 12 May - 18 June. Chameleon competed with five other world class pro sound equipment manufacturers for the project, with live tests being carried out in a local theatre and in the open air outside the Vienna City Hall. Both classical and rock music were included in the test, attended by the Austrian Broadcasting Commission (ORF) and the Vienna Festival organisers.10 Chameleon 3500 DP2 amplifiers with Adamson Y-Axis speakers carried 25,000W of high quality sound from the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Arnold Schoenberg Choir to an audience of 40,000 outside the Vienna City Hall on the opening night. Alex Schlosser GmbH of Cologne supplied the equipment for front-of-house. The 10 Chameleon amplifiers were fed from two BSS Omnidrive 355 Compact Units and all programming and measurement was by Alex Schlosser.

The newly-refurbished Shetland Island Council building has just received a significant facelift to improve the way the facility is used and to open up the spectacular meeting chamber into a multi-purpose facility allowing it to be used for receptions, dining and weddings. Pivotal to the success of the upgrade was the implementation of the new beyerdynamic wireless conference system, the MCW series, giving the Council full conferencing facilities without the encumbrance of fixed installation. This means that custom modular interlocking furniture could be quickly put into place and the delegate microphone stations simply placed in position without connectors, wiring or fixing. The MCW system was released in the UK just six months ago and the Shetland installation is one of the first major installations and the first time that multi-media installation specialist ADS has used beyerdynamic conference products.

A large TOA paging and sound reinforcement system has been specified to provide the public address throughout the new Weald Sports Centre in Cranbrook, Kent. TOA's commission came from engineering company, Consulting engineers MVM M&E have designed the system around TOA's V-Series equipment, working with E-1231 graphic equalisers and AC-120 loudspeaker controllers. The feature clusters of TOA CS speakers are suspended over the swimming pool and the sports hall, while a pool aerobics system utilises the F-500 Series speakers. In the creche and aerobics room, a portable flight-cased rack system houses TOA WT870 diversity radio mics, a mixer, CD and tape player, which are all on jacks linked back to the amplifiers.

Celebrating the renaissance of Vietnamese art and culture in recent times, the Hue Festival recently took place in Vietnam's Hue city during April. Live sound was engineered exclusively by Allen & Heath mixers which comprised one 32 channel, and two 16 channel GL2200s, supplemented by four MixWizard WZ16s and two WZ20s. Allen & Heath distributor, Nguyen Hoang Company of Ho Chi Minh City, supplied all the equipment.