NYC-based Paramount Events handles both live sound production and installations at a high level – everything from corporate events to festivals and concerts. ‘We also do a lot of installations at churches, clubs and other venues,’ adds company CEO, Rafel Narine.

Staying abreast of technological developments, Narine made a commitment three years ago that allowed him to optimise his live and installed sound systems to a remarkable extent – he began investing in Powersoft.

Narine worked with Murvin Persaud of MD Audio in transitioning his live amp racks to Powersoft. For live sound applications where transportability and reliability are key: ‘The efficiency is a huge upsell for me,’ he says. ‘It always makes sense to use the least amount of cabling and trucking possible, and with Powersoft’s K10 amplifier I was able to cut down big time.’

For the recent ECLIPS Music Festival in Jamaica, Queens – one of New York City’s five boroughs – Narine brought along a full complement of EAW subwoofers, including 32 double 18-inch subs and 14 double 21-inch subs.

‘I ran the whole thing on 16 K10 amplifiers without a single issue during the whole festival. Each K10 amp is replacing a full 12-space rack on my old set-up, so it’s a big difference in trucking.’

For his next event, Narine wants to integrate Powersoft X series amplifiers to run his top loudspeakers for an all-Powersoft rig: ‘My festivals run 12-hours a day, non-stop, middle of summer in all kinds of weather conditions, and to run an amplifier through that and not have an issue – let’s just say before Powersoft that would have been unheard of,’ he says, noting that eight non-Powersoft amps died during ECLIPS. ‘Between the reliability and the efficiency, Powersoft is a no-brainer.’

In addition to K and X series amps for live applications, Paramount has worked with Persaud to avail itself of Powersoft’s Ottocanali amps for fixed installations. Many of these are in churches, which from Narine’s experience can be as demanding as live events.

‘Along with tours, churches keep equipment running the longest,’ he explains. ‘You’re looking at an average of 20 hours a week times 52 weeks for however many years.’ Given the workload, he has encountered reliability issues with past amplifiers before switching to Powersoft. ‘It’s no longer an issue.

‘I had a church contact me because nine amps died all at once,’ he continues. ‘It turns out that there were 130V in the building.’ His initial advice was to have an electrician rectify their voltage problems, but by replacing those amplifiers with Powersoft amps featuring Power Factor Correction allowed him to skirt the issue entirely.

‘The Powersoft amps can handle anything from 100-240V, and it doesn’t matter if it’s reversed, inverted, hot, neutral, the amps always sees the correct voltage,’ he says. He is now downsizing that nine-amp rack to two Ottocanali 4k4 amplifiers, boosting reliability while saving on space.’

Sound quality is also of the utmost importance in church installs, and Powersoft amplifiers have lifted the veil off of liturgical music recordings and other audio that has been in use for years at some locations. ‘After we upgrade to Powersoft, it’s like night and day. My clients are telling me they’re hearing things that they haven’t heard before,’ Narine says. ‘Same songs, same music, same speakers, different details.’

For another of Narine’s church installations, 22 amplifiers were replaced with three Powersoft Ottocanali 4k4 amplifiers. ‘What really boggled the client’s mind was that we went from need a 400A circuit to only needing three 20A circuits,’ Narine says. ‘It almost seems impossible to cut down on power draw that much, but Powersoft makes it possible.’ Aside from saving on electricity bills due to the amps’ current draw, additional savings come in the form of reducing the burden on climate control systems. ‘The amount of heat generated by three amps versus 22 – it’s a huge savings on air conditioning and space with Powersoft.’

Narine is also an avid user of the DSP tools offered on his K series and Ottocanali amps by way of Powersoft’s Armonía software. ‘I maximise the capabilities of the gear,’ he says. ‘Whatever options are in there, I use them. Armonía provides me with tuning, limiting, compression, crossovers, power/voltage limiting, input amperage, and I use it all.

‘My success rate in terms of client satisfaction is 100 per cent with Powersoft,’ he concludes. ‘The sound quality, it has to be up there, and they’re getting that, plus the efficiency and reliability. Some manufacturers are trying to release speakers that are only compatible with their own brand of amp, and that’s out of the question for me. If it doesn’t work with Powersoft I have to step away.’

More: www.powersoft-audio.com

Built as a hospital, De Bijloke in Gent, Belgium, was transformed into a music venue in the 1980s, making it the oldest building in the world to permanently operate as a concert hall. Recently the venue called in integrator Amptec to install a new d&b audiotechnik sound system as part of major refurbishment project.

De Bijloke hosts performances ranging from classical to jazz music to musical theatre. Together with the age of the building, the combined demands of these contrasting genres called for an expert audio solution to guarantee exceptional listening experiences.

The brief presented to Amptec was for a state-of-the-art concert hall with a versatile sound system that would provide even coverage at every seat. Acoustic treatment was a priority, as the wooden roof structure naturally absorb sound and the ancient walls had warped, reflecting most sounds away from the audience.

World-renowned acoustical engineering company Arup – known for their work on Sydney Opera House and parts of the set for Björk’s recent tour among other ventures – managed to create a space that is now ‘tuned’ for use as a concert hall.

Despite the extensive work on the room acoustics installing a sound system into this redesigned space came with challenges – the hall is very long and the wooden roof structure offers limited rigging options for delay speakers.

As part of a tender process, Amptec demonstrated the d&b Y-Series at the hall, generating positive feedback from the Bijloke team and expert guests. ‘We asked Amptec to bring the full system for a demo and invited a select group of sound engineers,’ says Natan Rosseel, Technical and Production Coordination at De Bijloke. ‘We were all overwhelmed by the results.’

Amptec installed the system in combination with an R90 control panel. ‘Our goal was to make daily operation as simple as possible,’ explains, Amptec Project Manager, Brecht Ieven. ‘With the R90, all system parameters can be set at the push of a button.’

‘The main system consists of two eight deep Yi8 line arrays,’ he continues. ‘We used the ArrayProcessing function to optimise both frequency and level distribution for the entire audience area. This use of ArrayProcessing meant we did not need delay speakers, which solved the problem of not being able to fix anything to the walls.

‘Since our official opening in September, we’ve held a lot of socially distanced concerts where visiting sound engineers, artists and the audience have complimented us on the astonishing sound quality. Thanks to the renovation and a perfectly integrated sound system, the city of Ghent now has a concert hall to be proud of.’

Anderson Audio has added an Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) Anna Adaptive System to its inventory. With 16 Anna modules, the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based company regards it as its new flagship loudspeaker system.

‘The new Anna PA won’t replace our KF740 arrays, instead it will give us the opportunity to build a new client base and get work that we haven’t won before,’ says owner Chris Anderson. ‘This PA will allow us to provide solutions that other systems can’t,’ Anderson continues. ‘I believe that we will get festivals and events that we didn’t get before. When investing in something new, you want to make sure it will help grow your business – I am confident this will do exactly that.’

Anna provides Adaptive Performance for a wide range of applications that require exceptional sound quality, high output and precise coverage. In addition, Anna can adapt coverage to any venue geometry in seconds. It’s compact footprint – columns hang straight and array horizontally – and low weight allow it to be used for mobile as well as permanent installations.

Each Anna module includes 14 custom transducers: eight HF compression drivers, four 5-inch MF cone transducers combine, and dual high-power 10-inch LF cone transducers to extend horizontal pattern control well into the lower octaves. Enclosures also have 14 built-in amplifier and processing channels providing independent power and control of each loudspeaker component. 

With Resolution 2 software, Anna can assess 3D coverage of a space, determine processing and configuration for coverage, and then implement this in processing. If coverage requirements change, Resolution 2 can quickly reconfigure and still blanket the area with extremely high fidelity, output and coverage control.

Anderson Audio is a long-time EAW customer. The Anna joins a complement of KF730, KF740 and NTL720 line arrays; SB1000, SB2001 and NTL250 subwoofers, as well as JF and Redline point source systems. 

‘EAW sent out Bernie Broderick and Gino Pellicano out to Harrisburg to train our team on the new system,’ Anderson says. ‘It was exceptional. There are so many audio basics that make the system sound so good, it was fun to revisit them. Plus, the way the boxes combine, it takes advantage of acoustic principles that make it sound so much better than a J-shaped line array. I can’t express how happy we are with this addition to our inventory – we are having conversations with customers that we couldn’t have before. It is sure to help grow business.’

Since opening the Anthology live performance venue in Rochester, New York in 2016, owner Phil Fitzsimmons has strived for the best possible experience for musicians and their fans. Through an iterative process of PA upgrades and acoustical improvements, he has chosen a Fulcrum Acoustic sound system to balance his high standards and economic sense.

‘Sound is the most important element of my business and I wasn’t finding what I was after in the line array-based systems I’d been renting,’ Fitzsimmons explains. ‘Plus, room and PA rentals were adding up to a huge monthly payment. Fulcrum understood my situation and were easy to work with in crafting a smart solution. They helped with acoustical modelling and speaker selection and all but guaranteed they would get my room sounding great.’ 

The system needed to deliver exceptional fidelity, vocal clarity and pattern control to the 1,000-capacity venue from compact loudspeakers that wouldn’t interfere with sightlines or detract from the club’s clean, sophisticated aesthetic. The stage system comprises a pair of Fulcrum AH65 full-range coaxial horns flown as mains above two S dual 8-inch coaxial speakers on the stage lip. Three TS221 dual 21-inch subwoofers are installed into the front of the stage for low frequency punch.

‘As is often the case, the space under the stage was a large void,’ Fitzsimmons says. ‘We were concerned about resonances that could result from subwoofers mounted in this void. To help mitigate these factors, Fulcrum recommended adding framing to reinforce the stage and reduce vibration. Concrete block and fibreglass batt insulation was also used to fill the space under the stage.’  

Onstage, Fulcrum’s Passive Cardioid Technology comes into play with a CSP121 21-inch cardioid sub drum monitor and eight FW15 15-inch coaxial cardioid stage monitors. Two Fulcrum CX1295 12-inch coaxial loudspeakers and an additional set of S dual 8-inch coaxial speakers serve as delay fills to cover the club’s elevated bar and VIP area. 

‘In working closely with Fulcrum on this system, we were very intentional about enhancing the experience of the artists to help them deliver great shows,’ relates Fitzsimmons. ‘Better onstage communication through sophisticated monitoring naturally results in better audience communication in the shared musical experience. Fulcrum had just released the world’s first cardioid coaxial stage monitor, the FW15, and the timing couldn’t have worked out better for Anthology.’

‘While in-ear monitors create a better-controlled stage and make mixing easier, they don’t communicate the bass response and visceral impact of traditional floor monitors,’ Fitzsimmons says. ‘They also can be cost prohibitive for many of our acts. Fulcrum’s FW15 cardioid coaxial stage monitors narrow the acoustical gap between in-ears and floor wedges by minimizing rear low frequency monitor radiation that interferes with stage microphones, front fills and the audience. Musicians coming through have been raving about the FW15’s ability to clean up a noisy stage.’

‘Anthology showcases acts ranging from jazz and country to hip hop and heavy metal,’ says Fitzsimmons. ‘Regardless of musical style, it’s really all about melody and vocals. High-fidelity and vocal clarity are absolutely crucial and Fulcrum’s compact point source solution is the only system that got us all the way there.’

‘Choosing Fulcrum was a price/value decision based on system cost and performance benefits. Their loudspeakers provide better technology in a smaller footprint, a better experience for performers and audiences, and are easier to mix. I can’t imagine why anyone would use speakers based on old technology. We now have the best sound system I’ve ever heard.’

More: www.fulcrum-acoustic.com

Apex has added the Intelli-X3 648 system management processor to its Intelli-X2 series – the first model of the next-generation line, with optional Dante networking capacity for full network redundancy.

With internal processing up to 192kHz, studio-grade analogue circuit design and mastering-grade compressors as standard, Intelli-X3 is a 1U-high unit with a front0panel user interface. It provides the system management tools required for system alignment and EQ, including the provision of IIR and custom FIR-based crossovers. I/Os can be selected (in pairs) to be either analogue, AES/EBU or Dante, enabling a mix of audio formats to be used simultaneously.

Designed for plug-and-play operation, the Intelli-X3 is simple to configure and integrates into any network via internal three-way Ethernet switches. Both automatic IP (DHCP) and static IP configuration is provided as standard, enabling connectivity and more rigid IP assignments for use in fixed installations. SNMP support is also provided. Wireless access points can be directly connected to Intelli-X3 devices allowing direct control over a network.

A comprehensive library of factory presets ensures that Intelli-X3 is suited to any application, as a stand-alone system controller or crossover configured via the front panel, or as a part of a comprehensive wireless networked system for stadium or arena-sized tours.

There are two configuration and control option, depending on application – a completely re-engineered front panel with LCD menu enables direct configuration and on-the-fly parameter adjustment in a highly intuitive smartphone-like environment. Alternatively, Apex’s proprietary software application, Intelli-Ware, provides fast and intuitive control from both portable Touch and Tablet PCs as well as from tethered PCs. The software is accessible from multiple PC devices simultaneously – useful for engineers needing to optimise audio from various locations throughout a venue or festival site for example. The interface mirrors the design of the hardware, where operation is predominantly icon-driven.

Intelli-Ware provides comprehensive system-wide ganging and copy/paste functionality allowing complex set-ups to be easily configured, presented and stored. The Intelli-Ware screen layout is fully configurable and can be sized to match any type of display. Full offline design capabilities enable shows to be prepped offsite.

Intelli-Ware also comes complete with an analyser/bridge feature, which enables control of all commonly used sound measurement tools found in WaveCapture’s Live-Capture and Rational Acoustics’ Smaart 7/8, all directly from within the software.

An optional Dante module provides Audio-over-IP (AoiP) networking capability supporting full network redundancy with ultra-low latency. This automatically prevents any audio loss or interruption in the event of a connectivity problem on the primary network.

More: www.apex-audio.eu

Founded in 1985 by the Young Humanists of Leopoldsburg, Pukkelpop began as a small, local music event before evolving into the three-day outdoor festival that it is today. This year, the organiser behind the Belgian festival called on event support specialist Total-e to supply audio, lighting and room control for the extensive VIP/Press area.

Held outside the city of Hasselt in Belgium, the Pukkelpop attracts around 180,000 festival-goers to festival with a distinctly alternative flavour – the event is not just about music, as the Baraque Futur space hosts lectures and discussions focused on the theme of sustainability. However, with ten stages, visitors are also well served by the festival’s music programme.

The VIP area for such a major event was a large, attractive space with two bars areas covering 250-sq-m. The sound was handled by six d&b audiotechnik Q7 and three d&b D12 loudspeaker systems with everything centrally controlled by an Apex Liviau S system from behind the VIP area bar.

‘When the location coordinator in charge of the VIP area told me that he was looking for an easy-to-use room control system that could be managed by all of the staff and not just trained technician, I knew immediately that Apex’s Liviau S would be the perfect solution,’ explains Total-e events Project Manager, Kurt Verheyen.

‘Once the device is configured, it’s child’s play to operate. Staff were able to control all of the audio and lighting of what was actually quite a complex design with a number of different zones with no trouble at all. It couldn’t have been easier.’

APG has appointed the Genesis Music Group as a Uniline Partner in the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten, bringing the network to 26 partners worldwide.

‘I was introduced to APG in 2010 during a trip to Paris, and when I heard the APG system I was immediately sold,’ says Genesis Music Group CEO and chief engineer, Bertaux Fleming (aka M Rude). ‘I was stunned by the sound quality that was coming out from these small boxes.

‘Performance wasn’t our only criteria, we really value business relationships with our partners and APG has always been very helpful, understanding our needs. They are fast to react and their customer service is absolutely top notch. This gives us extra confidence to grow further as a company.’

Another factor determining the appointment is the design of the products: ‘I value brand identity and APG’s design speaks volume about the passion and expertise put into the products,’ Fleming  says. ‘The design of the boxes is absolutely unique, and the sound is crystal clear and free from distortion. Wherever I plug in an APG system I get praised for the clean sound and I’m guaranteed to provide the eye candy.’

Genesis Music Group started working with APG using four SMX15 monitors and four TB118S subwoofers before buying four more DX15 stage monitors, eight TB118S and TB218S. Recently, a further eight UL201 line array speakers and DMS48 touring racks has joined its stock.

The system was used for the first time for a gospel concert with Michael W Smith. APG Technical Support Manager Mathieu Delquignies gave training on the Uniline system. Eight UL210 in LR configuration were used, along with two TB218S per side and four TB118S in the centre.

More: www.apg.audio.com

Only recently established by Rolf Feldmann, aha-audio has already provided sound services to major concerts and festivals across Germany.

When distribution of APG came to an end in 2015 in Germany, Feldmann moved to keep APG active in the German market, creating aha-audio in January 2016 as exclusive Germany distributor for the French manufacturer. ‘This could be seen by some as a big risk to take, but when you hear the sound that comes out of these boxes, you know that the brand is bound to succeed in this highly demanding market,’ he argues. ‘Plus APG was already a recognised brand in Germany.’

Rental companies including Tonwerk and Sound Light & Design Wesel (SLD) were using APG at the time.

After the ProLight & Sound 2016 show, SLD – having held a large stock of APG speakers since 2010 – ordered 12 Uniline Compact UC206N and six UC206W speakers, and three DA 50:4 high performances class-D DSP amplifiers from aha-audio.

‘The response we get from clients and users is quite simply fantastic,’ says SLD Technical Director, Marvin Feldmann. ‘They love the true sound of the speakers, the fact that you can hear every detail without any sound alteration. Basically, everything you do on the console, the system gives it back to you, which truly is a unique feature that sets APG away from the competition.

‘We first started to hear about APG in 2009,’ he recalls. ‘At that time, distribution was handled by Audio-Technica,. It’s not easy for a speaker manufacturer to penetrate the German market, there’s a whole bunch of great audio solutions around, so APG had to have a competitive edge.’

Feldmann was invited to APG’s headquarters near Paris to audition APG’s DX15 and the Uniline range: ‘We were impressed by how easy the product was to handle, and from a sound perspective, the linearity of the speakers was simply phenomenal,’ he says. Six years on, SLD holds 125 APG speakers including the Uniline Compact range.

The UC range was first put to the test at the StuStaCulum Summer festival in Munich, in front of a crowd of 15,000. Six UC206N and two UC2016W speakers were flown on each side of the stage, along with six TB118S and two TB115S subwoofers. The system’s linearity was noted by international sound designer Christian Siller and Arne Weitzel,  technical director of the Festival, who commented that it was the best sound he had heard on this stage.

Rolf Feldmann recently organised a demo of the Uniline Compact for 30 clients and prospects, and report enthusiastic feedback: ‘I’m confident we can answer any request from the market, from the most complex installations to the biggest festivals.’

SLD has also called on its Uniline and the Uniline Compact range as its main speaker system for Cologne-based band Brings, who performed at the Hansetag for the 775^th anniversary of the city of Wesel, in front of more than 3,000 people.

More: www.apg.audio

French high-end professional loudspeakers manufacturer APG has unveiled the full range of subwoofers from its SB Series.

Comprising the SB110, SB112, SB115-M2 and SB118, the new range is aimed at rental stagers and integrators and share the same acoustic features with the 10-inch SB110 offering 300W, the 12-inch SB112 offering 600W, the 15-inch SB115 offering 1kW and the 18-inch SB118 offering 1.4kW options.

Designed for low to very low frequency reinforcement support for small to high power sound systems, the SB range claims accuracy in low frequency reproduction and precision. The SB110 and SB112 host a ventilated ferrite cone driver, while the SB115-M2 and SB118 feature a Neodymium driver.

More: www.apg.audio

Based at Redhill in the UK, Arena Television has extended its event broadcasting services with the installation of Lawo’s System Monitoring and Realtime Telemetry Solution (SMART) for Broadcast Networks in its newest IP-based OB truck.

The company is already an extensive user of the vendor-agnostic Lawo VSM IP broadcast control system for comprehensive unified workflows across its trucks’ all-IP infrastructure. With vsmSOUL, VSM adds IP orchestration to traditional control functionality, such as vsmTally in a single, fully integrated solution.

‘With the purchase of SMART, Arena Television has a unique capability to extensively monitor and control our equipment while realizing significant operational benefits’, explains Dafydd Rees, Deputy Director of Operations at Arena Television. ‘One of the challenges that we intend to solve using SMART is offering operators an ability to easily monitor IP media streams across the IP network. It will plug the gap between traditional, well understood, video and audio monitoring tools and network switch monitoring, coalescing the two in a simple dashboard and providing unique insight into the media streams as they pass through the network. It will also allow engineers to proactively detect and diagnoses faults before they occur thereby further increasing the quality of the service that we provide to our customers.’

Lawo’s SMART range includes the smartDash System Monitoring and Realtime Telemetry, vendor-agnostic enterprise software for network and media visibility across an all-IP, all-SDI or hybrid WAN/LAN broadcast infrastructure, and the smartScope Deep Packet Inspection & Network Analyzer, a media-agnostic, high-density 24/7 analysis platform for IP flows in live production and delivery. smartDash provides a complete overview of a network and media streams. smartDash derives media network data, comprehensively documents network and supporting infrastructure. smartScope processes data packets for service compliance and analyzes the condition of the delivery network for clear demarcation between delivery and processing, reducing ‘meantime to repair’.

More: www.lawo.com

ARX has appointed Beirut-based Sparks Audio as its exclusive distributor for Lebanon.

‘We decided that Sparks Audio with its many years of experience in the pro audio installation and production industries was the ideal partner to grow the market and user base for ARX’s digital and analogue product range in Lebanon,’ says ARX MD, Colin Park. The company is run by a group of sound engineers that has been active in the pro audio industry in Lebanon for more than two decades, is are well known for its work on local and international shows.’

‘ARX fits perfectly into Sparks Audio product portfolio, and will be of great interest to our dealers and end-users,’ adds Jean Gibran, a partner in Sparks Audio.

ARX joins a distribution portfolio that includes Avalon Design, Telefunken, Black Lion Audio and Auratone

ARX products feature heavily in making of a coming Coke StudioTV series in Papua New Guinea.

Supplied by long-time ARX users, Port Moresby-based Six8eleven Video Productions, the ARX audio equipment list includes MSX 48 16-channel splitters that share feeds between the monitor mix, multitrack recording set-up and back-up audio recording. ARX DIs are used on across the band’s instruments and a Blue DI Bluetooth Direct Box is used for background music replay during breaks.

Coke Studio PNG is a new Papua New Guinean television series that features live studio music performances by various local artists. The show covers various musical stryles, from diverse local culture to contemporary hip-hop, rock and pop music. Inspired by the Indian/Pakistan Show of the same name, initial viewer response indicates it’s destined to be one of the most popular music programmes in Papua New Guinea for many years.

Season 1 of Coke Studio PNG was recorded in the Stanley Hotel ballrooms in Port Moresby and premieres on TV Wan, Papua New Guinea’s largest TV network. Artists featured include Melanfunk, Betty Tamanabae, Richard Mogu, Pius Wasi, Chris Kasaimus, George Telek, Moab String Band, Garamut, Martin Rawali, Emma Richards and Sprigah Mek.

More: www.arx.com.au

Ashly Audio has released digiMix24, a versatile, compact 24-channel digital mixing console with integrated signal processing and effects and iPad remote control for worship and educational facilities, auditoria, gymnasia, performance spaces and project studios

The digiMix24 features 24 inputs (including 16 class-A mic/line inputs); up to 14 mix buses; eight aux outputs, eight channel inserts; 33 channels of dynamics and EQ; and two stereo effects processors with reverb, delay and chorus.

The control surface incorporates a seven-inch colour LCD touchscreen, intelligent metering, and motorised faders, while system management software saves, loads and  copies mixer set-ups. Optional, field-installable cards provide Dante connectivity or a USB interface for easy multitrack recording or playback.

‘The digiMix24 combines the feel of a traditional analogue mixer, the intuitive control of digital systems that we’ve pioneered in the work with our Ashly Protea DSP units, and the conveniences and flexibility of a recallable digital mixer, with build quality, sound quality, and a price point that make it the obvious choice,’ says Ashly Director of Sales, John Sexton. ‘It offers two modes – a normal technical mode with all of the depth and flexibility that an audio professional would expect and an EZ-Mode for non-technical users in schools or churches. The digiMix24 pairs with a companion iPad App that allows remotel setting of stage monitor levels and mixing from around the venue.’

More: www.ashly.com

ASL Intercom has released Enchorus, a Dante-based audio network promising flexible and scalable solutions for live stage applications, production studios and other professional A/V installations.

Each of the four modules in the Enchorus series was designed for stage use, with guaranteed synchronisation across multiple switches. With various AES3 and analogue audio inputs and outputs, the modules intended for feeding analogue and digital power amplifiers, connecting effects devices in a side rack, monitoring, press feeds, and many other uses.

Each Enchorus module is equipped with two Ethernet ports for building redundant network paths or for daisy chaining, an integrated 16x16 mixer, a four-band equaliser on each input and output, and redundant power. The modules also include rubber bumpers that allow them to be stacked on stage easily and safely or, as an option, multiple units can be rackmounted.

The flagship Enchorus ENC 1201 provides eight high-quality mic inputs with a maximum input level of +24dBu, more than 152dB of dynamic range, a built-in mixing engine, and an internal four-way splitter with individual level, phase, and filter settings.

Configuring Enchorus modules is via an integrated web interface. Units connected to the network can be named and configured easily, all the way down to filter settings, and device configurations can be stored, imported, and exported to reduce set-up time for installations of any size.

‘Enchorus line meets the highest performance and durability requirements for use in a broad range of live production environments,’ says ASL Intercom MD, Wil Stam. ‘The network-based Enchorus I/O modules can be conveniently located close to performers to provide the necessary inputs and outputs for any situation. And, since Dante uses conventional IP networks, configuration is quick and easy – lowering costs and facilitating efficient network design for professionals on tour.’

More: www.asl-inter.com

Offering high-quality audio recording in mid-coast Maine, the new Expanding Sky Studio is centred in a 36-channel Audient ASP8024 Heritage Edition mixing console. ‘I’ve had a number of project studios in post industrial buildings as well as home studios, but my dream was to one day be able to afford to build a professional world class recording studio,’ says studio CEO, Michael O’Connell. ‘That dream has been realised.’

Designed by Greg Morris studio design company, FM Designs, Expanding Sky Studio was ten months in the making, and comprises a live room, iso room, control room and a lounge for artists and guests. The entire 1,700sq-ft of is part of the larger Fort Andross Mill Complex in the town of Brunswick.

O’Connell and the studio team of producers and mix engineers aim to serve the local arts community. The choice of mixing desk is part of that. ‘We feel the Audient will be our secret weapon in music production,’ O’Connell says. ‘We are thrilled to have it as our centrepiece, and hope to have many a year of running great-sounding music through it.

The console feeds soffit-mounted Quested main monitors, along with ATC 25s mid-fields and Focal Solo B6s for close-fields. Avatone Mix Cube loudspeakers are additionally for ‘reality checking’ mixes.

Although not averse to working in the box, O’Connell terms himself an ‘analogue guy’. ‘We are a hybrid studio using Logic Pro as our DAW of choice but output to the Audient for analogue goodness as well as using a number of high-end outboard gear all in the analogue domain. Integrating our outboard gear with the board is straightforward, and the added stereo returns on the console is a really nice touch, saving us channels on mixdown.

‘The Audient is a dream as far as connectivity, routing options and clarity of functions. The mic preamps are clean, transparent and sound great. The John Hardy 990C+ summing amps, along with the mix bus compressor, really add some weight and glue at mix down.

‘I love having 24 buses and 12 aux sends – great flexibility there,’ he adds. ‘I especially enjoy the splittable EQ which you can use together if one wishes.’

O’Connell himself is a composer, engineer, songwriter and musician and, and offers both instruction in audio production the opportunity for local talent to make professional recordings of their music in a world-class studio. ‘We have a community high school outreach programme and are dedicated to discovering and aiding local aspiring artists,’ he says.

Thanks to a connection with producer Trevor Horn, the doors that used to be in London’s SARM (Basing Street) studios now grace Glasgow’s new Morsecode Studios.

Morsecode Studios owner Brendan Moon says the large studio space (which ‘felt big enough to play five-aside in’) was designed around the recording of Paul Epworth and Gun’s second album for Universal/Caroline, Favourite Pleasures. ‘We knew we’d have to record a drum kit in a big room all micked up properly, in a very old-school way. We also knew that there were going to be guitar and bass playing live alongside the drummers, so we would need isolation booths, or guitar modelling set-ups, for which we had one of the first Fractal axFX set-ups in the UK.

Central to the studio’s control room is one of the very last ‘classic’ ASP8024 desks to leave the Audient factory – Moon and in-house engineer/producer Liam McCluskey agree that the desk ‘has worked out very well’.

The studios’ design was a collective effort between Morsecode’s team, sound engineer Simon Bloor, Cameron Gower-Poole (Dua Lippa, Ellie Goulding, Little Mix) – also mix engineer from SARM Music Village (SMV) – and Metropolis engineer Ian Gore. ‘Ian was particularly helpful in assisting us with designing cable runs, as we decided they were all going to be old-school analogue, with miles of copper cable running through the walls,’ Moon says.

‘We couldn’t have done any of this without a mixing desk capable of handling a multitude of effects from different areas,’ he continues. ‘Right now in the studio we have a guitar area with lines going through to a separate isolation booth to a selection of vintage amplifiers both bass and guitar, a dedicated keyboard area, all of which are ready at any point for visiting musicians or bands to fire up. I can’t imagine doing any of this without a proper mixing desk.’

The British console gets the nod of approval across the board: ‘Cameron had trained on a similar Audient console as an audio student in London; for me it was an easily understandable layout, with all the facilities that we needed to run a studio with an analogue vibe and professional sound.’

Lewis Capaldi and rock band, Gun still rehearse in the large space after being the first to record here, and since then the Audient console has been clocking up studio hours recording King King (British Blues Band of the Year), a full album with solo artist Baz Moore, as well as local up-and-coming acts Stephanie Cheape (SMA Scotland’s Best Unsigned Act 2017) who recently headlined the Scottish venue King Tuts.

‘Morsecode Management client, Natasha Cook Jenkins has just hit 10m views on YouTube from her EP that was recorded in the studio, and we’re working on another joint project with the guys at SMV: a new Glaswegian group not a million miles away from the Black Eyed Peas called the Pretty Machine, which will be released some-time next year,’ says Moon, listing the studios’ growing number of successes.

Moon describes as those main soundproof doors ‘his most prized possessions’, salvaged from the old SARM Basing Street. ‘It’s nice to have a bit of history, knowing that everyone from Grace Jones, Led Zepplin, Free, Bob Marley, Live Aid, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Drake, Rihanna and Trevor Horn have all walked through these very doors to make their recordings,’ he says. ‘We should put up a sign, but we haven’t done that yet.

‘It’s only been this summer that we have opened our doors to the general public to be able to book the studio and we have been impressed by the number of customers we’ve had, both from record labels and local bands. The studio was kept a bit of a secret, but we felt now was the time to let it be known to the wider musical public.’

Audinate has announced Dante firmware 4.1, bringing AES67 support to the Ultimo UXT audio networking chipsets.

The Ultimo UXT chipsets bring Dante audio networking to two- and four-channel count products, and is currently implemented in hundreds of A/V products, including powered speakers, microphones, A/V wall plates, amplifiers, paging stations, personal monitoring systems, recording interfaces, intercoms, and analogue/digital break-in/break out interfaces. This Dante Ultimo firmware update now adds the ability for these products to send audio streams to other non-Dante products that use the AES67 standard.

Audinate released AES67 support last year in its Dante Brooklyn II, Dante Broadway, Dante PCIe, Dante MY-16, Dante HC, and Dante IP Core products. The Dante platform is the dominant audio networking technology that has been adopted by more than 400 A/V manufacturers, and implemented in more than 1,400 commercially available products.

‘The addition of AES67 to Ultimo UXT reflects Audinate’s commitment to add support for new standards to the Dante platform,’ says Audinate SVP of Marketing & Product, Joshua Rush. ‘In particular, in the broadcast industry we want to make sure that our OEM partners and their customers are able to enjoy the benefits of the complete Dante solution while also maintaining compliance with industry standards for interoperability.’

Underscoring Audinate’s support of new standards within the Dante platform, the company is also announcing support for SMPTE 2110 across the entire Dante platform.

More: www.audinate.com

Asked to specify a microphone rig for use by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG) and Ex Cathedra, Richard Meredith has delivered a system based around a selection of DPA mics.

Director of London-based pro audio and live sound specialists The Audio Dept, Meredith devised a portable set-up to travel between several venues used by the three groups, including Birmingham’s Town Hall, Symphony Hall and The CBSO Centre, and used for other recording duties in the venues, too.

At the heart of the rig is a stereo pair of d:dicate 2011A Twin Diaphragm Cardioid Microphones. These are mounted on flown DPA UA0387 stereo bars, chosen to provide visual markings for differing stereo set-ups. The pool of recording equipment available to the three groups includes eight d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphones with clips to suit different orchestral instruments, four d:screet 4060 Miniature Microphones for recording instruments or speech and another pair of 2011As that can be used as a secondary pair.

‘The three bodies involved wanted an audio and video recording set up that would allow them to capture behind the scenes interviews, rehearsals and performances for their archives and for online content,’ Meredith explains. ‘I was charged with delivering the audio component and my main criteria was to ensure consistently high quality sound, regardless of which venue they were using.’

He chose DPA microphones for their ability to deliver sonic quality and as a trusted and respected brand, particularly amongst the classical fraternity. ‘With DPA, you know that the audio quality will always be exceptional and that everyone will be happy with the results they deliver,’ he says. ‘This was especially important because the rig is shared, and will be used by a number of different house and visiting engineers.’

Designing the hardware to mount the d:dicate 2011A Twin Diaphragm Cardioid Microphones proved quite a challenge as each venue had different dimensions and several stage layouts.

‘Apart from ensuring the microphones were in the right place to capture the best possible sound, for differing sizes of ensembles, I also had to make sure the whole rig was simple and quick to install so that anyone could use it,’ Meredith says. ‘There were a number of health and safety issues to overcome in terms of weight loading and so on, but what I devised was a system of wire drops that could be easily adjusted depending on where they were positioned in each auditorium. Getting the wire lengths correct from the room dimensions and differing rigging points required some careful mathematics but I am delighted to say they worked perfectly first time.’

The recording rig is now in regular use and has already been used to capture a number of performances.

Providing sound reinforcement services in the central coast area of California, Mike Bacciarini’s Audio Flair opened for business in 2004 with an Allen & Heath GL2200 analogue mixer. More recently, he has purchased a Qu-24 digital mixer with an AR2412 AudioRack. 

‘Allen & Heath makes great sounding, reliable gear and with the Qu-24, I don’t need to carry around a 120-ft, multichannel analogue snake and a signal-processing rack,’ Bacciarini says. ‘I can do most shows with the Qu-24 and an amp rack. Everything’s onboard the mixer except my CD player.’

Audio Flair serves events ranging from concerts and fund-raisers to festivals, civic events and worship services. Bacciarini often preloads shows into the Qu-24 based on a stage plot and mic list, and he saves Qu-24 scenes to use as starting points for future events with repeat clients and venues. Each scene stores the FOH and monitor mixes, and DSP effects used on individual channels or on the mix as a whole.

‘The Qu-24’s built-in effects are great,’ he reports. ‘I don’t use a separate FOH rack any more. And the AR2412 puts all of my inputs on the stage so I just need a Cat5 cable.’

On request, Bacciarini records events with the Qu-24’s multitrack Qu-Drive using the mixer’s softkeys as start/stop/record buttons. He also makes good use of the mixer’s Qu-Pad app for remote control. ‘It’s very cool,’ he says. ‘I can use my iPad to mix from anywhere in the house and even walk up on stage to adjust the monitors.

‘Sonically and artistically, the Qu-24 is great,’ he reflects. ‘It’s got plenty of headroom and there’s no ‘digital sound’. Coming from an analogue background, the Qu is impressive and very usable, and the Allen & Heath training videos are great. It couldn’t be any easier than this.’

Viable distribution of multichannel Audio-over-IP for Live and Interactive 'voice talent' based gaming using high-quality, low-latency audio codec technology