Powersoft, a world-leading manufacturer of professional power amplifiers, will present a two-hour training session at this year’s AES@NAMM Pro Sound Symposium: Live & Studio. The course will cover Powersoft’s ArmoníaPlus System Manager – an update on Powersoft’s Armonía Pro System Manager audio design environment software, which has been adopted by some of today’s leading loudspeaker manufacturing companies.

The session will be held in the Hilton Anaheim, Level 4, C2, on Saturday 26 January from 12-2pm.

Sound Design Re-envisioned: ArmoníaPlus System Manager

Powersoft’s Rick Woida, US application engineer, will lead the ArmoníaPlus portion of the training session and will cover topics such as software navigation, designing a large line-source system, preset creation and interactive tuning.

“The good old pink noise and multi-microphones methods to measure and set up a system are gone.” states Powersoft System Engineering Managers Luigi Chelli.

Luigi Chelli

The ArmoníaPlus System Manager is an update on the Armonía Pro System Manager audio design environment software, modified for greater ease-of-use, efficiency and system flexibility to provide remote group control and sound monitoring in real time with the full range of Powersoft products.
“We’ve rethought Powersoft’s Armonía Pro System Manager with the goal of making it even easier to use – and easier for loudspeaker manufacturers to employ in their own systems,” Woida said. “With ArmoníaPlus, we have completely redesigned the software to make it the most efficient audio design environment on the market today.”

A screen capture of Armonia showing phase and magnitude.

Featuring a new and improved, intuitive user interface, ArmoníaPlus makes it easy to set up and manage complex sound systems. With ArmoníaPlus, every operation now takes place on the loudspeakers, providing multiple ways to link and audition various presets on the fly from a dedicated window.

Remo Orsoni

Training courses will be conducted by Powersoft System Engineers Luigi Chelli and Remo Orsoni.

For loudspeaker manufacturers, ArmoníaPlus lets OEMs display a system based on Powersoft amp modules as their own, enabling OEMs to support their own brand identity while providing a powerful environment created by Powersoft. ArmoníaPlus has already been adopted by a variety of preeminent loudspeaker manufacturers.

T Series Brings Powersoft Quality to Rental Market

Klas Dalbjörn, product manager at Powersoft Audio, will also give a presentation on the new Powersoft T Series – a set of ultra-reliable and efficient amplifier platforms, which make Powersoft’s renowned audio quality and functionality available to the rental market.

“We’re setting the new benchmark for the type of reliability and audio performance you can expect from a product at this price level,” Dalbjörn said. “The T Series is Powersoft’s solution for rental companies with small to medium-size sound systems, and it features next generation processing and networking capabilities, but at lower price point.”

The T Series will be also introduced during a press conference that will be held Thursday 24 January at 1pm at Powersoft booth located 17701 – ACC North, 2nd Floor.

Useful reminder: AES@NAMM Pro Sound Symposium: Live & Studio is presented by Audio Engineering Society (AES), in partnership with The NAMM Show. This exclusive, four-day international education and training program is targeted at working professionals in live sound, recording and performance audio.
The four-day symposium comprises of a series of premier training academies and related technical sessions, provided by a dedicated team of topical specialists and experts to create a unique, new learning format that will appeal to career veterans and aspiring audio professionals.

For more information on AES@NAMM, please visit this page.

For more information on Powersoft Armonia Pro Audio Suite.

California metalcore band Atreyu released their seventh album, named In Our Wake last October then promptly hit the road on a 27-date U.S. winter tour to promote it. Lighting designer on the outing was Megan Alksninis who had a large Elation floor package supplied by JDI Productions at her disposal.

“A big part of the physical design came from drummer and vocalist Brandon Saller,” explains Alksninis, who also programmed the lighting and served as lighting operator on tour. “He had a clear vision on how the stage was going to be set up. Once the design was set it was a full collaboration to create the final show design. It was one of the best experiences I’ve had designing a show.”

Atreyu’s fast-paced music drives the lighting and the design throughout the show, says Alksninis, with a mix of strobes, subtle color chases and even a mirror ball or two. The lighting package consisted of 30 compact ACL 360i™ and 6 DARTZ 360™ LED moving heads along with 8 Cuepix Blinder WW2s™ and 4 Protron 3K Color™ strobes.

“Metal can easily get stuck with a lot of strobes and little front light,” Alksninis says. “I tried to find the balance between having that but also allowing the audience to see and participate with the band. The chorus almost always had a unique color chase and occasionally blinders.”

Pipes surrounding the stage

A total of 6 pipes surrounded the stage with lighting working off the set each show depending on the stage size. From the back of the drum riser the pipes were positioned as a V with three on each side of the stage. The pipes held different configurations of lights but all had at least one type of each fixture.

Each pipe held five of the super small ACL 360i units grouped together mid pipe with a DARTZ 360 mounted on top. The designer comments, “The large amount of small beams fit any stage. Having a full LED rig was important to me because it meant the package would be cohesive between any color chases. The Dartz and 360i’s worked perfectly together. The DARTZ were used differently in each song, for example beams zoomed in/out, with gobos, or with prisms. For a small LED light they really out shine almost every other light.”

Alksninis says she was able to create unique looks with the variety of Elation lights she was carrying. “My favorite was using gobos in the DARTZ to sweep over the crowd. The Protron color strobes also worked incredibly well as wash lights,” she said, adding that it only took four to enclose the stage in color.

Great crowd light

The designer scattered the Cuepix Blinders across the pipes as a traditional blinder effect. “Atreyu involves the crowd and talks before certain songs so it was important to have a great crowd light,” she said. “It was also fun to make dimmer chases with them for a certain part of the show.”
This was JDI Productions’ and Alksninis’s first time working with Atreyu, a collaboration that left the designer appreciative of the opportunity. “I want to thank everyone in Atreyu for trusting me and welcoming me into their family, my JDI team for teaching me and always having my back, and Elation for the support and recognition,” she concludes.

More info on Elation Professional lighting products.

Zhang Jie (张杰), also known as Jason Zhang, is a musical phenomenon in China. His Future Live show is a theatrical masterpiece, and as well winning praise for the human elements of music and dance, it has been termed a ‘comprehensive showcase of new technology’, with the incorporation of a large L-Acoustics K Series PA system as well as a huge ‘ice’ LED screen, advanced mechanical staging and lighting effects.

Sold out in 2 1/2 minutes

Zhang Jie started out on the My Show TV talent contest in 2004 and has since released 12 studio albums. His latest Future Live tour has filled stadiums across the nation, including a show at the Beijing National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) for 80,000 fans, which sold out in just over two and a half minutes and set new records for a live streamed event via Tencent with over 100 million viewers.

Mr. Zhang Jing was the Monitor Engineer for Future Live and describes the evening at the Bird’s Nest Stadium as an ‘undreamed-of success’. “It was mind blowing,” he says.
“With spectacular lighting, and an amazing sound system. Zhang Jie delivered the best performance on stage, while the L-Acoustics system delivered the ultimate sound. The coverage was excellent, which is never easy for such a large-scale production, with audiences in the tens of thousands.”

Nicknamed the Bird’s Nest Stadium due to its highly recognizable and unique architecture, China’s Beijing National Stadium includes a huge concrete inner bowl and a 45,000 tonne steel mesh roof. The design was awarded in 2003 to a submission from the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron.

It originated from the study of Chinese ceramics, implemented steel beams in order to hide supports for the retractable roof, thus giving the stadium the appearance of a bird’s nest. Leading Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was the artistic consultant on the project. Measuring 330m x 220m, even with the inner acoustic membrane, the sheer size of the venue meant that coverage and control were always prime concerns for the crew.

The solution was a substantial L-Acoustics K Series deployment comprising over 200 loudspeakers. The main PA system consisted of stereo hangs of 12 K1 cabinets with three Kara modular cabinets, stereo hangs of 12 K1-SB subs, LR stacks of eight SB28 subs, and eight stacks of three Kara cabinets as distributed front fills. Two hangs of eight K1 and three K2 were used for outfills, and additional distributed systems consisted of five stacks of four K2 elements on chariots, plus two flown arrays of six K1 and three K2, and six flown arrays of eight K2 elements.

“We definitely got the most out of the system,” says Zhang Jing. “We achieved the full fidelity the loudspeakers are capable of, which allowed us to maximise the listening experience for the audience. “With a well-designed solution and accurate installation, L-Acoustics gives excellent quality sound and creates a perfect atmosphere for the audiences – even in such a large venue.”

More info on L-Acoustics’ K1 and K2 systems.

Between eight and nine million people walk through the doors of the Musée du Louvre (aka The Louvre) every year, easily making it the most visited museum in the world. Not surprisingly, given the volume of visitors this renowned Parisian venue draws, anyone lighting a private event within its walls has to operate on an extraordinarily tight setup schedule.
This is one reason why Martin Symul and his team at MSL (Sprimont, Belgium) elected to light a recent gala at the home of the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and other great works of art with CHAUVET Professional WELL Fit uplighting fixtures.

“I know the product quite well,” said Symul. “The WELL Fit is interesting because it is an autonomous stand-alone fixture with no ground wiring – better for safety — and it does not require much installation time. Doing an event at a venue like this one, you are not given much time for installation. We arrived on the site Tuesday afternoon, only two hours before the arrival of guests.”

Despite the short setup time, guests who arrived at the event (a 60th anniversary celebration for the DEF Network group of fire prevention companies) were treated to a stunning and stylishly designed setting for their gala. This was evident to them as soon as they entered the reception area via a spiral staircase and encountered a vista of richly saturated blue light from 90 WELL Fit fixtures.

“We positioned the WELL Fit uplights in the mezzanine and in the reception area to set an elegant mood with uplighting,” said Symul. “The fixtures were static. They did not change colors. We went with a single shade of very attractive blue that matched the client’s logo, and used it to colorize columns and walls throughout the room.”

The WELL Fit fixtures did more than set the right mood in the room with their vividly colored light, they also blended well with the architectural features of the stylish reception area, thanks to their reflective chrome housing. With their 8-hour battery life, the WELL Fit units also had no trouble lasting the entire evening, adding a touch of beautiful color that made this special event at The Louvre more memorable for all who attended

More info on Chauvet Professional Well Fit

DPA Microphones is pleased to announce the appointment of Music & Audio Solutions & Services as its new distributor in the Philippines, with immediate effect and across all markets including live sound, House of Worship, broadcast, pro audio, film and theatre.

Dominic Tsang and Jun Fernandez.

Founded in 2007, Music & Audio distributes products for a wide range of manufacturers involved in the sound reinforcement and musical instrument industries. Brands such as Korg, VOX, Smarvo and Lava Cable are included in the company’s roster. Music & Audio’s philosophy is to provide premium, cost-effective solutions for the most demanding music-making and sound enhancement needs.
Thanks to a strategic partnership with Audiophile Components Inc. –the largest pro audio distributor in the Philippines with a total of 70 dealers/contractors nationwide –DPA products will now be available through 12 Audiophile branches in and around Manila.

Commenting on the appointment, Dominic Tsang, DPA’s APAC Area Sales Manager, says:“We are pleased to have found an experienced partner in the Philippines and I am confident that with its solid knowledge and local expertise, Music & Audio will be able to serve our current and future customers promptly, efficiently and in the best way possible. By having Music & Audio as a partner, we are ready to expand our sales network to different market segments and capture the full potential of the Philippines.”

Jun Fernandez, Managing Director of Music & Audio, adds: “DPA is a technology leader in the pro audio market and a company with a strong product development team. In recent years they have launched numerous cutting-edge products to different sectors including Broadcast, Film and Theatre.

Music & Audio Solutions Services team during DPA training.

“To offer the best audio solutions to our customers, we only sell products that we love and want to use ourselves and this is especially the case with DPA microphones.
Their sound is so real and natural, which is the most important element for miking because microphones are the first part of the signal chain and the one place where you don’t want any coloration or distortion of the sound.

We’re excited to be a distributor for DPA and believe that DPA’s products will generate synergy with our existing brands.”

More info on DPA microphones.

Ready, steady … go! New dancing partners IRB 6620 and ‘Benke’ Rydman.

As the worlds of humans and machines collide and the relationships between nature, technology and artificial intelligence become daily more inextricably intertwined … urban dance impresario Fredrik ‘Benke’ Rydman made this mutually dependent alliance the subject of his amazing “Varoffer” performance, which has just completed its run at Stockholm Kulturhuset Stadsteater in Sweden.

Two radically different and beautifully fluid pieces made up this seminal work – the first a 40 minute ‘solo’ performance by Benke dancing with an industrial robot to a specially composed new soundtrack by Johan Liljedahl and Carl-Johan Rasmusson; and the second comprising 20 synchronised street dancers moving to Stravinsky’s ‘Rite of Spring’ in 5000 litres of water with a massive mirror suspended above the stage bouncing their images back into the audience to appreciate their symmetry and formation skills.

Splashing effect for the Rite of Spring.

Imaginatively lit by Palle Palme, Robe BMFL Blades, LEDWash 1200s and ColorSpot 700E ATs together with other luminaires all played a vital part in this breath-taking show which took the concept of performance art and technology to new levels.
Palle has worked with Benke since 2003 when he was in the Bounce Streetdance Company including for their global hit “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” which toured worldwide, plus several other invigorating projects which always push creative boundaries due to Benke’s ability to think out-of-the-box and take audiences on extraordinary journeys!

Palle joined the Varoffer creative team around 9 months in advance, and the initial discussions with Benke involved an in-depth outline about how the show should look. They established a workshop complete with scenery and lighting fixtures several months before the opening which allowed them to experiment with various products and techniques.
Palle – who frequently uses Robe products in his design work – knew well in advance that he would have to use the Stadsteater’s house lighting rig as they play in rep and therefore change shows most days.

Benke and the Robot vs The Rite of Spring

Don’t try that at home (or at work, as it is).

Both acts of the piece played in specific areas on the stage – Benke and the Robot performed in an area approximately 8 metres in diameter, while the Rite of Spring dancers occupied a space around 12 metres on a custom 5 cm deep carpet filled with a 3 cm draft of water on which they slided and glided.

Palle used two of the 11 BMFL Blades as low side and front light, with five BMFL Blades on LX bar 0 also for front lighting, and four of the fixtures on the over-stage trussing. The 24 x LEDWash 1200s were also dotted around on the overhead trusses, while the older ColorSpot 700E ATs – among the theatre’s original purchase of Robe fixtures – were hanging in side-stage positions.

The first act with Benke and the Robot was extremely intense, and all the Robe units were used very sparsely, primarily one BMFL Blade at a time for back-light, catching Benke and the Robot in the path of the cross beam, gently fading in and out in rhythmic harmony with the music and the movement. Palle confirms that he would have chosen BMFL Blades even if they had not been part of the house lighting rig – “for the trim height, we needed something powerful and flexible, so it hit the spot”.

Water-mirror effect for the Rite of Spring.

For the second act more lighting came into play, although Palle had to be extremely strategic in where these sources were positioned … because anything placed overhead reflected and refracted off the mirror above the ‘pool’ of water!

He utilized the lighting budget to have twenty special low-rise side-lighting towers built, accommodating a total of 120 static profiles which allowed him to hit the dancers in the pool in a variety of different coloured whites without catching the water in the light. Some of these had super tight shuttering so only arms or legs were caught in the highlights, all adding to the sense of suggestion and mystery.

The challenges of lighting Varoffer included the diverse nature of the two acts with almost no changeover time … both needing totally different lighting treatments. “I had to be smart with how I used the whole rig, and which elements could be used in both acts” he says, adding that he was delighted with how the ploy succeeded! The extensive technical rehearsals with the Robot also helped enormously and enabled them to realise that sometimes Robots have their own ideas about where to perform!

Getting wet for Varoffer second part.

Dance is one of Palle’s favourite genres of performance to light and every cue in this unique performance was inspiring for him. He recalls that when he does a standard musical, he will typically have multiple cues for the music and for the positioning of the cast … however with this one, he probably only had around 60 positional cues for each act, so each and every one of them had to look fantastic!

He also enjoyed being back at the Stockholm Stadsteatern for his second show there, following a production of ‘Chicago’ a few years back. He utilised their ETC Cobalt lighting console, worked alongside “excellent” house programmer Pekka Hellsten, and was also “assisted enormously” by the venue’s head of lighting Anders Tuvesson who shared Palle’s passion and enthusiasm for the show and helped in every aspect related to the lighting rig.

About the Robot

“Hey, IRB6220, Gimme five ! “… or two ?

IRB 6620 was created by leading Swedish industrial robotics manufacturer ABB, based in Västerås, and it took them, specialist robotic programmers Robotdalen and Benke around 80 days to prepare all of IRB 6620’s moves for the 40 minutes long stage piece! This process was initially completed in a warehouse in Västerås.

A 10-hour day rehearsal gave them 30 seconds of the show – performance art being totally alien to IRB 6620 which had to learn how to dance from scratch! That was also just the beginning phase of the rehearsals. When IRB 6620 was installed in the theatre for the first time, they spent almost as much time again on stage, with rehearsals and sorting the numerous technical challenges.

IRB 6620 required two technicians standing-by on each side of the stage each time the show went live, watching the action intensely and ready with an ES button to stop the machine immediately if there was an anomaly in the dance like a slip or a wrong directional approach … as IRB 6620 could not detect any potential human errors alone.
On this exceptionally tight choreography Palle commented, “I cannot imagine this being attempted by anyone other that Benke – he is a complete genius!”

More info on Robe Lighting and on ABB Robotics IRB 6620.

Allen & Heath is pleased to announce the appointment of Val Gilbert as Technical Marketing Manager. Based near London, he will be supporting Allen & Heath’s international distributor network, optimising the levels of education and training support they’re able to offer.

Val Gilbert

Val Gilbert has spent the last six years as the global Engineering Support Manager at Nexo and brings more than 10 years’ hands-on experience working as a FOH engineer across the UK and France.
“It’s an extremely exciting time to join the Allen & Heath team. The brand has gone from strength to strength and with more great things to come, I’m looking forward to developing the education and support offerings for Allen & Heath on a global scale,” comments Gilbert. “The talent and passion for user-based solutions at Allen & Heath is unrivalled, so it’s an honour to be on-board.”

Rob Clark

Rob Clark, Managing Director at Allen & Heath, comments: “We’re excited to welcome Val to the technical team. His extensive experience places him in an excellent position to help us develop our global product education and training and to better support our customers. Val is already making a great addition to the team and will be out in the field working closely with our distributors by Spring.”

More info on the Allen&Heath website

We’ve been waiting since the Energia years, and God knows Brock Adamson IS persistent. The digital amp, its processing and its AVB link, all home-made, now turned into reality and will be launched as new CS7p model of a new CS series.

Born as “National Association of Music Merchants Show” and now more international than ever, the NAMM 2019 will be held as every year in Anaheim, California, January 24th-27th.

Here is what the CS7p could look like. Instead of a metal appendix with nothing behind, the Adamson designed module will be fitted inside the back of the speaker.

Adamson decided to unveil the first model in its so-called « intelligent » loudspeakers CS series at NAMM, and this should help the Canadian manufacturer close the loop and integrate diffusion, data feeds, AVB (in particular Milan), processing and digital amplification into its top-notch technical offering, like the other competing leaders in Pro Audio P.A. do.

Needless to say, we’re eager to evaluate the impact this will have across the other Adamson ranges, in particular the E-Series, which should have benefited from these electronic developments since 2012 and the Energia project.

The presentation will occur on January 24th at 4 pm on the Adamson booth (17516, ACC North) and will include, after the CS7p (might be a S7 with « bionic » guts) presentation, an extra one-hour discussion.
Il will be opened to all guests and every voice recorder, with an international bunch of cream of the crop mixers from all over the globe: Moore (Drake), Ricki Cook (Hillsong Church), Stephan Themps (Martin Garrix), Scott Eisenberg (Imagine Dragons), Philippe Dubich (Indochine) and Kenny Kaiser (The Killers), indeed The place to be at Namm on that very day!

If you’re lucky enough to be in Anaheim on the 23rd as well, you might get a sneak preview audition of the CS7p during NAMM’s Media Preview Day, which be held from 3 pm till 5 pm in the NAMM Idea Center (to make simpler, Lobby of Hall C).

Please RSVP for the press conference to: [email protected]

Last but not least, to discover all the secrets of this new range you may click here, but please be patient, at the time of writing this, no image is (yet) available…

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High End Systems has announced that entries are now open for Hog Factor 2019, taking place at Prolight + Sound on the 3rd April in Frankfurt. Open to all aspiring lighting practitioners, university students and apprentices – the competition is back on a bigger scale than ever before, welcoming entrants from across Europe, Africa and the Middle East regions.

Hog Factor was first held in the US (2015) and has grown its reputation in the industry for being the chief lighting programming competition across the globe. In the first phase of the competition, entrants are invited to program a light show on a Hog console to a specified song via a visualisation file.
The deadline for submissions is the 26th February 2019. Following this, judges will select three shortlisted teams who will receive free travel and accommodation for Prolight + Sound 2019 (2nd – 5th April).

Lighting show performance competition

The teams will compete against one another with a performance of their lighting show on the High End Systems booth at the exhibition. This will be in front of a live audience of industry experts and a panel of judges who will then announce the winners.

Nina Mesitz, a member of last year’s winning team ‘Status Cue’, commented positively about her experience of the competition: “The hands-on approach and interaction with industry professionals is invaluable. There is much to learn and vital key contacts to make for the future. It is an opportunity not to be missed for anyone with a passion for a lighting career!”
ETC Vice President of Marketing David Lincecum added, “Hog Factor is exciting, rewarding and educational for all aspiring lighting practitioners, but equally so for the crowds that watch! The audience is really engaged in every beat of the performance.”

For more information on the Hog Factor competition and to register your team.

For mare information on High End Systems Hog 4 consoles.

Over 840 Claypaky fixtures were used on the sixteenth Junior Eurovision Song Contest (JESC) final which was broadcast live from Minsk to more than 2.7 million viewers globally. The enormous production was skilfully orchestrated by Head of Production Ola Melzig with lighting designed by Alex Manzenko.

The predominantly Claypaky rig for JESC included Claypaky Scenius Unico, Claypaky Mythos 2, Claypaky Scenius Spot, Claypaky Sharpy, Claypaky Axcor Beam 300, Axcor Profile 600, Claypaky A.leda B-EYE K20, Claypaky Stormy CC, Claypaky Sharpy Wash, Claypaky Sharpy Wash, Claypaky Shotlight Wash, and Claypaky Alpha Spot 1500.

“We specify Claypaky products as they’re extremely reliable, and have an excellent output to power consumption and weight ratio,” explains Melzig. “The light-weight of the fixtures always benefits us. Although the Minsk Arena has a very good roof structure, it’s good to know the weight of the fixtures won’t restrict us in any way.”
Heavily laden with LED video walls and flooring, it’s imperative for any Eurovision Song Contest that the fixtures’ output stands out against the video content. Melzig says, “If we run the video screens too low, we will start to lose colour and contrast. It’s important that we use fixtures that stand out against them, to find a balance between lighting and video.”

Manzenko’s multi-role lighting was paramount to the production, creating an atmosphere for the 15,000 attendees in the arena, as well as manufacturing looks that would translate accurately for the millions watching the televised live final around the world.

“Our brief was to make a functional, yet beautiful lighting design in the hall and on television,” says Manzenko. “The Axcor Beam 300, Scenius Spot, Sharpy and B-EYEs helped me to create the atmosphere in the hall, while the Scenius Unico made it possible to get a high-quality picture on television due to the high CRI, and framing system.”

Manzenko used the Claypaky Axcor 600 Profile fixtures to highlight the audience in the back and on the sides of the arena. “We used the fixtures to expand the space and scale of the hall,” he says. “We didn’t have to use all the parameters of the fixture because it was bright enough, but when we tested it we were able to increase the brightness of the fixture by 20% with the brightness boost feature. The CMY system in the new fixture has also become noticeably smoother, which is very important when lighting for television.

Creating vastly different looks for each of the performers

“Using the Claypaky fixtures makes it easier for me to create vastly different looks for each of the performers, of which there were more than 20 including the interval performance.”

The versatile A.leda B-EYE K20 which boasts a 4-60˚was zoom wrigged along the outline of the stage. Manzenko used the fixture for highly saturated washes to create a large stage space, as well as effective visuals by making the most of the 37 individual zones of control to create dynamic imagery.

“We used all of the features across the Claypaky fixtures, animation wheels, gobos, prisms, and frost devices, because without them it is often impossible to create the desired function both on the stage and in the hall,” Manzenko concludes.

Claypaky fixtures were supplied to JESC 2018 by Minsk-based rental and production house, Blackout Studio. Manager of Blackout Ilya Piatrouski says of the Axcor fixtures: “We’re really enthusiastic about the new line of Italian fixtures.
We need powerful units that don’t have lamps to replace our old stock, and this is the solution. This equipment has received very good feedback from clients, and the products are answering the market’s demands.”

“The team at Blackout did such a great job. Thanks to manager Ilya Piatrouski and his fantastic team,” says Melzig. The contest is produced each year by the European Broadcasting Union, in conjunction for 2018 with Belarusian Television & Radio Company.
The slogan for this year’s contest was ‘light up’. JESC returned to the Minsk Arena in Belarus to host the largest edition of the contest to date, welcoming a record number of representatives from 20 countries.

More info on Claypaky Website

Following a highly successful 2018 show, high-end LED video processor manufacturer, Brompton Technology, returns to Amsterdam for Integrated Systems Europe 2019.
This year, stand 12-C105 will see the fast-growing company showcase its new Tessera Processor Software 2.2.0 for the 4K SX40 processor, to deliver an enhanced feature set that follows the easy-to-use style of its intuitive user interface.

The SX40 is Brompton Technology’s highest-ever capacity processor and offers support for full 4K screens at 60Hz with 12 bits per colour output, a zero-latency up/down scaler that matches the source to the screen, plus all of Tessera’s industry-leading processing features such as ChromaTune colour correction, On Screen Colour Adjustment (OSCA), and more.

Used in combination with the Tessera XD distribution unit, which is a sophisticated single box solution designed to manage the complications of mass cabling that can arise with large LED display systems, the SX40 provides a cost-effective yet powerful system that will support the biggest, brightest and boldest LED projects.

By updating the SX40 to the latest 2.2.0 software, users can now access a suite of handy new features such as Panel On Screen Display (OSD), Processor Redundancy, 90 degree rotation and Chinese language support in the user interface.

Panel OSD

The new Panel OSD provides detailed status information right on your panels, enabling sections to be quickly cycled through to access Panel Information, Module Information, Ethernet Information, Video Status, Calibration Information, I/O Status, Temperature plots and Error plots, giving engineers a quick and easy way of identifying issues on any part of the screen.

Processor Redundancy

Processor Redundancy delivers ultimate peace of mind for users by introducing an auto-failover mechanism. If, for any reason, a problem occurs with the video input or output on a primary processor, it can be configured such that a back-up processor takes over in just a few seconds, enabling the show to go on. This feature can be used with or without closed loop redundancy, an additional safety mechanism which protects against any cabling faults that may occur.

90 degree rotation

90 degree rotation does exactly what it says, with fixtures now able to be rotated in increments of 90 degrees.

Chinese language support

Finally, the SX40 along with all of Brompton Technology’s processors, now includes Chinese language support, which can be accessed via the Language section of the Preferences menu.

Both the software and any required firmware updates can be installed in a matter of minutes, with technicians informed of progress every step of the way.
“Our aim has always been to develop industry-leading products that are of real benefit to our users,” says Brompton’s Business Development Manager, Rob Fowler. “By designing our hardware to be a platform for ongoing software development, we engineered in the capacity to expand functionality right at the very start and, by listening to the technicians who use Brompton processors on a daily basis, we are able to develop new features that truly address what the market wants and needs.

“This means that our products not only expand with changing requirements, but have an extended lifespan which delivers great return on investment. As with all our developments, this latest software release is a direct result of that ethos.”

Brompton will be demonstrating the new Tessera processor software 2.2.0 on its stand throughout the I.S.E. 2019 show on stand 12-C105.

More info on Brompton Technology Tessera software and applications

Tessera on tour with Roger Waters.

Amadeus have announced they are now shipping the new Philharmonia Mini passive speakers, co-designed specifically for the Hi-Fi market by world-renowned architect Jean Nouvel. Amadeus unveiled the Philharmonia Mini at the High End Music trade show in Munich, Germany.

The band-new passive speaker design is based on the Amadeus’ top-of-the line Philharmonia powered speakers, which were initially created specifically for the Philharmonie de Paris recording and mastering studios.

“The sonic philosophy of the Philharmonia Mini is inherited from the initial model, Philharmonia, which has been our ultimate reference throughout the development process,” said Michel Deluc, Director of Research & Development for Amadeus.

The Philharmonia Mini was born from the prestigious legacy of Amadeus’ success in the professional audio world over the last 25 years. Amadeus’ users include the greatest sound engineers, mixers and producers in France and throughout the world.

Three Philharmonia with their Lawo MC²56 mixing console in the Philharmonie de Paris studios

“The original Philharmonia-first released in 2015 and created from our collaboration with Jean Nouvel and the Philharmonie de Paris-has touched, charmed, and surprised many music lovers over the last few years,” adds Gaetan Byk, Marketing Manager at Amadeus.

“The Philharmonia Mini is a form of response by Amadeus and Jean Nouvel to requests from our customers, users, and partners from the consumer world. Extending the brand and therefore the Philharmonia range was necessary. We had to offer a more compact version, more discreet, less pricey and non-powered and not digitally-managed, incorporating a state-of-the-art passive filtering section, all without distorting the shape, finish and construction technique imagined by Jean Nouvel,” states Byk.

The Philharmonia Mini and its pedestal, totally part of the speaker, and extending it beautifully.

“Designing a passive speaker allows the installer the use of a wide choice of peripherals (converters, preamps, processors, amplifiers, and more) as a complement and not necessarily dedicated to this model” states Michel Deluc.

The new Philharmonia Mini speaker design features a curved structure that is both simple and complex, consisting of 288 wood veneers accurately machined, aligned and glued, offering a distinctive look and volume.

The speaker in itself (resonance volume) features a 432mm height with a 353mm depth. The cabinets are custom manufactured from layered Birch and stand 1.23 meters tall. The speaker enclosure features a unique hybrid laminar port using progressive termination inspired by the original Philharmonia.

A view of the laminar port in the rear of the speaker.

Machined into the wood material along the full height of the speaker system, the very low velocity port yields optimal linearity for the lowest possible distortion, giving a frequency response down to 44 Hz (@ – 6 dB) without any additional correction.

“The distinctive construction technique helps neutralize standing waves affecting sonic clarity and low-frequency definition through an extremely complex internal structure using a combination of interlocking panels arranged in two perpendicular planes, each hosting several tuned notch resonators. This allows a dramatic decrease in sound coloration through a crossed structure of longitudinal and trans-verse reinforcements,” reveals Deluc.

The Philharmonia Mini 2-way, passive speakers feature the original Philharmonia’ 28-mm soft-domed tweeter and a custom 170-mm woofer, for an amplitude linearity range (±2dB) from 54 Hz to 22 kHz, and a cut-off frequency (-6dB) of 44 Hz. The high-frequency driver features very low dielectric losses and high thermal conductivity, loaded behind a fast exponential waveguide machined in wood, which yields exceptional control over spatial dispersion.

The silk dome and its exponential waveguide.

The first millimeters of the horn have been carefully taken care of. To achieve a perfect precision,it has been made out of Corian, a composite material with a mix of mineral filters and acrylic resin.

The pedestal contains the passive components inside the lower part of the speaker enclosure, including the custom Amadeus-designed passive crossover. The outstanding sonic performance of the resistors, capacitors and inductors is achieved through a unique combination of advanced technologies, meticulously researched.

Detailed view of the mounting of the wood layers by wood dowels.

“Achieving such a linear response without active components -and digital correction-created an enormous amount of work on the design of the enclosures’ internal structure, the hybrid laminar port, and the waveguide expansion,” states Deluc

“The passive filter design philosophy matches the aesthetic of the speaker. It is very minimalist. The passive crossover features a subtle combination of two different orders, inducing an absolutely perfect phase summation between the two speakers, and an excellent impulse response.” concludes Michel Deluc.

The rear panel of the pedestal features a pair of beautifully finished, top-quality binding posts from Japan-based manufacturer FURUTECH. These carbon-finished binding posts feature rhodium-plated conductors that are the result of meticulous engineering and careful auditioning of various suitable materials. The FT-816 (R) features a pure copper conductor material for minimal impedance, extremely non-resonant carbon fiber, non-magnetic stainless steel, and eutectic copper alloy housings.

For more info or to organise a hearing test with your local distributor, contact Amadeus à [email protected] or visit the Philarmonia Paris Website