Allen & Heath appointed Dubai-based NMK as its exclusive distributor for the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. Responsible for all A&H products, NMK will offer a broad range of solutions to customers, from MI and Pro Audio, through to AV installation.

The A&H NMK team !

“We are extremely proud to partner with such a legendary brand. NMK has witnessed Allen & Heath grow at an increasing rate over the last few years,” comments Dino Drimakis, Business Development Manager at NMK. “Thanks to the highly talented and friendly team at A&H and with the addition of Avantis joining the flagship dLive, SQ and Qu Series, we feel A&H perfectly complements the NMK portfolio and feel confident that we can continue to raise the profile of A&H in the Middle East and provide exceptional audio solutions for our clients.”

Manfred Quesada, Allen & Heath’s EMEA Sales Manager, adds, “As our product range grows, we continue to seek out the very best distribution partners to represent our products around the world. NMK is a dynamic company, which has rapidly built an impressive standing in the region and we are very pleased to be working together to further strengthen the brand in the Middle East.”

The partnership takes immediate effect, with plans for regular training and product support activities.

More information on Allen & Heath website and on NKM Electronics website

Focusrite plc. which comprises Focusrite, ADAM Audio, Novation and Ampify, announced the acquisition of LDC-backed Martin Audio Ltd, the British designer and manufacturer of high-performance loudspeaker systems for the touring and installation markets.

From left to right : Focusrite founder and chairman, Philip Dudderidge, Martin Audio Managing Director, Dominic Harter, and Focusrite CEO, Tim Carroll.

This acquisition follows hot on the heels of Berlin-based studio loudspeaker manufacturer ADAM Audio, but has been a consideration for Focusrite Founder and Chairman Phil Dudderidge for years, who comments: “I have known Martin Audio since its beginnings in Covent Garden in 1971. Founder Dave Martin and I became close friends in 1989 when I served as an advisor to him and non-executive chairman for a year or so as we prepared the company for sale to Tannoy Goodman International plc (TGI) in 1990.

Martin Audio is a close neighbour to Focusrite Audio Engineering in High Wycombe and their current management recognised that Focusrite plc was the obvious trade candidate to acquire the business from its private equity and management ownership structure. My conviction as to the outstanding performance of the Martin MLA system was cemented at BST Hyde Park concerts in recent years, notably Tom Petty in 2017 and Eric Clapton in 2018.”

Martin Audio MLA system in use with Lionel Richie performing at the 2019 British Summer Time concert, Hyde Park

The Focusrite Group’s criteria for acquisitions remain both strict and targeted, as Tim Carroll, Focusrite CEO states; “The acquisition of Martin Audio is a strong demonstration of our strategic aim to expand into new markets. Martin Audio is also an established brand with solid financials that instantly add value. More importantly though, they’re culturally aligned with a clear part to play in our unfolding narrative.

The Focusrite Group is, first and foremost, a professional music technology company, focused on enriching lives through music by removing barriers to creativity; from that first spark of musical inspiration, to delivering an emotionally charged performance on stage. Martin Audio completes that journey, uniting the audience by creating the ultimate live sound experience. The Martin Audio family share our hunger to innovate and our passion as music and sound enthusiasts. That we’re just a stone’s throw away will only further help unite us in achieving our common goal.”

Dominic Harter

Martin Audio will continue to operate from their headquarter offices and factory in High Wycombe, England, under the leadership of Managing Director Dominic Harter, who looks forward to an exciting future, leading Martin Audio as part of the Focusrite Group;
“Martin Audio has been uniting audiences through great sound for almost five decades. Our continued success has been down to a clear, well-executed strategy with over sixty new products launched over the last four years and double-digit growth each year.
In Focusrite we have an industry neighbour of the finest pedigree; a global leader in its own right. Their culture mirrors our own and, getting to know the team, I sense a strong similarity with the deep-rooted values of our own Martin Audio Family.
Focusrite are the perfect partner to help Martin Audio continue the innovations that have driven its success. So it is with great pride and enthusiasm that we take this next step; a momentous occasion as the Martin Audio brand enters its 50th year. Working with Tim, Phil and the Focusrite team, I look forward to seeing all our staff and the wider family grow together, continuing to bring our unique optimised sonic experience to more and more audiences across the globe.”

More on Martin Audio website

Adamson Systems Engineering welcomes BaSys CS s.r.o. as its exclusive distributor for Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Based in Prague, BaSys CS is a division of Swiss-based technology distributor BaSys.

Ondřej Tureček, Adamson Brand Manager for BaSys CS s.r.o.

“We’re proud to represent a prestigious brand like Adamson in the Czech and Slovak markets,” begins Ondřej Tureček, the Adamson Brand Manager for BaSys CS s.r.o. “Having worked closely with Adamson products and representatives through ZL Production, one of the biggest Adamson rental partners in Central Europe, I’m very familiar with the brand and its many competitive advantages, and see plenty of exciting opportunities and potential for growth in our region.”

In late September 2019, BaSys CS s.r.o. partnered with ZL Production for a formal launch event in celebration of the new agreement, held at BaSys CS Pro’s headquarters in Prague.
ZL Production set up a large outdoor stage to showcase Adamson’s tour-proven S-Series of sub- and ultra-compact loudspeaker products and M-Series monitor solutions; meanwhile, attendees were also able to experience the flagship large-format E-Series products in showrooms inside the building.

“We were very encouraged by the positive response to our new agreement with Adamson from the market,” adds Tureček. “With such a respected professional loudspeaker brand now on our line card, we’re able to offer complete technological solutions from A to Z for rental and integration clients, and look forward to growing our business in close partnership with Adamson and our complementary brands.”

Founded in Switzerland in 1990, BaSys has since grown to include satellite offices in several Central European countries. Since the beginning, the company has focused on top-quality sound products as its core business for both the consumer and professional markets. The Pro division of BaSys CS s.r.o. represents other industry-leading brands like Midas, Lab.gruppen, Lake, Pioneer DJ, Neutrik, and more in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

“Adamson has some great, well-established partners in the Czech Republic and we’re glad to be able to better support them in close coordination with BaSys” says Jasper Ravesteijn, Adamson’s Sales Director for the EMEA region. “BaSys has an outstanding reputation in the pro and consumer audio communities in Central Europe, and Ondřej has been a longtime champion of Adamson, so we’re very excited about the potential of this new arrangement.”

D’autres informations sur le site Adamson

After its first product introduction at the NAMM Show 2019 in Anaheim, California, USA, and at Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt am Main, the Adam Hall Group announces the immediate availability of the Palmer® MONICON® XL.

The MONICON® XL studio monitor controller is one of the first Palmer® products to embody the revamped appearance of the brand and represent the new brand claim “PALMER® – Be true to your sound” in all its facets. High-quality audio products with professional functions and intuitive operation fulfill the requirements of musicians and studio fans.

Equipped with many professional functions, the Palmer® MONICON® XL may be used in both professional studio environments and home studios.
Its clearly structured control interface and innovative console design is divided into two levels, facilitating flexible table positioning and comfortable work.

Professional Studio functions

The MONICON® XL features a correlation meter that displays the phase difference between both stereo channels to evaluate mono compatibility issues in a mix. The coaxial S/PDIF signals are converted directly in the input. In addition, the entire analog audio circuit means that there is no noticeable latency when monitoring.

Users who want to set up their L/R studio monitors more flexibly also benefit from the additional sub out on the back of the housing. The wideband, unfiltered mono-summed output is not only suitable for connecting to a subwoofer, but also to a separate mono speaker in order to monitor the mix in mono, both acoustically and visually with the correlation meter.

“The Monicon facilitates a fast and intuitive workflow,” says Robin Henlich, Senior Product Manager, Pro Audio at the Adam Hall Group.
“The division of the MONICON® XL’s user face into two levels as well as the configurability let users adapt it to their own workflow – and not the other way around. The latency-free signal transmission plus the correlation meter highlight the professional standard from a technical point of view.
It’s simply fascinating to follow what’s happening with the stereo signal’s phase relationship in real time.”

Vidéo de présentation produit :

Companion Monitor STUDIMON 5 also Available

The Adam Hall Group also announces availability of the active 5″ studio monitor STUDIMON 5. Enclosed in a particularly compact bass reflex housing with wooden side walls, the STUDIMON 5 is a two-way active monitor with an output power of 2 x 30 W (RMS).

With its 5″ ferrite custom subwoofer and its 0.75″ neodymium silk diaphragm tweeter, it exhibits a frequency response of 70 Hz to 20 kHz. The rear side of the STUDIMON 5 enclosure features bass reflex opening, 1/4 inch jack and XLR inputs, and a volume controller for accurately trimming stereo balance.
The 2-way monitor fits not only in sound, project and home studios, but also in professional audio environments.

Vidéo de présentation produit :

The Palmer® MONICON® XL studio monitor controller and the Palmer® STUDIMON 5 5″ studio monitor are now available for RRP 360 EUR / 399 USD and 218 EUR / 241 USD respectively.

More information on Palmer® MONICON® XL and on Palmer® STUDIMON 5

And other information on Adam Hall website

Thanks to the Hambourg PM Blue Gmbh, the famous producer and sound engineer Alan Parsons toured eight days through Germany with the proven pro ribbon systems LR18 and LR7 from Alcons Audio.
As far as the sound of his songs is concerned, Alan Parsons is probably one of the most demanding artists ever. In the late ’60s / early’ 70s, he worked as a sound engineer on milestones in music history, including the Beatles albums Abbey Road and Let it be as well as on Pink Floyd’s Atom Heart Mother and Dark Side of the Moon.
As a musician he experienced in the 80’s the highlight of his career with his Alan Parsons Project. At that time, however, he barely performed live, as the technology at that time was unable to reproduce the sound of his songs as he had produced them in the studio.

Meanwhile, professional audio technology has caught up, and so dared Alan Parsons to tour again with his recent album The Secret. PM Blue GmbH from Hamburg was responsible for the eight day tour of the exceptional musician through Germany. Due to the fully booked PM Blue, the lighting concept was realized in cooperation with the company AVM from Schwanewede.
As to be expected, the requirements for the sound engineering in this case were particularly high, as Timo Hille, junior project manager and audio specialist at PM Blue confirms: Since Alan Parsons was and still is very successful as a producer and recording engineer, his requirements with regards to the sound quality are particularly high.

In addition, musically there’s a lot going on with Alan and his seven member band. The complex arrangements of the songs, in which many instruments overlap, especially in the low mid range between 120 Hz and 800 Hz, demand a good mix on one hand, but also a really high resolution sound system on the other hand.

The LR18 sporting the famous ribbon in the very middle of the cabinet

The latter found PM Blue in the proven pro ribbon systems from Alcons Audio. 30 x LR18 compact mid size pro ribbon line array systems were used as main PA, with 12 x LR7 micro line arrays distributed evenly along the edge of the stage for the near field.

The LR7 with a ribbon and one single 7 for the lows. Being 16 Ohms and passive, up to 6 units can be wired in parallel on each channel of a Sentinel10 and deliver 129 dB Max per box

4 x RR12 point source array systems were placed at the outer edge of the stage, directly under the main arrays and 1x RR12 flown left / right were used as outfill.

9 pcs of Alcons BF302 mkII dual 15 subwoofers were placed in the centre as a cardioid sub array, combined with left and right 2 x 2 BQ211 single 21 subwoofer systems at the outer edge of the stage

Timo Hille, who accompanied the tour as a PA system technician, was very satisfied with the performance of the Alcons systems: I had good tools at my disposal to adequately cover the halls. The very high resolution pro ribbon tweeters are initially somewhat unfamiliar to many FOH technicians, because of course much more high frequency information can be transmitted cleanly than with conventional compression drivers. Also on the tour with Alan Parsons, Tyson Montgomery Leonard FOH Engineer and I had to get acquainted with the system initially. After a short ‘introductory phase’ the systems offered just sheer fun and mixing pleasure

Also nice is the new VHIR processing in the Sentinel10 system amplified loudspeaker controllers, which made it easy for me to match the different speakers. The transitions between the different sound sources were extremely even and almost imperceptible. In addition, I was very surprised by the very potent Alcons BQ211 subwoofers Especially the combination of 15 bass reflex and 21 bandpass subwoofers was really convincing

Always interested in new technologies, Mr. Parsons eagerly received a full explanation of the Alcons pro ribbon transducer technology after the concert in Dusseldorf by Alcons Audio co-founder and managing director Tom Back

For more info, please visit the PM Group website and the Alcons Audio website

RCF Group, one of the fastest growing groups in the professional audio market, has announced the acquisition of Montarbo, an historic iItalian brand in the sector. The brand’s running and distribution will be overseen by AEB Industriale.

The incorporation of Montarbo into the group further expands our product range in a market segment that is demonstrating strong growth. The acquisition perfectly fits RCF Group’s strategy of selective M&A activity focusing on iconic brands that leveraging the Group’s competitive positioning, together with its technical and commercial expertise, fully exploit the growth potential contributing to the Group’s progress and value creation.

Arturo Vicari, the CEO of RCF GROUP, gave the following reaction to the news: “We’re delighted to welcome Montarbo to our group. It’s an historic brand that has contributed to the evolution of the music and professional audio industry in Italy and around the world.

Arturo Vicari

For anyone who – like myself – has followed the development of this market over the years, elite brands such as Montarbo have a special significance and therefore represent a wonderful opportunity for us to increase the value of our group.

RCF Group is one of the most dynamic organisations in the global professional audio industry, meaning Montarbo will be able to live up to its potential and continue to grow alongside us.”

More on RCF website

Powersoft X8 and Ottocanali amplifiers have been selected to drive the formidable sound system at Noevir Stadium in Kobe, Japan, who hosts a number of high-profile events and hosted the Rugby World Cup.
Having first been constructed in 1970, Kobe City Misaki Park Stadium, AKA the Noevir Stadium, has a long history in the city of Kobe. With a capacity of 30,000, it was last renovated in 2002 ahead of the Japan-Korea FIFA World Cup and is now home to Andrés Iniesta’s J1 League club Vissel Kobe and rugby union Top League team Kobelco Steelers.

The operating room featuring a CL5 Yamaha and showing in a screen thanks to Armonia 1.0.1 the complete layout and status of the stadium PA.

“Since then, the venue has hosted its fair share of local football and rugby – as well as other events such as MMA competitions – and was also announced as one of the venues for this year’s highly anticipated Rugby World Cup.

This was the first time that the competition was held in Asia and, between 26 September and 8 October, Noevir Stadium had the honour of hosting games between England and the USA, Scotland and Samoa, Ireland and Russia, as well as South Africa and Canada.”

With such an illustrious run of events to come, the audio system at Noevir Stadium has been subject to a Powersoft-heavy upgrade. “The audio systems in a modern venue like Noevir Stadium have to be able to handle spoken word, music playback and even commercials,” explained Powersoft’s business development manager for fixed install, Marc Kocks.

“When designing or refurbishing an audio system in a stadium, you have to ensure that it is able to offer both flexibility and scalability. A good place to start is by selecting DSP and Dante enabled products, as they allow users to change the function and behaviour of the system with the click of a mouse.
At the same time, powerful limiters and cross overs found on Powersoft amplifier platforms allow to keep the system protected under all circumstances.”

Integrator for the project, Shigeyoshi Ariga, specified a total of 24 Powersoft X8’s, 6 Ottocanali 12K4 DSP+D’s, one Ottocanali 8K4 DSP+D and one Ottocanali 4K4 DSP+D amplifier platforms. The X8’s are used to accommodate the line array systems, while the Ottocanali 12K4 DSP+D are used as an auxiliary speaker for the upper tiers in order to cover any dead space.

The 8K4 DSP+D has been included to accommodate any temporary speakers, and 4K4 DSP+D is mainly used to drive the Hi-Z speaker line and monitor speakers in the operating room. Between them, these amplifiers power a sound system primarily designed to play audio that is related to video content shown on the screens during football and rugby matches, as well as distributing various announcements.

The TF1 Yamaha mixer facing a perfect grass ready to be destroyed by 30 big boys

The mixer and playback equipment are hidden away in a sound operating room, while the amplifiers are stored in two separate areas. All audio transmission between the operating room and the amplifiers room is taken care of via Dante.

More information on Powersoft website

Leaders in the field of fiber network signal distribution, Optocore, and its partner company BroaMan, have appointed Parma-based Audiolink as its sole distributor for the Italian market.

Stated Audiolink general manager, Stefano Cantadori, “With Optocore and BroaMan as part of our already well-stocked portfolio we are able to offer customers flexible solutions at the highest level, in both the live and fixed installation sectors, particularly theatres.
“The reason we chose Optocore was simple. Today’s integrations require a massive chunk of fibre optic data, and Optocore, together with BroaMan, allows all the different signals to be managed on a single fiber ring with 100% redundancy,” he continued. “Total redundancy means avoiding any type of problem—unforeseen circumstances that can lead to a lot of expense for the installer and the customer.”

The snowy Optocore and BroaMan headquarters in Munich

In fact the Munich-based fiber specialists provide transport, routing, format conversion and digital data distribution together with complete management and diagnostic functions. Formats represented include Dante, MADI, AVB, Ethernet as well as protocols from the world of lighting (DMX512), video and others — all simply channelled down a single optical fiber.
They are particularly strong in installation and have equipped major theatres, opera houses and shopping malls. Such flexibility and proven reliability has also seen Optocore/BroaMan solutions successfully implemented in a host of events, ranging from large scale festivals to opening/closing ceremonies of global sporting events.

Tine Helmle

Stated Tine Helmle, Optocore Director of Sales & Marketing (and MD of BroaMan), “We are very happy to have found a strong partner in Italy that will best represent our two brands. Stefano and his team are very competent people, with whom we can’t wait to start this collaboration.”

She also highlighted the synergy Optocore has with DiGiCo—a brand that has been successfully distributed by Audiolink for many years—as an obvious advantage.
“We particularly appreciate the ability of Audiolink to cover our main markets—both in the installation sector as well as in live audio,” she concludes.

The new collaboration is effective immediately.

And for further information about Optocore and about BroaMan

The Showlight quadrennial lighting conference is programmed from 22-25 May 2021, in Fontainebleau – France. An interesting program of papers delivered by lighting experts from around the world is at the heart of this important event.

Call for Speakers

photo © David Clarke

The quintessence of Showlight is its speakers, and its team is now calling for lighting directors, lighting designers, directors of photography, architectural lighting designers or associated crafts like programmers and manufacturers – to submit their ideas for 2021’s conference papers in Fontainebleau. Talks are to be twenty minutes in length to enable as many papers as possible to be presented over the three-day period.

The Showlight team aspires to get variety, across topics relevant to all aspects of the lighting industry today. They want to hear about your experiences, your ambitions, your inspirations, your concerns, your successes and your failures. They are not looking for simple product promotion.

Sponsorship News

Showlight would not be possible without the generosity of their sponsors:

Headline Sponsor, Robert Juliat
Platinum sponsor, Ayrton
Gold sponsors, Eyetidy, Robe and SFL Group
Silver sponsors White Light and ACT Lighting, Inc
Bronze sponsor, PRG.

And more on:

• Le site Web Showlight
• Facebook: @showlightevent
• Twitter: @Showlight2021

MA Lighting has just unveiled the first general public release of the grandMA3 software, v1.003. It is accompanied by a new version of the grandMA2 software, v3.8.0, to ensure compatibility between the grandMA2 and grandMA3 hardware.
Ignoring the infantile nervous breakdowns that resonate on social media, the German market leader has taken its time to offer new software, which is light years ahead of the grandMA2.

It is neither a 2.5 version nor an updated remix of grandMA2, but a brand new console that embraces all the key programming concepts introduced in recent years, as well as the processing power of the second decade of the new millennium and a wealth of impressive ideas on every menu. Built on a custom modular design and a complete range of redesigned consoles, grandMA3 consoles feature capacitive touchscreens with multiple “gestures” that complement ergonomics never before seen on this type of console.

The reinforced heavy-duty construction, with its integrated ventilation duct and silent operating keys, has made it possible to install 3D graphics and video cards that are unrivaled in terms of power.

This expanded capability allows for additional DMX parameters, but also the incorporation of an integrated real-time 3D viewer, future internal media servers and exceptional stability for the most demanding lighting systems.

MA Lighting is the only manufacturer to provide up to 250,000 real-time parameters, with less than two frames of lag on all synchronized outputs, thanks to networked MA devices. That’s nearly 1,000 DMX universes being handled in a single console session! The organization into hierarchical layers and the interlinking of repertoire elements redefine the very foundations of programming, saving time, and gaining in terms of precision and possibilities.
The heads-up programmer allows for ease and convenience for all repetitive tasks: recording, organizing, editing or reshaping objects. The new Grid selection and MATricks XYZ features, as well as a redesign of the layouts, provide unparalleled working comfort on complex lighting rigs.
The complete redesign of the menus spans from setup to the multiple advancements made possible by 3D. In collaboration with the leading lighting manufacturers, the integration of MVR environments and the construction of libraries by assembling 3D models and functions (GDTF) in patches classified according to Layer, Class, Environment, Data Pool or ID Type offer incredible flexibility for managing huge shows, festivals, tours, operas or studio productions.
Visual comprehension also becomes more precise, with the integrated HD viewer and the graphic layouts of each element, all editable by the user. The numerous shortcuts for access and execution clear the way for creativity, the dynamic part of which is enriched by a complete redesign of the effects, with the addition of Phasers, an enormous leap forward for professional operators.

The live aspect also gains ground, thanks to the increase in executor commands, the number of sequences available in real time and the multiple priorities for sequences. With a three-level network, the MA-Net3 protocol offers even more stability than there was with grandMA2 and, in addition to the management of online updates and troubleshooting, it also allows advanced monitoring and the ability to use the console controls from any device, laptop or tablet, without third-party software.

The OnPC version is now complemented by an OnMac version, which is available to everyone now, and the availability of the grandMA3 Wings for lightweight solutions, soon to be followed by a version with an embedded CPU, the CommandWing XT, which is due to be presented at Prolight+Sound exhibition.

It will take some time to ponder this monument to programming and the time required to set it up. It is very challenging to propose a completely new software, with so many possibilities, and already mastering in the 1.0 version elements such as time code, advanced layouts, 3D and the management of ArtNet, sACN and OSC protocols, especially in the many and varied applications in which MA products are used.
While there was a small segment of users who were frustrated by the wait despite the availability of the preliminary version of the grandMA3 software, the majority of operators who participated in Axente’s demos and workshops are already enthusiastic about this new cornerstone of lighting programming.

A new era for MA Lighting is coming, and the efforts of this German brand and of the console operators involved will rapidly be rewarded by the grandMA3 revolution.

More to the MA Lighting website

An Allen & Heath dLive S5000 and S7000 mixing systems recently provided audio support for the 200th anniversary of one of the leading financial institutions in Europe, Erste Bank at the Wiener Stadthalle in Austria.

The stage right monitor surface, a S7000.

The event saw more than 12,000 in attendance and with nearly 80 musicians performing, including an orchestra, big band and choir, and presented tough challenges, requiring several mixing consoles with the ability to handle over 120 inputs and 44 monitor outputs to both wedges and IEMs. Additionally, an extensive Dante network was used for shared access to wedges and wireless systems, track playback via DAW and connections to the main PA.

At the very heart of FOH, a dLive S5000 surface.

Supplied by live production company, Habegger Austria, FOH comprised a dLive S5000 surface equipped with a Dante card for stem playback and PA feeds, and a DM32 MixRack fitted with a gigaACE card for the digital split to the monitor system. An IP8 remote controller was used for controlling FX returns and channel mixes for video voiceovers.

Operated by Felix Zwerger, monitors featured a dLive S7000 surface, IP8 remote controller and a DM48 MixRack, fitted with a gigaACE card for TieLine connections to the DM32 at FOH. Two DX168 expanders and a DX32 expander were also used to add extra physical I/O onstage. Both MixRacks were fitted with Dante cards for monitor and wedge sharing and access to Shure wireless devices.

A view of the Wiener Stadthalle as seen and shot by the musicians !

Richard Redl, Head of Audio at Habegger Austria and FOH engineer comments, “I was one of the first dLive users in Austria and I’m still in love with this console. The show needed a high amount of I/O and required quite a complex setup, however, dLive handled it perfectly and despite pushing it to the max, it kept up with all our demands.”

More information on Allen & Heath website

Dynacord has extended the scope of its SONICUE sound system software with an update which makes it suitable for smaller systems. With this version 1.1, SONICUE now supports Dynacord L and C series amplifiers and includes an update to its Electro-Voice loudspeaker settings library, featuring almost all current commercial, portable, install and concert sound models.

SONICUE addresses the entire sound system and encapsulates Dynacord’s core design philosophies of simplicity, clarity and transparency. Its unique interactive design provides a clear and comprehensive system overview, making it quicker to set up, tune and operate sound systems with minimal effort.

SONICUE 1.1 includes a firmware 2.0 upgrade for Dynacord L and C series power amplifiers. Engineered to provide sound reinforcement for live music (L series) and permanent installation (C series), both series offer onboard DSP, advanced FIR-Drive and professional audio performance.
The firmware upgrade expands the L and C series DSP structure to give users the same level of input or user processing as found in Dynacord’s tour-grade IPX and TGX amplifiers, with which L and C series models may now be combined. The user DSP block has been doubled to offer 10 bands of parametric equalization (PEQ). Enhanced array processing features include five additional bands of PEQs and dedicated array delay.

This enables L and C series amplifiers to be used for more complex setups requiring more options for system tuning and more flexibility when working (for example) with subwoofer arrays. The expanded loudspeaker database allows users to utilize SONICUE software for a significantly larger range of applications.
The software now features presets for almost all loudspeaker models from Electro-Voice, including the popular ZLX, ELX200, EKX and ETX portable series, and the EVID commercial family. The database includes all parameters required by the amplifiers, including crossover settings, EQs and limiters for optimized audio performance.

The software is available as a free download from the Dynacord website

The largest jazz festival in East Asia selected Amadeus speakers including DIVA M², MAESTRO II for one of the stages, as well as bespoke stage monitors which are to be released next year. SSL L500 consoles were featured at the event for a superb sonic partnership.
The Jarasum Festival has hosted over 2-million attendees since its inception in 2004 and featured performers from 55 countries. Over 200,000 spectators attended the 16th edition on October 4-6, 2019. Elan Tech is the South Korea-based production company in charge of both sound equipment and technical production for the festival.

Located in the Gapyeong region, northeast of Seoul, the festival site is an island surrounded by a beautiful city near the mountains and the banks of the Bukhan River. The yearly 3-day festival featured Black String, López-Nussa La Familia, 4-Wheel Drive, Omar Sosa Quarteto Afro Cubano, Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen, and The Danish Radio Big Band & Marilyn Mazur, among many others.

“Because a recent typhoon had hit Korea, we started setting up the sound systems on-site only three days before the festival began,” recalls Yongwoon Jeong, CEO and Technical Director at Elan Tech.

“The main speakers and subwoofers used were all Amadeus, for a total of 30 units of DIVA M², 12 units of DIVA M² SUB, and 12 units of MAESTRO II.”
“We have also worked with Amadeus to develop new stage monitors which will be officially released in 2020. A total of 50 of these new speakers have been used for the first time at the Jarasum Jazz Festival,” added Yongwoon Jeong.
The overall audio setup also featured 11-units of X8 DSP+DANTE Powersoft amplifiers, as well as L500 Live consoles from SSL.

Philippe Guerinet, Director of International Sales for SSL, offered, “We are used to seeing our consoles used in conjunction with Amadeus systems in world-renowned venues and here, at Jarasum Festival, where we had an SSL Live L500 on FOH. It is wonderful to highlight that we are also seeing some large-format Studio SSL Consoles in use together with Amadeus studio monitors and whatever the application, we always have great feedback about the overall sound performance and the stunning transparency.”

The C15R wedge. Brand new and yet to be officially presented. A high-resistance resin-based finish and the famous digital milled Amadeus logo !

The new Amadeus speakers, called C12R and C15R, will be a range expansion of the C Series. “We were all fans at Elan Tech of the newly-released Amadeus C12 and C15 point source speakers, which are mainly installation-oriented.
We asked Amadeus to think about a more stage-oriented version to be used as stage monitors, optimized for the live field, and featuring the same transducers and waveguides.
We worked closely with the R&D teams as consultants, to perfectly optimize the new models considering our technical constraints, as well as the market demands,” stated Yongwoon Jeong.

He continued, “A few specifications for the stage monitors were very important to us to optimize the sonic rendering for the performers, as well as the enclosure strength and product longevity.
Being able to adjust the vertical beam by 2.5-degree increments, which was possible thanks to a bespoke and built-in rigging system as one of these requirements, was important and helpful. This all, among a lot of other acoustical, technical, and physical details, makes this new Amadeus Series very distinguished in the market in our opinion.”

At the Jarasum venue, a few C15R units were also set up for front fills, while others were used for wedge monitors. “The new C15R – as well as the original C15 – use the same MHF compression driver unit as the main DIVA M² line array speakers. So it has the same impulse characteristics and was much easier to match the sound for the different uses,” explained Yongwoon Jeong.

On the main stage, a couple of newly created multi purpose wedge / reinforcement speakers facing the audience and called C15R.

Yongwoon Jeong commented on working with Amadeus, “Amadeus offers customization to its users and customers special finish. We requested a high-resistance finish for all the speakers, to increase their durability.”
“Amadeus invested in a new painting area at their factory, featuring new painting machines able to produce a high-resistance resin-based finish–making the new speakers highly resistant to scratches, shocks and water projections. This new optional finish is now available for all the other speakers and will be proposed on-demand,” added Jean-Noël Batisse, Production Manager at Amadeus.

“Our production company, Elan Tech, admires that Amadeus focuses on being a designer and manufacturer of speakers for targeted uses that are built and work extremely well—rather than just a company that tries to distribute products in large quantities,” continued Yongwoon Jeong.
He added, “The SSL Live console is a great partner for Amadeus products. It has natural feeling dynamic processors, EQs that offer minimal phase shift, transparent high-frequencies, and dense and solid low-frequencies. With this combination, Amadeus speakers sound very natural and detailed, especially the equal sound pressure and timbre presented to the audience anywhere in the listening area.”

Fore more information visit the website of the:

• Jarasum Jazz Festival
• SSL LIVE console products
• Amadeus products

Scenos Techninis Servisas (STS) becomes Sixty82 exclusive distributor for the Lithuanian market. This strategic partnership between the two companies is built on an extensive technical service, and the importance of customer relationships.

STS works across live event technologies in Lithuania. The company’s creative solutions are based on comprehensive engineering, years of experience and knowledge of the industry, while ensuring quality of service.
“The best partnerships aren’t dependent on a mere common goal, but on a shared path of equality, desire, and a great amount of passion. Therefore we believe that STS is the perfect partner to service our customers.” says SIXTY82’s CEO, Fokko Smeding.

Laurynas Paskervicius, CEO of STS, responds: “We are extremely excited to start this partnership with SIXTY82. They have developed such a strong brand within just a few years of existence, which is magnificent, to say the least. We believe that together, we can have a real impact on the industry.”

More on Sixty82 website and STS website and Email: [email protected]

ELC Lighting, DMX control specialist unveiled at last the LDI show, its latest innovation, developed to enable the creation of fully redundant DMX networks. For the first time, a faulty cable will no longer risk interrupting a show.

Until now, redundant DMX networks could be built right up to the ethernet-to-DMX node. However, the DMX cable, last link in the chain of lighting data remained vulnerable as a single point of failure. With the new Redundant DMX feature, lighting crews can rely on ELC Lighting’s dmXLAN nodeGBx system to provide automatic, seamless take-over in the event of damage or disconnection of the DMX cable, or even of partial network failure.

“The lighting industry asks for more and more redundancy, to ensure that the show always goes on,” says Henk-Jan Blok, ELC Lighting’s support and application specialist, . “In today’s production environment, it should be inconceivable that a system should fail simply because a single item or DMX cable fails, but this was not possible with DMX before now.

ELC-Redundant DMX from ELC lighting on Vimeo.

ELC Lighting’s dmXLAN nodeGBx system offers complete system redundancy. To get that, the user simply connects the last fixture from the DMX run back into a nodeGBx unit and configures this port as a ‘DMX backup’ via the standard dmXLAN software interface. This ensures a smooth and seamless takeover in case of failure in the DMX run.

“In this way,” says Henk-Jan Blok, “the last remaining vulnerable part of the lighting data distribution chain is now also failsafe. The lights will keep working, even when a DMX cable is unplugged by accident or damaged in any way.”
The nodeGBx system is capable of extremely fast takeovers in the event of failure, with virtually zero glitches visible in the lighting rig. In the case of a DMX cable breakage or unplugging, the backup port will take over the DMX output within 50ms. In case of a partial network failure, takeover will occur directly after the set DMX hold time.

When the ‘fault condition’ has ended, the recovery time is less than one DMX frame. Together with the dmXLAN software, the system also provides early detection of failure. ELC Lighting’s Redundant DMX feature is available as a firmware upgrade to the dmXLAN nodeGBx system.

More on ELC Lighting website