2014 is the year of the Mondovisione Tour. The Italian rocker Luciano Ligabue will perform around all the main soccer stadiums in Italy throughout the entire summer.

The main hang stage left. 24 TTL55-A, weighting precisely 1,6T without the bumper. Easy !! The red coulour seems a good idea to play with during the show with some fixtures. On the left of the shot, the side hang is comprising of 20 TTL55-A. The rear wiring is made of AC, analog audio and network.

It is a journey full of expectation and emotion, as Ligabue has decided to tour with sound reinforcement from RCF, the legendary company from Reggio Emilia which sets the benchmark for excellence in the international professional amplification industry.

In 2013 Ligabue and his band tested the RCF audio system, with great satisfaction, at both the Royal Albert Hall in London and at the Arena di Verona.

RCF engineers along with the artist’s audio technicians were able to study the best system structure for this tour, conceived for the major Italian stadiums.

48 x TTL55-A speakers will be used as front fill (24 each side) and 40 x TTL55-A as side fill (20 each side).

Two central clusters of 12 TTL36-AS subwoofers each, will be hung on the rear of the stage, in an unusual position over the band but technically optimised to avoid interference — thanks to the steering technology of RCF RDnet.

12 TTL 33-A modules, set on the stage, will help direct the sound toward the audience; the TT25-SMA and TT45-SMA stage monitors will be specifically dedicated for the musicians’ monitoring.

The stage during Ligabue’s show. Nope, the TTL55-A main hangs aren’t on fire, just well lit !!

Providing low-end extension will be TTS56-A subwoofers, set in cardioid configuration on the floor, with a curved design to allow a uniform distribution of low frequencies throughout the listening area.

Located right in the middle of the Stadio Olimpico di Roma, Ligabue’s stage shines and offers a 180° view for the audience. The 88 TTL55-A main and side hangs perfectly complement the stage design. Two central clusters of 12 TTL36-AS subwoofers each hung on the rear of the stage and 60 TTS56-A subwoofers set in cardioid configuration on the floor, provide low-end extension.

The main system will be controlled by RDNet, RCF’s proprietary network, which will allow the technicians to set and control the system parameters in an optimal way for every situation. The RMS power of the complete RCF system reaches 800kW.

Audix announced at the 2014 Las Vegas InfoComm  the release of the newest microphone for the installed sound industry, the M3 Tri‐element Ceiling Microphone.  

Audix co‐founder and VP of Sales, Cliff Castle, commented, “The innovative design and engineering of the M3 tri‐element microphone makes it a stunning addition to the Audix conference ceiling mic series, the M70, M40 and M55.

The M3 is the only multi‐element design available with fully balanced circuits below the ceiling and a UL rated plenum box solution above the ceiling tile.

The low impedance design of the M3 system allows for extremely long cable runs without cross talk or interference.

Featuring a sleek profile with contemporary design, the M3 other features include:

• 100% RF shielding and immunity
• Stealth design, low profile
• Gold diaphragm capsules with shielded and fully balanced circuits
• Very low self noise
• Frequency and pattern tailored for voice clarity and rejection of extraneous noise
• Evenly dispersed sound with undetectable phase
• Adjustable cable length
• All visible components of Audix microphone are same color, black or white
• High‐quality silicone jacketed microphone cable
• Includes plenum rated junction box with RJ45 connector

A close shot of the d:screet™ Necklace Microphone in place. Obviously the miniature 4061 capsule is omnidirectional, hence the direction of the head.

DPA has overcome the biggest challenge of all – how to give control of mic placement to non-technical actors or reality show contenstants without compromising sound quality.

DPA’s solution, which will be on show at IBC 2014, is the d:screet™ Omnidirectional Miniature Necklace Microphone – a cleverly designed mic that houses a legendary d:screet 4061 Omnidirectional Miniature Capsule in a soft rubber necklace.

“These microphones are perfect for situations where fast costume changes are necessary – or for reality TV shows where the contestants have to place microphones without help from a trained audio engineer,” says DPA’s CEO Christian Poulsen. “The necklace design ensures that the microphone sits in exactly the same place on the body every time, so there is no need for EQ-ing between different recordings.”

A view of the complete microphone showing his rear signal output and what seems to be the rear clasp making easy the setup around the neck, specially in case of delicate hairstyling.

The d:screet Necklace Mic is already being used in the Danish adaptation of Big Brother and DPA anticipates plenty of interest from other reality TV productions. The mic comes in black, white and brown and in lengths of 47 or 53 com (18.3 or 20.9 inches).

At IBC 2014, DPA is exhibiting alongside its Dutch distributor Amptec on booth 8.D70. 

An overview of the Anderlecht stadium. Under the metal roof resting on concrete beams, we see two of the 19 clusters of 4 speakers. They are securely lashed to the same beams.

One of the Belgium’s best-known football teams is celebrating an audio refurbishment at its home stadium, the Stade Constant Vanden Stock, known better as the Stade d’Anderlecht.

Home to Anderlecht FC, the 24,000-capacity Brussels stadium, used solely for football, needed to upgrade its 25-year-old PA/VA system.

Following evaluation of three possible solutions, longtime Anderlecht solution supplier Prosonix, together with NEXO’s Belgian distributor’s Pascal Deneef, proposed a NEXO compact, 2-way GEO S12-ST system.

The GEO S12-ST, a specialist stadium version of the popular GEO S12, fitted the stadium’s requirement for long-throw line array cabinets perfectly.  Another major reason for choosing the NEXO option was the success of the GEO S12-ST system installed in France’s Stade de Valenciennes, a similar venue in size and design.

NEXO’s Paul Massiani, together with Pascal Deneef, used the company’s proprietary NS-1 software to design the 82-cabinet system; 19 clusters of 4x GEOS12-ST + 3 clusters of 2x GEOS 12-ST from the concrete roof, using GEO fixed installation brackets together with custom-made brackets which allow the clusters to be turned. 

A cluster GEO S12-ST being laid. We can clearly distinguish the framework connecting the concrete beam frame attached thereto by means of threaded rods.

One challenge facing NEXO was the inherent difficulty of containing noise levels within the stadium due to age and its metal and concrete construction. The GEO S12-ST – a high-output, long throw cabinet – features a tight dispersion pattern, keeping as much noise as possible inside the stadium. The system also produces enhanced speech intelligibility up to 20 metres from the GEO S12-ST clusters to the lowest seats, and 15 metres to the rear seats in the tribunes; in simulations, sound levels reached 110dB. 

The system is powered by 6x NXAMP4x4 powered TDControllers, which support the Dante network protocol. Use of Dante allowed the acoustic designers to specify BSS Soundweb for system control. Operated via a touchscreen in the control room, Soundweb was selected for its processing, presets and zoning functionality.
It provides full flexibility for managing the stadium’s 22 audio zones, which can be used in a variety of combinations. This allows messaging to be tightly targeted to each specific zone, in fact a special request from the police. Additionally, in the event of a system problem, Soundweb will automatically contact the administrator who can log on remotely to assess the situation.

The network runs on an all-new fibre optic cable infrastructure installed by Prosonix and sub contractor SPIE, providing full redundancy and fire-resistance for up to an hour. It can also accommodate future addition of sub bass loudspeakers and further extensions of the system.

Under the supervision of Deneef, SPIE was also responsible for the installation of the 22 clusters and amplifier/processing racks, and managed to get this job done in  just 3 ½ weeks time with incredible results !

Contacts : www.prosonix.be – www.audioxl.be – www.spie-be.com

We had not yet seen the Vista X, nor its mysterious processing unit, Infinity Core. It was unveiled on June 18 at a restaurant in Issy les Moulineaux, where the staff of Studer and of Audiopole delved into questions of flavor, aroma and, especially, presentation… the first one in Europe. Here they faced with patience and relish an Infinity of questions about the new flagship.

Vista X served up with 40 faders and lacquered wood sides. Visible to the right is the Studer rack containing the two elements that complete the system, a Core 800 and a D23.

RIP DSP, C++ rules

As we just reported in these columns barely a month ago, the Vista X is the first console to turn to the CPU, walking away without looking back on DSP technology and, in particular, Analog Devices’ SHARC, which has dominated the audio processing field for which it was specifically designed for two decades. The reason is simple, when you put Moore’s famous Law on one side and the DSP performance curve on the other.

Jean-Philippe Blanchard in full presentation – obviously happy to announce the release of a product that will enable Studer to take the driver’s seat in the world of Broadcast.

Jean-Philippe Blanchard, director of the broadcast division of Audiopole, perfectly illustrated this reasoning in this graph from his excellent presentation. It shows the capacity of processing cores to handle channel counts.

On the Y axis, we have the number of channels, plotted against the years from 1992 to today on the X axis.

The curves speak for themselves: the processing power of the DSP has evolved much more slowly. The 120 megaFLOPS of 1992 has now grown to 2.7 gigaFLOPS – 22 times more.

This is a quite respectable growth and sufficient to find happiness with products such as, among others, the Vista 1, which make great use of it, but it is incomparable with the increase in the processing power of the CPU in the same period.

If you were to take the current processing power of a Core 800 and apply the famous law – which has proven accurate – that states that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit doubles every two years since 1965, within 6 years, Studer would reach a processing capacity of 3720 channels on a single 64-core CPU.

Today it takes two 8-core processors to reach the already superlative figure of 840. Speaking of capacity per chip, today’s DSP can manage 19 channels in full processing, whereas an x86-type CPU can exceed 400.

Voilà… an FPGA!

We will discuss further on how it is managed in the x86 CPUs – which, however, are anything but designed for audio – but, despite this abundance of power, two operations take place outside of this processor, summing and routing. Because these amount to simple tasks that are always the same, and therefore easy to program, Studer has chosen the reconfigurable hardwired logic of an FPGA to carry them out. They have given themselves a lot of margin with this, as the model they have chosen could handle a whopping 10,000 channels.

A view of the extremely comprehensive display of Vista X with, under each meter bar, a display of a portion of the audio that has been processed through the channel; a big help when the number of simultaneous signals is constantly growing.

The rest of the operations related to audio, such as dynamics processing and EQ, are calculated by the brave little Intel Xeon Cores, for which the Studer algorithms have been rewritten for a Linux OS. On an x86 processor, 7 physical cores take care of audio with two parallel tasks on each core, therefore 14 virtual cores, while the eighth is reserved for the operation of a conventional PC server and all the functions such as communication or routine maintenance that the user cannot touch.

There is a complete disconnection between these tasks and the group of cores that make up the x86 CPU and this is the very cornerstone of the Studer software to avoid interference between the two that could randomly interrupt the audio processing. This proprietary Linux-based operating system required several years of development. The result is that the Infinity “engine” is cheaper and much more flexible, because it is built on standard components that have a much faster renewal than processors with their roots in the little world of audio and, finally, it benefits from programming tools and people capable of implementing them in very large numbers. The DSP and even the FPGA cannot stand up to this.

Fader glow or colorized faders – one of Studer’s previous innovations inherited by Vista X.

5.1 routing, clearly another job for the FPGA.

Two power levels are available: the Core 400, with one CPU, and Core 800 which has two. The numbers in the model indicate the number of potential routes in full processing but with one caveat: we’re talking about channels at 48 kHz and 24 bit; at 96 kHz, divide this by two. Further, for the moment, the Vista X only runs at 48 kHz but we were told that this sampling rate will soon be doubled, or even more – the A-Link card attached to the front of the D23 also displays 192 kHz.

Is there anything under the hood?

The central section of the Vista X control surface. Note the super-complete level display, the controls, the individual bar graphs with no problem showing 5.1 and so on…

As strange as it may seem, the real Studer innovation is the proprietary software capable of managing each individual core of an x86 processor. In the end, looking at the Infinity Core more closely, what we found was almost disappointing, accustomed as we are to densely populated DSP cards.

Once pulled from the front, the drawer of a Core 800 containing all the electronics looks like a server motherboard with two Xeon 8 cores, RAM, two removable power supplies and an SSD; so far, nothing really new.
However, Studer has personally developed the central PCI Express card.

A view of the PCI Express card designed by Studer specifically for the Core and the Infinity system. Underneath the fan, on a blue socket is the FPGA. You can make out on the left one of the two CPUs. All the way to the right, you can see the SSD boot drive.

In addition to the twelve I/O ports for the fiber optic links with the interfaces, it also has and FPGA hidden behind a fan. This PCI card can convey up to 5000 channels to the motherboard. The big advantage of Studer is pushed further by the Vista X, with total freedom to configure the console as you like in terms of input channels, outputs and auxiliaries.

Anything is possible up to the capacity offered by the Core, the sampling rate, and any plug-ins inserted without losing resources due to routing, since the latter task is taken care of by the very muscular FPGA.

A-Link

A diagram demonstrating the simplicity of the wiring required to deploy Vista X in a redundant configuration, including the Core and two D23 units.

These twelve bidirectional ports convey data in a new language developed by Studer, A-Link, a kind of counterpart to the SSL Blacklight II, which permits the interlacing of many more channels than simple MADI, which suddenly seems quite pokey by comparison.

A standard derived from 3G video, A-Link allows the transport of 1536 channels at 24 bit/48 kHz, probably half at 96 kHz. The interface is optical with an SFP cage, which makes it easy to switch from single- to multi-mode. The links are redundant as standard and the same link carries the clocking signal and the input and output interfaces.

The Department of Redundancy Department

As it is the epitome of a broadcast system and globally appreciated for it, the latest Vista goes even further in terms of its capacity to guarantee reliability under all circumstances. If the connection between the console and the Core is established conventionally using network cables, they are doubled on both networks. Two fiber links connect the I/O racks and CPU. All power supplies are duplicated, as is the fan in the Core. For maximum security, it is also possible to connect two Cores in parallel to the same D23 interfaces through A-Link.

The new D23 interface is designed to work with the A-Link protocol. The new cards are the MADI card and the A-Link HD card.

No need to have specific cards or special routines, D23 automatically switches in less than one sample if one of the two processors were to fail. This means that it is better to keep an eye on the screens to know which processor you are using, as your ears will never know from the sound!

The control surface also features improved redundancy. Where in previous models it would switch to a redundant PC, Vista X is now equipped with two redundant PCs that run in parallel, what Studer calls the Vista Quad Star: four CPUs, of which one handles the control surface, a second handles the display and the other two are ready to take over in case of a crash.

Auf Wiedersehen D21, willkommen D23

Though it is widespread, the D21 is forced to bow out, as it is unable to accept A-Link connections. It is thus the D23 and its 384 input and output channels that takes its place, twice those of its predecessor and really a lot for a 3U rack. Another improvement of this interface is the incorporation of a small CPU which allows it to manage the routing locally and to process audio independently.

Compatibility with the past remains, though, because the D21 cards can be used in the D23. DANTE is not forgotten, either: a module exists that accepts 64 in and out on its Ethernet network through a single RJ45 connector. A final card is proposed to interface two MADI connections, each fully redundant and capable of carrying 64 channels. Two ports are available with SFP cages and, for shorter cable runs, there is a good old coaxial link on a BNC connection.

A slide showing the Dante card in a Studer setup.

The Dual MADI card opens up the proprietary A-Link format to the now widespread MADI.

Plugging into Studer

In front of such an abundance of power, the question arose immediately: Will it be possible to keep some of it in reserve to run plug-ins and, moreover, VSTs or to use the same Studer Vista FX of the rest of the Vista range and its two Lexicon PCM96 engines?

Roger Heiniger, the Vista product manager at Studer, at the microphone with JP Blanchard, who keeps his hand on the knob. They also know how to do sound at Audiopole.

We took advantage of the presence of many members of the staff from Audiopole, but also from Studer Regensdorf, with Vista Product Manager Roger Heiniger to get to the bottom of this.

Regarding the 2U effects rack from Studer, the answer is no, as the HD connections are not present on the new Infinity Core. Concerning VST plug-ins, even if everything is theoretically possible, the risk is too great to run “foreign” dll in the Studer CPU using a wrapper, the crash of a plug-in could jeopardize the very operation of the Core and, consequently, the console.

As Roger says, some VST plug-ins are very stable, others less. This implies strict selection and long periods of intensive testing. We must therefore be satisfied with those from Studer, BSS, DBX or Lexicon, which will soon make their appearance, to guarantee secure and tested operation, especially as Studer will abandon the racks of external effects and delegate all of the work to the Core.

An Infinity of models & brands

The big news is the CPU processing mode and the hardware that goes with it. Studer adopted a name that reflects the future potential and current power: Infinity.

Andrew Hill, Director of Development at Studer, says that this CPU technology will be valid for the next 10 to 20 years and that all other manufacturers will soon go the same way. Jean-Philippe Blanchard, like Roger Heiniger, the Vista Product Manager at Studer, do not hide the fact that this CPU technology will soon be operated by other brands of the Harman group that are more focused on the live market, especially since a Vista X SR version is not on the agenda. However, it is possible to upgrade a Vista 5 or 9 with an Infinity Core, but not Vista 8 because of its analog monitoring circuit.

The Task Force deployed for the first presentation of the Vista X. From left to right: Kevin Renaudier, Audiopole broadcast technical support, Julie Costa, head of Studer marketing at Harman; behind her is Jean-Luc Mazzucco, Audiopole technical support and, all the way in the back on the left, with the blue shirt is “find the intruder” Serge Babkine, who also came to discover the new “Rolls Royce of Studer”, as Karl Chapman is pleased to call it. To the right of Julie Costa, we have Roger Heiniger, Vista product manager at Studer, and Génaelle Testard, Audiopole technical support and maternal support, Karl Chapman, Studer head of sales, and Jean-Philippe Blanchard, director of the Audiopole Broadcast Division, and, finally, Audiopole sales engineers Jean-Luc Gerards and Philippe Delépine.

Coffee and the check, please

The first console will be delivered during the summer to Euromedia, who drew its checkbook faster than anyone else in France and even in Europe, and who, therefore, deserved a healthy round of applause during the presentation.
In an interview with us, Jean-Philippe Blanchard gave the price range in the ballpark of € 200K for a Vista X system with a 40 fader console, a Core 800 and three D23: clearly a broadcast and high-end positioning.

Nestling in Gongti Xilu amidst the highest concentration of night clubs in Beijing, the Live in Vac club or LIV club as it’s known to the chic Beijing cognoscenti, is a high class establishment that manages without fanfare to differentiate itself from the pump and grind of its neighbours.
At three and a half thousand square metres this is no small investment; décor, technology, beverages and bar snacks, rest rooms and VIP areas; all receive the closest attention.

Mr Lou Jun of Guangzhou Yodoo Audio Equipment Technology Co, Ltd was in many ways very flattered to be asked to design the audio installation at the LIV, and while he didn’t pull up outside in a midnight black Bentley Continental like so many of the LIV Club’s guests, he did bring with him something he describes as “The audio equivalent. A system of such refined pedigree and performance that clubbers will not notice just how powerful the experience is, until the DJ steps on the gas.”

The subject of Mr Lou Jun’s admiration is founded on a gamut of components from the d&b audiotechnik range of loudspeaker systems. “I was very fortunate, the LIV club owners had already identified d&b as the brand with which they most wanted their club to be associated. They told me ‘We are confident you will be able to do a great job’.”

The club is a former bowling alley, the ceiling is relatively low at nine metres, but the whole space is open single span without pillars. “My brief was to provide three discrete but integrated sound zones,” continued Mr Jun, “Dance floor, VIP areas and main house system.

The dance floor was easy: flown Q1 and Q-SUB combination in each corner provided energy from above, while still being small enough to be concealed within the lighting technology. Physical presence was added at body level from a set of B2-SUBs on the floor. Although the high, mid and low / mid is well confined to the dance floor, the extreme low end of the B2s inevitably excites the whole room.

We have been able to capitalise on this in the other areas, concentrating on delivering musical fidelity through carefully placed Ci7-TOPs and subtly warming up the low end with matching Ci7-SUBs. The point source Ci7-TOP provides a very well defined seventy five by forty degree constant directivity down to 600 Hz, allowing us to beam precisely into the other zones, while the warm tones of the Ci7-SUB’s single eighteen inch driver beautifully compliment the B2 above 44 Hz. I like to think of the C-Series loudspeakers as the walnut dashboard and leather upholstery of the club. When you sit within its embrace why would you want to be anywhere else?”

Mr Jun’s design also included d&b MAX wedge monitors for the DJs, and the entire system is driven by d&b D12 amplifiers networked and zoned using the R1 remote control software.

“It’s marvellous,” commented the owners, “the d&b sound reinforcement system gives transparent fidelity every night. It is a big part of the gorgeous atmosphere we strive to create at LIV. Everyone who comes enjoys their night life at LIV.”

For more information : http://www.dbaudio.com/

This year’s Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) in Las Vegas easily earned its reputation as the world’s largest electronic music festival with seven stages, carnival rides, art installations, fireworks displays and over 400,000 in attendance.
The landmark multimedia three-day event took place at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and focused on providing a total entertainment experience for electronic dance music fans, with over 70 DJs performing each day.

3G Productions of Las Vegas/Los Angeles, who once again provided audio for the event, set up a fully loaded Martin Audio MLA loudspeaker system on Stage Two (Cosmic Meadow) to deliver the power and huge amount of low end required for the shows. DJs featured on the stage included Diplo, Justin Martin, A-Trak, Chromeo, Bassnectar, Dillon Francis and Destructo, just to name a few.

The system for Cosmic Meadow stage consisted of 16 MLA and two MLD enclosures per side, 12 MLA Compact per side for sidefills and three MLA Compact per side for front fills. More than the required amount of low end was provided by 40 MLX subs stacked one on top of the other along the front of the stage. A Yamaha CL5 console was used for the FOH mix and a Yamaha PM5D for monitors.

Asked about the MLA, 3G’s Keith Conrad said, “the system performance each night was fantastic and the Martin Audio stage blew everybody away. The client (insomniac) was happy with the way MLA performed, the show was packed every day and the DJs and their engineers were really impressed with the system.

“Because Cosmic Meadow stage was facing out towards the speedway and wasn’t competing with any other stage, we got the full impact and power of the system, which was amazing,” adds Keith. “As it turned out, we didn’t even need delay towers because the coverage was so exceptional.” This was due in part to Martin Audio’s Display 2.1 modeling software.
“What makes EDC unique from other music genre festivals is the incredible amount of bass that’s required for electronic dance music. The MLX subs were so powerful the artists and their crews were smiling from ear to ear as soon as they turned it on. 

“Of course,” Keith concludes, “we were fortunate to have our secret weapon FOH engineer Manny Perez who is definitely a veteran with MLA and knows how to tweak the system so it sounds exactly right from the low to high frequencies, which made it an ideal situation for everyone. Overall, I’d say that the system exceeded expectations from every aspect.”

For more about 3G Productions, Inc., please click to www.3glp.com

For more about Martin Audio, please click to www.martin-audio.com

Should someone still be unaware of what’s going on three days long in Clisson, here’s a self explanatory set piece.

Now in its 9^th year, Hellfest has grown to become one of the three largest festivals in France, attracting more than 150,000 metal fans over its 3 days.

For the second year, rental company Melpomen brought the NEXO STM modular line array down to the peaceful  town of Clisson (near Nantes), for a spectacular line-up of rock and heavy metal legends – Aerosmith, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Status Quo, Rob Zombie, Megadeth and Soundgarden.

Although there are six venues  at the Hellfest, the big names appear on the famous twin stages, Main Stage 1 and Main Stage 2.  The action alternates between these two, and the PA systems effectively run as one, continuously. 

Mainstage 1 & 2 sticked together and ready to fire hours of tough rock three days long. Don’t look for the main hangs, they are hidden behind huge drapes made of acoustically transparent fabric.

Both stages were equipped with identical STM systems, each  had a dedicated L/R main hang of 15x STM M46 Main Modules and 15x STM B112 Bass Modules per side; 60x S118 Subs were ground-stacked in groups in a cardioid configuration. This totalled 60x sets of STM, 180x cabinets in all.

After Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound, please welcome Melpomen’s wall of subs. Not the nicest place to be and enjoy the show, this wall is made of 12 S118 pushing forward and 3 units cleaning backward. Along with his stage left counterpart, it’s her to help and boost the low frequency response of the 30 STM systems hanged above.

Also on stage were NEXO GEO T sidefills and GEO S12 frontfills, and a large number of 45°N-12 line monitors.

Out of STM’s main hangs coverage, three Geo S12 provide the audience closer to the stage with something but subs and guitar amps !!

Low profile but high quality 45° N-12 Nexo wedges on duty during one of Hellfest’s shows.

In sweltering 30-degree heat, Melpomen’s team was led by crew chief David Prevost, with Cedric Bernard and Christophe Rousseau supervising FOH on Main Stage 1, and Samuel Biraies and Wilfrid Hubert on Main Stage 2.

Contact : www.melpomen.net

Amadeus, based in France, one of the premiere manufacturers of high-end sound reinforcement systems and custom studio speakers, announced today that it has received the honor of winning the ‘PM’Up’ Ile-de-France economic development competition.
(http://www.iledefrance.fr/competence/pm)

Amadeus was the only audio company to win out of over 228 entries. The funds are to be used over 3 years for supply diversification, international development and equipment and material investments.

The parisian Studio de la Chine featuring a pair of ST155 custom designed main speakers, one of Michel Deluc’s, head of Amedeus R&D creations. Each loudspeaker is equipped with a one inch dome pure beryllium tweeter, one three-inchs ATC soft dome mid-range driver and a mighty 15-inchs TAD direct radiating woofer. This system is driven by a proprierary tri-amped D class power amplifier that includes a DSP module for filtering, protection and time alignement functions. The switched mode power supply of the amps is fed by a PFC.

Amadeus has recently seen growth in the Asian audio markets and regionally in Europe and especially France in institutional installations, such as the National Museum of Natural History (France), French Institute for Science about Music and Sound (IRCAM), National Audiovisual Institute (INA), and the Philharmonie de Paris. The funds won by Amadeus, 99 110 €, will help spur investment in furthering these and other business directions for Amadeus.

The ST200N and his custom wooden carved elliptical waveguide. The HF transducer in a 1 inch driver. For the low frequency below 2 kHz, the ST200N is equipped with a 8-inchs kevlar woofer. This small monitor is driven by a bi-amped D class 40W (HF) and 150W (LMF) power amplifier.

The custom made INA 155, a monitor specifically created for the French INA institute and sharing the same loudspeakers than the ST155 but the tweeter, here a Dynaudio Esotar 1 inch soft dome.

Established in 2008 by the région Île-de-France, PM’Up supports small and medium-sized businesses that exhibit a high potential for growth and job creation. Île-de-France is the wealthiest and most populated of the twenty-seven administrative regions of France.

Jean-Paul HUCHON, the President of the Conseil regional (Regional Council) of Île-de-France points out, “PM’Up was established to support innovating, dynamic and responsible businesses with their structuring projects, in order to stimulate their growth.”

“Joining the PM’Up network alongside hundreds of high-potential SMB in the Île-de-France region’s ecosystem is a true honour,” declares Bernard BYK, head of Amadeus. “It also provides Amadeus with a wonderful opportunity to benefit from custom assistance and advising, and financial support from the région Île-de-France. It will allow us to increase our production capacity, invest towards the launch of new products and services, create new jobs, gain new markets abroad and confirm our sustainable growth strategy.”

“Amadeus embodies the alliance of high technology and traditional know-how,” explains Antoine PALLUD, SMB advisor at the Direction du Développement Economique et de l’Innovation. “The région Île-de-France is committed to championing businesses who believe in innovation, values, and job creation. It supports Amadeus in its expansion, most notably abroad, confident that the company will contribute to extending the influence of the region, as well as its economic growth.” 

Companies who apply to PM’Up must submit an ambitious program, which may include launching new products, optimizing the company’s value chain (quality process, modernizing, partnerships, economic intelligence). The plan can also pertain to exports development, sales growth such as setting up subsidiaries or a franchise, or implementing a Corporate Social Responsibility program. The nominated businesses can obtain up to 250,000 euro in funding and benefit from assistance in the definition and implementation of their growth strategy. 

The selection of  PM’Up winners is made by a jury of individuals intimately involved and knowledgeable about each of the business sectors targeted: Eco-activities, Mechanics, Materials and Industrial Performance, Sustainable Mobility and Transport, ICT, High Tech, Digital and Digital Design, Health and Life Sciences, Design / Culture / Entertainment, and more.

Contact Amadeus at : [email protected] or visit : http://www.amadeusaudio.fr

Austria : The legendary Top of the Mountain concert brought two new stars to the alpine resort of Ischgl this year: Robbie Williams and NEXO STM.

A shot showing the stage and the system installed for the 2014 Top of the Mountain’s show. 15 sets of STM M46 Main and B112 Bass per side supplemented with two stacks of 4x CD18 cardioid sub bass units per side and 5 stacks of 6 subs S118 in front of the stage, 4 of which facing the audience and two reversed to achieve a cardioid coverage.

Held each May at an altitude of 2,300 metres, Top of the Mountain rounds off the ski season in fine style. Robbie and his Big Band scaled the heights this year to perform their entire Swings Both Ways album, marking the event’s 20th anniversary.

Norbert Bund from acoustic NETWORK, system tech for Fantasy Event Engineering driving the STM from the FOH protected by the snow falling hard on May 3rd, the very date of Robby William’s show at Ishgl.

The STM modular line array PA system had to cope with the biggest-ever audience at the Silvretta Arena, a crowd of 30,000 people, but it also had to score in another crucial area.  All equipment is brought into the resort by snow gondola, with snowploughs handling on-site transport and the crew flown in by helicopter. Here, STM’s ability to break down into smaller elements proved invaluable, allowing for ease of transport to the arena.

All technical production was supplied by Austria’s Fantasy Event Engineering, working closely with sound rental company acoustic NETWORK from Germany to provide 15 sets of STM M46 Main and B112 Bass per side, covering up to 80 metres.

The S112s were supplemented with two stacks per side of 4x CD18 cardioid sub bass units and 5 stacks of 6 subs S118 in front of the stage, 4 of which facing the audience and two reversed to achieve a cardioid coverage. Two delay towers of 10+2 GEO T cabinets covered from 85 up to 135 metres. Overlap between the two systems was smooth, and very little EQ had to be applied.  In addition, 8x GEO S12s were used for the VIP area, and front fills were provided by 4x PS15s.

Robbie Williams during his show started at 1PM, the stage partially hidden by the clouds creating heavy climatic effects with the heat generated by the audience, not to mention the snow falling.

The system surprised even Val Gilbert, Nexo’s concert sound technical advisor, who has heard STM in a great many locations and configurations. “With snow acting as an absorbent everywhere, it was almost like listening to very big studio monitors,” he says. “We experienced some of the most pronounced climatic effects I have ever heard. Cold air on the ground, warm air above the crowd’s head, and cold air from falling snow and fog above created a layer of warm air exactly at the height of the FOH engineer position, driving mid and high frequencies straight into the tent.  This made it difficult for the FOH engineer, Simon Hodge, to mix in a predictable way. However the sound was solid and coverage and throw were excellent. Without a doubt, STM was up to the task, and performed extremely well.”

Both Hodge and Britannia Row’s system engineer Josh Lloyd, who tours with Robbie Williams, were complimentary about STM, expressing a desire to spend time with it in more ‘hospitable’ conditions. “The system sounded great, especially considering the tough environment we were dealing with,” says Lloyd.

The audience is arriving, the snow is falling, a perfect test for the STM facing some unusual weather conditions creating a near studio absorbent room.

Lloyd wasn’t the only one who thought so; the event’s technical director, Hannes Knapp from Fantasy Event Engineering has already confirmed that STM will be used for next year’s Top of the Mountain, with multiple high-profile sources telling him it was “the best sound ever in Ischgl”.

website Fantasy Event Engineering : http://www.fantasy-veranstaltungstechnik.at/

Maydays, a 20-year-old electronic dance music (EDM) tradition in Germany received a sonic power boost this year with a brand-new Meyer Sound Lyon™ linear sound reinforcement system. The 2014 “Full Senses” edition drew 21,000 to the Westfalenhallen in Dortmund, with headline DJs Fedde Le Grand, Moguai, and Sander van Doorn playing in the main arena through an immersive surround sound configuration.

The main venue of the Mayday’s festival called The Arena. The highest array in the very center of the shot covers the front entry of the venue, at the opposite of the stage and is comprised of two arrays of 10 M’elodie each. On the left and from behind, one of the four arrays of eight-each Lyon linear line array loudspeakers bolstered by side arrays of six-each MICA line array loudspeakers one of which can be seen on the far left of the shot. Last but not least five MICA loudspeakers are used for near fill, and 12 UPA-1P loudspeakers for side tiers.

“The sound was clean, clear, crisp, and had loads of headroom,” reports Bernd Görgen, co-managing director for Wiesbaden-based schokopro, which has supplied technical production, including sound, light, video, and kinetics for the third year. “We received very good feedback from the promoter during soundcheck, and the performance throughout the night proved us right in our decision to use Lyon.”

The main system comprised arrays of eight-each Lyon linear line array loudspeakers in each corner of the arena, bolstered by side arrays of six-each Mica® line array loudspeakers. Low-end reinforcement was supplied by an array of 24 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements, and auxiliary and fill systems comprised two hangs of ten-each M’elodie® line array loudspeakers for front entry, five MICA loudspeakers for near fill, and 12 UPA-1P loudspeakers for side tiers.

Drive and optimization were supplied by a Galileo® Callisto™ loudspeaker management system with one Galileo 616 AES and six Galileo Callisto 616 array processors and two Galileo 616 processors. Four JM-1P arrayable loudspeakers and four 600-HP subwoofers provided DJ monitoring. 

Swept by a three color laser, one of the Dortmund Westfalenhallen halls changed into the biggest Mayday’s dance floor. Eight Meyer Sound arrays gives a massive power boost to this two days festival comprising of 32 Lyon, 20 M’elodie and 12 Mica, not to mention 24 1100-LFC

The LYON system was recommended for MAYDAY by Jörg Rapp, head of sound for schokopro, based on his recent experience using another member of the LEO™ Family, the larger LEO linear large-scale sound reinforcement system. Audio engineers Dirk Maron and Dennis Siebert coordinated system design for schokopro and worked as system technicians on site.

“We had the pleasure of working with a crew that could get the best out of a sound system,” says Wulf Issinger, co-managing director for schokopro. “With the effortless power and even coverage of the Lyon arrays and the tremendous performance of the 1100-LFCs, the system provided an amazing experience for the crowd—from the front of the stage to the very back of the venue.”

The heat is on at Mayday’s festival thanks to the flames throwed by 24 1100-LFC subs stacked by two and facing the dancing audience, a massive low frequency reinforcement suited for EDM.

WebSite : http://www.schokopro.com/

The Feeling is a band that has produced much of its own work and is interested in, and knowledgeable about, the technology it uses. To have a great sounding mixing console at both Front of House and monitors then becomes a must for their engineers.

Jonathan Lewis and Sean Busby-Little, who respectively man these positions, knew that sonically DiGiCo was the right choice; they also knew the SD9’s compact footprint would fit the bill for the venues the band’s current tour is playing.

But Sean had an additional requirement from his desk. “I’m teching for myself, as well as mixing monitors,” he explains. “I needed a small footprint without compromising audio quality, but I needed something that was quick and easy to set up and breakdown each day.”

“My main priority is also audio quality,” adds Jonathan. “ I knew I would get that with the SD9 (and with any DiGiCo!). The desk sounds great right from the in, the pre-amps are crystal clean, and the EQ sounds fantastic; it actually allows you to be creative rather than just being corrective.”

From the left: Sean Busby-Little (Monitors) and Jonathan Lewis (FOH)

“The SD9 has two 12 fader banks, which makes everything accessible,” Sean continues. “I also needed a desk with two PFL busses, as I am running both a Sennheiser G2 in ear system and wedges simultaneously – I love the easy way you can route channels and outputs to wherever you need them; DiGiCo desks are very versatile and there aren’t really any limits to what you can route where, and the sound quality is incredible. DiGiCo is very well regarded in the industry for a good reason. The preamps sound really good; you plug in the mic ‘1, 2, 1, 2, check’ and the sound is already good. The four band EQ is also really responsive; no matter how much you have to carve out from the signal, it always sounds great, it has real body and live-ness to it that’s hard to describe.”

Jonathan’s other priority is how the desk works as a creative tool. “I believe mixing is a combination of technical knowledge and creativity,” he says. “With the SD9 I can put any inputs in any place I need, which makes mixing a joy and allows me to be artistic. The two banks of 12 faders works really well for FOH. I set one bank to be my input channels, and the other bank to DCA’s, Groups, FX sends, and Matrix’s etc. This was incredibly easy to navigate and gave me full control of the band at all times. As I was taking the desk in the trailer along with all our backline (which is a lot!), the size of the SD9 was key. The amount of channels you get for the size is excellent, this also kept the tour manager happy as it fits in nice and easy.”

Sean is running 42 inputs, six stereo in ears, one mono in ears, three wedge mixes and, on some days, two side fills, whilst Jonathan has 34 inputs, plus the electric guitars running through a stereo group.

“I’ve then got eight Matrix outputs set up (input from the L+R mix). The PA and venues were very different each night on this tour, so I needed total flexibility when it came to output distribution.” For both engineers, this means the console has to be intuitive.

Sean (Monitors) is running 42 inputs, six stereo in ears, one mono in ears, three wedge mixes and, on some days, two side fills

“Working with a DiGiCo is just like having an analogue channel strip in front of you,” says Sean. “The touch ‘n’ turn knob is great, very fast and easy to dial things in. The Macros mean you can apply multiple functions to one button, and the copy and paste function means that you can pick a channel to copy from, or copy to, on the faders; this is so much quicker than on other digital desks. 

“Having the eight local in/outs are very useful if you need to throw another input/output quickly at the stage without delving into a rack. The assignable PFL/AFL busses can be routed to either the wedge buss or your in ears buss, so you don’t have to listen to a ears mix coming out of your PFL wedge, but again are easily assignable if you do want to.

“The ease with which you can group stereo channels together, so that you can increase the channel view count that you have on your screen is great. There are just so many features to the SD Series that make life that little bit easier and quicker.”

Whilst the band left it up to the engineers to choose the desk they wanted, both engineers agree that they really do notice how things sound and show an interest in how easy a console is to use. 

“The band left the choice of desk up to us,” says Jonathan. “But they are very technically minded, so do pick up on how things sound. The guitarist especially will always come and have a listen to FOH during sound check. He commented several times on how clear everything sounded. Credit to the pre amps!”

“We spoke to DiGiCo’s support team at the beginning of the tour; we didn’t have a problem, we just needed to clarify a couple of things as we were running one DiGiCo MADI Rack and sharing gains between monitors and FOH,” Sean concludes. “The technical support team were excellent, they were very quick to respond and dealt with our query very efficiently.” 

In a major announcement, Studer presents a remarkable technological leap forward in professional audio: the new console Vista X and the Infinity Series Core, offering more than 800 channels of processing, 5000 inputs/outputs and full redundancy.
The mad race is on for power and simplification in pro audio with the return to the good old PC processor, the CPU, whose raw power, timing, on-board cache memory and, especially, the number of cores keeps growing.

The loser is the DSP that all current consoles, multi-effects and audio workstations are still using. But what, exactly, is wrong with the poor DSP? First of all, it speaks only its own language. This requires specific development, which puts a strain on costs. In particular, it cannot do everything, a problem which, in the case of consoles, forces manufacturers to use other processors and other languages to build the control surface itself. In short, it requires two more or less distinct worlds to work together. 

Salvation arrives in the form of the venerable CPU, the heart of our PCs and, for the last ten years, also our Macs, which rises up from its duties in the simple management of controls, memories or displays to take charge of the audio and even the effects – effectively marking the end of TDM and the rise of Real Time.

That means that companies adopting this type of architecture can quickly enter into agreements with the plug-in developers to use the numerous existing real time libraries and integrate them perfectly into the mixer. Outboard racks filled with a range of peripheral devices will finally and definitively be retired.

Ever present in the digital audio field with its range of Vista broadcast consoles, from which the Sound Reinforcement or SR range was developed, Studer has therefore abandoned the SHARC-based (Super Harvard ARChitecture) DSP of Analog Devices and becomes the first to move into the world of CPU processing with its Infinity Core CPU-based DSP. It is a unique and particularly powerful architecture for professional audio, using only one DSP for over 400 channels!

The use of the computer-type CPUs for audio processing ensures significant processing power, rapid evolution of capacity and performance in the near future, all using a widely used and tested hardware.

The connector side view D23m

The new Infinity Core incorporates redundant power supplies and ventilation and the Core itself can be doubled to allow full redundancy and instantaneous change-over. It connects to the new STUDER D23m I/O racks (photo d23m rear)over a fiber-optic link using standard STUDER A-Link protocol, which manages up to 384 channels per D23m rack.

Each Infinity Core features 12 A-Link fiber-optic ports, which give it extraordinary flexibility and power. This flexibility is further enhanced by the modularity of the D23m rack, which offers 12 slots that can accommodate different types of analog or digital input or output modules. The D23m can also be interfaced with Riedel MediorNet for configurations using multiple Infinity systems.

The new Vista X surface is very similar to that of Vista 9, but it incorporates as standard Quad-Star technology – four CPUs running in full redundancy with further redundancy of Ethernet switches, fans and communication interfaces – a security level that we are accustomed to finding in aeronautics and that is unique in professional audio. This, alone, should convince the most demanding productions and broadcasters. Two Vista X systems can run simultaneously on the same project to cope with the most demanding projects in terms of format or language. The high-performance level meters simultaneously display a memory of the waveform on the channels of the last 50 seconds of audio, facilitating the search for any stray noise or signal interruption. The VistaMix function automatically manages gain during TV talk shows, by bringing up the active microphone and reducing the gain of other transducers on the soundstage.

The Virtual Surround Panning II feature facilitates processing and mixing of up to 7.1 surround programming. STUDER also offers a choice of colors for the side panels, armrests and stands that complete the console.

Now Studer only has to adapt this new architecture to live sound by offering more compact control surfaces. Many French and international sound engineers will be drawn to the charm, the unprecedented power and the almost infinite potential for the integration of effects resources that this beautiful Swiss machine offers.

Prominent Midwest-based SR provider takes delivery of its first L- Acoustics system.

 Fresh back from the 25th annual Pollstar Awards in Nashville, where they were nominated for “Sound Company of the Year,” Thunder Audio President Tony Villarreal and Vice President Paul Owen proudly announce that they have now officially taken delivery of their company’s first L-Acoustics system, the new K2.



The Thunder Audio crew with several of its new L-ACOUSTICS enclosures.

Comprised of 36 K2 and six Kara variable curvature WST® line source elements, eight K1-SB and 18 SB28 subs, six ARCS II constant curvature enclosures and 10 LA-RAK touring racks–each housing three LA8 amplified controllers–the sound reinforcement provider’s recent purchase marks one of the very first K2 systems sold in the U.S.
 

Paul Owen (left) and Tony Villarreal with part of the company’s new K2 complement.

Thunder Audio’s company principals made the decision to join the L- Acoustics family after critically listening to K2 late last year at the manufacturer’s corporate headquarters in Marcoussis, France. Fully aware of the impact that L- Acoustics ‘ larger K1 system has had on the festival and touring industries, both Villarreal and Owen are equally optimistic about K2’s potential.



“In the past, we’ve always purchased large-scale systems based on the requirements dictated by a specific tour or application,” notes Owen. “This is the first time, however, that we’ve taken delivery of a product purely from the standpoint of feeling in our gut that it will be a success. Given the overwhelming reputation of K1–as well as the more than 20-year legacy of K2’s predecessor, V-DOSC–we knew that getting in on the ground floor of this new system with such a stellar pedigree was absolutely the right choice for us and our client base.”



“With its compact profile, surprisingly light weight and exceptional horsepower, K2 is perfect for so many of our customers–from corporate to touring to theatrical,” agrees Villarreal. “And, of course, the sound is absolutely phenomenal. We A/B-ed it with the other four systems in our inventory and felt that it shined above and beyond anything else.

We really have a sense that this is very quickly going to become the number one requested box on the market, and we’re so confident in that fact that we’ve already put in a purchase order for an additional 48 K2 for early next year, which is about the soonest we can get more seeing how popular they are right now!”



According to the two company principals, Thunder Audio is ultimately hoping to set its sights on K1 ownership as well. “In addition to being terrific as a standalone system, K2 is also a great stepping stone for us potentially getting into K1,” Owen describes. “It would make a lot of sense for us to be able to repurpose our K2 arrays as side hangs on a stadium-sized rig, which is one of the big reasons that we began looking into it in the first place.

We’ve had some prior clients that have requested L- Acoustics in the past, and with K2–and eventually K1, perhaps–we’ll be in a position to give them both the service that has been our hallmark and the systems that they’re looking for.”



ATK Audiotek of Valencia, CA (USA), production sound provider for the annual Grammy Awards telecast for the past 14 years, augmented its audience PA system for this year’s ceremony with prototype subwoofer cabinets utilizing Powersoft’s innovative M-Force transducer technology.

Front view of the M-Force infra bass transducer (demo prototype) seen on the Powersoft booth at Prolight+Sound 2013.

 The proprietary sub bass system, designed and developed by ATK in collaboration with consultant Mario Di Cola of Audio Labs Systems in Italy, offers a package that significantly outperforms conventional subwoofers and produces a natural and controlled sound with negligible power compression even at the highest sound pressure levels.

Look no spider, the linear guiding makes his presence unnecessary. It’s a centering piece which connects the stress in the actuator frame. To the rear, with his white hair, Powersoft CEO, President Lastrucci.

ATK first began evaluating its new subwoofer design on the audience PA during production of the most recent season of “The X Factor” television talent show in Los Angeles. Each cabinet incorporates an M-Force moving magnet linear motor with a 30-inch polypropylene cone and is driven by a single Powersoft K10 class D amplifier generating 9,000W.

Scott Harmala: ATK audiotek CTO and VP engineering

According to Scott Harmala, ATK Audiotek’s CTO and VP Engineering, as the company continues to develop the design, the next iteration will incorporate a specially developed Powersoft amplifier module capable of delivering 15,000W that has been designed specifically for integration with M-Force by Claudio Lastrucci, Powersoft’s head of R&D and co-founder.

“The thing that was shocking to us was how it sounded, the quality of the low end and how tight it was. It’s the tightest sub bass we’ve ever heard,” reports Harmala. “I think that largely has to do with the fact that the motor is such an over-dampened design. There’s instant acceleration and de-acceleration. It sounds like nothing anybody has heard before.”

A detail of the motion transmission to the cone through the “spider” as proposed new look Powersoft by a rigid guiding piece and allowing the centering movement.

ATK has implemented M-Force in a short transmission line cabinet design, he elaborates. “The design does load the cone but it doesn’t have the characteristics of a bass reflex ported enclosure, where you have a fairly reactive port resonance.” While a conventional ported design can extend a cabinet’s usable range down by a half-octave and requires precisely tuned high-pass filtering, he says, this new subwoofer offers low frequency extension in excess of one octave. “We’ll probably set it for a low frequency cut off around 20 Hz. There’s not much content below that,” he says.

“Because the M-Force motor has so much travel and its cone has so much surface area, this design allows it to create a tremendous amount of SPL at very low frequencies and still be within its operating parameters,” he continues. “The motor’s strength is somewhere in the order of 50 to 60 times greater than even the best 18-inch driver on the market. At 25 Hz it has 8 dB more output than two of our double-18-inch subwoofer boxes.”

The final M-Force One used for the ATK subwoofer. This actuator (moving magnet linear motor) can accept 15 kW of power provided by a special Powersoft amp module under DSP Control (for DPCR, differential pressure Control algorithm).

Unlike conventional loudspeakers, the magnetic field of M-Force’s genuine push-pull engine interacts in a linear fashion to provide a controlled force to the moving elements. The nature of the design means that, unlike conventional loudspeaker drivers where the voice coil can hit the back plate or jump out of the magnetic gap under extreme conditions, M-Force is self-limiting, says Harmala.

“As the magnet moves back and forth in the magnetic field there’s a magnetic braking effect, so it can’t mechanically damage itself due to over-travel.”

The subwoofer project began when Harmala and business partner Michael McDonald, president of ATK, visited Powersoft’s facility in Italy.

Claudio Lastrucci (R&D manager) at left and Antonio Peruch (Managing Director, fab and quality)

“They revealed to us some of their research and secret projects—one of which was the M-Force driver. We started talking about how we could utilize it as a development piece. We were really interested in gauging the true real world performance. Does it sound good? Will top mixers enjoy mixing with it?

So we got involved with Mario Di Cola and he started working with me on a prototype box for proof of concept and in order to qualify its performance envelope. The current test box is the result of that collaboration.”

The Powersoft power racks (9) used by ATK Audiotek for the Grammy Awards 2014. Forty five K amps (and two DiGiCo stage boxes).

The next step is to finalize the cabinet configuration so that it can be easily flown and arrayed, and can be more efficiently packed into a truck. “Currently the box is unpowered.

We’ll be receiving some power modules to test with it before we engage in designing a production box,” says Harmala. “But all-in-all the performance should be similar to our test design.”

Once the production package is complete, he says, “I could see us using it as our premier sub bass with any PA system. The secondary reason to use it is for low frequency effects. We do a lot of movie premieres and other events where they want a lot of low frequency information. This would be the champion of all the alternatives that we could use.”

More information : www.powersoft-audio.com