PSNE July 2015 Digital

www.psneurope.comJuly 2015

Prima performanceThe Strokes headline Barcelona’s première pop festival P38

P54APOLLO LANDING SSE BRINGS L-ACOUSTICS AND KNOW-HOW TO REVAMP

P28EUROVISION DAZZLES MORE THAN A WALTZ AT THE VIENNA SHOW

P42NEXT IN LINE ITALIAN COMPANY THINKS BIG WITH NEW MONITOR

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Consolidation in the commercial world has become, more or less, an everyday event, be it Kraft buying Cadbury, Volkswagen acquiring Porsche, Coca-Cola grabbing Innocent or Google snaffl ing up… well, nearly everything. Should we surprised it appears to be an accelerating

phenomenon in our pro-audio world?While HHB’s Ian Jones suggests that we are witnessing a logical event, and

that consolidation is “inevitable” within a group of businesses that began as small independents, AV consultant Roland Hemming puts it down, partially, to a lack of “succession strategies” for certain companies. David Davies looks in depth at the bigger picture starting on page 34, while trying to gauge whether or not we will benefi t in the longer term.

An aside at this point: despite numerous requests for interviews, David has so far failed to gain any insight from the actual VC and private equity fi rms dancing around at the peripheries of our business. Just once, I reckon, it would be nice to hear from some of these ‘other’ directors, to fi nd out what they really think, and whether they have any expectations than simply making 20% growth a year. But I won’t hold my breath on that one.

Dave Wiggins has a take on the consolidation story (though he calls it ‘Big Brother’) in his column on p10. Wiggy’s column last month about Uli Behringer’s take-over of TC Group certainly raised a few reactions last month – but, you know, that’s what columnists are supposed to do, aren’t they?! It’s online atwww.psneurope.com/the-empire-strikes-again if you missed it...

There’s lots of other great stuff for you this month: A round-up on the compact console trend from Phil Ward (p48); NEXT-proaudio in the spotlight (p42); and the annual Eurovision tech rundown, of course (p28). PLUS! You saw the shortlists for the Pro Sound Awards already, right (p8)? Have you bought your tickets yet? n

PSNEUROPEP03 JULY2015Welcome

DAVE ROBINSONEditor@PSNEurope

Editor Dave Robinson [email protected]

Deputy editor Jon [email protected]

Managing editor Jo [email protected]

Advertising manager Ryan O’Donnell [email protected]

Account managerRian [email protected]

Commercial director Darrell [email protected]

Head of design Jat Garcha [email protected]

Production executive Jason [email protected]

Contributors: Kevin Hilton, David Davies, Erica Basnicki, Phil Ward, Dave Wiggins, Angela Buenger, Guillaume Schouker, James Manley, David Mathew

PSNEurope NewBay Media, 1st Floor, Suncourt House, 18–26 Essex Road, London N1 8LNEditorial: +44 20 7354 6002 Sales: +44 20 7354 6000

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ISSN: 0269-4735 (print)2052-238X (digital)

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Cover image: Julian Casablancas at Primavera Sound 2015 (pic: Louis Austin)

1 Color - 0 Cyan / 100 Magenta / 99 Yellow / 4 Black

03 Welcome/Leader v1 JC.indd 1 23/06/2015 14:18

Business6 21 million Britons see live music in 20147 A&H dLive-rs with new digital desk8 Pro Sound Awards 2015 fi nalists10 Vocal channel: Erica Basnicki and David Wiggins12 Movers and shakers14 PSNTraining18 The strategic position: Gary Stuebing, AVnu Alliance34 Feature: Consolidation in pro audio

Technology16 New products: InfoComm round-up48 Feature: Digital consoles

Studio 20 Bumpy ride ahead for AIR Studios 24 Crowdfunding Q&A with jubilant Flare Audio

Broadcast26 Full Sound: Now and Next wrap-up28 Eurovision welcomes Australia and AoIP

Live38 Twin Cam rides solo at Primavera42 NEXT-proaudio: Rio Tinto revolutionaries44 Pro audio under the apple trees in Normandy 46 Usher FOH Horace Ward says Yeah! to RedNet rig

Installation54 Contract rental for SSE at the Apollo

Back pages57 Hither & dither58 Backtalk: Rick Clarke

In this issue...

www.psneurope.com

P04JULY2015

Contents

P20OFF THE AIR?SIR GEORGE’S STUDIO TAKES ON THE NEIGHBOURS

P28OLD DOG, NEW TRICKSEUROPE (AND AUSTRALIA) SINGS ITS HEART OUT FOR THE 60th TIME

P44SAX APPEALIN THE FRONT ROW AT JAZZ SOUS LES POMMIERS

P38SPRING HAS SPRUNGL-ACOUSTICS EVERYWHERE AT THE 15th PRIMAVERA SOUND

04 Contents v1 JCDR.indd 1 23/06/2015 09:41

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United Kingdom

www.psneurope.com/business

P06JULY2015

Business

Some good news for Britain’s beleaguered live venues as a UK Music study also reveals a 23pc increase in gig attendance

Live music generates £1bn for UK since 2011Total attendance at live music

events in the UK topped 21

million in 2014 – a 23 per cent

increase in three years, newly

released figures have revealed.

Concerts attracted 17.5m fans during

the 12-month period, with a further

3.5m going to festivals, generating £1bn

in direct and indirect spending for the

British economy.

The figures were released exclusively

to PSNEurope stablemate Music Week

by campaigning and lobbying group UK

Music following the release of its latest

report, dedicated to music tourism’s

contribution to the UK’s public purse.

Manchester Arena general manager

James Allen says business at the venue

reflected the national trend, continuing

into 2015, with first quarter ticket sales

of more than 410,000 being the highest

in its 20-year history.

The 2013 arrival of new UK arenas

The SSE Hydro in Glasgow and the

First Direct Arena in Leeds also

boosted the market.

“In our case we’ve seen a game-

changing increase in attendance, which

is directly attributable to our new

arena, which fills a very

necessary gap in the Glasgow event

landscape,” says John Langford,

director of entertainment for the

Hydro’s owner and operator, SEC.

“From a national perspective, I believe

that the increase in demand is fuelled

by the quantity and quality of touring

talent and an improvement in the

general economy.”

The Wish You Were Here 2015 study,

carried out by Oxford Economics on

behalf of UK Music, states that music

tourism numbers increased by 34

per cent between 2011 and 2014,

with 9.5m people travelling to UK

music events in 2014 – 546,000 from

overseas – and contributing £3.1bn to

the economy.

The report counts both overseas

visitors and domestic music fans

that travelled at least three times the

average commuting distance to attend

an event, as “music tourists”.

It will be welcomed by Britain’s live

venue operators – especially those

of smaller, ‘toilet-circuit’ clubs – who

have seen their numbers dwindle in

the past few years as they fight against

encroaching residential property

development and unsympathetic local

authorities.

Last month, following the city’s

decision to curtail its licensed hours, The

Arches in Glasgow became the latest

casualty, joining the 12 Bar Club, Madame

Jojo’s, the Astoria, Sin, Metro and the

Bath House in the UK’s growing venue

graveyard.

The Music Venue Trust, an advocacy

group and charity set up in January 2014

to “protect, secure and develop the future

of grassroots live music venues in the

UK”, shared on its Facebook page the

following message from Jeff Horton of

the 100 Club, another venue that was, at

one time, facing closure:

“How can [artists and arts

organisations] possibly [look beyond

subsidy and be more entrepreneurial]

when our hands are constantly tied by

Dickensian and vindictive conditions on

our licences that have no chance under

current legislation of ever being taken

off, regardless of laws that that get

passed – such as the smoking ban –

that should affect us positively? A lot of

them are there simply to restrict trade,

in my opinion. I strongly sense that there

is a resentment within licensing when it

comes to venues actually making

money.

“It’s 2015. I still have conditions I

have to adhere to that have been on

my licence since we first applied for

a liquor licence in 1964! Perhaps this

world we live in – [one] that has changed

dramatically in every conceivable way

since then – is different to the one in

which licensing authorities exist, and

they’ve been living in a parallel universe

all along…” n

www.musicvenuetrust.com

(With thanks to MW’s James Hanley)

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PSN 98x145.qxp_Layout 1 06/05/2015 10:14 Page 2

Glasgow’s Arches in happier times (Photo: Bart Photography)

06 UK Music fin JCDR.indd 1 22/06/2015 16:04

United Kingdom


P07 JULY2015

Major update to current mixing portfolio from Allen & Heath

A&H to ‘dLiver’ next-gen digital mixer

Cornwall-based Allen & Heath has announced its

latest digital mixer offering, dLive.

The “next-generation” digital mixing system

features FPGA processing at the core, with an

array of control, expansion and networking options, starting

from a base price of $22,500/ €20,000 (“a small venue

solution”) to $33,500/€30,000 (“a large touring system”).

Like the iLive system launched 10 years ago, dLive

has a distributed system design with separate MixRack

and Surface. The dLive processing brain is housed in the

MixRack, available in three sizes (DM32, DM48 and DM64),

and there are three accompanying control surfaces (S3000,

S5000 and S7000). All MixRacks and Surfaces are mix-and-

match compatible, with common configuration, set-up and

show files.

The 96k/96-bit XCVI Core (“designed from the ground up,”

according to R&D director, Rob Clark) provides capacity for

128 inputs with full processing and 16 dedicated stereo FX

returns, offering 160 inputs to mix, plus a fully configurable

64 mix-bus architecture, with full processing on all 64 mix

channels. dLive incorporates the DEEP processing portfolio

of embedded plugins, including graphic EQs, compressors,

multiband compressors and dynamic EQs, alongside its

16 slot FX racks, featuring Allen & Heath’s proprietary FX

emulations.

When asked to highlight three key advantages of the new

system over iLive, senior product manager Nicola Beretta

suggested:

• It’s twice the speed and power (of iLive Mach2): “We

doubled the input count, buses, FX racks, sample

rate, and number of screens.”

• The networkability: “Now up to five I/O Ports,

128-channels at 96kHz each, independently

assigned, for all major networking protocols

including Dante, MADI, Waves SG.”

• It’s built for the road: “Rock-solid construction,

daylight visibility, dual redundant hot swappable

PSUs common across the range, and dual redundancy

on every audio connection.”

“It really is the ultimate mixing system, with all the

processing tools and power that the most demanding

engineers would expect, and the flexibility and

networkability to cater for any application. This is coupled

with an extremely intuitive user interface and what we

believe is the fastest workflow in the industry,” says Beretta,

senior product manager. “dLive is equally at home in fixed

installations, such as a HOW or theatre, as it is at festivals

and out touring.”

dLive will ship in September and will not “intentionally”

replace iLive: price-wise, it sits “between fixed format and

modular iLive systems”, according to Beretta.

dLive has been in development for two years, some time

before the company became part of the recently dubbed

‘Audiotonix’ group alongside fellow console makers (and

FPGA enthusiasts) DiGiCo and Calrec. n

www.allen-heath.com

dLive S7000 Control Surface with DM64 MixRack

07 Business v1 DR JC fin.indd 1 22/06/2015 10:51


P08JULY2015

Pro Sound Awards

The Pro Sound Awards team has chosen the four finalists in each category for this year’s event

Over to the judges…

THE FINALISTSLive/touring soundEngineer of the year• Davide Lombardi (Kate Bush Before the Dawn)• Michael Brennan (Faith No More, Primal Scream)• Tom McShane (The Defiled’s Ice Cold Gig)• Martin Walker (Judas Priest)

Best tour/production sound• SSE/L-Acoustics for Clapham Calling Festival 2014• Powersoft for Caparezza’s 2015 tour• Flare Audio for Node live at the RCM• Meyer Sound for Ed Sheeran’s x Tour (2014–15)

Best theatre sound• Mick Potter for Miss Saigon• Laurence Owen for Golem• Gareth Owen for Memphis• Guido Olischlager for 14–18

studio sound (sponsored by )Engineer of the year• Wes Maebe• Alexis Smith• Matt Wiggins• Dan Cox

Best studio• Parr Street Studios• Strongroom• The Church• The Pool

Best sound in post-production• The Eichmann Show• Poldark• Sherlock• Whiplash

installed soundBest permanent installation project• Marquee AV/Bose for The Forum, Kentish Town• SSE/L-Acoustics for the Hammersmith Apollo• NoiseBoys for Leicester Cathedral• Autograph Sales & Installations for the Barbican Centre

Best temporary installation project• Tannoy for The Wind Tunnel Project• Two Big Ears for Björk’s Songlines at the Museum of Modern Art New York• Merging Technologies for the Imperial War Museum London’s WWI galleries• SNK Studios for Talking Statues

Team of the year• Polar Audio/Renkus-Heinz for Reading University• Sports Technology/d&b audiotechnik for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Glasgow• NoiseBoys/JBL/VDC Trading for Leicester Cathedral• Genelec/Jutel for Restaurant Nallikari

broadcast soundBest facility• Technicolor Sound Services• Warner Bros De Lane Lea• CTV OB11• Jungle Studios

Broadcast event of the year• EastEnders Live Week (BBC S&PP)• Winston Churchill’s State Funeral – 50 Years On (BBC S&PP)• Volvo Ocean Race (Sunset+Vine)• FIFA World Cup (HBS)

Team of the year• ENO Screen for Pirates of Penzance• Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup POLARIS evolution development team• BBC S&PP for Strictly Come Dancing• BBC for the Scottish independence referendum

marketing initiative of the year• Roland OHRCA launch• Sennheiser for D1 and Only• Martin Audio CDD launch• Powersoft’s 20th anniversary

Can you believe it’s already that time of year

again? After much umm-ing and ahh-ing, the

PSNEurope team has chosen the finalists for

the third Pro Sound Awards, whittling down

the deluge of entries to what we consider the four most

worthy in each category.

Recognising outstanding achievement in professional

audio, PSNEurope’s Pro Sound Awards return to the

Ministry of Sound nightclub in London for the third time

on Thursday 24 September.

The shortlist of finalists for each category will now

be presented to a 50-strong panel of judges from

across the spectrum of the pro-audio industry, who

will ultimately choose the winners of each Pro Sound

Award (with the exception of the grand prix and lifetime

achievement gongs, chosen by the Pro Sound Awards

team, and the rising star award, chosen by our sister

title, Audio Media International).

A range of sponsorship opportunities – from

headline sponsor to category, photobooth, red-carpet

and afterparty sponsorship – are available; contact

PSNEurope ad manager Ryan O’Donnell

([email protected]) or account manager Rian

Zoll-Khan ([email protected]) for more details. For ticket information, email Georgia Blake at

[email protected]. n

www.prosoundawards.comwww.focusrite.com

Tickets are available now for £49, which includes drinks reception, food, the awards and the afterparty.

And a splendid social occasion! More information at www.prosoundawards.com

2014 lifetime achievement winner John PelloweDarryn de la Soul and SSR London’s Michael Grieg, PSA 2014 The oyster man! PSA 2014

08 Pro Sound Awards JCDR fin.indd 1 22/06/2015 16:22



P10JULY2015

Vocal channel

How to not save a studio

Ahome renovation project in

west London has caused mass

hysteria in the UK.

This is, of course, the famous

basement that would cause a worrisome

excavation to take place right next door to AIR

Studios (see p20 for the full story).

Studio owners say the disruption will force

them to close, possibly for several months.

The reaction to this has been nothing short

of ridiculous, totally useless, and – frankly –

laughable.

“Only in this country would any council

contemplate bringing music-making to a

halt in the interests of private profit and

needless aggrandisement,” said playwright

and director Sir David Hare in a report in the

Camden New Journal.

Hang on a second – I didn’t realise that’s

how this all happened. Camden Council

called a meeting in order to figure out how to

bring music-making to a halt? This is awful.

Deplorable! What kind of country is this?!

Hans Zimmer added his objections in a

report in the Ham & High newspaper: “My

movies have grossed more than $22 billion

dollars worldwide, and in no small part

have the musicians and AIR Studios been a

contributing force in this.”

Congratulations. You’re a wildly successful

composer who has used AIR’s facilities. And?

The only remotely rational response so far

has come from lawyer Jessica Learmond-

Criqui who started a petition in an effort to

put a halt to the project. Rational, but given

the fact that Ms Learmond-Criqui is herself a

lawyer, it’s a bit short-sighted.

Fact: no one sat around plotting the

demise of the UK’s film industry. Fact: you

can have the brightest, most creative, most

celebrated artists from around the globe

voice object to anything, or tens of thousands

of signatures on a petition, but they are no

real competition for the fact that people

don’t just decide to add a basement (at

considerable cost) to their property unless

they really want to.

What might change their minds? Having

a lawyer to deal with. One with the intention

of railroading their plans and who will cost

a pretty penny to fight. Maybe Mr Zimmer

can contribute some of his portion of the

royalties from that $22 billion to hire one?

Maybe instead of signing a petition people

can put their money where their mouth

via a crowdfunding campaign. Maybe Ms

Learmond-Criqui knows someone?

With respect to everyone’s good intentions,

and Ms Learmond-Criqui’s efforts, if saving

AIR Studios is truly important then it will take

a lot more than writing a strongly worded

letter to Camden Council. Objections are just

words. Redesigns, expensive provisions for

a sensitive site, compensation… surely that

would make anyone pause and rethink how

badly they need a subterranean sauna.

That is assuming, of course, the

Hampstead couple aren’t sensible people

and decide to push on with no regard for the

uproar their plans have caused.

Would you look at that: mass hysteria

might be the appropriate reaction after all.

Don’t forget to sign the petition. n

you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/ save-air-studios

ERICA BASNICKI is a writer and sound designer

End of the beginning II: Big Brother awaits

Apologies to those who have

been waiting breathlessly for

the follow-up to part one, in the

May PSNEurope, as a certain

acquisition snaffled these precious column

inches in June…

Pursuing my somewhat Orwellian vision

of a future live sound industry leads me

into uncharted waters, where things could

look very different to today. The structural,

commercial and operational differences

would be profound, perhaps most notably in

the people who would lead these operations.

If (say) 80 per cent plus of international

concert touring was handled by just four

or five operations globally, each of them

would likely be a sizeable venture in general

industrial terms. Turnover, profit, personnel,

assets, corporate taxation, legislation, capital

funding requirements and even flotation

opportunities would be very different from

almost anyone we know today. Added to

the fact that the first generation of pro-

audio entrepreneurs are leaving us, the

career opportunities for ‘professional’

business people (by whom I mean those

who have trained and qualified for a career

in commerce, as opposed to starting out in

hands-on roles within live sound) could be

attractive. In this future the strategic direction

of the biggest players in pro audio could very

well be determined by bankers, lawyers,

MBAs and accountants who couldn’t tell a DI

box from a hole in the ground.

The business would also become much

less gear-centric; in fact, it is already

becoming so. Any of the major players could

deliver the equipment of choice to engineers

and production managers from enormous

inventories that pay no historical allegiance

to particular manufacturers. The composition

of hire inventories would be based solely

on demand and ROI – this is a very good

thing, because it means that ‘premiership’

providers would compete on level terms, with

their success based on performance and

relationship management rather than on the

kit they own.

This obviously changes things for some

pro-audio manufacturers too, especially those

who specialise in premium concert touring

products, as they would be dealing with a

customer base that is small in numbers

but large in spending power and market

control. The working relationships between

these manufacturers and the major players

would become much closer and the latter

would have a much greater input to product

development. The market would become

polarised, too, as manufacturers would be

divided into those who supply the majors and

those who do not – the latter would have to

make a living selling kit to everyone else.

The good news, though, is that ‘everyone

else’ would actually be better off, because if

the big players own all the major work they

will not need or want to dabble in anything

much below a certain level. That would create

a healthy and potentially more profitable

‘first division’, able to focus on tailoring their

businesses to specific markets.

Scared? Me too. n

DAVE WIGGINS is a freelance marketeer and pro-audio pundit

10 Columniosts fin JCDR.indd 1 22/06/2015 16:23



P12JULY2015

Movers and shakers

Miles Brooke joins Dean Davoile and Phil Price (L–R) at the former Radio Cine Forniture

RCF boosts British businessRCF has announced a significant expansion

of its UK operation.

Miles Brooke, who brings 20 years’

experience with the D&M Group (Denon,

Marantz), will take up the newly created position of

regional sales manager (south), with Mick Butler

continuing to represent the Italian manufacturer in

Scotland and northern England.

Dean Davoile will become director of sales for RCF’s

UK office, while Phil Price – who originally set up the

RCF UK operation 25 years ago – takes up a new role

in international sales (voice evacuation systems).

“We are delighted to have secured the services of

Miles as part of this carefully considered restructure,”

says Davoile, “which will not only enable us to give

closer support to our customers and sales network,

but consolidate in all our core markets.” n

www.rcf.it

Canford has been appointed sole UK and Republic of Ireland distribution partner for the new Green-Go range of digital intercom-over-Ethernet products. Unlike other digital intercom designs, Green-Go, by Dutch company ELC Lighting, does not employ an expensive central matrix: All interconnection routing data, system set-up and user preferences are stored locally within each user station, including beltpacks, which eliminates the possibility of a disastrous central failure.www.greengodigital.comwww.canford.co.uk

K-array has named Appel Electronique Industrie (AEI) as its exclusive distributor for France. “AEI has a good understanding of the pro-audio market in France and is really enthusiastic about our systems,” says K-array president Alessandro Tatini. “I am happy to welcome them to our team of international distributors so that we can continue to grow the K-array brand globally.”www.k-array.complus.google.com/110919579165715242769

Preco has been announced as exclusive UK distributor for French broadcast equipment manufacturer Rami Audio. Preco’s James Thomas says: “Rami really does have an extensive range, and the product design and build quality is right up there with the best. It’s our job to get the word out about this great brand here in the UK.”www.ramiaudio.comwww.preco.co.uk

DEALER NETWORK

Andy Copeland has joined HHB Communications as technical sales support engineer. A graduate of the University of Huddersfield, Copeland qualified as an Avid certified support representative.www.hhb.co.uk

Mic manufacturer Mojave Audio has named Kevin Parker as director of sales. Parker’s background is in pro-audio/MI “sales, marketing [and] strategic […] development,” says Mojave. www.mojaveaudio.com

The AVnu Alliance elected a new board of directors in April. Gary Steubing (interviewed on p18) joins as president and the Intel Corporation’s Kevin Stanton (pictured) as chairman. www.avnu.org

Marquee AV has expanded its sales team with the appointment of Paul Day as business development manager. Day (right) has spent the last seven years as a regional sales consultant at Bose. www.marqueeav.com

Renkus-Heinz has appointed David Schuster as production manager. A manufacturing veteran, Schuster previously held high-level positions at General Dynamics and Pacific Scientific. www.renkus-heinz.com

Audio Precision (AP) has announced the appointment of Jayant Datta as chief technology officer. Datta was formerly assistant vice-president of audio R&D at THX. www.ap.com

12 Movers and shakers fin JCDR.indd 1 22/06/2015 09:35


P14JULY2015

1 JulyShure Academy: Wireless MasteredDublin, Republic of Irelandwww.shure-academy.co.uk/events/wireless-mastered

2 JulyMeyer Sound: The Mixing Workshop session 15Webinarwww.meyersound.com

15 JulyAdlib: Soundcraft Vi trainingLiverpool, United Kingdomwww.adlib.co.uk

18 JulySound Technology: HoW demoLetchworth Garden City, United Kingdomwww.soundtech.co.uk

Audio-Technica, Allen & Heath’s UK distributor, held a free training event for A&H’s Qu-, GLD- and iLive-series digital mixers (pictured) on 29 May.

Held at Wigwam Acoustics, in Heywood, Lancashire, the training was delivered by Rodrigo Thomaz, an Audio-Technica Allen & Heath product specialist (and the star of May 2015’s back page

interview), and also included a brief history of the British console manufacturer.

All attendees left with a working knowledge of Allen & Heath’s digital consoles, and received a certifi cate to confi rm completion of the training. neu.audio-technica.comwww.allen-heath.com

Orbital Sound brings training to ABTTOrbital Sound showcased its comprehensive pro-audio portfolio, including products from Nexo, Clear-Com, CSC, Flare Audio, Nemesis and Yamaha, at the ABTT Theatre Show at the Alexandra Palace, north London, on 24 and 25 June.

The UK dealer/distributor also presented a product demonstration workshop on Thursday (25 June) as part of ABTT’s seminar series and was on hand to advise on theatre sound training, including on its popular Mixing Musicals and Sound Fundamentals for Theatre courses, the latter of which started again in April.

As Nexo’s UK main dealer, service centre and approved rental partner, Orbital spotlighted the French manufacturer’s theatre solutions, including the brand-new ID series of super-compact loudspeaker systems. Other systems on show included the GEO M6 small-format line array system, which had its fi rst install in Europe – in Bled Festival Hall, Slovenia – in January. n

Pictured is Nexo’s Gareth Collyer and Orbital Sound’s Andy Simmons at Prolight + Sound in April.

www.orbitalsound.comwww.abtttheatreshow.co.uk

STO launches subscription serviceSound Training Online (STO), the online arm of Dublin’s Sound Training College, has launched a subscription service for its web-based audio training courses.

For an introductory fee of €19.99 (£14.99/$19.99) per month, €54.99 for three months or €199.99 for a year, students can learn at their own pace on one or more of STO’s Logic Pro X, Ableton Live, Native Instruments Maschine and Pro Tools 11 courses, with more – in FL Studio, digital DJing, songwriting and “advanced Pro Tools” – on the way soon.

In conjunction with the new subscription service

the organisation has also drastically reduced the price its instructor-led premium courses, which off er private, one-to-one tuition with a music/audio industry professional. nwww.soundtraining.com/online

BY JON CHAPPLE

BY JON CHAPPLE

BY JON CHAPPLE

Along with the transducers, these two links in the digital chain are key in determining the overall quality of the sound, writes Audio Precision’s David Mathew

In 2015, there’s not much question about audio storage, transmission or streaming: it’s digital. Apart from rare sightings of vinyl or open-reel tape in boutique sales or creative enclaves, audio is digital. Done right, digital audio is flexible, robust and of very high quality. PCM recording, lossless surround formats and even lossy compression (at least at high bitrates) provide the soundtrack for our lives.

But, of course, sound in air is not digital. n

Read the full article at www.psneurope.com/testing-audio-adcs-dacs

THE ESSENTIALS: TESTING AUDIO ADCS AND DACS

www.psneurope.com/training

A-T, A&H pitch a tent at Wigwam

14 PSNTraining fin JCDR.indd 1 22/06/2015 09:36

The D20 amplifier is the forward thinking choice for realizing mid size solutions. All controlled via the intuitive user interfaces and remote network. Incorporating four truly independent channels, DSP capabilities for comprehensive loudspeaker management, switchable filter functions, two 16-band equalizers and up to 10 seconds of delay. Future ready. Available now.

Reflect on the future: today‘s D20.w

ww

.dba

udio

.com


www.psneurope.com

P16JULY2015

New products: InfoComm 15

AVIOMD400

AUDIXHT7

What is it?A single-ear, headworn miniaturised condenser microphone for vocal applications.

Details:The modular, omnidirectional mic features an earpiece that can be worn around either the left or right ear, with an adjustable boom for easy positioning.

And another thing…Designed to blend with the skin tone of the wearer, the HT7 is available in three colours: beige, black and coffee.www.audixusa.com

What is it?A distributor of power and digital audio data for Aviom personal mixing systems.

Details:Two versions of the D400 are available: the standard D400, with an A-Net input, and the D400-Dante, with Dante I/O.

And another thing…Up to eight personal mixers can be connected to each D400 or D400-Dante’s A-Net outputs, and an unlimited number of distributors can be used when creating larger systems with more than eight performers.www.aviom.com

BEYERDYNAMICCLASSIS RM 30/31

What is it?The latest incarnation of the Revoluto conference microphone system.

Details:The new vertical-array Revoluto features greater freedom of movement to the left and right, allowing two participants to share one microphone.

And another thing…Due to its vertical lobar polar pattern, the Classis RM 30/31 Revoluto’s gain before feedback is optimised for ceiling systems.www.beyerdynamic.com

ALTO PROFESSIONALTSL115What is it?An evolution of Alto’s 15”, 800W TS115A active loudspeaker which includes built-in interactive LED lighting.

Details:Designed for small- to medium-sized events where both quality sound and celebratory lighting are needed, the TSL115 incorporates a circular LED array with five customisable lighting modes.

And another thing…The TSL115 also features 800W of class-D power, 15” low-frequency transducer with a 1” neodymium driver, counter switch for EQ control and XLR output.www.altoprofessional.com

16–17 New products fin JCDR.indd 1 22/06/2015 14:32

www.psneurope.com

P17JULY2015

DENON PROFESSIONALDN-105S, DN-106S AND DN-108S

D&B AUDIOTECHNIK10D AND 30D

What are they?Two four-channel, 2RU amplifiers tailored for permanent installation applications.

Details:The 10D and 30D share the same DSP platform and capabilities as d&’s D20 and flagship D80 amplifiers.

And another thing…The 10D is intended for small applications with lower SPL requirements, while the powerful 30D is designed for medium-to-large applications with demanding SPL requirements.www.dbaudio.com

What are they?Three new models of ceiling speaker designed to combine accurate sound with commercial fire-resistance and suitability standards.

Details:The 105S, 106S and 108S feature a metal ‘can’ rear enclosure which provides a fire barrier behind the speaker to meet commercial fire codes.

And another thing…70/100V transformers facilitate multiple unit installations without the level-matching concerns of parallelled transformerless speakers.www.denonpro.com

LAB.GRUPPENLUCIA

What are they?The LUCIA 120/1-70 and LUCIA 240/1-70, two dedicated 70V-output amplifiers.

Details:With power ratings of 120W and 240W, respectively, into a single output, the amps offer installers the option of driving 70V distributed loudspeaker systems while retaining the input flexibility offered by low-impedance LUCIA models.

And another thing…Both amplifiers are Energy Star approved for green building certification.www.labgruppen.com

VUE AUDIOTECHNIKH-CLASS AND V SERIES

TANNOYAMS

What is it?A surface-mount loudspeaker series incorporating Tannoy’s new Dual Concentric (DC) technology.

Details:Comprising a range of seven models, the AMS series is designed for entertainment and hospitality venues, as well as “areas where true sonic clarity and reliability is required”, says Tannoy.

And another thing…The AMS range is engineered to perfectly match Tannoy’s CMS 3.0 ceiling loudspeaker, launched last summer and shown at ISE earlier this year.www.tannoypro.com

What is it?An update which adds Dante networking support for VUE’s h-Class UHD speaker systems and V Series DPS/amplifiers.

Details:The update, set to officially ship in September, will be incorporated in all future products, and upgrades will be available for owners of existing systems.

And another thing…“We’d been waiting for a cost-effective solution for audio over Ethernet, and Dante has clearly become the industry standard for audio networking,” says VUE Audiotechnik CEO Ken Berger.www.vueaudio.com

WAVES AUDIOSOUNDGRID

What’s the news?Waves’ plug-ins and SoundGrid technology will be integrated into Lawo’s mc²-series consoles (mc²66 pictured).

Details:Running the Waves MultiRack plug-in host application on Lawo consoles will offer users Waves processing for live broadcasts, post-production, live mixing and theatre sound.

And another thing…Waves’ Mick Olesh says the partnership realises a “commitment to provid[ing] our customers with the freedom to use Waves plug-ins in all settings”.www.waves.com

16–17 New products fin JCDR.indd 2 22/06/2015 14:33


P18JULY2015

The strategic position

Despite some enduring perception problems, AVB still has an exciting potential future in pro-audio networking, incoming AVnu Alliance president Gary Stuebing tells David Davies

A new dawn for AVnu?

R eservations about the progress being made

by Audio/Video Bridging (AVB) networking

technology in pro audio are nothing new

– but they were certainly given additional

weight when RH Consulting published The Death of

Analogue and the Rise of Audio Networking earlier this

year. Among other findings, the report documented

the availability of only 61 AVB pro-audio products as

of December 2014 – compared to a whopping 296

for Audinate’s increasingly ubiquitous Dante media

networking technology.

It is within this somewhat challenging context that

Gary Stuebing has assumed the role of president of

AVB-promoting organisation the AVnu Alliance. Now

four decades into a distinguished career, Stuebing’s

background is rich in IT management experience.

His current ‘day job’ is manager of engineering, IoT

standards/architecture, at Cisco, while he has also

fulfilled roles at several other alliances and standards

groups such as IEEE, Wi-Sun and HomePlug.

Speaking to PSNEurope a few days after his

appointment was made public, Stuebing was candid

about the current pro-audio industry status of AVB and

AVnu. “I am a little concerned, and would like to see

AVnu take off more from the perspective of what it is

doing [for the future of audio networking],” he says. “It

does not seem there is a general sense of cohesiveness

in the pro-AV community about using open standards

and trying to form some kind of compatibility and

interoperability scenario. And I think that is to the

detriment of customers.”

AVnu has held steadfast to the open standards

principle, but there is little doubt that the limited

quantities of AVB-supporting product – and in particular,

the small number of currently available dedicated

switches, which are needed to make AVB networks

operate – has inhibited adoption. But Stuebing, who

is more than familiar with the “extended timescales”

involved in getting standards-based technologies to

achieve market traction, believes that, aided by the

forthcoming TSN (Time Sensitive Networking) standard,

AVB could be on the verge of a productive new phase.

Billed as an evolution of AVB, TSN has been

developed to provide users, not least those in the

industrial community, with the ability to use standard

Ethernet “to support highly reliable and precise

synchronised networking appropriate for industrial

control”. Completion of the related standards is predicted

for July, says Stuebing, after which development of

an interoperability certification programme and the

relevant chipsets will mean we should anticipate ratified

TSN product “about a year from now”.

Once introduced into the market, Stuebing expects

the technological and businesses cases behind the

technology to become increasingly apparent. “AVB/

TSN will constitute a really powerful open standard

for networking, with capacity for fast and effective

time-sensitive operation over a real-time network. There

will be scope for very tight synchronisation of an entire

network,” he explains.

Stuebing also thinks AVB/TSN will add momentum

to the development of new products: “Experience tells

Experience tells me that when you start to have commoditisation [around an open standard] a lot of things start to happen quite quickly, and that includes price points being driven downGary Stuebing

18-19 The Strategic position JCDR fin.indd 1 22/06/2015 13:33


me that when you start to have commoditisation [around an open standard] a lot of

things start to happen quite quickly, and that includes price points being driven down.

With regard to switches, the Extreme Networks [family of AVB-compliant switches]

is performing well, and I would suggest that we will start to see other manufacturers

jumping into that with TSN standards.”

Pro audio remains an “integral” part of the future vision for pro-audio, confirms

Stuebing, although AVB/TSN is also expected to resonate strongly with automotive,

among other industrial sectors. “I do think it will help to awaken a large segment of the

market,” he says “It is true that we are seeing a great deal of activity in automotive in

Germany, and it seems a lot of [automotive networking] in Korea and Japan is basically

going to be AVB/TSN-based as well.”

The perception of drift around the AVB/AVnu project over the last few years will

take some time to dissipate in even the most favourable conditions, but Stuebing

is refreshingly frank about the challenges that lie ahead and clearly determined to

reassert the value of an open standards-based, fully-certified approach to audio

connectivity. “I am convinced this technology has a great future in pro audio,” he

concludes. n

www.avnu.org

Attendees to April’s Conference on Time Sensitive Networking and Applications (TSNA) in Santa Clara, California, US

Meyer Sound’s AVnu-certified CAL column-array loudspeakers

18-19 The Strategic position JCDR fin.indd 2 22/06/2015 15:44

United Kingdom

www.psneurope.com/studio

P20JULY2015

Studio

Neighbours’ super-basement plans may force AIR Studios’ temporary closure, writes Jon Chapple

Hampstead studios’ future up in the AIR

A IR Studios could be facing up to six

months of disruption from building work

after its neighbours applied for planning

permission for an underground extension

to their property.

Alison Burton, manager of the Hampstead recording

studios, says the facility would not be able to operate for

around six months due to “severe noise pollution and

underground vibration” and has asked the membership

of the Music Producers Guild (MPG) for its support. If

the application is successful, the MPG says the closure

could “directly aff ect MPG members […] and have wider

implications, with loss of income across the music

recording community”.

Speaking to PSNEurope, studio owners Richard

Boote and Paul Woolf confi rmed that AIR is obliged to

follow the planning process but added: “If we were not

successful in stopping the application we could then sue

for nuisance, perhaps.”

In addition to the MPG, the studios have won support

from local preservation group The Heath & Hampstead

Society, which has expressed opposition to the extension

of a grade II-listed house it says is “relatively untouched

by the vulgar excesses of the 21st century”.

The proposed refurbishment is described in the

planning application as the “[e]rection of single storey

extension with single storey plus basement link to

proposed basement and sub-basement extension,

demolition of single storey self-contained studio

and erection of single storey pavilion as ancillary

accommodation to main house, demolition of 2x single

storey outbuildings and additional basement extension to

west of property.” The owners’ names are given as Mr

and Mrs Andrew Jeff reys.

AIR (Associated Independent Recording) was founded

in 1969 by Sir George Martin and moved to its present

location, Lyndhurst Hall in Hampstead, north London, in

1991, and was acquired from Sir George by Strongroom

MD Richard Boote in 2006. It also had a studio in the tiny

Caribbean island of Montserrat until it was destroyed by

Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

The last fi ve years have seen an increasing number

of ‘mega-basements’ or ‘iceberg homes’ built under the

houses of London’s super-rich, increasing the size of the

properties many times over (a 2012 Guardian

article described their “making Swiss cheese of

London’s poshest streets”). They were, however,

outlawed by the affl uent Royal Borough of Kensington

and Chelsea in May.

A ‘Save Air Studios’ petition created on the 38

Degrees campaign website (you.38degrees.org.uk) had

collected over 7,000 email signatures by mid-June, the

date the petition was due to be forwarded to the case

offi cer at Camden London Borough Council.

At the time of writing, Boote and Woolf were both

confi dent the local authority would refuse the Jeff reys’

planning application. But do they have a contingency

plan, just in case?

“We will be successful!” n

www.airstudios.comwww.mpg.org.uk

AIR Studios’ Lyndhurst Hall, a former congregational church

Associated Independent Recording founder Sir George Martin

20 AIR Studiosfin JCDR.indd 1 22/06/2015 16:40

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Full Page Template.indd 1 6/12/2015 2:02:03 PM

United Kingdom

P22JULY2015

Studio

Following a Kickstarter campaign that raised over £177,000 for its new consumer headphones, Flare Audio’s Naomi Roberts reveals the secret to its success and tells Jon Chapple how other manufacturers can get in on the act

Flare’s a crowd

If you’re a reader of our daily and weekly

newsletters or a regular visitor to

PSNEurope.com, you’ll no doubt have heard

about the Kickstarter campaign for Flare Audio’s

Reference R2 in-ear headphones.

Launched on 5 May, it closed 28 days later, having

raised £177,277 (€241,125) with 1260 backers – over

177 per cent of its initial goal of £100,000 – and

established West Sussex-based Flare as a major

player in the consumer headphone market.

So, how did a pro-audio manufacturer best

known for sound reinforcement so successfully

crowdfund its way into the booming headphone

market (a phenomenon we’re officially dubbing ‘the

Canaissance’) – and how can other companies learn

from its experience? Flare’s customer relationship

manager, Naomi Roberts, spills the beans…

PSNEurope: Congratulations!Naomi Roberts: Thank you!

Were you always confident you’d pull it off?I knew we had a great product, and we had some

heavyweight endorsers on our Kickstarter video, so

I was very confident in our offerings, but Kickstarter

was new territory for us – we were entering a new

marketplace with the consumer products, so in that

respect it was a bit of an unknown.

I hoped that people would embrace what we were

doing and see the zest and belief we have in what

we do. When all the positive reviews started coming

in there was a rush of backers; the video reviews

were particularly helpful. I wasn’t content until I

saw that we had reached the £100k mark,

though – don’t count your chickens and

all that!

Why £100,000? It seems a lot...We thought we’d set our sights high! We had some

really good advice and, having researched other

Kickstarter campaigns, we found that if the target is

set too low your project might not be valued quite as

much. Kickstarter backers like to see a strong product

and creativity or a new way of doing things in order to

create real buzz and excitement.

With 11 days to go, the campaign had raised only £35,000 – then there was a big surge in pledges towards the end, and the 100k mark was reached with three days to spare. Was that something you were expecting?We hoped that it might happen, but we weren’t relying

on it. It was a constant push. It seems to be the way

that it goes for quite a lot of Kickstarter campaigns:

people hold off pledging

until they get all the

information they are after. The

reviews and endorsements

helped massively as, after all,

we are selling a product visually

that people will be using aurally.

How did you get the word out there?We found that we had to be very proactive from

all angles – it was a multipronged mission! Social

media was important, as were the endorsements and

reviews. I think you need all those facets to appeal to

everyone. People are tempted by different things, but I

think most Kickstarter backers are very savvy and like

to see in-depth technical reviews from people whose

opinions they respect and value.

It’s also important that all questions and comments

from potential backers are replied to, and that you

dedicate time and courtesy to everyone. We are a very

small but very enthusiastic team at Flare, and the

Kickstarter backers seemed to like and appreciate

the personal touch that we gave. We invited anyone

who was local to us to come to our warehouse and

try out the earphones – from this we ramped up our

presence in forums with some really glowing and

detailed reviews. We wanted to be very transparent in

our approach and I think the backers valued this.

How did you get so many celebrity endorsers on board? How important were they to the overall success?

Naomi Roberts (far left) with the Flare Audio team on Lancing beach in West Sussex


22 24 Flare Kickstarter JCDR.indd 1 22/06/2015 14:35



P24JULY2015

Studio

Well, I think if the whole approach was likened to

a cake, the tech reviews were the sponge and the

celebrity endorsers were the icing and cherry on top!

It’s difficult to quantify just how important they were

to the overall success, but they definitely bolstered the

campaign and gave us an extra dimension.

Personally, I found I had to lose all self-effacement

and just go for it. For example, we messaged Huey

Morgan on Twitter and he was happy to try out the

R2s and let us know his thoughts. He has since been

showing them to his friends and colleagues because

he likes them so much. Everyone we approached

has been very amiable and, thankfully, all loved the

earphones, so getting a quote from them wasn’t as

hard a task as we might have thought. Jarvis [Cocker]

has been a Flare fan for a few years now and so was

keen to try out the earphones.

We were aware that, as individuals, they all have

a great deal of integrity and didn’t have to give us

quotes, so we were thrilled that they gave us such

wonderful words.

Flare is now officially a successful consumer brand too. Are you moving away from pro audio?No, definitely not! The consumer products are just

another string to our bow – we are fortunate that the

technology we have developed can be easily scaled,

so consumer products was a natural next step for us

and Kickstarter felt like the right platform as a means

in attracting a new audience. I think I can speak for all

of the team when I say that the whole experience has

been very uplifting. The feedback and interaction from

Kickstarter backers has been thoroughly heartening, and

they embraced our different attitude and mindset. It was

wholly refreshing.

Does crowdfunding only work for consumer products, or can you see pro-audio companies being successful on Kickstarter too?I’m not sure… From our experience I’d say that you need

to be able to offer Kickstarter ‘rewards’ at a number of

different price brackets, which might be tricky for the

pro-audio market. That said, I do think that our backstory

in pro audio definitely helped us – I think it gave us some

extra authority and standing in the consumer market.

Pro audio is a really exciting world to be involved

with, but it’s a tough one. It was really interesting to

put our first toe into the consumer market and to be

so warmly received. n

www.kickstarter.comwww.flareaudio.com

• Get a good, solid campaign together for

something that you are passionate about. It

will take up a lot of your time and you need to

genuinely believe wholeheartedly in what you

are promoting.

• Make sure you have a variety of reviews

lined up.

• Work out your rewards and have a diverse

range of price options.

• Dedicate yourself to it. It needs constant

attention and encouragement: you can’t leave it

to run itself.

• Give up on all social engagements for the

length of the campaign!

• Coffee. Plenty of coffee.

Naomi roberts’ crowdfunding secrets

22 24 Flare Kickstarter JCDR.indd 2 22/06/2015 14:35


United Kingdom

www.psneurope.com/broadcast

P26JULY2015

Broadcast

BBC R&D used a new two-day event to put audio technology front and centre at New Broadcasting House in London during May. Kevin Hilton attended and, dodging a lurking Dalek, sends this report from the TARDIS

The future starts here for BBC Sound

BBC’s Sound: Now and Next event was,

according to Frank Melchior, lead audio

technologist with BBC R&D and the driving

force behind the event, designed to get

programme makers, researchers and technologists

together to look at what was being done today and

how that could move on in the near future. (See last

month’s issue.)

Now and Next was presented by LJ Rich from

BBC News Channel’s Click technology programme,

who said the event would show “the nexus between

sound and technology”. This was confirmed by the

showcasing of what Melchior called “almost four

years” of the BBC Audio Research Partnership with

the Universities of Surrey, Salford, Southampton,

York and Queen Mary University of London, plus

displays by DTS, Fairlight, Fraunhofer, Blue Ripple

Sound and Dolby.

Spatial sound in its various forms – Ambisonics,

object-based and binaural – was a pervading

theme, as broadcasters, engineers and producers

contemplate the best way to recreate how the world

sounds for ultra-HD TV, games and virtual reality.

Wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson addressed this

in A Journey South, with his recordings and audio

diary from trips to the Antarctic making natural

history programmes.

He detailed his work with adapted hydrophones to

record inside glaciers and SoundField microphones

for surround. While saying that immersive

technologies put the viewer/listener “in a sense of

space”, Watson bemoaned that his efforts to do this

were often obscured by having “orchestral music

smeared over it”.

Current broadcast transmission systems

constrain new immersive audio production, as do

the requirements of event coverage. In a session on

live broadcast sound freelance OB sound supervisor

Bill Whiston and Olympic Broadcast Services

audio manager Nuno Duarte both commented that

although tests were being made it, could be some

time before spatial technologies were a regular

component.

Andy Rogers, senior producer for live music

with BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra, commented that there

was “a problem in doing immersive”, even though

programmes had been made in both 5.1 and binaural

in the past. “For a long time we did 5.1 in our trucks

but there isn’t a platform for it apart from HDTV,”

he said. He added that R1 presenter Rob da Bank

had fronted a two-hour binaural special in 2014

and while that was well received “the difficult thing

is explaining to listeners that they have to put their

headphones on and keep them on”.

In a specific session on immersive sound Isabel

Platthaus, commissioning editor and dramaturg

with German public broadcaster WDR, outlined

the production processes behind 39, which is both

a radio play and an interactive game for mobiles.

Working with sound engineer and game designer

Achim Fell, who co-presented the talk, Platthaus

3D audio gives more tools to tell storiesVarun Nair, Two Big Ears

26-27 BBC now and next v1 JCDR.indd 1 22/06/2015 09:39


P27JULY2015

says the production was built up in layers so it

could be both listened to and played with. Fell added

that the sounds were mixed together, with the

interactivity allowing the level of immersion to be

increased.

The potential of immersive sound for virtual and

augmented reality was discussed by Varun Nair, co-

founder of interactive audio specialist Two Big Ears.

Nair said that the three main aspects for 3D sound

in VR/AR are panning, elevation (playing with height)

and externalisation, for the sense of reality. “But

technology is a means to an end,” he concluded. “3D

audio gives more tools to tell stories.”

Earlier in the session Martyn Harries, re-

recording mixer and senior lecturer in audio and

music technology at the University of the West of

England, observed that “object-based surround is

way forward”. This was discussed on the second day

under the heading of Responsive and Interactive

Content. Matthew Brooks, senior engineer with BBC

R&D described how object-based technology was

used to create a version of radio documentary The

Cornish Gardener that allowed listeners to specify its

duration (see PSNEurope April for a full report).

While that had been a re-versioning of an

existing linear production, BR-Klassik in Germany

has created a responsive radio feature about the

beginnings of World War I from scratch. Managing

editor Werner Bleisteiner explained that, working

with the IRT and BBC R&D under an EBU pilot project,

he and his colleagues had assembled a series of

clips and music tracks as objects to create what he

described as “radio beyond radio”.

Different production tools that can make the

creation of responsive and immersive audio material

easier and more efficient were the subjects of the

final session of Now and Next. Musician Tim Exile

shook up the venerable Radio Theatre with his

Flow Machine, a looping system that combines

MIDI, sampling and delay technologies. Mark Boas,

co-founder of Hyperaudio, described the technology

behind his company’s name, which is designed

to integrate audio into the web in the same way

hypertext does for words.

Perhaps most intriguing was the editing and

search software conceived by Professor Jörn

Loviscach of Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences.

Originally designed so that he could easily search

videos of his lectures, the program has potential

for general audio production in giving visualisation of

selected words and the automatic highlighting

of “um”.

The possible future of audio in all its forms was

addressed by composer and sound artist Nick

Ryan, who said the key elements were immersion,

interactivity and sonification. He explained the third

component as “transforming information into

sound”, be it data or from another sense, as in the

case of colour.

As newly appointed controller of BBC R&D Andy

Conroy remarked at the start of the event, the

intention was to identify techniques and technologies

that would “feed the imagination” of audiences.

“Someday all broadcast audio will be made this way,”

he said hopefully. n

www.bbc.co.uk/rd/events/sound2015

The tech fair

Jon Tutcher, BBC senior research technologist, at Sound: Now and Next

Freelance OB sound supervisor Bill Whiston speaks at Sound: Now and Next

26-27 BBC now and next v1 JCDR.indd 2 22/06/2015 09:40

Austria


P28JULE2015

Broadcast

Audio signals were routed via a RAVENNA/AES67-based AoIP infrastructure for the first time in the event’s history, writes Angela Buenger

IP begins at 60 for Eurovision

Every year, the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC)

ranks among the top-rated internationally

broadcast TV programmes. On 23 May

2015, almost 200 million viewers from

80 countries watched Sweden’s Måns Zelmerlöw

beat Russia and Italy to the Eurovision trophy at the

Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna.

For the 60th anniversary of the world’s biggest

TV entertainment show, host broadcaster ORF

celebrated two world premières: Not only did the

contest win the Green Events Austria Sonderpreis

award for sustainable cultural and sporting events

at the Green Events Austria Gala 2015, Austria’s

national broadcaster also led the way when it came

to the audio technology used at the Stadthalle.

In the framework of the host broadcaster’s overall

technical concept, all audio signals were routed via

a RAVENNA/AES67-based IP infrastructure. Both the

Lawo Nova 73 audio matrix – including all connected

DALLIS I/O systems used by Belgian company

VideoHouse, ORF’s broadcast supplier – and the

video and audio distribution of the commentary

solution were based on IP networking technology,

which made its ESC debut at this year’s event.

To distribute all the audio signals to the different

suppliers and OB vans while minimising equipment

and cabling required and increasing flexibility, the

signals were collected by a central audio router. The

setup was based on a Lawo Nova 73HD audio routing

core, with 10 DALLIS I/O systems connected using

RAVENNA audio-over-IP technology.

The installation provided for a decentralised

collection and distribution of the signals at the

venue, including 96 Sennheiser Digital 9000

wireless microphone systems, 32 Sennheiser in-ear

monitoring systems for the artists and an Avid Pro

Tools playback system. In addition, all sync and

timecode signals required for the production were

also distributed via the infrastructure.

According to Lawo, the Nova audio routing

infrastructure routed more than 6,600 audio signals

to six OB trucks and to the FOH and monitor consoles

inside the venue. All OB vans provided by either

ORF itself or VideoHouse were equipped with Lawo

m²66 or mc²56 digital mixing consoles. In addition,

the VideoHouse trucks were equipped with V__pro8

video processing systems for audio embedding, de-

embedding and format conversion. To manage and

control the whole setup. a VSM system from L-S-B

was used.

Not only microphones and monitoring but also intercom systems, wireless cameras, LTE base stations and controlling units for light and effects required spectrum Gerhard Vonwald, Grothusen AudioVideo

Måns Zelmerlöw performs winning song Heroes at the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final (All photos: Ralph Larmann)

A team from host broadcaster ORF mains the Lawo desks

28-32 Eurovision v3 JC DR fin.indd 1 22/06/2015 11:47



P30JULY2015

Broadcast

In addition to the signal routing, the commentary

system used by the host broadcaster was also

resting upon IP networking technology. A team of

14 engineers equipped 45 commentator cabins

with LCU commentary units, which were networked

via RAVENNA/AES67 with the commentary control

room and the commentary equipment room. Here,

the signals were forwarded to the Prodys ISDN and

IP codecs that connected broadcasters around the

world with the event location. The video signals for

the 90 video screens in the Eurovision commentary

boxes which provided additional information to

the commentators on site were streamed to the

commentary boxes via V__link4 Video-over-IP

systems.

The equipment was provided by Audio Broadcast

Services (ABS), a rental partner of German

manufacturer Lawo; the technical concept as well

as its implementation and on-site support was

managed by Lawo as a turnkey solution.

Another German company, Riedel, supported the

radio, intercom and signal distribution systems.

In total, around 600 radio sets were used to

interconnect the around 2,500 crew members.

For the intercom system, around 140 panels were

operated; the intercom matrix comprised nine

Artist mainframes which were distributed across

the venue. In order to integrate the OB vans into

the whole system, around 300 panels and 15

mainframes were used. The signal distribution

system included Riedel’s MediorNet solution for

video, data and audio communication and comprised

45 MediorNet mainframes and a total of 127 HD-SDI

inputs, as well as 148 HD-SDI outputs.

The PA system was provided and designed by

Vienna-based Sound Art Service (SAS) and included

a Meyer Sound LYON linear sound reinforcement

system, 44 LYON linear line-array loudspeakers

and 12 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements,

with a Galileo loudspeaker management system

with four Galileo 616 and six Galileo Callisto 616

array processors for system drive and optimisation.

Onstage foldback was provided by six MJF-210, two

MJF-212A, and 14 UM-1P stage monitors.

The auxiliary fill, delay, and VIP systems included

Sennheiser wireless systems, managed by Grothusen Audio Video

The most difficult requirement was the height of the arrays: 12m above the floor PA designerStephan Schloegel

Meyer Sound M’elodie hang




P32JULY2015

Broadcast

24 M’elodie line-array loudspeakers; six JM-1P

arrayable loudspeakers; six CQ-1, six UPQ-1P, eight

UPM-1P, 18 UPA-1P, eight MSL-2, 18 MSL-4 and four

MSL-6 loudspeakers; eight UPJ-1P and six UPJunio

VariO loudspeakers and 10 700-HP subwoofers.

Equipment supply for the LYON and 1100-LFC

systems came from Senec-based Amex Audio, with

coordination by Igor Demčák and Braňo Bèreš.

In addition to the Sennheiser Digital 9000 wireless

systems, the front-end system comprised Midas

PRO6 and PRO9 digital mixing consoles for main and

music mixes. Monitors were mixed on Midas PRO

X consoles, while the broadcast feed was mixed on

four Lawo mc²66 consoles, as mentioned above.

Due to the technical requirements on site the

support staff had several obstacles to overcome, as

Gerhard Vonwald, technical director at Grothusen

Audio Video, Sennheiser’s Austrian distribution

partner – acting as head of wireless audio at ESC

– explains: “As one can imagine, the frequency

spectrum in Vienna was quite densely occupied. In

the hall, not only microphones and monitoring but

also intercom systems, wireless cameras, LTE base

stations and controlling units for light and effects

required spectrum.”

According Vonwald, the metal pipes of the stage

construction also created HF reflections that were

difficult to manage and a challenge when it came

to positioning of the 11 transmit/receive antennae.

Furthermore, interference was also created by

the large LED walls and the LED floor. “Therefore,

it was helpful that Digital 9000 does not create

intermodulation products and, hence, is spectrum-

efficient,” he continues. “We were able to arrange

the microphone frequencies in small intervals of

600kHz, which eased the planning and made this

high number of channels possible.”

SAS’s Stephan Schloegel, the designer of the PA

system, adds: “The most difficult requirement was

the height requirement of the arrays: 12 metres

above the floor. A uniform coverage in front of

the stage was not easy, but the LYON and JM-1Ps

provided a seamless solution.”

Apparently, it was worth the effort: “The final and

all 11 shows with audience before were technically

perfect and an amazing experience for the 60,000

people in the hall, as well as for the TV and online

audience”, says Vonwald. ORF director-general

Alexander Wrabetz, Vienesse mayor Michael Haeupel

and Vienna town councillor Christian Oxonitsch said

in a statement that they were also happy: The costs

for the event were below the estimated budget and

national and international reactions were more than

positive. n

www.eurovision.tvwww.grothusen.prowww.lawo.comwww.meyersound.comwww.midasconsoles.comwww.riedel.netwww.sas.co.atwww.sennheiser.com

Lithuania’s Monika Linkytė and Vaidas Baumilasing the solidly 18th-placed This Time

A flaming piano for Austria, but they still failed to score


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P34JULY2015

Feature: Consolidation in pro audio

Small world…

Even if we datestamp the birth of pro audio

as we know it today to as recently as the

late 1950s and the development of the first

studio consoles, it seems reasonable to

assert that this industry is hardly in the first throes

of youth. But in fact, a current trend towards greater

consolidation of businesses is leading an increasing

number of people to wonder whether it is only now

that pro audio is truly reaching maturity.

Of course, mergers and acquisitions in this

industry are certainly not unheard-of, and there

have been plenty of landmark deals during the past

decade – think of Sun Capital/LOUD Technology’s

buyout of Martin Audio in 2007, or Music Group’s

purchase of Midas and Klark Teknik in 2009, to name

just a few.

It is clear, however, that the pace of change has

accelerated somewhat over the last few years. In

the last 24 months alone, we have seen Yamaha

acquire modelling amplifier and recording software

specialist Line 6; Harman purchase audio directivity

pioneer Duran Audio (hot on the heels, it should

be noted, of acquiring entertainment lighting

giant Martin Professional too); Gibson add music

recording software specialist Cakewalk to its stable;

console brands Calrec, DiGiCo and Allen & Heath

being brought into the same group; and, most

recently of all, Uli Behringer’s Music Group further

strengthening its presence in pro audio through the

acquisition of TC Group, parent of Tannoy,

Lab.gruppen, Lake and TC Electronic.

So, the principal question is not ‘if’ – instead it is

‘why now’ and, more problematically, ‘what are the

long-term implications?’.

Pro audio in transitionWhilst there is a general feeling of economic uplift

at present, the sense of uncertainty prevalent since

the 2008 crash hasn’t completely dissipated, and

at press time the possibility of a Greek exit from

the Euro remains a forbiddingly dark cloud on the

… getting even smaller? Historically an industry dominated by compact, niche-style operations, professional audio is currently experiencing a wave of consolidation through mergers, acquisitions and venture-capital investment. But why now and what are the long-term implications, wonders David Davies

Harman VP Blake Augsburger

HHB Communications’ Ian Jones

34-36 Consolidation feature vDR JC fin.indd 1 22/06/2015 10:52


P35JULY2015

horizon. Opinions vary on the extent to which the

broader financial landscape has contributed to the

wave of mergers and acquisitions, but it certainly

seems to be an element in the mix.

Blake Augsburger, executive vice-president

and president, professional division, at Harman

International, comments: “The rate of mergers and

acquisitions taking place within the audio industry

is contingent on variables within the industry such

as maturity, technology and competition, but also on

macro-economic issues as well. This includes but is

not limited to the cost of capital, globalisation and

compliance. There is also a cyclical filter determined

by high-profile successes and failures, market

sentiment and even trends.”

James Gordon, MD of DiGiCo and now also CEO

of the combined DiGiCo/Allen & Heath/Calrec group

christened Audiotonix in April 2015, similarly thinks

the broader economic situation has had an impact,

but highlights too the increased appeal of the sector

as a reason for the influx of venture-capital (VC)

money now enabling many of the changes.

“Post a recession, this kind of new investment

cycle is very common and is occurring in lots of

industries at this time,” says Gordon. “I guess as

the dust starts to clear companies look at new

opportunities and that generates new investment. We

have certainly seen this trend in our industry before.

I do think, though, that as our industry becomes

more professional with a worldwide footprint it

becomes a more attractive proposition for external

investment.”

For RH Consulting founder and keen industry

observer Roland Hemming, the explanation resides

more in a cyclical change slowly taking place. “Our

industry has been regarded as very young with

many companies that are still owner-managed,

but it is now transitioning,” he says. “However, as

an increasing number approach retirement, if they

have no succession strategy, then this makes them

look to sell. Secondly, you have companies wanting

to diversify or supply a more complete package,

so again M&As [mergers and acquisitions] help

companies achieve this.”

Ian Jones, managing director of stalwart

independent AV technology supplier HHB

Communications, also thinks we are witnessing a

logical development in the industry. “Pro audio has

traditionally comprised a large number of relatively

small businesses operating independently, so I’d

suggest that consolidation is somewhat inevitable,”

he says.

In an increasingly integrated world, it makes sense

on multiple levels for larger firms to look to deliver a

wider cross-section of complementary technologies.

But it also stands to reason that consolidation

isn’t always going to be straightforward, or even

immediately beneficial. To put it mildly, ‘growing

pains’ are surely to be expected.

Practicalities of consolidation It would obviously have been preferable to assess

the practicalities with the architects of the most

prominent deal of recent times: the Music Group

purchase of TC. Unfortunately, TC and Music Group

declined to be interviewed at this early stage of

the process. Meanwhile, private equity firm Electra

Partners – which acquired latterday Audiotonix group

bands Allen & Heath in 2013 and DiGiCo and Calrec

in 2014 – accepted PSNEurope’s questions but was

unable to provide any comments by the time of going

to press.

Fortunately, there are plenty of others to whom

we can turn to analyse consolidation mechanics.

Surveying Harman’s purchase of Martin Pro and

Duran Audio (regarding the latter, “we saw an

excellent opportunity to acquire great technology

and great talent”), Augsburger confirms that “there

were many practical/logistical elements in getting

onto a shared ERP [enterprise resource planning]

system and to a single procurement plan, but the

most important aspects were ensuring customers

experienced nothing but improvement in choice,

service and support, and that the employees of all

three groups were culturally engaged in making the

acquisitions work. They were and so the acquisitions

have worked. It typically takes a year or so to

complete the integration.”

For Audiotonix – which features a combination of

ownership ranging from Electra and fellow private-

equity firm Living Bridge through to the managers

and staff of the group – the consolidation of three

leading mixing console brands into one group was

the result of a period of careful reflection. “We

looked at many options and could have taken the

more traditional route of investing into a speaker

or amplifier company, but in reality the skill of the

team is that we know mixing consoles,” says Gordon.

Selecting the companies was not particularly

challenging since “all three brands have great

reputations and loyal clients. When you look a little

deeper into the businesses, although all three design

and manufacture consoles, we address a different

market or client base with them. This means the

combined mixing console knowledge and experience

across the group adds real value and expertise.”

In terms of the practicalities, Gordon was aware

from day one that encouraging dialogue between

the three R&D firms was going to be instrumental

Andy Huffer, sales director at pro-audio trade

sales and distribution company HD Pro Audio,

believes that analysis of M&As needs to be

undertaken very carefully:“When the word gets

out about another much loved independent pro-

audio brand being merged, acquired or injected

with VC money, the kneejerk reaction of the

pro-audio community tends towards clutching

our pearls to our chest and exclaiming our horror

and outrage. Like most things, it’s never that cut

and dried. I’ve seen many brands evolve over the

years, and there’s enormous potential for it to

be a positive thing if managed correctly. Access

to enhanced R&D and manufacturing capability,

investment in support infrastructure and stock,

increased marketing budget and securing a long-

term future for the brand… all of these can come

from investment by the ‘suits’.

“Having said that, there is also enormous

potential for the brand’s original architects to

leave, unhappy with the new structure, for asset-

stripping, for the ‘suits’ to ignore the qualities

that established and maintained the brand in the

first place that don’t fit neatly on a spreadsheet,

and many other classic errors that have left once

mighty brands chewed up and spat out by their

new owners.”

www.hdproaudio.co.uk

“It’s never that cut and dried…”

As our industry becomes more professional with a worldwide footprint it becomes a more attractive proposition for external investmentJames Gordon, DiGiCo/Audiotonix Group



P36JULY 2015

Feature: Consolidation in pro audio

in making the new group function effectively. “Three

strong R&D teams with a long history of developing

groundbreaking products all working together

sounded an impossible task,” he admits. “Looking

back I am not sure now why we viewed this as the

biggest challenge, because from their first meeting

they were talking the same language and were

keen to learn from each other. The level of respect

between the teams has meant they willingly share

ideas and want to contribute and share with the

other teams in the group.”

Long-term benefitsOne pleasant upside of the recent wave of M&As is

that they seem to have involved relatively few losses

in terms of personnel – something that can only be

good news in an industry where job opportunities

aren’t always in plentiful supply. But if the current

phase of consolidation has been fairly painless in

the short-term, what are its long-term benefits

likely to be?

Over at Line 6 – which is still run as an independent

company following the Yamaha acquisition – the

benefits have included joint product development with

its new owner (for example, on the Variax Standard

guitar) and the back-up of a “financially powerful

yet music industry-internal partner” that allows the

company to pursue new products and markets.

“The instant benefit is a much larger internal

customer base allowing sales either through under

own-brand or under one [of] the other brands in

the Yamaha group,” says Nils-Peter Keller, director

Yamaha Music Europe’s pro audio division. “A

medium-term benefit is the know-how transfer of

production and design quality methodology, as well

as the development of the businesses processes’

quality – which is also a bidirectional benefit. Last but

not least, the addition of Yamaha’s power has made it

easier for Line 6 to develop new products and enter

more or other business fields.”

For Michael Hoover – president of Cakewalk,

which was officially acquired by Gibson in December

2013 – the primary benefits of the acquisition reside

in enhanced capacity for product development

and increased access to possible new customer

groups. “To start with, we get to focus on what we

do best: designing, developing, testing and delivering

innovative software products for musicians and

producers,” says Hoover. “Our dedicated marketing

team allows us to talk directly to our customers

through online properties we manage on our own.

Our expert staff provide a first-line support while

keeping our development team constantly informed

of any issues. What has really changed is our ability

to reach more customers. Through Gibson’s extensive

sales and distribution network and marketing and

entertainment relations teams we have a much bigger

and stronger voice.”

Continuing consolidation?But while the recent wave of deals has evidently

brought tangible benefits for many of the brands

involved, concerns persist that increased

dominance by a smaller number of very large

players may ultimately inhibit the

entrepreneurial spirit that has traditionally

underpinned pro-audio’s greatest leaps forward.

Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz, however, thinks

that smaller firms will continue to be viable and

influential players.

“Smaller companies can address very specific

needs that would distract larger companies from

their more ambitious goals,” he says. “Gibson can’t

imagine a future where niche companies don’t exist;

if anything, we feel they strengthen the industry,

introduce innovations, and keep raising the bar. We

want the bar to keep rising, because ultimately it

benefits all of us.”

But not everyone is optimistic. Although he

believes that some smaller firms will remain

independent due to “emotional attachment or [being]

a lifestyle choice”, Hemming expects that “small

integration companies will find life increasingly

tough as barriers to market increase. Many small

manufacturers will either die or be bought, primarily

for their IP or for a particular market segment where

they excel.”

It is also important to remember that

consolidation doesn’t always pan out creatively or

commercially. “Many mergers and buyouts don’t

succeed,” says Hemming. “If you want to buy another

company or merge you have to think about what

the overall benefit will be. It’s a cliche, but will the

result be greater than the sum of all the parts? If

your business isn’t efficient and focused then an

M&A probably isn’t going to help. If it is, and you

see another business that can benefit from your

streamlined operation, then that might be worth

consideration.”

So there are no shortage of potential pay-offs,

and pitfalls, from taking the path towards merger

or acquisition. But in an industry which appears to

be nearing the end of a significant cycle – whereby

an increasing number of the figures who have

shaped the modern business will be contemplating

retirement and ultimately passing the baton to a new

generation that will have to find fresh methods of

financing costly R&D – more consolidation seems to

be a certainty. n

www.audiotonix.comeurope.yamaha.comwww.gibson.comwww.harmanpro.comwww.hhb.co.ukwww.music-group.comwww.rhconsulting.eu

KEY POINTS:• Creation of tri-console manufacturer group Audiotonix and acquisition of TC by Music Group are the most prominent recent examples of pro-audio consolidation• The latest economic cycle is generally regarded to be an important agent of change• The desire to diversify and enhance R&D capacity are also contributing to consolidation• Some observers fear that it will become increasingly difficult for very niche brands to operate independently

If you want to buy another company or merge you have to think about what the overall benefit will be […] Will the result be greater than the sum of all the parts?Roland Hemming, RH Consulting

Gibson Brands CEO Henry Juszkiewicz


Install Template new.indd 1 11/14/2014 3:32:46 PM

Spain

www.psneurope.com/live

P38JULY2015

Live

Twin Cam refl ects on the 15th Primavera Sound festival at Barcelona’s Parc del Fòrum, where the Catalan audio provider went it alone for the fi rsttime with an L-Acoustics-based set-up. JonChapple reports

Strummage to Catalonia

S ince its inception in 2001, Primavera

Sound has drawn some of the biggest

names in indie pop, rock and dance music

to Barcelona, outgrown its original venue,

been named “artists’ favourite festival” at the European

Festival Awards and spawned a spin-off event, NOS

Primavera Sound, in Oporto in neighbouring Portugal.

The 2015 festival, featuring a guitar-heavy line-up that

included The Black Keys, Patti Smith, The Strokes,

Sleater-Kinney, Antony and the Johnsons, Alt-J and

Interpol, marked 15 years of the festival – and, with it, 15

years of a long and fruitful partnership with Barcelona-

based audio provider Twin Cam and its L-Acoustics PA

inventory.

“Although our company was signifi cantly smaller

than [it is] now, we were already the largest company in

[…] Catalonia, known for our high standards of personal

and equipment,” explains Twin Cam owner and director

Rafael Campos, refl ecting on the inaugural festival –

headlined by Armand Van Helden – in April 2001. “At

the time of Primavera’s conception, Twin Cam was

in the process of a huge leap forward. We were still

using Meyer Sound, and we actually did the fi rst edition

using our MSL-5 system, even though we were already

starting the transition to V-DOSC and L-Acoustics.

“The fi rst festival was only one stage, in a far smaller

and less demanding location than now. Then, Twin Cam

had only a fraction of the capacity that we have today.

We could say that the festival and us grew in parallel

since then.

Fucked Up (the band, not the KARAs) (All photos: Louis Austin)

Ride are back on the festival circuit

38 39 40 Primavera v1DR JC fin.indd 1 22/06/2015 09:53


P39JULY2015

“This year the festival comprised seven stages – of

far greater scope than that single stage 15 years

ago – and we were able to supply […] first-generation

L-Acoustics sound systems for the entire festival.” (Twin

Cam supplied five of seven stages in 2014.)

With Twin Cam newly responsible for sound for the

entire festival, the 15th outing of Primavera, held from

28 to 30 May with an attendance over 190,000, was

no ordinary event for Campos and his team. “Not only

was this a significant increase – because it included the

addition of the second principal stage [the Heineken

stage], which last year was done by PRG with Adamson

– even more important for us was the fact that they

deposited their faith 100 per cent in us and stopped

looking elsewhere,” says Campos.

Twin Cam’s relationship with L-Acoustics dates back

to 1999, when it purchased its first V-DOSC system.

As in 2014, system designer Juan Cid – also a

certified level-1 L-Acoustics trainer – specified for the

main Primavera stage a combination of L-Acoustics K1,

K2 and KARA, with an identical set-up on the Heineken

stage. The core system comprised left/right arrays of 12

K1s and four K1-SBs per side, with two hangs of eight

K1s and two K1-SBs providing outfill, four KARAs for

frontfill, two stacks of eight K2s on L/R delays and 24

SB28s subs for low-end reinforcement.

Four ARCS II with a pair of SB28s were used for stage

sidefill, and the entire system was powered using LA8

amplifiers. “I believe that we presented [the festival

organisers] with a solid, reliable coherent package

L-Acoustics K1 hang on the Primavera stage



P40JULY2015

Live

for the whole festival, maintaining the L-Acoustics

sonic signature throughout the seven stages,” Campos

comments.

Twin Cam is also providing sound for four other major

Spanish festivals this summer (Sonar, Barcelona Beach

Festival, Hard Rock Rising Barcelona and Cap Roig), as

well as “12–15 large gigs” in the same period (“Murphy’s

law never fails when it comes to dates,” laughs Campos.

“We had Andrea Bocelli at the Sagrada Familia the

second night of Primavera!”) It is also “constantly

re-renting gear” to and from the rest of L-Acoustics’

network in Spain – “There is a fantastic relationship

between all […] L-Acoustics users,” says Campos – and is

involved in two Spanish-language TV programmes.

How does Primavera compare to, say, Sonar? “Unlike

many other Spanish festivals, where volume is the

[primary] requirement, [at Primavera] we have a very strict

102dB limit,” explains Campos. “This said, our client demands

this level – no more and no less. Everywhere there [are]

spectators – on each and every one of the stages – they expect

a very similar sonic experience as well…”

This consistency in sound was helped, says Campos, by Twin

Cam being the only audio provider on site, “as opposed to other

years where, for better or for worse, there were significant

differences where different companies were working. I believe

Primavera came out ahead by having one technical standard

controlled by one design and production team.

“Additionally I must add that this year we came much closer

to having all our technical needs satisfied – ie tower heights,

choice of materials to cover PAs, etc. – which helps the end

result tremendously…”

But enough audio geekery – with 15 years of Primavera

experience under his belt, Campos must have some tales of

debauchery from festivals past? “Sorry to say that every day

there are less juicy stories: The kit works better than ever

before, trucks show up on time and our venues are modern and

very well built. The crew rest, eat well and don’t have the same

[bad] habits as before.

“So, things sound great, the team works well, the shows

finish flawlessly day after day… there just aren’t any surprises –

or disasters – any more!” n

www.twincamaudio.comwww.l-acoustics.comwww.primaverasound.com

Tori Amos channels her inner Wakeman

Sleater-Kinney’s Corin Tucker



Portugal


P42JULY2015

Live

Jon Chapple meets the man behind Portugal’s leading loudspeakers, NEXT-proaudio CEO Antonio Correia

NEXT appeal

Why aren’t there more 14” stage

monitors?

While the above question may

sound like the set-up for the least

exciting joke you’ve ever heard, it’s a conundrum

Portuguese loudspeaker and amp manufacturer

NEXT-proaudio saw fi t to tackle head on with the launch

at Prolight + Sound of its active LAm114xA monitor –

reportedly the very fi rst of its kind.

“We wanted to develop a stage monitor combining

perfectly the voice reproduction clarity associated

with 12” speakers with the bass extension typically

reproduced by 15” speakers,” explains NEXT-proaudio

CEO Antonio Correia, speaking to PSNEurope from the

company’s headquarters in Rio Tinto, near Oporto. “A 14”

monitor was perfect for our demands.”

“We have had a very close relationship with B&C

Speakers for almost 25 years, which allows us to test

all its new products. Thanks to that, we are using a new

model from them, a 14” coaxial. At the moment we don’t

know of any company doing the same. So far, sales-

wise, it’s been a huge success.”

While the LAm114xA may not be as fl ashy as, say, the

latest digital desks or designer nightclub speakers, it is

something new – no mean feat for a company owned by

a man who’s been designing loudspeakers for 29 years.

Founded in its current iteration in 2004, NEXT-

proaudio is the brainchild of Correia, a former live

sound engineer. “I started my involvement in the

pro-audio business in 1979 as a sound engineer while

I was studying at university,” he explains. “I had the

opportunity to work with some of the most important

Portuguese artists and bands for seven years, until

1986.”

Like many manufacturers, the company that became

NEXT-proaudio started life as a one-man operation, with

Correia building his own PA system after graduating

with a degree in electronic engineering. “The system

proved to be a very successful solution even among

other sound engineers,” he says. “Buoyed by its

unexpected success, I started building other PA systems

for other rental companies, as well as for some artists.

That was the beginning of my career in professional

audio manufacturing.”

Soon after, Correia founded NEXT-proaudio parent

group the CVA Electronic Company, producing amplifi ers

and loudspeakers for 18 years under the CVA brand

name. “We were the market leader [in Portugal],” he

says, “with almost 85 per cent of rental companies and

artists using our systems. By the mid-90s we were

exporting to Spain, China, Germany, France…

“Based on our knowledge and on market changes,

in early 2004 we decided to develop a new technical

philosophy, together with new facilities […], under a new

brand name. NEXT-proaudio was born.”

NEXT’s sound reinforcement systems are used in

both live and installed sound, with Correia estimating

a rough breakdown of 40 per cent marketshare

for touring, 25 per cent portable and 35 per cent

installation. Recent major installs include the Les Vôutes

Antonio Correia (left) with assistant manager André Correia

James with Technosound’s NEXT PX System

42-43 next pro v1DR JC fin.indd 1 22/06/2015 16:09


P43 JULY2015

nightclub in France (X-Line, MA series, LMS series and

DP series) and Word of Life church in Russia (LA212x

line array), while its touring systems have been used

by Joe Cocker, Macy Gray, The Prodigy, Pendulum and,

most recently, James, with NEXT’s stackable PX System

and LA12 line array supplied by Technosound for two

shows in Oporto.

For new product development, Correia says NEXT’s

focus now is on “small lines, such as small line arrays,

as well as small portable and installation systems”

and on expanding its existing HFA-series, X-Line and

LA-series lines. He also reveals that it is developing

“specific solutions” for the Chinese, Brazilian and Dutch

markets “in order to fulfil the special requirements of

our customers”.

NEXT-proaudio has a presence in 26 countries

worldwide, but hopes to make it 30 “in the next three

months”, Correia says, and is continually investing in

staff, resources and infrastructure – a new factory is

planned for the end of 2015 – despite trading conditions

only just beginning to improve at home in Portugal.

Still, as a small-ish fish in a very big pond, NEXT-

proaudio must be keenly aware of the competition?

“It’s always a challenge,” comments Correia, “but,

internationally, the competition is not a problem.

“We have good relations with all the professional

brands, and even a friendship with some of the big

brands, [which] is healthy because we share distributors

and we need to be present on the same physical space,

such as exhibitions, where we must support [the

distributors] together.

“The market is huge and there is space for

everybody.” n

www.next-proaudio.com

5 0 0 S E R I E S

N e v e - N o Q u e s t i o nwww.ams-neve.com

Les Vôutes nightclub, Paris

42-43 next pro v1DR JC fin.indd 2 22/06/2015 16:09

France


P44JULY2015

Live

Guillaume Schouker reports from Jazz Under the Apple Trees 2015, the 34th annual Norman pomme-fest

And all that jazz

C reated in 1982 by Thierry Giard and Gérard

Houssin, the Jazz Sous Les Pommiers (‘Jazz

Under the Apple Trees’) festival takes

place every year in the city of Coutances in

southern Normandy.

An audience of 75,000 attended the 34th festival,

from 8–16 May, which comprised no less than nine

different concert venues of various sizes throughout

the city. Performers included new talents and jazz

greats such as Manu Katché, Richard Bona, Stefano

Di Battista, Eric Legnini, Pharoah Sanders, Didier

Lockwood, Jacky Terrasson, Kenny Garrett, Lizz

Wright, Kyle Eastwood and Ester Rada.

Denis Le Bas, who has been managing director

of Coutances Municipal Theatre since 1985 and

director of Jazz Sous Les Pommiers (JSLP) for the

past 30 years, explains the festival’s choice of audio

equipment: “The [programme of music] can not

stand vague approximation.

“[Our audio providers enter into a] partnership

with the festival […] and not [just] a simple financial

[one]: “We have a trustworthy relationship with Jean-

Marie Roussel, sound and technical manager, high-

tech, at Atech, and Gérard Marie, technical director of

the festival, for the [choice of] equipment and crew…”

Roussel reveals: “The audio equipment is

provided by Atech SARL, based in Verson, near the

city of Caen. [Our] partners help us to discover new

products by supplying us throughout the festival:

Sennheiser digital microphones, a Yamaha QL-series

console and DBR-series powered loudspeakers,

Coda Audio three-way active ultra-low-profile stage

monitors, a Roland M-5000 console, Nexo STM S118

sub-bass modules, Freevox Audio preamps…”

During this year’s nine-day event, concerts

unfolded in three main concert venues: Salle Marcel

Hélie, a gymnasium converted into a 1,350-seat

concert hall; the 600-seat Théâtre Municipal de

Coutances; and Magic Mirrors, a 1920s-styled

marquee-like circus tent with a capacity of 350 in the

square around Coutances Cathedral.

Audio constraints consist mostly of “respecting

legislation regarding sound levels”, says Le Bas,

and the scalability and configuration of the three

different set-ups. He also stresses the importance of

“offering state-of-the art equipment where and when

it’s imperative. Work on sound and on the technical

environment in general is a big component of the

success of a festival.”

The Salle Marcel Hélie was equipped with a

Manu Katche (drums), Richard Bona (bass), Stefano Di Battista (saxophone) and Eric Legnini (piano) on stage in the Salle Marcel Hélie (Photo: Pierre-Yves Le Meur)

The Soundcraft Vi6 at front of house

44-45 Festival Jazz JCDR fin.indd 1 22/06/2015 09:49


P45 JULY2015

Soundcraft Vi6 64/24 FOH console with a Yamaha

PM5D-RH console for monitoring, while the Municipal

Theatre was serviced by a 48-channel Soundcraft Vi4

at FOH and Soundcraft Vi3000 for monitoring.

Magic Mirrors deployed a 40-channel Yamaha

CL5 board and Rio3224-D rack at FOH and

Yamaha M7CL on monitoring.

Roussel says: “The choice of which console mostly

depends on the specification sheets from artists.

Vi series are the most in-demand, considering the

countries from where the productions come: The UK,

USA, Netherlands, Brazil, Asia…

“The PM5D [still] offers great versatility for

controlling live sound monitoring on large stages,

and it’s more ergonomic than the Vi.

The Soundcraft Vi3000 handled the stage

monitoring in Coutances Municipal Theater. “This

control surface is a compromise between the

number of inputs and buses, its size, its ergonomics

and the remote-control iPad app.”

Sound reinforcement in the Salle Marcel Hélie

comprised two line-array clusters consisting of

14 Nexo GEO D10s and six GEO D SUBs with Nexo

NXAMP4x4 amplification, plus six Nexo PS10-R2

for frontfill and sidefill and five Meyer Sound UPM

as nearfield. At Coutances Municipal Theatre, the

usual sound system was replaced for the festival

by two clusters with six Nexo GEO S1210s, two GEO

S1230s and two sub-bass STM118s, four Nexo GEO

S830 frontfills and four PS8 nearfields, while Magic

Mirrors’ d&b audiotechnik system consisted of 12

T10 speakers, six Q-SUBs with four D12 amplifiers,

four E6s and a D6 amplifier for side diffusion.

Regarding microphones, “the demand is steady”,

says Roussel. Most are Shure, Sennheiser, Neumann,

Audio-Technica, AKG, DPA and Schoeps. “The

references are more or less the same ones,” he

continues, “except Audix, which is more and more

requested. We also noticed that certain productions

provide a Yamahiko piano pickup system.”

Jean-Marie Roussel expresses his satisfaction

with the work accomplished by the “tight-knit” sound

crew behind the 34th JSPL: “Yes, the tech team has

got the hang [of it]!” n

www.jazzsouslespommiers.comwww.atech-atl.comwww.audixusa.comwww.dbaudio.comwww.nexo-sa.comwww.soundcraft.comwww.yamahiko.info

A seven-GEO D10-module array hangs in the Salle Marcel Hélie

44-45 Festival Jazz JCDR fin.indd 2 22/06/2015 09:50

World


P46JULY2015

Live

FOH engineer Horace Ward does it his way on the first leg of Usher’s The UR Experience tour with Clair Global’s 96-channel Focusrite RedNet rig

Red-y for anything

You might not know Horace Ward, but

chances are you’ve heard him in action.

Ward has been a front-of-house sound

engineer for the best part of four decades,

and his wealth of experience and talent has made

him the top choice for some of the world’s premier

R&B artists, including Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé, Prince

and Busta Rhymes. In 1998 he started working with

Usher, during the heady days of the Atlanta artist’s

breakthrough, six times platinum-selling album My Way.

To stay ahead of the game, each of Ward’s tours has

to be bigger and better than the last in every respect,

from sound and visuals to stage performance, so a

constant updating of his touring technology is necessary

to wow the audience – and with Usher’s latest tour, The

UR Experience, he did exactly that.

Pushing the envelopeThe UR Experience project started in summer 2014

when Ward, members of Usher’s tour production crew

and production company Clair Global put together

plans for a 96-channel Dante-based digital audio

system based around a DiGiCo SD5 console feeding a

gargantuan Clair tour PA system. To accompany the

pair, the teams assembled “a wall” of Focusrite RedNet

devices to interface between the stage, FOH, monitor

world and two recording systems.

A total of 12 Focusrite RedNet 4 mic preamps formed

the front end of the system, taking 96 inputs from the

stage at 96kHz and distributing them to FOH, where

three RedNet 6 MADI bridges interfaced to the DiGiCo

digital audio infrastructure. RedNet 1 and RedNet 2

A-D/D-A converters provided analogue connectivity for

Ward’s array of outboard processors, while the main

Pro Tools HD recording system relied on three RedNet

5 HD bridges to provide 96 channels of recording and

playback between the Pro Tools HDX cards and the

Dante network. A redundant recording rig powered by

Reaper running on a MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt

Magma Chassis was equipped with a RedNet PCIe Card,

providing it with direct access to any and all Dante audio

streams.

Going largeAccording to Clair Global system tech Frank

Sgambellone, the flexibility of the Dante network

coupled with RedNet’s “versatility and reliability” won

him over. “We’re moving forward with a different type

of audio transfer technology on this tour: all the audio is

transferred over fibre/Ethernet to the FOH console with

Dante,” he explains, adding that the system has allowed

for a vast audio network that would be impractical to

operate on a protocol “less capable” than Dante. “It’s

a rock-solid system. We haven’t had any issues and it

sounds fantastic. This system is better than what we

traditionally have had on a tour like this.”

But it was Ward who pushed for RedNet, having

demoed a system at Clair Global’s HQ and following

positive experiences using a Focusrite preamp front end

on the road with Lady Gaga. “We tried the RedNet 4 mic

preamp units and were thrilled with the powerful sound

that we heard coming through the Clair PA during a full

system test,” he comments. “The actual sound of the

preamp is phenomenal. I was immediately impressed

and decided on the spot to incorporate the RedNet

system.”

Fast forward/looking backReflecting on the first leg of The UR Experience – which

came to an end some months ago – Ward is happy with

his decision to try something new. “If I don’t try [new

technologies], somebody else will,” he says. “These are

studio preamps that we took on the road. But they’ve

given me exactly what I need: a fullness and richness of

Usher performing at The Warfield Theater in San Francisco on the Here I Stand tour (Photo: Seher Sikandar/Rehes Creative)

46 47 Usher Focusrite JCDR fin.indd 1 22/06/2015 16:12


sound, which is wider and deeper than ever before. When I’m in the mix position, the

3D picture of the concert is right in front of me, and I know that I’m getting exactly the

same sound into Pro Tools as I am on stage, with zero signal degradation, and I’m 300

feet from the stage.”

One of Ward’s main reasons for pushing Clair to try something new for The UR

Experience was his belief that he would get more definition by running his rig at

96kHz. But his experiences on the first leg of the tour revealed that the jump in

sampling rate wasn’t completely necessary – he just needed better preamps. “The

saucy end of the stick is the most important, and this means mics and mic preamps,”

concludes Ward. “The Focusrite preamps alone solved half the problems I was

experiencing, so even before I’ve hit the rest of my rig, I’ve already put the icing on the

cake. It’s like being in the studio and using external mic preamps.” n

www.focusrite.comwww.clairglobal.com

If I don’t try new technologies, somebody else will. These are studio preamps that we took on the road, but they’ve given me exactly what I needHorace Ward

The UR Experience FOH engineer Horace Ward

Clair Global’s studio-derived ‘wall of RedNet’

46 47 Usher Focusrite JCDR fin.indd 2 22/06/2015 16:13

www.psneurope.com

P48JULY2015

Feature: Digital consoles

Phil Ward greets the digital console class of ’15 – with a magnifying glassPhil Ward greets the digital console class of ’15 – with a magnifying glass

Micro managementThe opposite of networking is NOT working,

says a fridge magnet near you, and pro

audio’s digital consoles won’t argue. But

there’s a lot more going on than AoIP and, it

seems, smaller chassis formats are just the tip of the

iceberg.

The latest off erings from the market leaders illustrate

perfectly the extent to which previous-generation

functionality of the highest order is being funnelled into

smaller packages for smaller budgets. More than that,

in many cases it’s the compact consoles that represent

the real cutting edge in terms of user interface,

networking fl exibility, I/O confi gurability and all-round

grunt-per-square-millimetre – because they have to, in

order to fi t everything in.

Where there is compromise, it’s in fader acreage. But

this, says Cadac brand development manager Richard

Ferriday, is a sign of the iOS times. “The new Cadac

CDC Six is based around a further evolution of Cadac’s

unique ‘high agility’ gesture operating system, developed

for the fl agship CDC eight, accessed via a widescreen

23.5-inch touch screen,” he explains. “This greatly

reduces the fi xed physical control count, allowing for a

smaller physical interface than usual in a console of this

scale and power.”

The CDC six even uses Cadac’s MegaCOMMS

digital audio network, a TDM system capable of 128

channels of 24bit, 96kHz audio, control data and clock

bi-directionally – up to 150m via a pair of RG6 coaxial

cables. “In addition,” points out Ferriday, “MegaCOMMS

Subfrantic’s Yamaha CL5 with The Dunwells

DiGiCo’s new S21, as stocked by SSE

48-52 (renumbered pages) feature fin JCDR.indd 1 22/06/2015 13:35

www.psneurope.com

P49JULY2015

SOUND COMPETENCE

provides for accurate, phase-aligned clock distribution, allowing reliable, ultra-low-

jitter synchronisation of all hardware elements within a network. CDC six also ships

with Cadac’s unique monitor mode – providing the ability to access any of the 48

user-assignable busses and their respective contribution channels in ‘sends on

fader’ mode with a single touch of the screen – and an integrated 64x64 Waves card

for direct multitrack recording to a laptop and connection to any Waves MultiRack

SoundGrid server.”

The X factorAvid’s latest VENUE incarnation, the S3L-X, is the company’s most compact solution

for live sound to date. Derk Hagedorn, senior marketing manager for live systems,

emphasises the mobility required by serious users in modern production.

“Whether you’re at the performance venue, on the tour bus or in a studio or

hotel room, the VENUE S3L-X system’s full-featured power and ultra-compact size

enables users to exercise creativity practically everywhere,” he says. “It’s the most

portable, professional live sound system, off ering the sound quality and features

of Avid’s high-end VENUE live systems in a networked system architecture – a

high-performance HDX-powered processing engine running AAX plug-ins, scalable

remote I/O, award-winning VENUE and Pro Tools software and an ultra-compact

control surface.”

Its modular, ‘open-networked’ architecture is Gigabit Ethernet-based. “With

S3L-X, engineers can share the same VENUE Stage 16 I/O boxes across three S3L-X

systems over Ethernet AVB, eliminating the need for a splitter to share source feeds

between FOH, monitor and broadcast setups,” continues Hagedorn. “This reduces the

I/O and cable requirements, set-up time, and transportation costs, highlighting the true

portability and value of using S3L-X in even the most demanding workfl ows.”

And so it continues at Yamaha and Fairlight. “Yamaha’s CL and QL series digital

mixing consoles have gained wide acceptance around the world as well-equipped, high

quality live mixers suitable for outside broadcast and production use,” reports Andy

Cooper, Yamaha’s manager of PA application engineering. “QL5 is perhaps the most

optimised in terms of channel count and size, while the recent release of V3 software

brings support for 5.1 surround panning and monitoring, mix-minus buses, frame

delays, on-screen RTA and dua oscillator.

“Dante is used to connect with other QL- and CL-series consoles, as well as Yamaha’s

range of R-series remote I/O units, computers for live recording and other Dante-

equipped audio technology. Yamaha has tools to convert Dante to MADI, SDI and other

audio formats, with sample-rate conversion if necessary.”

“Fairlight’s Live Family comes in two table-top – TT – formats,” explains Fairlight CTO

Tino Fibaek. “The compact QUANTUM.Live TT is the entry level into Fairlight’s ‘Live’ line-

up, complemented by the slightly larger EVO.Live TT which off ers additional support for

a second operator and delivers a greater level of tactile control with a second Intellipad,

more switches and more encoders. The QUANTUM.Live TT is ideal for rehearsed and

predictable productions while the EVO.Live TT off ers faster access to more aspects of

Lawo’s mc² platform, which commonly delivers I/O networks measured in

the thousands, latterly gained its most compact addition to date, the mc²36.

Nevertheless, this ‘all-in-one’ console for packs all the connectivity of the

company’s largest off ers, combining MADI and AoIP as if the future depended

upon them – which, of course, it does.

“It all depends on your network model,” says Lawo international sales and

project manager Tobias Kronenwett (pictured). “We’re now using RAVENNA, a

full IP network, which has the advantage of avoiding a lot of the architectural

headaches. It’s not a star confi guration or anything like that: being IP it can

take on any topology. The problem is getting people with classical routing-

and-patching experience to adopt IP networks! That’s something we try to

tackle with the user interface.”

The familiar-looking mc²36 deliberately guides users gently into an IP

future, as all serious models will now do, however small. “A RAVENNA I/O

system behaves exactly like a classic I/O system connected via MADI,”

Kronenwett points out. “There’s no diff erence in software or management.

Furthermore, it doesn’t matter if the signal is IP or MADI: for us that was a

logical way to encourage people to make the step into IP.”

www.lawo.com

Don’t worry, be IP


www.psneurope.com

P50JULY2015


your mix.

“Much more than a just a mixer, though, Fairlight Live

systems deliver a complete show solution. From the

console you can use the faders for different functions,

like using some for audio, some for lighting and some

for FX machines. The audio processor can playback up

to 128 synchronised, pre-recorded audio channels while

Fairlight’s optional SMART.Cart delivers full sound FX

functionality.”

Push the Buttenheim Even the two great German powerhouses of digital

mixing are getting in on the comp-act (see box for

Lawo). The Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup has the

three brands Stagetec, Salzbrenner and Delec, but it’s

Salzbrenner that markets the new, diminutive POLARIS

Evolution mixer manufactured in Buttenheim. And if

multimedia is emerging as a theme running through

this generation of versatile compacts, this group has

the advantage of Salzbrenner Stagetec AVM – Audio

Video Mediensysteme, a dedicated system integration

department within the company.

“The Polaris was developed as a live sound console,”

points out Bjorn Van Munster, Salzbrenner’s Stagetec

Mediagroup’s international product manager, ”but we

have additional software modules available: one for

theatre, with dynamic automation, cue lists and show

control; and, soon, one for broadcast, with mix-minus

and other dedicated features.”

Polaris takes the leap into almost fader-less,

mostly touch-based territory. This user interface and

workflow emphasises modularity and scalability as

never before, providing just 16 faders to access up to

256 channels – as well as defining a new paradigm,

‘Sprock’ [That’s soul, pop and rock – Language

Ed] princess Anastacia has been on the road

with the Avid VENUE S3L-X at FOH, manned by

FOH engineer and long-time Avid VENUE user

Gerard Albo. Anastacia’s unique mix of styles,

with full backing band, was showcased on her

2015 Resurrection European tour and adds to

Albo’s expert portfolio of strong female artists –

including Amy Winehouse, Patti Smith, Corinne

Bailey-Rae and others.

“The main challenge of mixing Anastacia is to

conserve the dynamics of the band and to contain

her powerful voice,” explains Albo (pictured). “The

S3L-X does such a great job on that; the dynamic

range and the sound are superb.”

When discussing the advantages of using the

S3L-X for production of this particular tour, Albo

emphasises the inverse ratio of size to suitability.

“Its compactness means there’s no longer the

need to take a huge desk out on the road to

achieve a great mix and the perfect sound,” he

says. “An easy and simple set up allows me to

translate the band in the most natural sound

possible. Virtual s-oundcheck is also a great

benefit, letting you get into the finer details of the

show and make the soundcheck process quick

for the artist. The advantages of the S3L-X

really are countless.”

www.avid.com/S3L-x www.avid.com/anastacia

Case study: Left outboard alone

A&H’s Léon Phillips and his Qu-Pacs



www.psneurope.com

P52JULY2015


according to Van Munster. “It’s a completely different

philosophy of fader management and channel

allocation,” he continues, “with very quick access to

what you actually need. You always get clear visual

feedback as to what’s happening. The new DSP

takes us to what we call ‘audiomix 3.0’. If audiomix

‘1.0’ is analogue, and audiomix ‘2.0’ is conventional

digital mixing with DSP sharing, ‘3.0’ means we can

actually split up the DSP: if you have 640 inputs and

256 output busses available and, let’s say, three

stages and a lobby in the venue, you can assign any

combination of these to each area from the central

pool. You can then change the allocation the next

day; all you need is the resources. It’s just a matter

of re-organising your DSP.”

Arguably, in this way, the compacts are ushering

in the post-analogue mix topology with greater

vorsprung than the mega-networks and their

expansive boards. “Not everybody needs to have

their hands on faders,” agrees Allen & Heath product

manager Léon Phillips, referring to Qu-Pac, the

most portable iteration yet of the manufacturer’s

modular Qu platform. “Many mixing applications can

be preset and perhaps need a tweak here and there

when things are up and running. Qu-Pac does away

with the motorised fader bank of its siblings and

provides easy navigation via soft keys and a 5.5-inch

touchscreen to make any adjustment using the

rotary encoder. The rear panel is essentially a Qu-16,

but all the processing and capability of the Qu-32 are

available in its core.

“It can be set for simple operation with a unique

GUI of icons which can be locked down to specific functions and

labelled to suit, or users can have levels of access to the channel

processing, levels and routing using the panel controls or the

Qu-Pad app over Wi-Fi. A range of I/O expansion options are

provided via the dSNAKE port to the maximum 38 inputs and

28 outputs. Personal monitoring using ME-1 is supported, and

there’s a dedicated Qu-You app for 1-mix use.”

Qu-Pac is being used in a growing range of applications,

according to Phillips. “There’s touring band monitor control,

where total recall using scenes can provide consistency on fly-in

gigs; freedom to mix anywhere using iPad control of DCA and

audio groups armed with GEQ and an RTA; or rackmounting

compact PA shout systems,” he says. “The fan-less operation

means silent running and very low maintenance – ideal for HOW,

venue, and business installed-sound, using custom keys, Qu-

Control and the Ducking feature. Multitrack audio recording and

playback via the built-in USB Qu-Drive, or streaming, means it’s

great for capture and backing tracks.”

Buddy, can you spare a paradigmThe new generation of compact digital consoles is also

guiding the industry into changing business models. As rental

companies consolidate, they can boost their sales activities

with serious propositions that nevertheless fly below the rental

radar: here’s SSE Audio Group founder John Penn in a recent

promotional statement.

“SSE and Wigwam Sales have recently announced Preview

Sessions for the new DiGiCo S21 – sign up for one of these,” he

encourages. “We are also encouraging customers to look at the

whole range of consoles we can offer at very competitive prices

in the sub-£5K bracket.”

Production power continues to be handed down the line in this

way, extending from the rental network into ownership by a new

class of professional user. These are not ‘MI-style’ consumers,

points out Sean Karpowicz, product manager at Soundcraft

Studer, but they are more or less completely independent of the

old music industry paradigms.

“USB functionality comes right out of the box with the Si

Impact,” he says, “because multitrack USB audio is crucial to

so many applications now. We’re even seeing our live consoles

used in studios as recording front ends. So many bands and

musicians produce themselves, so one console for rehearsing,

recording and live is very cost-effective.”

In other words, more than ever, less console is more

functionality. If architect Mies van der Rohe were still with us,

he’d be content. n

Salzbrenner’s Pro Sound Award-nominated POLARIS


PSNAwards 2015_v1_PSNAwards 21/05/2015 10:57 Page 1

United Kingdom

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P54JULY2015

Installation

The Eventim Apollo underwent a major upgrade of its entire house PA system earlier this year. Not only was it a big commitment from AEG Live, it marked a new paradigm for SSE Audio Group as the audio specialist chalked up its first ‘contract rental’. Apollo technical manager Alastair Parley and SSE MD John Penn tell Dave Robinson, in their own words, the story of the installation

Apollo mission and control

A lastair Parley: Several years ago, the

owners of the Eventim Apollo, AEG and

Eventim, decided to investigate the

feasibility of installing a ‘house system’

at the Hammersmith venue. The main purpose of this

installation was to ensure that visitors were given the

highest standard of audio reproduction anywhere in

auditorium.

John Penn: Eventim owners AEG Live had attended

various shows at the Apollo and were concerned that

while some shows sounded great, others were not so,

and that reflected badly on them.

AP: Exhaustive research was carried out to establish

the manufacturer and supplier of all the audio systems

used for every event at Eventim Apollo since May 2010,

together with in-depth discussions with our clients,

leading production managers, engineers and event

promoters. At the end of this process it was clear that

an installed house system would not only be practical,

it was in fact the only way we could ensure consistent

provision of the highest possible audio quality with even

coverage throughout the venue.

JP: The proposal was that the system would be used by

as many visiting acts as possible; also, something that

would deliver the spoken word well, given the amount of

comedy presented at the venue.

AP: It became clear that the system capable of

providing the highest possible standards and likely to

be accepted by the majority of visiting productions was

manufactured by L-Acoustics.

JP: At this time SSE Audio Group was completing beta-

testing of the L-Acoustics K2 and it seemed that this

would be an obvious choice for a venue the size of the

Apollo. Subsequently, SSE Hire were at the venue for

two shows, both using K2, so we were able to provide

instant demonstrations.

AP: Our next step was to identify the company who

could supply, install and operate the system on our

behalf. Our choice was driven by a range of factors. We

required a company with the stock levels and range

of equipment available to support [a] wide variety

of events; a knowledgeable and friendly team of

technicians to operate and maintain the system; and

a dedicated management team who would supervise

the operation. Also the firm had to have the skills and

resources and proven record in order to assist with the

design and installation of the system.

JP: A number of installation companies were invited to

bid for the work – I think they obtained six quotes.

AP: We carried out a full auditorium spectrum analysis

using our audio consultants, Vanguardia, to obtain data

which we could use to show the quality and consistency

of coverage was of the highest possible standard.

JP: To carry out the tests, existing flying points were

used, although SSE recommended that for the final

installation new flying points were needed, wider than

the existing points, and also new balcony flying points.

AP: The organisation that best fulfilled [our]

requirements was SSE Audio Group.

JP: We are not sure how the Vanguardia report

influenced the client, but the contract for the installation

was subsequently awarded to [us] using L-Acoustics K2.

AP: A finalised design and specification was then drawn

up and agreed upon. The manufacture of components

for the system began.

JP: The installation would cover the full PA, but not

monitors or a front of house desk – although a small

house console (DiGiCo SD11) would be provided. It was

therefore important that facilities would be provided

enabling tours to plug their own mixing console and

monitors, whatever protocols they used.

AP: A major factor in choosing SSE Audio Group was

that they offered a complete design, manufacture and

installation service to us.

This included every aspect of the install, from

custom lifting and lifting control gear, the manufacture

of many bespoke elements such as the stage box and

patch panels, the mounting systems for the infills and

delays, as well as finishing of many of the cabinets in

the correct colours to match the auditorium deco. SSE

even designed transport and storage solutions for the

system, for the rare occasion when it does have to be

removed.

JP: The main PA comprises 12 K2 per side, installed

54-55 Eventim Apollo fin DRJC.indd 1 22/06/2015 16:30

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P55JULY2015

from new points. By positioning these points further

out from the stage, not only could optimum coverage of

the stalls be achieved, but sight lines of the stage could

be improved. The new points are also clear of any PA

brought in for a specific performance.

Six L-Acoustics SB28 subs are installed on each

side of the stage. ARCS Wide and Focus (WiFo) and 8XT

cabinets supply nearfield coverage.

Five further ARCS WiFo colour matched to the

surrounding décor have been installed under the

balcony, an area often neglected with normal PA

coverage.

ARCS WiFo was chosen both because of its physical

profile and its acoustic qualities. Since these deliver

sound to seats that include the FOH position, it is

important that the mix engineer hears the same tonal

quality as from the main PA. ARCS WiFo uses the same

12” driver and HF driver as the K2 and the HF driver is

mounted on a DOSC waveguide, the same as K2. Tonally

it is as close as it can be to K2.

[Additional] 8XT speakers have been installed in the

foyer and bar. Amplifier racks have been strategically

positioned in the venue so they are both close to the

speakers they drive and interfere with working space as

little as possible.

A discreet custom-built drive rack, accommodating

everything required to control the system, has been

positioned at FOH. The drive rack is equipped with three

Lake controller/processors; output is via a Cisco switch

with Dante and Focusrite Rednet.

AP: The system installation [took place] during January

2015. There was no flexibility in completion date: it had

to be operating for our first event booking of the year.

Thanks to the hard work, knowledge and ingenuity of

all the team involved, the installation was completed in

time.

JP: Ahead of this] during Autumn 2014, SSE proposed to

the Eventim Apollo the option to finance the installation

on a contract hire basis, instead of outright purchase.

As an audio rental company, this is something that

often makes sense both to SSE and the client. The

venue pays upfront for the costs of the installation, as

well as the permanent infrastructure, such as cabling

and bespoke cabinets, etc. The client then pays for the

equipment over a number of years on a contract rental

basis. Not only does this avoid a high capital outlay, but

it means that SSE treats the equipment the same as

the rest of its rental stock, ensuring it operates at its

optimum and if any equipment fails, replacing it at

short notice.

AP: When the audio system was first run up it was

clear straight away that the quality and coverage far

surpassed anything that had previously been heard in

the venue.

JP: The Apollo made the decision to specify a small but fully

featured DiGiCo SD11 console that can be used to mix voice-

only shows (such as stand-up comedy). This is patched

via the drive rack using dedicated ports, so it remains

connected when ‘visiting’ consoles are brought in.

AP: Another significant aspect of the installation is the

high quality and flexibility of the multicore systems that

were designed and installed by SSE Audio. These allow

visiting productions to tie into the house systems with

the minimum of fuss and without having to run out their

own snakes. This saves vital time and crew workload

during load in and load out.

JP: There is a full multicore system between stage and

FOH with a choice of two fibre systems, each with a

full back-up, plus a conventional 2 x 32-pair multicore

(see box).

AP: In the first few months of operation the

feedback we have received from both customers and

visiting production teams has been very positive.

The uptake on usage has risen to a point where

there are very few events that will choose not to use t

he in-house system.

JP: For each show, SSE provides a PA system tech, who

is able to operate from the FOH drive rack position.

AP: There is no point in having the best of systems if

visiting productions are not looked after well by the

house techs! n

Emma Bigg, installations director at SSE, explains

the reasons for turning to VDC Trading for the

new cabling solutions in place at the venue: “It

was really important that a range of options for

tying into the installed fibre optic multicores

was commensurate with the range of optical

connectors in use with digital consoles today and

in the future. Though we have the facility to

terminate our own fibre looms and multicores

in house that only include standard SC and

LC connections.”

To achieve the assembly of further looms

terminated with opticalCON-to-opticalCON and

opticalCON-to-HMA connectors to the required

standard, SSE turned to cable specialist VDC

Trading, whose optical lab is fully equipped

to assemble the rugged HMA connectors and

opticalCON which will allow constant changeovers

while maintaining their integrity.

Bigg continues: “In addition to the extra

assembles, the time available to produce the looms

was quite short so the fact that VDC had the ability

to turn them round in the time frame was a major

benefit from our point of view.”

Keeping cabling option flexible

Up the stairs to the balcony… L-Acoustics K2 hang, 12 per side Downstairs bar and foyer

All photos: James Cumpsty

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P57JULY2015

The waiting is over! Who is ‘D1 and Only’? The judges have spoken!

Hither & leeSA Please send all contributions for possible publication to [email protected]

Nigel Bayliss on Qu-16, mixing for the

Future band (and the editor!) at a 30th

anniversary in Bath last month

On a bender after a West End Bend It Like Beckham preview: (L–R) Jonathan

from KV2, #2 operator Merlin, ASD Ross, #1 operator Roisin and SD Richard

The spectacular United Vibrations played the Ivy House in

Peckham in May. Catch them live if you can – you’ll be dazzled

Here they are, the ‘one(s) and only’ winners

of the inventive Sennheiser D1 competition,

whereby contestants had to send in their cover of

Chesney Hawkes’ hit. From the top: first place, the

“exceptional and outstanding” leeSA from South

Korea; second, Polish a cappella group AudioFeels;

and third, all-girl group Riggs, from Australia

57 Hither DR JC fin.indd 1 22/06/2015 17:02

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P58JULY2015

Backtalk

Dave Robinson talks to the leading West End sound designer

Rick Clarke

You can look right through me/ Walk right by

me/ And never know I’m there...

So go the lyrics to Mr Cellophane in the

musical Chicago. Rick Clarke could call himself

the Mr Cellophane of sound design: his designs have been

used on 17 productions of the hit musical worldwide, while his

‘trick’ has been to ‘localise’ the sound to the actors, as though

the PA system just wasn’t there…

Chicago is only a slice of a portfolio reaching back to

the early 80s, when he left London’s National Theatre to go

freelance; since that time he’s been a part of 42 West End

productions, and around 60 worldwide (mainly ‘traditional’

musicals, if you will, such as West Side Story, Annie, Fiddler

on the Roof and many more). Not afraid to speak his mind,

Clarke is a big fan of d&b speakers – but he’s recently

discovered something new…

How did you earn your stripes?I started out at art college and failed to make a living

as an artist in the early ’70s! With my ‘co-failees’ we

formed a band called Medicine Head. I was the roadie

and mix engineer. They became quite successful, with

hits including One and One is One and Pictures in the Sky,

and we toured for four years!

But we were getting up to nine gigs a week, and it

was killing me. We did one particular three-gig day – in

the afternoon, the evening and the last one late at night

– and after that, I just resigned.

I looked at softer options, and did a few cabaret

things, like [French crooner] Sacha Distel. I did lots and

lots of plays, for people like [leading producer] Michael

Codron. I had a studio near the Shaw Theatre in north

London, just off the Euston Road – at one point I was

doing sound eff ects by mail!

Then I was off ered a job at the National Theatre in

1980, where I worked for four years.

.

What was working at the National like back then?

An actor described it as a like working for the civil

service but with a chance to dress up! Our production of

Guys and Dolls was important for the National Theatre

at the time, and important for the West End because it

‘legitimised’ musicals in theatre. Up to that point there

really has only been Cats, Evita, you know, Lloyd Webber

stuff , but doing Guys and Dolls changed things.

I left there in 1984 with sound design contracts for

The Hired Man and Me and My Girl. The latter was very

successful: it did nine years at the Adelphi.

How did you get the sound design job on Chicago?The show started in New York, and when it came to the

UK to do a taster [in 1997] I did that design. And they

liked that, so I got asked to do it for the UK version.

Now I do sound design for the international and touring

versions of the show.

Where did you fi rst encounter Orbital Sound (who supplied the gear for Chicago)?When I fi rst did Chicago, I’d been talking to Orbital about

using d&b as the speaker system. Up until then I’d been

a bins and horns person; big industrial systems.

.Which didn’t look very theatre! Was there a lot of choice for theatre speakers at the time?Meyer Sound with their UPA, which everyone was

using… but I thought they were overpriced. Plus, I

preferred the sound of d&b.

What is your biggest issue, as a sound designer?I would see shows in the West End – the sound would

be mixed perfectly – and I would be watching mouths

move but the sound was [obviously] coming from

the speakers on the wall. That was annoying! That

disconnect I always found to be confusing.

My ambition was to try and return the amplifi ed

sound back to the performer. Then I discovered the

Haas eff ect. [Google it, I suggest – Tech Ed] I used that –

whereby the fi rst ‘source’ is the actor on the stage, and

the amplifi ed sound comes from the delay speakers.

[Localisation of the source], that was my USP for a bit.

Until everybody realised that’s what you needed to do.

What technology have you been impressed with?The continued improvement in the quality of sound.

There was a moment when digital didn’t sound all that

good compared to analogue, but now, with the latency

problems solved, it’s extraordinary. Clarity is improving

the whole time. With any system, you improve the front

end fi rst and work your way to the back. So better radio

mics, better microphones – DPA mics I use all the time.

Also, the absence of noise in systems – now the only

noise is from the lighting, and that can be terrible!

And more recently?We’re forever striving to improve fi delity in systems.

Like, in Richmond at Christmas I used Flare Audio for

the fi rst time. Not since the ’40s has speaker design

changed. Flare Audio have brought a technology which

seems to be unique and a vastly improved system –

losing the colouration, making it a lot more ‘open’. At the

moment they are very heavy [boxes] but the sound is

great! I look forward to their products improving.

What other kit was being used on the show?A Yamaha CL5 desk – it’s the fi rst time I’ve used one. It’s

a good format for that kind of gig; there’s an iPad app

which you can use with it, but it’s limited.

What other problems nare there in theatreland 2015?Dynamic range is the most important thing. In order to

have loud, you’ve got to have quiet. I go and see shows

these days and it’s so loud. The imaging doesn’t work

any more because it’s just loud! n

[email protected]

Jerry Hall in panto in Richmond, where Clarke used a Flare Audio PA

58 Back page DRJC fin.indd 1 23/06/2015 14:31



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PSNE July 2015 Digital