Martin Audio is making significant strides in reducing its environmental footprint through the strategic use of recycled materials, particularly post-consumer recycled plastics. This commitment is a critical part of their overall sustainability strategy, aimed at integrating recycled materials into their manufacturing processes and contributing to a circular economy.
Martin Audio’s approach involves using detailed data to make informed decisions about sourcing recycled materials. This ensures that the use of recycled plastics does not compromise the quality or performance of their products. “The focus is on extending the lifecycle of materials and products, thus minimising their environmental impact from the outset,” confirms marketing director James King.
So how will this work in practice? Over the coming months, Martin Audio will gradually introduce post-consumer recycled plastic into components for ten of its product lines. This includes using 65% and 85% recycled ABS plastic, depending on the specific flammability requirements for each product. The transition to these recycled materials will take place as existing stocks of components are used up.
By the end of this year, Martin Audio anticipates that recycled plastic will be incorporated into components such as the phase plug which features in TORUS constant curvature loudspeakers alongside other elements which feature in products from Wavefront Precision, CDD Live 8, XD and Blackline X series.
Martin Audio’s adoption of recycled plastics significantly reduces the carbon footprint of its products. By switching to 85% post-consumer recycled ABS plastic from standard ABS plastic, the carbon emissions per kilogram of material drop from 4.6 kg CO2e to just 0.8 kg CO2e. This substantial reduction underscores the environmental advantages of using recycled materials.
“As a global leader in the pro audio industry, this is a further opportunity for us to demonstrate climate leadership and values, defining good environmental practice,” said James King. “We have made strides within the efficiency practices at our HQ; we’ve planted over 60,000 trees through Ecologi, and we’re excited to see the adoption of recycled plastics come into fruition. There’s plenty more work to be done, but we’re making progress.”
UK: Long-term Martin Audio rental partner, W E Audio, recently underlined its commitment to the British manufacturer, by making a massive investment across the latest Wavefront Precision line array portfolio.
This not only reinforces its promise to deliver best-quality sound for its core event and festival markets, but broaden the scope when it comes to large scale international touring.
Founded by Wayne Barker, W E Audio’s upgraded inventory is headed by Martin Audio’s flagship WPL large format line array, and SXH218 subwoofers, as well as FlexPoint FP12s, TORUS, and XE500 wedge monitors. At the same time, in order to give them further scalability and flexibility, the company has also invested heavily in the smaller WPS and WPC line arrays—all delivered in recent months to its base in Oxfordshire.
Last month saw the production company’s highest profile deployment of the large-format WPL to date—on Seal’s European tour. The core PA design is based around 12 WPL cabinets per side, with six WPS units for front fills, TORUS T1230 speakers on outfill duties, and 16 SXH218 subwoofers—powered by iK42 amps in bridged mode.
WPL offers the flexibility and reliability we need.
System tech Ryan Bass, praised the speed and ease of getting the PA rigged and how he faced the unique challenge of sub placement due to the stage design (with a set of steps emerging down from the stage, allowing Seal to engage with the audience).
His careful attention to the subwoofer placement ensured uniform delivery across the venue, providing a seamless audio experience in keeping with Seal’s dynamic stage presence.
As for the artist’s experienced sound engineer Tim Weidner—an association that dates back three decades—he said the Martin Audio rig had made the transition from his more familiar studio habitat to the FOH position, a seamless one.
He explained, “As far as setting up the system I leave this to the team. All I know is at the end of the day whether the PA sounds good or not … and this particular PA sounds fantastic, probably one of the best I’ve heard. I’m very impressed with how punchy and clear it is.”
Being from a studio background, he says he could simply relax into the mix—knowing that it had been set up properly—and just enjoy the whole mixing process. “These guys really make it easy, so it’s been good fun.
“In fact it reminds me of sitting in between the speakers in a control room—[the Martin Audio PA] is just not harsh, whereas other systems that we’ve used have been a little bit harsh, especially in the high mids. This was very smooth, and the low end is very tight, so I love it. In fact I want this one all the time!”
The behaviour of WPL had fully justified the investment, which had been the outcome of a rigorous evaluation process. As Wayne Barker explained, W E Audio had explored multiple options before choosing to maintain their relationship with Martin Audio—a move that reflects the strength of the partnership.
“WPL offers the flexibility and reliability we need,” stated Barker. “Our clients expect quick, seamless deployment and exceptional sound quality, and WPL delivers just that. It’s the ideal choice for our evolving needs.” This positions them as a key player in the UK market.
This was echoed by Martin Audio Sales Director, Brad Watson: “W E Audio’s investment is a great example of the synergy between our two companies. Their ability to quickly deploy high-quality sound solutions aligns perfectly with our mission to provide best-in-class audio technology.”
NETHERLANDS: One of the more unusual venues that has recently been installed with a Martin Audio CDD sound solutions, is a hybrid wedding venue and town hall council chamber, situated in the Dutch municipality of Borsele.
Martin Audio partners and audio-visual specialists, FvL Audio, carried out the installation at the venue, known as ‘De Boerderij’—a traditional style, 100-year-old farmhouse.
Over the years, FvL owner Frank van Loenhout says his company has carried out multiple touchscreen installations in Borsele, which is located on a central location in the province of Zeeland. He has also undertaken numerous other upgrades in the neighbouring municipalities in the region “although mostly the audio systems were not as old as here!”
At De Boerderij, FvL Audio were tasked with replacing a 20-year-old ancient 100V line system. “Although the system still worked, it sounded terrible,” he says. “We were asked to install a system suitable for weddings in the Wedding Hall, Council Meetings in the Council Chamber, as well as other events.”
Frank van Loenhout had fallen in love with Martin Audio’s coaxial technology after acquiring FlexPoint FP8 for their rental fleet (*) And so when it came to the De Boerderij installation, he approached Martijn de Jong at Ampco Flashlight Group, Martin Audio’s Dutch distributor, for advice, and promptly received a pair of the hugely popular CDD6, using similar coaxial differential dispersion technology, for testing. “The sound quality was great, and so we decided to use them in our design for De Boerderij,” he explained. “It was a great match for this venue—placement was easy, and coverage fits the venue very well.”
The mayor can speak wirelessly to every room in the building, and be assured of great sound quality,
At the main entrance, a pair of CDD 6 are set in the roof and delayed—tapped to the distance between the entrance and the Wedding Hall (to the left) and the Council Chamber (to the right) so that walking through the various rooms no annoying delay is audible.
The Council Chamber is served by a conference system. Here FvL have installed four CDD6 overhead, and a further pair above the audience (at balcony level). Meanwhile, under the balcony is a Martin Audio ADORN A55 fill speaker in white, appropriately delayed.
In the Wedding Hall, upgraded sound reinforcement was required for speeches and music playback from USB or computer. In this location are four further CDD 6 speakers, with a pair of CDD 5 speakers as infill, and a concealed SX112 (1 x 12in) subwoofer for the low frequencies. “It was forbidden to have the subwoofer visible,” notes van Loenhout.
The entire system is on a digital routing matrix, so that for other meetings, they can send any source to any room, he explains. “In other words, the mayor can speak wirelessly to every room in the building, and be assured of great sound quality.”
The client is also delighted with the upgraded sound—which ensures both council proceedings and wedding celebrations can be heard with greater clarity and intelligibility. Administrators at the venue described the sound upgrade as “a major step forward”.
(*) Footnote: FvL Audio’s move into the Martin Audio family had begun when, in December last year, they were looking to replace some of their hire system speakers. They auditioned several brands “but the clear winner was the [FlexPoint] FP8,” said the FvL owner. “So we immediately bought eight of them.
“Dcase provided nice flight cases, K&M the round-base speaker stands, and it’s powered by a Martin Audio iK42. And so we are not only providing superb sound quality but also great looks.”
These have rarely been in the warehouse, he says. “We use them for all our corporate events, mostly at Van Der Valk Hotel Middelburg, but also recently in the VIP area at our local football club and in October at the Oyster Festival in Yerseke.
“So you can say that first test drive started our love affair with Martin Audio. In fact we’ve just received our newly ordered FP4 for use as frontfills and as a mini-sound system.“
UK: Recently opened in Oxford, leisure venue Gallery Bouldering was determined its audio system would not be a mountain to climb and so turned to Optimal Audio’s commercial audio ecosystem to meet its various needs from morning into night.
Gallery Bouldering offers a peak experience for its customers, including a 100m expanse of bouldering wall and a dedicated gym space. There’s also a café which chalks the venue as a prime event space. Favouring background music during the day, of differing intensities by zone, there was a requirement for the audio to support the big screen action during major sporting events.
Optimal Audio’s UK distributor, Audio Technica, designed and installed a system to be in tune with the space, whatever the day held. On some days, the four zones of Gallery Bouldering: the wall, the gym, the café and the reception area would all function as distinct areas with their own vibe and background music to suit, during the flow of the day. At other times, the system supports a whole venue event with all areas working together.
Controlling the full venue system is an Optimal Audio Zone 8 audio controller with DSP and Optimal Audio’s simple and intuitive cross-platform WebApp. From here the venue staff access or set up presets and routines or make one-off changes across any or all of the zones. By automating the audio with automatic daily routines and standard presets, the staff in the busy venue have one less thing to think about.
Through the activity zones of the bouldering wall and the gym, Optimal Audio Up 6 two-way ceiling speakers provide warm and high-quality audio without taking any of the valuable wall space. In these zones a total of four Optimal Audio 5-inch, two-way, Cuboid 5 full-range loudspeakers are wall-mounted to provide support for the eighteen units from the Up range.
Providing the extra energy for big sporting events, two Optimal Audio Cuboid 8 two-way, full-range 8-inch loudspeakers are positioned either side of the – usually tucked away – projection screen. The full system is powered by a total of three amplifiers two of which are the 4 x 250W SmartAmp30 and one 4 x 125W SmartAmp20, both featuring DSP to add extra speed and simplicity to the installation.
Gallery owner, Jamie Wakeham, is pleased with the final installation. He said, “I am delighted with the sound quality of the Optimal Audio system. I’m hard to impress and this is genuinely good. The 100V line speakers have good sparkle and clarity, and the Cuboid 8s add the right amount of heft without ever getting in the way.
“It was straightforward to hide all the speakers too – they fit neatly at the top of the
climbing wall structure, and the larger speakers are tucked behind it. I’m very happy with the overall appearance as well as audio quality.”
The ability to zone the audio in Gallery Bouldering was useful as the venue is used in a different way by each customer, particularly during the day. For those climbing the bouldering wall and the exercising in the gym, the tempo of audio output is energetic, pushing customers to reach their goals. In the café however, the pace is more relaxed to create a pleasant dwell space more suited to the needs of the customer in that space.
Optimal Audio has announced that WebApp 1.4, the latest update for the ‘secret sauce’ of its ecosystem, is available to download. The new features in the update will further enhance the powerful simplicity of its approach.
Optimal Audio’s mission is to simplify commercial audio with its ecosystem of controllers, amplifiers and loudspeakers – with Zone and WebApp central to that strategy.
The new features available in WebApp include presets for Optimal Audio’s Sub 6 loudspeaker. The Sub series is comprised of three subwoofers engineered for punchy low end to support the Up and Cuboid series. Sub 6 is an ultra-compact, passive 6-inch subwoofer that joined the wider series earlier this year to meet a requirement for high quality low end in a compact form factor.
In addition, the update includes presets for sister brand, Martin Audio, and their ever popular ADORN commercial series of speakers. Presets for ceiling and pendant speaker models ACS-40TS, ACS-55TS, ACS-55T, ACP-55T complete the availability of ADORN series within WebApp, and join smaller CDD on-wall loudspeakers for easy system design options for installers.
Following the download of the new software version, users and integrators will also be able to see ZonePad firmware updates in the WebApp status bar.
Paxson Laird joins the Sonance family as Director of Sales Engineering for Sonance Professional. Laird will play a key role in driving technical expertise and field engineering support as Sonance continues to expand its presence in the professional audio market.
“We are incredibly excited to have Paxson Laird join our team,” said Morten Jorgensen, Vice President of Professional. “Paxson’s deep experience in the professional audio market across design, sales engineering, and technical training will be instrumental as we continue to elevate our capabilities to support this critical market. We continue to invest in talent as part of our ongoing commitment to strengthen our position in the professional audio market and foster authentic partnerships globally.”
Laird brings extensive industry experience to Sonance, beginning his career as a Technology Consultant for an international Architectural & Engineering firm, specializing in Audiovisual Design. He later joined Bose Corporation, where he served as a Sales Engineer in the Professional Division. During his time at Bose, Paxson contributed significantly to the company’s success by working in the Global Marketing Group, founding the Professional Training Group, managing the Americas Sales Engineering Team, and overseeing the US Sales Team. His diverse background and commitment to delivering high-quality solutions make him a valuable asset to Sonance’s continued growth.
“Joining Sonance is a remarkable opportunity to be part of a company that is shaping the future of professional audio. I am looking forward to working closely with our sales and engineering teams to further strengthen our professional offerings and services and deliver exceptional experiences to our partners and customers.”
Paxson Laird | Director of Sales Engineering, Sonance Professional
The addition of Paxson Laird highlights Sonance’s dedication to investing in talent that supports the company’s growth and enhances its technical expertise in the professional audio space.
US: Specialising in Audio Production, Music Production, Show Production and Recording Arts degrees, Full Sail University recently commissioned a new Dolby Atmos-enabled facility for class sessions, workshops, listening experiences and guest lectures at its Winter Park, FL campus. Playout of the ‘objects based’ spatial concept is uniquely via 26 carefully selected, and strategically located loudspeakers from the Martin Audio catalogue.
One of the largest, and most advanced Dolby Atmos rooms on a university campus, according to Education Director of Audio Arts, Brandon Egerton, this had been a topic of discussion for a number of years. “But we needed to make sure we were wrapping our arms around the right technology. We felt it was important to have a solid understanding of both the emerging technology and also how the industry intended on adopting it and so we intentionally took our time.”
Along with Darren Schneider, who is in charge of Full Sail’s Advanced Session Recording they utilised existing industry collaborations to gain “a really intimate perspective of the production workflow.”
“We already have a 7.1 dub stage on campus, but we wanted to create an additional dedicated space for our students to explore and engage with the Atmos format. The biggest challenge for any educational institution is the ability to teach a larger number of students a format in an intimate setting. This new classroom facility allows us to do that.”
Taking up the story, Michael Orlowski, Director of Technical Services, explained how the classroom space was originally designed as a 5.1 large audio classroom. He noted, “This room was frequently used for courses focused on surround sound and multichannel audio, making it a perfect candidate for renovation and an upgrade to Dolby Atmos.”
Seeking the ideal playout for such discreet and localised positioning of an object-based format led Full Sail to the Focusrite Group and their engagement with Martin Audio. “Our goal in creating this space was how do we accurately demonstrate the Dolby Atmos format … hear the immersive properties of an Atmos mix and the separation between ceiling speakers, side speakers and rear speakers? And so, our approach was to consult with our manufacturers who specialize in high quality installation-class audio systems.”
“We’re extremely happy with this outcome.”
“We had a roadmap meeting with Focusrite Group where we were first looking at installation classroom speakers for [Martin Audio’s] O-Line product, giving students in the first row and students in the last row the same optimised experience.”
Schneider said that while their interest was piqued by O-Line for this application, their focus then pivoted to the discreet coaxial differential dispersion technology of CDD. The Dolby Atmos SPL spec of 85dB in the 100-seat space was achieved once they had upgraded to the CDD12 and increased the original sub capability. “Dolby has a 20dB headroom, and although we’ll never achieve 105dB we have limited maximum level that the teacher can set in the room to 85dB SPL.” A global system touch panel control panel ensures this.
Full Sail’s end result was to specify three of the largest CDD12 as a conventional L/C/R system, with students and guests enveloped in a (side/rear/overhead) surround system comprising 12 CDD8 (four per wall) and eight Martin Audio C8.1T series speakers overhead. LF extension is delivered through a pair of SX118 (1 x 18in) subs, with a matched pair at the rear,
Fellow Focusrite partners, Linea Research have provided the engine, in the form of pure Class D amplification, with a 44C10 4-channel DSP amp driving the L/C/R CDD12s and front pair of LFE’s, and three 8-channel Linea Research 88C03 assigned to everything else.
Orlowski explained how they had arrived at this integrated solution. “When we met with Martin Audio, we learned about the asymmetrical dispersion that the CDD range provided, and its ability to work well with an existing classroom that has a drop ceiling.”
Dolby were very specific about speaker placement and angulation, he said, in order to meet the specification required using Dolby’s DARDT room design tool. “Having ingested all the information on the CDD speakers it was straightforward to go through the product line to find which speakers we needed.”
Assisted by Martin Audio’s technical specialists Brad Stephens and Joe Lima, he said, “Martin Audio was great to work with. We could take those specifications, put them into DARDT, and have Dolby look at the plan.” This included roof predictions taking into account intrusion of HVAC, projection positions etc. “We could input into the DARDT and simulate what the performance was going to be, and as we made adjustments Brad and Joe would join us on Zoom calls to make changes as to how many amplifiers we were going to need.”
And it was the dedicated DSP of the Linea Research amplifiers that provided a real plus point. As Michael Orlowski pointed out, “Since this classroom would be hosting multiple degree programs and demonstrating the software of Avid Pro Tools, Apple Logic and so on, we didn’t wish to put the room corrective EQ, including delays into [DADman control software], only for any of those settings to change in a lecture, and then not be properly recalled …shifting the Dolby curve that we had tried so hard to hit.” So instead, all corrective EQ is stored within the Linea Research amps. “Everything else is set up in a flat recallable preset so we can teach the technology, but it doesn’t change the sound characteristics of what the speakers and amplifiers are doing.”
Feeding the speakers is an Avid Pro Tools AVID MTRX II. The signal comes out over Dante and passes through a QSys Core, feeding the Linea Research amplifiers, again within Dante.
Aside from their satisfaction with the Martin Audio CDD deployment, Full Sail’s takeaway was the Linea Research amplification. Orlowski further stated “Martin Audio came out and did training to run the System Engineer software. We did straight-out-of-the-box tuning and voicing with Martin Audio, and Dolby then tuned the room with two presets: one matches Dolby’s modified X-curve for music and home entertainment, the second was a more flat, corrected response. The tuning presets are stored in Linea Research, and we used the Linea Research plug-in on QSys to switch between the two tunings.”
The new room was commissioned in August, road ready for their first major event when industry legend Bob Clearmountain hosted two educational sessions exclusively for Full Sail University students in the space, sponsored by Apogee.
In conclusion, Michael Orlowski, acknowledged, “We’re extremely happy with this outcome.”
Sonance, a leader in architectural audio solutions, announces the appointment of Electro-Acoustics Systems as its official distributor for Professional Products in the Singapore market. This partnership is an important milestone in expanding Sonance presence in Southeast Asia, ensuring that customers in the region have access to the highest quality audio solutions.
“Electro-Acoustics Systems has a long-standing reputation for excellence in delivering professional audio solutions, and we are excited to appoint them as our trusted partner in Singapore,” said Morten Jorgensen, Vice President of Professional Audio at Sonance. “Their expertise and commitment to exceptional service align perfectly with our mission to bring innovative, high-quality, and aesthetically appealing audio technology to customers worldwide.”
Dave McKinney, Managing Director at Generation AV, Sonance’s representative for Asia, also commented on the partnership: “We are thrilled to work with Electro- Acoustics Systems as our distributor in Singapore. Their knowledge of the local market and strong industry relationships make them an ideal partner for Sonance as we expand our professional audio footprint in the region. We look forward to seeing this partnership grow and succeed.”
“We are excited to unveil our partnership with Sonance. Its commitment to superior audio solutions, quality products and innovation is in line with our company values. Together, we can enhance our offerings in creative ways, providing even more innovative solutions for our customers, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in audio and address demanding architectural and design requirements with its wide range of high-quality products.”, shares Lam Tze Tze, Executive Director of Electro- Acoustics Systems.
This partnership underscores Sonance’s commitment to expanding its footprint in Southeast Asia and delivering cutting-edge audio technology to new markets, providing end customers unparalleled service, increased product availability, and an exceptional auditory and aesthetic experience.
ABOUT EAS Electro-Acoustics Systems (EAS) is a leading multimedia systems integrator that provides unique and holistic audio-visual solutions, integrating sustainable system designs using the latest technologies to create extraordinary user experience. EAS offers a comprehensive range of services from conceptualization and design, turnkey installation, project execution to after-sales service and maintenance, and brand distribution. EAS’ portfolio includes many notable projects from public and private sectors where quality and reliability are key. Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Singapore with footprints in Southeast Asia and beyond, EAS has set the standard for innovation and successfully implemented many first-of-its-kind audio-visual solutions.
DL Pro Company Ltd supplies and installs HH Audio TNA line array for Administrative and Political Centre in Hai Phong
Vietnam’s third largest city Hai Phong is a major port in the northeast of the country. Recent development of the North CamRiver New Urban Area in the city has seen the establishment of a number of new facilities, not least of which is the eye-catching Administrative and Political Centre. Recently completed at a cost equivalent to 107 million USD, the centre’s two basement levels and nine above ground floors house the Municipal Party Committee and People’s Council, as well as the offices of government departments and judicial agencies.
An important feature of the Centre is its Main Theatre which is used for a wide range of presentations and events. High quality audio was an essential requirement for this facility, as well as for the Centre’s conference room. Audio experts DL Pro Company Ltd (part of the AVTED Group) designed, supplied and installed HH Audio systems for both spaces, with the main space benefitting from HH’s TNA line array – perfect for this kind of medium-sized application.
The theatre system comprises 4 x TNA-2051 (2 x 5” passive speaker) and 2 x TNA1200S (12” passive subwoofer) flown per side, with a further 2 x TNA-2051 as centre fills (on stage) and a single TNA-1800S (18” passive subwoofer) per side. The system is powered by HH M-1500D amplifiers, with stage monitoring comprising 4 x HH TRM-1201 active stage monitors.
For the smaller conference room, DL Pro installed a main front of house system comprising a single TRE-1501 (15” full-range active loudspeaker) and a TRS-1800 (18” active subwoofer) per side, supplemented by a number of wall-mounted TRE-1201 (12” active speaker) as sidefills.
Ian Wright, Global Sales Director for HH Electronics comments:
“DL Pro are doing fantastic work in Vietnam with our systems across a variety of applications. We’re very proud that HH Audio was chosen for this particularly prestigious setting. Projects of this type invariably demand high quality audio from a very competitive package, something that the TNA line array was developed to provide.”
INDIA: The OnTime Hotel in Mumbai has upgraded its events spaces with Martin Audio systems, provided by VMT Distribution. Serving both corporate guests and tourists alike, the hotel chose to install new audio systems to provide top-quality audio for diverse occasions, while blending into the venue’s existing décor.
The management team wanted a new solution for various spaces, particularly the banquet halls that host corporate functions, weddings and entertainment events. One of the key considerations during the project was that the installation had to be done without disrupting the day-to-day operations of the hotel. The team had to work around tight schedules, installing the sound system in stages while ensuring the minimal impact on hotel guests and events. Additionally, the varied room acoustics across the two banquet halls required strategic placement of the speakers to ensure even sound distribution.
Several Martin Audio V.15 units were chosen for the hotel. According to VMT, the 15-inch passive 2-way loudspeaker has provided excellent sound clarity and power, handling both music and speech. Its on-wall design allowed it to be installed discreetly, preserving the aesthetics of the banquet halls.
“The installation of the Martin Audio V.15 system has been revolutionary for us at The OnTime Hotel,” commented Shusheel Rao, systems integrator, The OnTime Hotel. “The sound quality is exceptional, delivering crystal-clear audio that enhances every event we host, from corporate meetings to large-scale weddings. Not only has it transformed the overall guest experience, but it has also allowed us to meet the high expectations of our clientele.”
“The installation at The OnTime Hotel reflects a growing trend within the hospitality industry, where high-quality sound systems are becoming essential for creating immersive guest experiences,” remarked Jeff Mandot, director, VMT. “Projects like this not only meet the immediate needs of the client but also set a new standard for audio installations in similar venues across the country.”
