Categories
Martin Audio

MARTIN AUDIO AWARDED PATENT FOR XE MONITOR WAVEGUIDE

Martin Audio has extended its list of notable patents with the addition of a United Kingdom Patent for its XE stage monitor waveguide.

The patent covers the use of Martin Audio’s differential dispersion coaxial drive units and the continuation of their waveguide shape to form the baffle, as seen in the XE monitors to achieve the desired HF coverage.The geometry of the static HF horn, the LF cone/moving waveguides and the static baffle combine to form a single HF horn.

WE ARE DELIGHTED THAT OUR CONTINUING INNOVATION HAS ONCE AGAIN BEEN RECOGNISED.

Dom Harter, Martin Audio

The XE stage monitor series comprises the XE300 and XE500, both delivering perfect monitor sound with a defined coverage pattern that allows the artist freedom of movement, while reducing overlap with adjacent monitors.

Coaxial Differential Dispersion technology allows the artist to stand directly over the monitor or further back, without significant changes in SPL or tonal balance. It produces the optimal coverage pattern over a listening plane at head-height and helps to contain the sound within that region.

The now patented contour-moulded static third waveguide increases the size of the horn mouth to maintain pattern control downwards and avoid spill outside the desired coverage area. Its rolled contour reduces diffraction and further improves pattern consistency at the lower end of the HF passband.

Managing director, Dom Harter, commented, “Even though XE monitors were introduced in 2017, it always takes time to secure a patent, but we are delighted that our continuing innovation has once again been recognised and I couldn’t be prouder of our R&D team.”

Find out more about XE Series here.

Categories
Martin Audio

MARTIN AUDIO LE100 ASSISTS IN REPRODUCING EIGHT-HORN ENSEMBLE

A classic concert took place recently at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Concert Hall, featuring Nobuaki Fukukawa. One of the world’s most active horn players, he is also principal player in the NHK Symphony Orchestra and a major name in the orchestral world.

At this recent recital Mr. Fukukawa had the clear desire to emulate his recordings from King Records, and play the songs on it in the form of an eight-horn ensemble, by overdubbing himself.

Mr. Fukukawa and King Records consulted with Koichi Ishimaru, sound master at Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, and he suggested “treating the loudspeakers as musical instruments.” His idea was that Mr. Fukukawa should perform live on stage to create the one part while the seven remaining parts should be played back one by one through the surround speakers, with the recorded source created in Pro Tools.

However, this was no easy task. The system had to be able to reproduce the accurate horn tone and unique localisation with natural sound. To solve this challenge, Mr. Ishimaru selected Martin Audio LE100.

He explains, “I was particular about coaxial speakers because they can accurately express the sound source of musical instruments. I was convinced it was going to be successful.”

Mr. Fukukawa stood in the centre of the stage surrounded by seven chairs, each of which supported an LE100, arranged facing in different directions.

“The bell of the horn is usually facing backwards when being played and so instead of pointing the speaker directly to the audience seats, I tried a similar approach. This allowed us to reproduce the unique soft sound.”

The idea of matching the start of the performance and the recorded sound was also unique. Using a video device called a conductor monitor, which has extremely low latency, Mr. Fukukawa played according to his own conducting video, recorded in advance. Since the original album was made in the same way, it was a straightforward process to do this for the live performance.

Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Concert Hall is famous for its beautiful acoustics and the two octet performances of Star Wars and Death in Venice Mahler Symphony No. 5 ~ Adder Jet were performed to a delighted audience, enthralled by an innovative approach to immersive sound.

Categories
Martin Audio

Spa break

Martin Audio distributor Sama Sound has finished upgrading the first of several Resom Resort facilities that are under new ownership. Caroline Moss, from Pro AVL Asia, discovers how the best audio technology is contributing to the relaxation of clients and venue staff

Three years ago, South Korean construction company Hoban Co began proceedings to acquire Resom Resort from its creditors at a cost of US$224 million. Splas Resom, one of the company’s three resorts in Chungcheong Province, has just undergone refurbishment of its existing facilities and the construction of a new building, reopening as the country’s first membership spa resort.

Previously known as Resom Spa Castle, Splas Resom is located in Yesan, Chungcheongnam-do, an hour-and-a-half’s drive from Seoul and 30 minutes away from mountains, beaches and a variety of cultural tourist attractions. Splas Resom is supplied with waters from the Deoksan hot springs, revered by Koreans for 600 years for their healing properties.

Martin Audio’s Korean distributor, Sama Sound, partnered with dealer Asea Sound to submit a successful bid to supply sound systems for several multipurpose halls, including the main Juniper Hall, all of which host corporate events, seminars and workshops. The systems needed to be sufficiently versatile to handle a number of source feeds ranging from background music to voice announcements and occasionally, live music. Overseeing the project for Sama Sound was sales manager Jong Hwa Seo, while Seung Hwan Kim designed the system and Hong Geun Kim took charge of the speaker installations and system tuning.

Juniper Hall is mainly rented to third parties for a diverse programme of events, most of which include a speech component. This made speech intelligibility one of the first priorities when selecting an audio system for the hall. A cardioid subwoofer had also been specified in order to reduce leakage from behind the sub. Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision Compact (WPC) proved to meet all the performance criteria. “The system pretty much decided itself,” explains Sama Sound product manager, Edan Kwon, “and since a cardioid subwoofer had been specified, we designed the system using Martin Audio’s SXC118 sub.”

The scalable Wavefront Precision offered additional advantages, too. “The venue was constructed without regard for architectural acoustics, so there were consequently many sound reflections, especially from the venue’s back wall, as well as from backstage,” continues Kwon. “The Hard Avoid feature in the proprietary Display software helped us to control those reflections, while the customer was more than satisfied at how the SXC118 cardioid subwoofer reduced the radiation behind.”

A main system of five WPC elements per side and a single W8VDQ Differential Dispersion central speaker, driven by iKON iK81 Dante eight-channel and four iK42 Dante four-channel amplifiers, has been installed in the Juniper Hall, accompanied by two-per-side SXC118 compact subs in cardioid mode, with a pair of LE200 wedges provided for stage monitoring. Four CDD12Bs function as delay speakers, with side fill handled by a CDD12B on each side of the hall.

In the smaller Rosemary Hall, a pair of Martin Audio W8VDQs and two SXC118 subs form the main system, with two CDD8Bs acting as delay speakers, all powered from a four-channel iK42 and an LEA Connect 702 amplifier.

The Geranium Hall has a pair of CDD8Bs as main speakers and a pair of CDD5Bs for delay, with four CDD8Bs in the Iris and Marigold halls, and a pair of the same speakers in each of the Sage Hall, Jasmine Hall and Verbena Hall spaces. All the CDD models are powered by LEA Professional’s Connect amp series, a relatively new brand which Splas Resom’s house engineer, Seung Hyuk Im, hadn’t worked with before. “I was surprised at the sound performance in conjunction with the CDDs; they are a really good combination,” he says. “Considering the performance and the IoT features they offer, they are very cost-effective products.”

All other equipment installed throughout the halls was well-known to the engineer. “Since the venue is mostly rented, I wanted to choose equipment that was familiar to visiting engineers,” continues Im. “Martin Audio was one of my considerations from the beginning, and it provided me with the best solution. I have experienced [the brand] both at exhibitions and also when I was working at a rental company. The sound is so clear and punchy, and the balance extremely good. Engineers who came in to rent systems for their events were all 100% satisfied.”

The optimisation and Hard Avoid features had worked really well, he adds. “I was also satisfied with the performance of the SXC118 cardioid subwoofer. Since we are a resort, the aesthetics were also important. Martin Audio speakers look classy and fabulous but are also small enough to be fairly unobtrusive – particularly the cardioid subwoofer; it is not easy to find one this small.”

Im is also unstinting in his praise for the CDD Series. “We are using many CDDs in our rooms for main speakers and also for delays,” he says. “In the Juniper Hall, they work as delay speakers, but also as the main speaker system when the hall is divided into several spaces. What makes them so special is that they sound exactly the same, no matter which size, from 5- to 15-inch models. It’s so easy for me to control the sound when there are different sizes of CDDs installed at the venue and, as well as the sound, I also love its small size and design.”

A top-of-the-range Allen & Heath dLive S7000 with DM64 mix rack was selected as front of house console in the Juniper Hall. “The dLive S7000 had enough input channels to handle all the equipment and devices in the room and it has an outstanding preamp,” says Im. “My most important consideration was stability. I’d never experienced any issues with the Allen & Heath SQ6 which we used before the S7000, so I am very satisfied with the stability of Allen & Heath consoles. I also like the fact that the interface is simple and intuitive, and it was very easy for me to learn how to use it. One click and you are there.”

Sama Sound also supplied Shure QLXD4 wireless mic systems to all the halls. “I am very satisfied with Shure QLXD; not just with the sound quality, but with the RF stability,” says Im. “I have many times suffered with RF disconnections with other wireless products, but I haven’t experienced any with QLXD over the course of a year. I tested them using all our 24 channels at the same time at the venue before installing them, and there was no problem at all.”

Im is confident that the new audio infrastructure will allow events to be staged smoothly using the resort’s own equipment, and that visiting rental companies can put on events without needing to bring in their own systems. “Thanks to Sama Sound, their proposal was just what I needed and our collaboration fulfilled all the requirements to achieve my plan,” he says.

Article Source : https://www.proavl-asia.com/details/69040-spa-break

Categories
LEA Professional

Extron Control Driver for LEA Amplifiers

We’re happy to offer Extron users the ability to integrate our CONNECTSERIES amplifiers into their AV systems with our CONNECTSERIES Extron Control Driver for 3rd party amplifier control and monitoring. 

Extron users simply need to download the control module file to gain access to this driver and start monitoring and controlling LEA products today.

CONNECT SERIES EXTRON CONTROL

EXTRON CONTROL DRIVER FOR LEA AMPLIFIERS

The Connect Series Extron Control Driver will allow integrators to utilize the Extron software platform to control and monitor essential functions and features within the LEA CONNECTSERIES amplifier family.

This module is available along with our suite of other third-party control plugins including our Q-SYS pluginAtlona Velocity Driver, and more.

LEA CONTROL ECOSYSTEM

EXTRON CONTROL DRIVER FOR LEA AMPLIFIERS

These third-party control plugins, as well as our TCP and Websockets control, are part of the LEA Professional control ecosystem. As such, system integrators have access to all of these third-party plugins as well as local area network amplifier control using our Web UI and remote control and monitoring using our Cloud Platform.

To download the Connect Series Extron Control Driver, simply click the button below.

Categories
HH Electronics

All systems GO for HH’s Tensor family

HH Electronics has expanded the Tensor loudspeaker range with the addition of the portable Tensor-GO array system. Integrating a lithium-ion battery for promoting cable-free installation in applications without a dedicated mains supply, a built-in 12V DC charge point promotes charging from a 12V output such as a vehicle battery.

Housed in a polypropylene enclosure, the 8-inch HH subwoofer incorporates a 200W (RMS) Class-D amplifier. Comprising six arrayed 2.75-inch mid/high woofers providing wide horizontal dispersion, the accompanying 562mm x 107mm x 107mm satellite attaches to the base of the 9.9kg subwoofer with a simple Click and Connect design, bypassing the need for external Sub-Sat cabling.

Equipped with four-channel integrated mic/line mixing functionality, mic inputs include two balanced ¼-inch/XLR combos, 3.5mm stereo aux in and a mic/line preset switch together with two RCAs. Four voiced audio modes – music, live, natural, speech – optimise Tensor-GO’s characteristics to desired applications. Bluetooth v5.0 expands wireless connectivity by pairing with mobile devices for wireless audio streaming and transmitting audio to a second Tensor-GO system via the integrated Wireless Stereo Pairing technology.

Original Article : https://www.proavl-asia.com/details/68825-all-systems-go-for-hh-s-tensor-family

Categories
Martin Audio

ELECTRIC WOODLANDS MAKES ENCHANTED FESTIVAL DEBUT WITH MARTIN AUDIO PA’S

A new dance festival called Electric Woodlands took place recently in the idyllic grounds of Bygrave Farm in Baldock. Three bespoke stages, set in lush green landscapes, and a hidden forest provided the backdrop to a who’s who of drum & bass, house and bass exponents over an 11-hour period.

Capital Sound, part of the Solotech UK Group, equipped all three stages with PA, the two largest fitted out with premium Martin Audio systems.

The service providers had been introduced to the event by Alex Anderson, a production manager with whom they had worked previously. Capital senior project manager, Martin Connolly takes up the story. “We were then contacted and initially asked to quote on the main stage before extending this to the other two stages.”

The crew worked alongside the event’s main production manager, Catherine Bates, observing sound thresholds set by F1 Acoustics. “It was a remote site so there were no real sound restrictions,” Connolly observed.

The main Big Top, managed by DnB Allstars, comprised a 76m x 66m 6-pole Kayam tent. It was here that this online community of drum & bass fans presented a top line-up, headlined by Chase & Status and Rage.

Capital Sound responded by flying 14 MLA Compact Loudspeaker Arrays, left and right, with 12 MLX subwoofers in a broadside array and six Martin Audio XD12 for front fill. “We chose MLA Compact because we were weight restricted to 850 kilos per side,” noted Capital’s project manager. MLA and system tech on this stage was Dan Leaver, with Lee Furnell as the crew chief.

A Martin Audio rig was also present on The Clearing Stage, hosted by the bassline collective, CruCast. They showcased leading practitioners Skepsis, Darkzy, Kanine, DJ Q b2b Jamie Duggan, Window Kid, Zero, Tsuki—as well as garage, grime and bassline star, Flava D.

For this stage Capital Sound elected to fly eight WPS per side—run off iKON iK42 amplifiers in 1-box resolution—again with restricted weight capacities in mind. “It was the best weapon in the Martin Audio armoury that was also sufficiently light to give us the required number of speakers per side,” he said. Subwoofers comprised 12 SX218 (2 x 18”) and four XD12 provided front fill.

Sam Cunningham was the FOH tech at the Clearing Stage and system tech was Alistair Helliard.

In view of the success of the inaugural Electric Woodlands, the festival is now being pitched as an annual event.

Categories
LEA Professional

First Look: Web UI & Cloud Upgrades

If you’re working with our CONNECTSERIES and haven’t updated your units to the latest firmware (version 3.0.0.0), we highly recommend you do so…

Go ahead, download and update now, we’ll wait…

Ok, now that you’re up-to-date on firmware, let’s talk about what you get. We’re excited to offer a wide range of new features and functionality including:

  • 802.1X PEAP, TLS, TTLS Support
  • Enables China Cloud (leaprofessional-cloud.cn)
  • Enables PoE functionality for “Reporting from the Grave”
  • Input Override Threshold Adjustments for custom tailoring the auto override and signal sensing override thresholds
  • Dante Models now have various Dante On-Ramp selections (Analog input, Post Crossover, or Amp Output)
  • 350/700 Models can now enable/disable rear pot lockout selections
  • Speaker Tuning Import now allows you to pick what you do and don’t want to import from the tuning file (Inputs, Channel Settings, Crossover, EQ, Limiters)
  • Parametric EQ is now visible without having to expand the EQ page
  • Additional Pilot Tone features for EN54 compliance and advanced Pilot Tone applications
  • Internet Accessible Icon showing if the network has an internet connection or not
  • WiFi and Wired Mac Address are now visible in the Networking Menu
  • WiFi and AP mode show network signal strength
  • Can now sort by IP address when you have multiple amplifiers
  • Improved firmware update experience.  WebUI now shows firmware update stages and displays ‘OK’ when the firmware update has been completed successfully.
  • Various other aesthetic and performance improvements
 
Categories
LEA Professional

Crestron Control Module for LEA Amplifiers

We’re happy to offer Crestron users the ability to integrate our CONNECTSERIES amplifiers into their AV systems with our CONNECTSERIES Crestron Control Module for 3rd party amplifier control and monitoring. We worked closely with our friends at CCS Presentation Systems to develop this module that works within Crestron’s intuitive and comprehensive control platform.

Crestron users simply need to download the control module file to gain access to this driver and start monitoring and controlling LEA products today.


CONNECT SERIES CRESTRON CONTROL

CRESTRON CONTROL MODULE FOR LEA AMPLIFIERS
The Connect Series Crestron Control Module will allow integrators to utilize the Crestron software platform to control and monitor essential functions and features within the LEA CONNECTSERIES amplifier family.

This module is available along with our suite of other third-party control plugins including our Q-SYS plugin, Atlona Velocity Driver, Extron IP Link Pro Driver, and more.

LEA CONTROL ECOSYSTEM

CRESTRON CONTROL MODULE FOR LEA AMPLIFIERS
These third-party control plugins, as well as our TCP and Websockets control RTIs, are part of the LEA Professional control ecosystem. As such, system integrators have access to all of these third-party plugins as well as local area network amplifier control using our Web UI and remote control and monitoring using our Cloud Platform.

To download the Connect Series Crestron Control Module, simply click the link below.

LEA CRESTRON MODULE
DOWNLOAD »

Categories
Martin Audio

MLA COMES ALIVE FOR IDLES’ LOUD LUNCHTIME HEADLINE SPOT AT BROCKWELL PARK

The same team that successfully staged the recent South Facing Festival at Crystal Palace Bowl regrouped a few miles down the road to Brockwell Park, south of Brixton, where a recent three-day festival was divided into three prominent brands. Kicking off on Friday, September 3rd with Wide Awake, this was followed by Mighty Hoopla and finally Cross The Tracks on the Sunday (collectively billed as “Brixton’s jazz, funk and soul feast”).

Mighty Hoopla saw Cheryl headlining, with, Eve and Becky Hill, Jimmy Somerville and Gabrielle among the support, while Sunday saw Corinne Bailey Rae, Cymande, Soul II Soul Lianne La Havas, and Jordan Rakei take the stage among others.

Capital Sound provided sound reinforcement on the four main stages, with the principal three featuring Martin Audio MLA loudspeaker arrays.

Working once again with promoter Marcus Weedon, production company Loud Sound Events and production manager Julia Bruns (as they had at Crystal Palace), Cap project manager David Preston confirmed that the most unusual headline spot had been filled by post-punk band, IDLES—themselves confirmed Martin Audio devotees—who topped the bill on the opening Wide Awake day.

One of the loudest bands on the circuit, they took to the stage at 1.30pm for the Friday headline spot in order to fulfil another engagement that evening, with their sound mixed as usual by Chris Fullard.

Capital has prior experience of working Mighty Hoopla and are familiar with the site; they were thus aware of noise sensitivity, with residential dwellings in close proximity to main stage right. The service providers were fortunate to have experienced MLA tech Dan Fathers to set optimisations that would notch out unwanted areas of coverage, using the Hard Avoid function in the DISPLAY software, to protect the neighbours from potential noise pollution. Fathers was supported by FOH tech, Bheki Phakathi.

Main stage was equipped with hangs of 13 MLA elements plus a single MLD Downfill box on each side. These were supported by a further eight MLA Compact as side hangs on each flank and a further 12 W8LM as front fills. Subwoofers comprised 15 MLX in a broadside cardioid array in order to keep sound from bleeding back onto the stage.

Two delay towers, each comprising eight MLA Compact, were set behind the mix position and between 55-60 metres from the stage, offering 80 metres coverage distance in total. Fathers marginally reoptimised and reduced the throw distance of the PA after the opening day, such was its projection.

The second stage was set inside a circus big top where Capital flew 10 MLA per side, with 12 MLX subwoofers on the ground, arrayed across the front. Providing front fills were six of Martin Audio’s popular DD6 front fills in a location where the sound was supervised by FOH tech Rich Wonnacott.

Stage 3 was assigned to a slightly smaller tent, where 10 MLA Compact were rigged per side, with 12 SX218 subwoofers arrayed in front of the stage. Four DD12 were provided for front fill, and Capital’s Ollie Fallon doubled as both system tech and FOH tech.

Stated IDLES’ FOH engineer, Chris Fullard, “Once again, the sound produced by MLA was really great. As always you can run this PA pretty flat—I just loaded my show file and it sounded fantastic from the get-go. The drums, in particular, sounded huge outdoors … the kit was slamming, as was the bass, and there was a fantastic sub response.”

He confirmed that the band would be touring with MLA when they go out next year.

Despite IDLES’ reputation for loud sound David Preston confirmed that throughout the weekend, his crew had worked within the noise limits (and offsite thresholds) set by acousticians, Electric Star, while Vanguardia oversaw the levels on behalf of Lambeth Council.

“Everything went extremely well,” confirmed Preston, in summary.

Categories
Martin Audio

MARTIN AUDIO UPDATES VU-NET SUPPORT FOR TORUS AND INTRODUCES Q-SYS CONTROL FOR IKON AMPLIFIERS

Martin Audio has announced the latest release of its control software VU-NET (2.2.2), which alongside new firmware for iKON amplifiers, implements new features.

Firstly, preset support has been added for Martin Audio’s award-winning constant curvature loudspeaker, TORUS T12, including when it is also used in conjunction with its partner cardioid subwoofer, SXC118. Secondly, Martin Audio iKON amplifiers can now be added to the Q-SYS ecosystem within the Q-SYS Designer software. Features can be controlled from the software, Q-SYS compatible UCIs and GPIO logic ports integrated into Q-SYS cores and peripherals. These control features include gain and muting, sleep and standby and alarm notifications, as well as amplifier snapshot recall.

Dom Harter, Managing Director, commented, “The much higher than forecast demand for TORUS has taken us a bit by surprise so we are delighted to release the latest version of VU-NET to enable deployment of the product for installation and live sound. Similarly, we’ve had a number of requests from system integrators to have iKON amplifier compatibility with the Q-SYS eco-system and so with this latest firmware support there are even more tools available to enable our customers to maximise sales within our portfolio.”

To download VU-NET software and iKON firmware and Q-SYS plugin please click here.