Category: TiMax

AUS – The Australian Pink Floyd Show has officially launched its 2026 global tour across Europe, the US, and the UK, backed by a comprehensive Martin Audio WPC system provided by technical partners 22live.

With over five million tickets sold worldwide, The Australian Pink Floyd Show is widely regarded as the premier tribute to the legendary rock band – a reputation so formidable that David Gilmour famously booked them for his own 50th birthday celebration.

To maintain this standard across a regular annual schedule that encompasses a spring European tour, summer US tour and Autumn/Winter UK tour, the production requires a sound system that delivers sonic excellence, venue flexibility and operational efficiency.

The relationship between the tour and its technical providers is built on decades of trust. Paul Timmins, Hire Director at 22live, has worked with the band for over fifteen years and has known Kevin Hopgood, one of the band’s management team, for nearly forty.

“Kevin and I were both working in the industry with Malcolm Hill back during the Live Aid period,” recalls Timmins. “In 2015, when they needed a new Front of House engineer, I suggested Trevor Gilligan, whom I’d worked with on Kasabian and Starsailor. He’s been mixing the show for over a decade now and has a particular affinity for the Martin Audio sound.”

I’M CONSISTENTLY IMPRESSED BY HOW SEAMLESS THE TRANSITION IS BETWEEN THE WPC AND WPS HANGS.

When the band approached 22live in 2022 to overhaul their touring rig, the transition to Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision (WPC) system was the natural choice. For a production of this scale, balancing “big show” sonics with “smart business” logistics was essential.

“Space is always crucial,” Timmins explains. “Because 22live started fresh, we developed our flight casing and cable systems without the burden of legacy gear. Our standard cases are two-thirds the size of traditional four-foot cases. When we ran the truck packs, we discovered the Martin WPC system with 22live packaging actually saved three feet of truck space—a massive commercial advantage.”

The touring system is robust and versatile, featuring 16-deep WPC main hangs complemented by 10-deep WPS out-hangs for larger venues. The low-end is handled by a combination of three SX218 2 x 18” and sixteen cardioid SXCF118 1 x 18” subs, a setup Mark Edwards, system engineer refined after A/B testing at Martin Audio’s headquarters.

To ensure consistency in the wide range of touring venues, the team also carries the Martin Audio TORUS T820s as lip fills, TORUS T1215/30s for additional in-fills and a pair of FlexPoint FP12s as utility speakers.

The entire system is powered by IKON iK42 amplifiers over a Dante network, driving the full system in two-box resolution. This allows Gilligan to use Martin Audio’s Hard Avoid technology to keep sound off reflective surfaces and focused entirely on the audience.

“The warmth and vocal tonality of Martin Audio lends itself perfectly to the Pink Floyd catalogue,” says Timmins. “I’m consistently impressed by how seamless the transition is between the WPC and WPS hangs. For a rental company, that consistency and the ability to deploy the most compact boxes is exactly what you want.”

The results speak for themselves. Following a recent performance in Berlin, FOH engineer Gilligan reported, “Berlin last night was great! The system sounded like a hi-fi in the back row, and the venue measured SPL at the barrier 0.4dB louder than FOH, so a pretty good result!”

The partnership recently celebrated a major milestone, with 22live presenting the band with an award to mark the completion of 10 full tours and already over 365 shows together – all since 2022.

As the 2026 tour continues, the combination of 22live’s expertise and Martin Audio’s technology ensures that the “Pink Floyd experience” remains as immersive as ever.

THA – Tiffany’s Show Pattaya, one of Thailand’s most iconic and longest-running stage productions, has marked its 50th anniversary with a major audio upgrade that brings cutting-edge immersive sound to its world-famous performances. The project was led by Bangkok-based production company Mr. Team, in collaboration with Martin Audio, TiMax, and regional partners Fuzion Far East and Generation AV.

For five decades, Tiffany’s Show has built an international reputation for spectacular choreography, dazzling costumes, and high production values. In recent years, the venue had already invested heavily in visual production with large-format LED screens, new video content, upgraded props. However, the sound system – centred around an aging traditional stereo PA – had not kept pace.

“The system had been running eight hours a day, every day, for almost a decade,” explains Pok Sutat Kohkiat of Mr. Team Productions Co. “It had done its job, but with the 50th anniversary coming, the owners knew it was time to upgrade. At first, the idea was just to replace the existing stereo system. But once we looked at the production, we realised there was an opportunity to do something much more ambitious.”

Over time, Tiffany’s had moved away from generic backing tracks to custom-composed multitrack music for each show. This gave Mr. Team the foundation they needed to propose an immersive solution built around TiMax and a new Martin Audio system.

“For their 50th anniversary, we encouraged them to do something truly special – especially since the video, LED, and lighting were already at a very high standard,” describes Pok. “The audio needed to be on the same level.”

TORUS IS PERFECT FOR THAT CURVATURE AND THROW.

To demonstrate the potential, Mr. Team set-up an immersive demo in their studio. “We set up a 7.1.4 environment using TiMax SoundHubas the processor, and we prepared A/B comparisons between stereo and spatial mixes,” Pok recalls. “We wanted them to experience the difference in a controlled studio setting before talking about changing anything in the theatre.”

Once the Tiffany’s team heard the spatialised mix, the reaction was immediate: “They described it as a completely new experience.”

Working closely with Fuzion Far East and Generation AV – Martin Audio and TiMax’s regional partners – Mr. Team developed a full immersive design for the theatre.

The main PA now consists of a Martin Audio TORUS LCR system comprising T1215 and T1230elements, chosen to match the relatively shallow depth of the auditorium while delivering wide, even coverage.

“The distance from downstage to the last row is not that deep,” notes Pok. “TORUS is perfect for that curvature and throw. It’s very punchy and gives a strong, stable image across the room.”

The LCR system is supported by flown Martin Audio SX218 subwoofers in the centre behind the main cluster – a necessity in a theatre where floor space is dedicated entirely to choreography and scenic movement. Immersive coverage is delivered by Martin Audio ADORN A80 loudspeakers deployed as surrounds and delays, including coverage for the balcony and two VIP rooms, where ADORN A55 loudspeakers are used.

“The theatre isn’t huge, so we rely on the A80s around the room for the immersive field,” says Pok. “We needed a lot of loudspeakers because there’s a balcony and multiple seating tiers, and we had to respect sightlines and choreography. Everything is flown, with custom rigging points.”

The installation presented a significant logistical challenge. Tiffany’s Show runs every day with no dark nights, and the production could not be interrupted.

“We had nearly two weeks to run entirely new cabling and put loudspeakers in place, but the old system had to stay live during that period,” Pok explains. “We only had one night to do the final switchover from the old system to the new LCR and TiMax infrastructure. That meant removing and repositioning loudspeakers, re-patching amplifiers, and matching all the original routing and presets, as well as introducing the new immersive paths. For a production company, we’re used to that kind of intense overnight changeover, but it was still a big challenge.”

All show content is run from QLab, which provides timecode to the TiMax SoundHub and other systems. Mr. Team is also responsible for remixing selected show material into immersive formats at their studio, then scaling and fine-tuning object movement and imaging on site at Tiffany’s.

“The first spatialised and immersive show, Crystal, opened on 28 February,” says Pok. “The entire new system was in and working in time for that grand launch. The response has been very positive. The client loves it, the audience feels a much more enveloping experience, and for Tiffany’s this is a big statement at their 50-year milestone – especially as a flagship destination in the LGBTQ+ and tourist sectors.”

UK – Supplying a cinematic stereo soundtrack using Martin Audio loudspeakers throughout the Rainforest biome for four consecutive seasons at Cornwall’s Eden Project Christmas Light Experience, Redruth-based TruCru added extra sparkle this year with the simple addition of TiMax panLab.

For this year’s event, which transforms the world-famous biomes of the attraction into a vivid illuminated canvas, TruCru delivered an elevated and more engaging audience experience in the Mediterranean biome’s Citrus Grove – home to the event’s showcase feature – lifting the experience with a unique and magical spatialised audioscape.

The update in scope was triggered by attendance at the Focusrite Group’s Audio Reproduction Open Days, by Tru Cru as a Martin Audio rental partner.

IT’S MADE IMMERSIVE SOUND ACHIEVABLE WHERE BUDGETS SIMPLY DIDN’T ALLOW IT BEFORE.

TruCru project manager, Toby Bodman, explained, “I’d always imagined a spatial element for the Citrus show, but the cost and scale of traditional immersive processors made it unachievable. Hearing TiMax panLab in action changed everything. Suddenly, an immersive system was not only creatively compelling but entirely viable within Eden’s budget.”

With the idea pitched successfully to the Eden Project, TruCru worked with the TiMax team to redesign the available rental inventory for a spatial delivery. The loudspeaker layout combined multiple layers of Martin Audio FlexPoint loudspeakers – FP12s flown at height, with more FP12’s positioned wide-left and right, concealed within planting, with further speakers positioned around the audience zone. Additional FP8 ceiling points were integrated where biome load limits allowed, ensuring vertical energy and a sense of expansiveness across the space.

The results exceeded expectations and Bodman notes, “The presence and width from just two overhead points was impressive. TiMax panLab helped us maximise the effectiveness of every position. The elevation layers gave us a genuinely spacious, enveloping image.”

With Eden already expressing interest in returning to the format next year, the success of the project has positioned spatial audio as a new and useful creative tool for future programmes. Bodman expands, “It’s made immersive sound achievable where budgets simply didn’t allow it before.”

As TruCru’s first experience delivering a spatial environment, the success of the event hinged upon the simplicity of the system. “TiMax told us it could be programmed in minutes, and I can honestly say that’s true,” Bodman confirmed. “TiMax panLab’s interface is incredibly intuitive. It just made sense. Dropping sources into position was simple, and the whole deployment was far easier than we expected.”

For this year’s show pre-mixed 7.1.4 stems provided by the content creator were used to keep things simple. Going forward, however, the team is already planning to expand automation and movement directly from TiMax panLab.

As plans for next winter’s edition begin, TiMax PanLab is set to remain a key creative tool for audio at the Eden Project, with plans to elevate their audience experience without escalating complexity.

UK – In a live spatial audio first, a performance of the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra was authentically spatialised using an object-based TiMax mix across a Martin Audio left/right main system, typical of a conventional festival PA setup. Such was the impressive feat, the concert has now been shortlisted in the UKFestivalAwards 2025.

The landmark moment took place at London’s BST Hyde Park Festival (BST), where Solotech UK supplied the Martin Audio optimised line array system. Sound designer and FOH mix engineer, Sonosphere’s Phil Wright, realised the sonic feat by replacing the usual console matrix mixer function with a TiMax SoundHub delay-matrix spatial processor. Working within the constraints of a typical stereo hang system – plus standard front-fills and delays – Wright redefined the possibilities of spatial audio in a live outdoor setting.

“Usually, only a small percentage of the audience falls within the stereo corridor at any gig,” Wright explained. “We wanted to expand that experience – not artificially with more hangs – but with the powerful capabilities of TiMax across a standard festival PA.”

TiMax product and software manager, Dan Higgott, created a spatial rendering of the stage layout in the studio using TiMax, which was transferred to the TiMax SoundHub at BST’s FOH via the new TiMax Scaling Surfaces feature, and scaled up to replicate the actual stage.

WE KNEW TIMAX WOULD PRODUCE THIS LEVEL OF CLARITY AND REALISM.

TiMax received each orchestral microphone or microphone group separately as its own object, and directly fed the various main, fill, sub and delay sections of the PA from its matrix outputs. Allowing each input object to be positioned with both time and level-based control, TiMax recreated a highly accurate sonic map of the performance not just at the mix position, but across a much wider audience area.

“There was very little in the way of level-based panning in the mains,” noted Wright. “But by working with delay-based spatial cues, the imaging remained clear and authentic – even from well outside the usual sweet spot. It was more than we’d hoped for.”

One standout feature of the setup was the imaging of the chorus. With over 100 inputs, grouped where necessary but mostly preserved as individual sources, TiMax enabled the kind of spatial separation and clarity not usually achievable in stereo festival mixes. “The PA just disappeared,” Wright added. “We had full depth, full width – and the choir sat exactly where it should, without smearing or spill.”

The spatialised setup also brought unexpected precision to the mixing process. “You lose the masking that stereo introduces,” Wright explained. “It’s like going from standard definition to high-def – suddenly, every detail matters. Even between three flutes, I had to EQ each separately to reflect their different tonal characteristics.”

Instead of collapsing into mono or skewing to one side, even extreme placements, such as a drum kit far stage-right, maintained integrity within the spatial soundstage. According to Wright, “Once we’d heard it in place, anything we’d done to ‘cheat’ the placement stood out. So, we put everything back where it actually was and it just worked.”

Dan Higgott affirmed, “We knew TiMax would produce this level of clarity and realism. The event proves that true orchestral spatialisation can be brought to festival settings without requiring specialised multi-hang or surround systems – and without compromising fidelity.

“It’s not about gimmicks,” said Wright. “It’s about hearing a full orchestra as it really exists on stage. And now, we can do that even on a left/right PA.”