Local AV company Firma Weinfurtner recently completed a professional sound reinforcement system at the Landgasthof Thalhauser, a typical country inn located in lower Bavaria. The fixed installation consists of high-quality audio components, including EVC series loudspeakers and a wireless RE3 microphone system from Electro-Voice. Dynacord Electronics provide power and DSP for the entire installation, ensuring pristine sound quality.
The front PA features EVC-1122-95 loudspeakers, while EVC-1082-96 cabinets are used as delay lines. EVC compact loudspeakers are designed to offer superior performance for small to mid-sized applications, with all the formats and features installers want. To mix the sound, a compact PM502 mixer from Dynacord is employed. The sound system is powered by a C2800 power amplifier with FIR-Drive, a premium feature typically found only in tour-grade amplifiers. SONICUE Sound System Software was used for the system setup. A wireless RE3 microphone set from Electro-Voice complements the installation, which features a handheld mic for live performances and announcements.
ApexPro is the primary distributor and recognized support provider for Electro-Voice and Dynacord products in Southern Africa.
ETC’s automated luminaires and entertainment fixtures have been selected by rental company Papadimas AVL S.M.P.C in Greece for renowned TV shows ‘The Voice’ and ‘Just the 2 of Us’, as well as a recent production of the hit musical ‘Phantom of the Opera’ in Athens, and Thessaloniki.
Almost 200 High End Systems moving lights feature across the productions, including Lonestar, SolaPix, SolaFrame and SolaSpot automated luminaires. ETC’s affordable Lonestar fixtures took their Greek TV debut on the talent show ‘Just the 2 of Us’, bringing their professional feature set, and quality output all wrapped up in a small package. They joined over a hundred other High End Systems moving lights as well as 50 Source Four LED Series 3 Daylight HDR profiles, all controlled by a mix of Hog 4 and Eos consoles. Series 3 continues to wow on-camera around the world, with its patented X8 array giving unmatched control over how skin tones and objects render on-screen.
SolaPix 19 luminaires returned to the world-famous reality competition show ‘The Voice’ this year, working alongside High End Systems SolaSpots and almost one hundred Source Four LED fixtures. The unique face-look of SolaPix, with its HaloGraphic Pixel Definition and innovative FleX Effects engine, is a big hit on camera, but the fixture is also capable of incredibly smooth washes, adding even more versatility to the rig.
Papadimas AVL S.M.P.C established its presence in the broadcast market in Greece by working on such shows and supplying ETC products. “We met the demand for high quality equipment and services on the ‘The Voice’, ‘Just the 2 of Us’ and the ‘Phantom of the Opera’ with ETC gear, which has also set the bar high for our competitors. The certified quality of ETC products combined with the large quantities we own have helped us create a fleet that provides exceptional results, with consistency and competitive prices,” comments General Manager at Papadimas AVL S.M.P.C, Panagiotis Papadimas.
The live productions of ‘Phantom of the Opera’ used a wide range of High End Systems spots and wash-lights alongside the industry standard Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr profiles to bring the story to life. Released in 2014, Series 2 continues to earn its keep-in-hire stocks worldwide, with venues and rental companies continuing to invest in its reliability and incredible color control, all backed up by ETC’s industry-leading warranty and support.
ETC Regional Sales Manager, Konstantinos Vonofakidis comments: “I would like to thank Papadimas AVL for their continued trust in our products and services even during the challenging times of the pandemic. This has been a great collaboration that has been forged through the unparalleled support of our local dealer – Audio & Vision”.
We’re extremely pleased to report that, once again, Genelec has been shortlisted in the globally respected Mondo-DR Awards for AV – this time in the Sustainable Company category for our strong sustainability credentials and Retail & Leisure category for our collaboration with Informationsteknik on the AV installation at Jacy’z Hotel & Resort in Gothenburg.
Receiving recognition for our approach to sustainability – a matter we prioritise equally alongside sound quality and profitability – is always a very proud moment for us. When we were founded back in 1978, we were already treading lightly, building only long-lasting, serviceable loudspeakers and nurturing employee well-being. Since then, we’ve continuously expanded on these values to make Genelec a global leader in sustainable loudspeaker solutions. For this award, Mondo-DR’s expert panel will consider – among other aspects – our successes in working culture, environmental management, sustainable supply, communication of credentials, sustainability reporting and developmental goals. You can find out more about our sustainability credentials by clicking here.
Our second nomination this year is the elegant installation at ESS Group’s luxury Jacy’z Hotel & Resort in Gothenburg, Sweden, which was planned and executed in close collaboration with AV integration specialists Informationsteknik. With over 130 Genelecs, from both our analogue 4000 Series and more advanced Smart IP family of networked installation loudspeakers, Jacy’z is able to offer a premium sound experience that honours the high expectations of its visitors. Before the panel make their final decision, they’ll measure this project’s prowess in terms of aesthetics, ease of installation, sonic performance and customer satisfaction. To see the installation for yourself, you can watch our video here.
The MONDO-DR Awards – run by Mondo-DR Magazine – were first launched in 2017 to reward the best new fixed installation projects around the globe. Now in its seventh year, the winners across all categories will be chosen by an expert panel of independent judges and previous award winners.
We’d like to extend a very warm thanks to Mondo-DR, Jacy’z, Informationsteknik and our own team for making these nominations possible – and we’ll be hoping for a great result at the forthcoming awards ceremony, which is held on the 14th of June at the InfoComm show Orlando, Florida.
European Leg Concerts Debut Massive PANTHER Line Array System
Metallica, a creative powerhouse lauded as one of rock’s preeminent bands, continues to break new ground with the dynamic, in-the-round production for the global, two-year “M72 World Tour” that recently kicked off in Europe. Throughout the tour, the band’s sound is immersing the entire audience — at full bandwidth across a broad stereo landscape — through a Meyer Sound system comprising a record 288 PANTHER large-format linear line array loudspeakers.
For decades Metallica concerts have been known for technical and artistic innovation, and once again the band and long-time creative director Dan Braun have moved beyond the old paradigms. Two concerts will be presented at every tour stop, with completely separate music sets for each show. The celebrated “snake pit” has been relocated inside a ring-shaped stage, requiring four drum kits for Lars Ulrich to rise up as needed. Also, the sonic field has been expanded to ensure a wide stereo spread of guitars and drums at every seat and standing point in the stadium.
“I’m always concerned about making all these new ideas work at scale, but we have great partners to rely on, not the least of which is Meyer Sound. So, I never let things like practicality and logistics inhibit the creative process.”
Dan Braun
Braun took his idea for the tour sound directly to company founders John and Helen Meyer, who captured his vision and assigned Director of System Optimization Bob McCarthy to design audio for the tour.
“I told Bob that my goal was to have full stereo sound at every point with no overlap, from the center pit to the nosebleed seats,” Braun continues. “We wanted everybody to hear the band as if with nearfield monitors, and I think we’ve come closer to that than ever before in a concert setting.”
Braun also credits the new PANTHER line array loudspeakers as a key component in realizing the ambitious concept. “The clarity of the system is breathtaking, and that combined with Bob McCarthy’s brilliant design is giving us a show that sounds spectacular.”
Crafting the Metallica sound from FOH is Greg Price, a veteran known for his long stints not only with hard rock legends Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne but also for pop acts including “The Glee Show on Tour,” Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus, and Chicago.
“We’re only a few shows into the tour and so far I’m very impressed,” says Price. “And I would have to say that I don’t think there is any other PA manufacturer in the world that could take on what we are trying to do on this tour.”
As for the massive PANTHER arrays, Price describes them as “a PA system that acts like a reference monitor, like an Amie or a Bluehorn in the studio. I’m hearing things in my mixing that I always knew were there but lacked definition. Now they are right in my face, and I can work with them.”
The gargantuan “M72 World Tour” system is deployed in three concentric rings. The outer ring arrays are suspended from eight towers, with two PANTHER arrays on each tower: 16 cabinets per array on the four long-side towers and 13 cabinets on the four short-side towers. Each tower also carries dual hangs of six-each 1100‑LFC low-frequency control elements and one set of six VLFC very low-frequency control elements.
The inner system, suspended from a web over the stage, has eight hangs of seven-each PANTHER line array loudspeakers, providing stereo coverage out to 42 meters from center. The “doughnut hole” in the stage center is covered by eight inward-firing UPQ‑D2 narrow coverage loudspeakers, while the outer side of the ring employs 20 ULTRA‑X40 compact loudspeakers as front fill. Ground sub-bass is powered by eight sets of 2x 1100-LFC elements around the stage.
The entire system is connected, controlled, and monitored over three MILAN AVB networks. One network connects Milan directly to all 288 PANTHER loudspeakers via 10 Galileo GALAXY 408 and two Galileo GALAXY 816 Network Platforms using a fiber network incorporating 26 Luminex Gigacore switches. The other two networks are primary and secondary networks for signal distribution and monitoring of the remaining analog Meyer Sound loudspeakers as well as providing redundant analog inputs to the PANTHER loudspeakers. The three networks comprise 52 Luminex switches and 35 GALAXY Network Platforms. Meyer Sound’s new Nebra software platform manages all network configuration, connection, and real-time system monitoring.
As yet another innovation, the “M72 World Tour” employs Meyer Sound’s Spacemap Go spatial sound design and mixing tool to a limited extent, but with stunning effect. As an intro to “One,” the rumble and roar of a four-engine vintage bomber circles the stadium with convincing reality.
“We had some people outside wondering if there was a real plane flying around in the stadium,” says Greg Price. “But Metallica is a straight-ahead band and not into trickery. The focus with spatial audio for Metallica is to enhance show content, remaining true to the band’s performance.”
The “M72 World Tour” is supported by Clair Global, and Price gives a tip of the hat to the company’s extraordinary logistical resources and depth of expertise. “We salute Clair Global for their tremendous effort in building the M72 audio systems,” he says.
Metallica’s “M72 World Tour” launched on April 27 and is scheduled for two European legs and two North American legs, wrapping up on September 29 of 2024.
The new software-based Dante AV-A brings Dante audio and video to hardware based onthe ASPEED AST1530/1535, announcing support by 9 leading manufacturers.
Audinate, developer of the professional AV-industry leading Dante® AV-over-IP solution, today announced a partnership with ASPEED Technology to extend Dante AV to their popular AV-over-IP chipset. The new version, dubbed Dante AV-A, has been optimized to work on the ASPEED AST1530/1535 SoC (System on Chip) and is initially supported by 9 leading AV manufacturers.
Since 2004, ASPEED has been a leading pioneer in AV-over-IP solutions designed to address the demands of video over distance and multimedia information delivery. From multi-input to multi-output with high-definition content delivery, ASPEED SoC’s are used extensively by the leading manufacturers in the Pro-AV industry. The AST1530/1535 SoC is the next generation AV-over-IP chipset specifically designed for professional audio/video applications taking advantage of industry-standard IP networks.
Dante AV-A delivers high-quality video up to 4Kp60 4:4:4 resolution and 2 channels of Dante audio that are instantly compatible with Dante audio products, simplifying distributed AV system design. Independently routable audio and video flows means breaking out audio to installed DSPs, amps, or speakers is done with a single click. Its ultra-low video latency looks and feels natural for in room video distribution. As part of the Dante AV family of solutions, the familiar Dante Controller software handles all audio and video device routing while Dante Domain Manager provides IT-level management including continuous system monitoring, audit logs, and user access control.
“We are excited to partner with Audinate to bring Dante AV to the ASPEED platform,” stated Chris Lin, Chairman and President of ASPEED. “Our goal is to continue to add value to our manufacturing partners and their customers, and Dante AV is an increasingly requested feature. This partnership allows us to prequalify Dante as part of the AST1530/1535 SoC and make it available to ASPEED customers through our SDK, making it as easy as possible for OEMs and ODMs to add Dante AV to their products.”
“As one of the most widely used SoC’s in the AV-over-IP market, ASPEED is an important strategic partner for Audinate,” stated Aidan Williams, CEO of Audinate. “This partnership and the introduction of Dante AV-A is an important addition to the Dante AV family, making it easy for manufacturers to integrate Dante AV and giving customers the greatest choice of hardware products that are all interoperable through the Dante control and management software.”
9 leading manufacturing partners have licensed Dante AV-A including AMX by Harman, Aurora Multimedia, AVPro Global, Cypress, GoMax, HDCVT, ProITAV, SY Electronics and WyreStorm. Audinate is featuring a demo of Dante AV-A using the new WyreStorm encoders and decoders at booth #2821 at InfoComm.
The addition of Dante AV-A and these new Dante AV licensees continues the growing momentum with the Dante AV portfolio. Audinate’s Dante AV strategy is to provide integrators and end users with interoperability between manufacturers of AV-over-IP hardware. The different versions of Dante AV allow customers to solve for the right balance of video quality, bandwidth utilization and cost for their application, while still ensuring that products can be discovered, routed and managed using Dante software tools like Dante Controller and Dante Domain Manager. The Dante AV family now includes:
Dante AV Ultra, designed for the most demanding applications, bringing end-to-end clock synchronization, ultra-low latency and the highest quality video.
Dante AV-A, optimized for AV distribution for commercial installations.
Dante AV-H, designed for applications that incorporate video software such as conferencing, higher education and small production environments.
The entire family of Dante AV products gives customers flexibility to choose the products they need for their applications, ensuring seamless interoperability across manufacturers and an easy-to-use control and management platform.
To learn more about the entire Dante AV family including Dante AV-A, visit www.audinate.com/dante-av.
The Genelec 8381A Adaptive Point Source Main Monitor system with Smart Active Technology empowers engineers and creators to perceive every sonic detail, offering true-to-life sound level and dynamics – with the full flexibility of free-standing monitor placement and advanced room adaption.
Interacting with our Genelec Loudspeaker Manager (GLM) software, the 8381A monitor system intelligently adapts its response to the monitoring room in the optimal way. This offers great flexibility to tackle even the most challenging environments – delivering precise presentation, including low-frequency reproduction that integrates perfectly with the complete sound content.
The 8381A has been engineered to deliver the complete audible content, with a response extending to frequencies beyond the standard audible range – and fully aligned in the time domain – it delivers precise understanding of all the minute details in recorded waveforms. With its high SPL capacity, the 8381A makes even very low-level details audible, creating an uncompromising tool for monitoring.
Tailored precisely to your room
Interacting with our Genelec Loudspeaker Manager (GLM) software, the 8381A monitor system intelligently adapts its response to the monitoring room in the optimal way. This offers great flexibility to tackle even the most challenging environments – delivering precise presentation, including low frequency reproduction that integrates perfectly with the complete sound content.
The 8381A has been engineered to deliver the complete audible content, with a response extending to frequencies beyond the standard audible range – and fully aligned in the time domain – it delivers precise understanding of all the minute details in recorded waveforms.
Imaging you can trust
Quickly arrive at the right mixing and mastering decisions through uncompromising imaging detail. The point source operating principle of the 8381A offers the unique advantage of maintaining precise sound colour and imaging at all listening distances, enabling exceptional freedom of placement, and removing the vertical sound colour change typical of larger monitors.
The carefully designed Directivity Control Waveguide ensures clean off-axis sound colour, reducing the impact of the reverberant sound in the monitoring room on mixing decisions, while improving the accuracy and reliability of monitoring work in all rooms.
Standing on the floor, the 8381 locates the soundstage at the natural listening height, while supporting traditional high main monitor positions with the included incliner system. This enables the acoustic axis to be optimally configured towards the listening position for all installation heights.
With its high SPL capacity, the 8381A makes even very low-level details audible, creating an uncompromising tool for monitoring.
