22 Nov, 2019 | Symetrix
Symetrix has launched its Xio stage 4×4 Dante stage box, an
audio-over-IP system that installs in NEMA 8-inx8-inx4-in electrical
enclosures.
Four analogue microphone/line inputs and four line-level outputs
are provided, converting signals to and from Dante for transfer over
CAT5/6 cable from a stage or other source location to a Symetrix Radius
NX, Prism or Edge DSP.
24-bit, 48 kHz A/D/A converters and Neutrik XLR connectors, being powered by a PoE injector or PoE network switch.
Signals can be routed by a Symetrix DSP once on the Dante network
into multiple zones, with Symetrix Composer software enabling setup and
control from a Windows PC.
21 Nov, 2019 | Symetrix
Located on Palm Island, between the Dubai skyline and the Arabian
Gulf, Atlantis Dubai includes a world-famous resort, the world’s most
Instagrammed hotel, award-winning restaurants, a waterpark, and much
more. Wavehouse, Atlantis Dubai’s an all-encompassing entertainment
venue, features zones for kids, families, and adults, including a
bowling alley, kids play area, two-story arcade, projection room,
restaurant, indoor/outdoor stage, indoor/outdoor bar, outdoor lounge
area, and wave simulation pool. Whether you like to be active or want to
kick back and relax, it’s all here.
Installing a sound system to serve a venue the size and complexity of
Wavehouse was a major challenge. However, the team at Dubai systems
integrator Pulse Middle East (www.pulse-me.com)
was fully up to the task, thanks to its extensive experience providing
AV systems to high-end venues in the region. Led by Managing Director
and audio engineer Joe Chidiac, the Pulse Middle East team designed and
installed a Dante-enabled audio system for Wavehouse based on two
Symetrix Radius NX 12×8 DSPs and one Radius NX 4×4 DSP.
“We were brought in to design and install a sound system for live
music, background music, and non-emergency paging that would have
complete flexibility for the operator to play any source in any and all
zones,” Chidiac recalls. “Having so many different entertainment
functions, the sound system needed to be separated by function and music
requirements, so Wavehouse was separated into 11 main zones for source
selection and volume control. The 11 zones are then divided into
sub-zones for additional volume control, allowing the operator access to
25 sub-zones to be able to cater for special events. Each individual
zone can be monitored from the AV room speakers.”
The Wavehouse system is hosted on the hotel’s network, with fiber
connecting two separate AV rooms connected to the main intermediate
distribution frame. Connection points for Dante devices around the venue
are on CAT6 cable. In addition to portable devices, audio sources
include a Pioneer DJM900 DJ mixer with CDJ2000 multi-players, connected
with an AVIO adapter; a Midas M32 console with DN32-Dante card; and
several TV receivers plugged directly into the Symetrix Radius
processors. On the output side, Powersoft amplifiers drive loudspeakers
from TW Audio and Martin Audio.
“The Symetrix Radius makes it easy to manage the Dante network, and
it’s extremely reliable,” comments Pulse Middle East Head of Audio Andy
Morris. “Most DSP for the loudspeakers at Wavehouse was done inside the
Powersoft amplifiers but it was necessary to set balancing and delays
within the Symetrix Radius DSPs in order to be able to change these
settings for different operation modes. Symetrix Composer software made
it easy to integrate our Powersoft amplifiers and enabled us to set up
the routing without having to use Dante Controller.”
The Pulse team also used Symetrix Composer’s SymView GUI authoring to
create a control server. “We made custom control pages for each zone,
plus a diagnostics page for problem solving,” details Morris. “Because
it’s hosted on the hotel’s network, there is flawless wi-fi coverage
throughout the venue, so the operators can sign in and control any zone
from anywhere around the venue.”
Designing, building, and configuring the Wavehouse system and
providing a user-friendly interface, while keeping up with the
construction schedule, was no easy job. But using Symetrix Radius
processors and Composer software, Pulse Middle East met every challenge.
“We had to work on the installation in parallel with construction and
interior design in order to finish on time but we got it all done, and
the system performs fully up to our expectations,” Chidiac reports. “Our
customer is very satisfied.”
7 Nov, 2019 | Symetrix
When Luxury Travel Intelligence named Kudadoo the world’s best
new luxury hotel for 2019, it greatly understated the case. Kudadoo
isn’t just a luxury hotel; it’s a stunningly gorgeous, private,
adults-only, tropical island resort. Part of the Republic of Maldives in
the southeastern Indian Ocean, Kudadoo offers 15 private over-water
bungalows with a spa, bar, restaurant, infinity pool, game room, and
much more-and it’s 100 percent solar powered. Want 24-hour access to a
butler? You get that too, along with just about anything else you’re
likely to want.
Naturally, nothing less than a first-rate sound system will do for
such a high-class facility. To that end, Kudadoo Maldives Private
Island’s management asked the top-flight team at Pulse Middle East of
Dubai to design and build a sound system that would give them complete
flexibility to play background music, and sometimes live music, from
various sources around the island resort, yet be simple enough to
operate without a technical person on site.
Led by managing director and audio engineer Joe Chidiac, the Pulse
Middle East team designed a Dante audio network for Kudadoo managed by a
Symetrix Radius 12×8 EX DSP. The system serves the bar, restaurant,
pool area, spa, salt room, games room, and restrooms.
“This
installation was very special, since the location is extremely
particular-and breathtaking,” notes Chidiac. “The main difficulties at
Kudadoo were the logistics, the hotel being on an island in the
Maldives, and the timeline. The system was installed and integrated in a
three-day stay, after the initial visit and overseas prep. Due to the
surrounding water body, many measures had to be taken in order to
complete everything on time and have a lasting result.”
“Another main challenge was designing a user-friendly interface that
could be operated by anyone, while still giving options for different
sources and volumes in each zone,” adds Pulse Head of Audio Andy Morris.
“One way we got around this was to use logic automation within the
Symetrix Radius EX so that certain events, such as a band starting to
play from a certain Dante adapter, would cause the background music to
automatically fade out in the concerned zones, gradually fading up again
when live input is no longer detected.”
In addition to portable devices, audio sources for Kudadoo’s network
include a Pioneer DJM900 DJ mixer with CDJ2000s, connected with an AVIO
adapter; a Midas M32 console with DN32-Dante card; and several TV
receivers plugged directly into the Radius 12×8 EX. On the output side,
Powersoft amplifiers drive loudspeakers from TW Audio and Martin Audio.
The Pulse Middle East team installed CAT6 cable throughout the facility,
routing input from the portable devices via Dante connection points to
the Symetrix Radius DSP and from the Radius to the amplifiers. Symetrix
ARC-3 wall panels enable simple user control of volume, mute, and source
selection.
The
Radius 12×8 EX DSP provides 64×64 Dante 1000 Base-T networking, along
with 12 switchable analog mic/line inputs and 8 analog balanced line
outputs. That’s plenty of I/O for the Kudadoo audio network, but more
can be added with option cards should that be required in the future. A
second Dante port enables daisy-chaining multiple units and redundant
Dante network audio implementation. Delivering studio-grade sound, and
programmed using Symetrix’ Composer open-architecture software for
Windows, the Radius 12×8 EX can run hundreds of audio processing and
control modules for a wide variety of applications.
“The Symetrix Radius makes it easy to manage the Dante network, and
it’s extremely reliable,” assures Morris. “We also like the way Symetrix
Composer software makes it easy to integrate our Powersoft amplifiers.
Having all the routing set up in Composer instead of using an additional
piece of software like Dante Controller saves a lot of time and
confusion. All the routings are there in Composer, clear to see and easy
to restore should any issues arise.”
Far out in the southeastern Indian Ocean, luxury beckons at Kudadoo
Private Island, Maldives. There you can enjoy tropical breezes, gorgeous
blue seas, and virtually anything you want, anytime, anywhere. While
you’re relaxing, you’ll enjoy background music to match, thanks to the
new Symetrix-managed sound system provided by Pulse Middle East. “The
people at Kudadoo are very satisfied with their new sound system,”
confirms Joe Chidiac. We suspect that’s as much of an understatement as
Luxury Travel Intelligence calling Kudadoo a “luxury hotel.”
23 Oct, 2019 | Symetrix
Boasting nearly two dozen locations, plus ATMs in even more spots, in May 2019 Bank Iowa opened a new corporate headquarters in West Des Moines, Iowa. The new facility accommodates training, meetings, and administrative offices for departments such as accounting and Internet banking, and offers such workspace perks as art from the owners’ extensive collection and desks operated with a mobile app.
To design and install up-to-date AV systems that would support its current needs and provide for future expansion, the bank brought in Iowa Audio Video (IAV) of neighboring Clive, Iowa. Drawing on the experience of countless previous designs, IAV owner James Harle specified digital signal processors from Symetrix to route audio and control the facility’s systems. “They wanted us to meet AV needs for two training rooms, a boardroom, huddle space TVs throughout the building, and sound making for the whole facility,” details IAV Operations Manager Mike Holmberg, who managed the install and programmed and commissioned the system.
The large training room and the board room are managed by a Symetrix Radius AEC processor. The training room is equipped with six Audio-Technical ES933 hanging ceiling mics, taking advantage of Radius AEC’s dedicated wideband acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) processing, zero-latency direct outputs, and discrete references per AEC channel. In the boardroom, two Shure MXA310 table array microphones send up to five channels of audio each over a Dante network to the Symetrix DSP.
The Radius AEC’s basic audio duties are supplemented by facility control tasks normally performed by a wall-mounted control panel. Rather than executing triggers and commands, the RTI KX7 touch panel passes them to the Radius AEC for execution. “We’ve paired the RTI controllers with Symetrix processors many times,” Holmberg comments. “It’s very simple to get them to work together, and everything went smoothly.”
A Symetrix Radius NX 12×8 DSP with 12 analog inputs and 8 analog outputs controls the small training room system. This system has two Audio-Technica ES933 hanging ceiling mics and a Audio-Technica belt-pack wireless mic for hands-free presentations. A belt-pack wireless mic from the large training room also feeds to this Radius NX 12×8. The two Symetrix DSPs are linked via Dante, enabling the NX 12×8 to share the Radius AEC’s acoustic echo cancellation for the wireless systems.
The training rooms and boardroom are set up for Skype or other video conferencing, and their respective Symetrix processors are tied together for cooperative applications. The boardroom and each of the training rooms are set up as separate zones in the DSPs. The huddle space TVs receive control signals from the Symetrix units, but not audio, so they do not need to be assigned to audio zones. Audio outputs from the Symetrix processors run in the analog domain to Crown amplifiers, which drive Bose FreeSpace speakers.
Video is distributed though the spaces using Just Add Power products, so all video travels as HD-over-Ethernet. As with the audio, RTI controllers provide users with a visual interface, but the Symetrix processors do all of the stream management. “It’s nice, with the Symetrix, to have a product that I can deploy and have it just do everything for me,” remarks Holmberg appreciatively.
Rather than hide away all of its shiny new AV and IT equipment, Bank Iowa decided instead to feature it. “The building is more or less designed around the IT rack and room, which is kind of a showpiece,” Holmberg describes. “It’s glass-enclosed and situated right in the middle of the main area. Bank Iowa brought in a muralist to paint a mural on one of the back walls, which is made of drywall, not glass, and the racks are backlit with blue LEDs, so they glow.”
IAV turns time and again to Symetrix to anchor their systems for reasons that go beyond the products’ broad functionality. “We probably have several hundred Symetrix units installed,” reports Holmberg. “The reason we use Symetrix is that it’s stable, the audio quality is very good, and the service from tech support, when we need it, has been great. I love working in the Symetrix Composer software, and with so many Symetrix units in the field, the fact the products are so stable makes them one less thing for us to worry about on a bigger project.”
1 Oct, 2019 | Symetrix
Symetrix has launched Version 7.2 of its Composer software designed to work with Edge, Radius NX, Prism and Solus NX DSPs, including a new email notification module and Amp monitoring. The email module enables sending of email notifications directly from DSP hardware, being triggered by any event in the DSP design. The module works via email to text gateways and also allows for SMS text messages to be sent.
Version 7.2 adds amplifier monitoring and control for the Powersoft Duecanali, Quattrocanali, Ottocanali, X4 and X8 amplifiers as well as Panasonic WP-DM9XX amps, enabling Powersoft amplifiers to communicate current, alarms, thermal and impedance statistics directly to the DSP for display on portable and fixed devices.
The amount of simultaneous TCP/IP connections that the control server can host has been increased from six to 1,000 with a new right click change unit type option being added to transform site file DSPs into other Symetrix DSP hardware types, with in-place copy transferring all processing, control assignments and SymVue control screens that are not connected to a physical device I/O, making every design file a viable template.
Composer 7.2 also adds an UpDown fader type, changing fader images to create touch controls for incrementing or decrementing a parameter, with text able to be edited in place for buttons, label and text objects.
A host key also allows for changing of font size when designing control screens, with a reorganised toolkit in site view listing audio, network and control tools by type.
The display of the selected input is also now visible in matrix selectors, showing the input name instead of a channel number.
23 Sep, 2019 | Symetrix
Located halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on California’s Central Coast, Paso Robles is filled with wine, olives, hot springs, beautiful rolling hills, and sunny weather – exactly the picture many have of what the state is all about. Unsurprisingly, the city is not only a popular tourist destination but also a great location for conferences and business meetings.
The brand new Oxford Suites Paso Robles is a hotel aimed at satisfying all of those demands. The latest addition to the Oxford Collection-a group of 17 hotels in 4 states aimed largely at business travelers-the Paso Robles property will formally open in its downtown location in September 2019 with 101 executive suites, a 1,605 square foot ballroom, 2,500 square feet of meeting space, a boardroom, and an array of amenities, right down to electric car-charging stations. A second construction phase will add 40 more rooms.
Over the last half-dozen years, the Bend, Oregon-based Oxford Corporate parent company has partnered with local design/build firm Audio Visual Bend to create and install audio and video systems for the public and business spaces of its new properties. “We did a proof-of-concept install at one of Oxford’s early boutique hotels here in Bend, upgrading it from a home theater AV system to a commercial AV system,” recounts AV Bend AV Designer/Project Manager Tony Sprando. “They’ve been ecstatic with the ease of control of the system.” The Paso Robles location is the fifth Oxford Collection property on which AV Bend has worked.
Bend creates the ease-of-use that so enthralls Oxford Corporate by deploying Symetrix DSP networks and control panels to provide media services through the primary hotel areas. In Paso Robles, AV Bend installed a Symetrix Prism 12×12 DSP and a Prism 8×8 DSP to cover the meeting rooms, boardroom, and public spaces, which include the pool, garden, port cochère (drive-thru entrance area), lobby, bathrooms, bar, and dining room. With so many areas to cover, AV Bend needed the ability to configure a number of different zones, as well as easily cover the distances involved between the spaces. The Prism processors are equipped with Dante networking and a wide selection of I/O configurations and options, making them a versatile choice for installation into multiple Oxford projects. “We’re trying to be very flexible,” Sprando explains.
Music distribution, possibly the most common audio task in hotels, is one of the areas where Symetrix products delivered flexibility. “The two primary background music sources are Pandora for Business/Mood Music playlists,” Sprando observes. “One playlist is for the public spaces, while the other one is designed for the meeting rooms and boardroom, so the hotel can choose different genres for events that might be happening in those private areas. Furthermore, they can pull background music from the hotel into the meeting rooms, then turn that off and seamlessly transition into a presentation.”
Areas like the bar and restaurant have very simple control needs, requiring nothing more than a volume control for background music. In these areas, AV Bend installed Symetrix ARC-K1e modular remote control panels, which offer a rotary encoder with a button and a few LED indicators. For the meeting rooms and spaces that may need to route and switch sources or perform other control functions, ARC-3 adaptive remote control panels were put in. The ARC-3 features a touch interface and a menu system that can be programmed to perform complex logic-based events such as preset selection, source selection, and room combining.
The business meeting areas, having more sophisticated facilities, presented greater control needs. The meeting rooms are actually one large room that can be partitioned. Each of the resulting two rooms includes a projector and screen for video and is capable of hosting a wireless handheld microphone and a wireless lapel (lavalier) microphone.Event attendees can carry in a laptop and connect it through an HDMI jack or a VGA connection on a wall panel.
In the boardroom, laptops access the network via an HDMI jack built into the table. In addition, the boardroom has a Dell PC built into the room’s TV, controlled by a wireless keyboard and mouse. The boardroom facilitates participation by people in offsite locations with an interactive touchscreen, camera, and microphone.
Oxford Corporate has been opening a new property every year, and Sprando expects to keep installing Symetrix systems in new properties as they are built. “In the last five hotels, we’ve had very few service calls about the audio system. The Symetrix products have proven themselves to be quite reliable,” he concludes.
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