psne september 2015 digital
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www.psneurope.comSeptember 2015
Vive la révolution! The French National Orchestra and an Optocore ring help Bastille Day go with a bang P38
P44EYE OF THE STORMCHLORINE-PROOF KIT AT WET
AND WILD PLOPSAQUA
P20LIKE A ROLLING STONERECORDING KEEF’S FIRST SOLO
ALBUM IN 23 YEARS
P36LEARNING TO FLYROCKIN’ 1000 AND THE ART OF
IMPRESSING DAVE GROHL
www.psneurope.com
The last two weeks of this issue’s production cycle has found me on jury
service in Croydon, that Shrangri-La of a town south of London.
In between stints of courtroom theatrics (which in reality has been
an awful lot of slouching around, looking at Buzzfeed and waiting for
my name to be called – oh yeah, and writing this), I’ve made time to explore the
locale. That’s when I stumbled upon the somewhat tired-looking massif of the
Fairfi eld Halls (see p57), the hallowed venue where Flood and Mel Wesson saw
Tangerine Dream play in the ’70s, a gig which was hugely infl uential on their work
as Node, as you may have read about in our April edition.
But while I’ve been doing my civic duty, PSNEurope’s own panel of expert
judges from across the industry have been busy selecting the winners for
this month’s third Pro Sound Awards, at the Ministry of Sound in the tropic of
Elephant & Castle.
Having spent an evening totalling up the votes I can tell you, it’s been pretty
close in a couple of the categories: that’s where – literally – every vote has
counted. In my daydreaming here in the Jury Assembly Room, I realised I’ve
already seen some solid potential entrants for the Awards in 2016: Goldie’s
peerlees and frenetic performance of Timeless at the RFH; the Will Gregory Moog
Ensemble’s charming the Barbican audience with a night of ‘synth’s greatest
hits’; the stunning clarity of the Rising stage at Roskilde, featuring a Meyer Sound
LEOPARD rig; Róisín Murphy and her band and tearing up the techno manual at
Wilderness; and ZZ Top still ruling the roost with an Electro-Voice X-Line Advance
and a lifetime of experience (they’ve been around as long as me!) in Straubing. I
hope some of these make next year’s fi nal foursome.
Meanwhile, of course, that Node gig? That’s on this year’s list… See you at the
Ministry on 24 September!
PSNEUROPEP3
SEPTEMBER2015Welcome
DAVE ROBINSONEditor@PSNEurope
Editor
Dave Robinson
Deputy editor Jon Chapple
Managing editor Jo Ruddock
Advertising manager Ryan O’Donnell
Account managerRian Zoll-Khan
Commercial director Darrell Carter
Head of design Jat Garcha
Production executive Jason Dowie
Contributors: Michael Burns, Mike Clark, David
Davies, Mark Hallinger, Kevin Hilton,
Marc Maes, John Stadius, Wes Maebe,
Phil Ward, Dave Wiggins
PSNEurope NewBay Media,
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Cover image: Bastille Day 2015 concert, Paris
Business6 Show preview: AES 139
7 SSE and Sound Image’s special relationship
8 Pro Sound Awards: Lifetime achievement winner
10 Vocal channel: David Wiggins and Wes Maebe
12 Movers and shakers
14 PSNTraining
18 The strategic position: John Stadius, DiGiCo
Technology16 New products
24 Show preview: IBC
28 Feature: Broadcast consoles
52 Feature: Stadiums
Studio
20 Crosseyed Talk: The return of Keith Richards
Broadcast28 Reaching Nirvana over IP?
Live32 Coda AiRAY: Not just a placebo
36 Learning to fl y with viral sensations Rockin’ 1000
38 Cover story: A networking revolution for Bastille Day
40 Outline’s GTO C-12: It’s a Corker
Installation42 On the red carpet at Cinecittà World
44 RH braves the chlorine at Plopsaqua
48 A deep dish of KV2 for Chicago in Stuttgart
50 Symetrix fi lls Kaiser Bill’s hollow tooth
Back pages57 Hither & dither
58 Backtalk: Morten Büchert, Roskilde
In this issue...
www.psneurope.com
P4SEPTEMBER2015
Contents
P6139th AES CONVENTIONHEADSETS ON! FOCUS ON VR AS AES RETURNS TO NEW YORK
P32CODA AUDIO AiRAYTHE INNOVATIVE LINE ARRAY THAT’S ABOUT MORE THAN THE SOUND
P52SOUND FOR STADIUMSHOW AUDIO CONSIDERATIONS ARE SHAPING THE VASTEST OF VENUES
P42CINECITTÀ WORLDCINEMA SOUND WITH A DIFFERENCE
ANDREW DUBOWSKI /SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY
Read the full interview at
meyersound.com/sfsymphony
LEOPARD AND 900-LFCTHE NEWEST MEMBERS OF THE LEO FAMILY
“The more natural the sound, the more perfect the
amplification. LEOPARD’s sound is so natural, it fools
me into thinking the sound is not really amplified, even
though I know it is. That feels like magic.”
Andrew Dubowski, Director of Operations
Oculus chief scientist
Michael Abrash, known
for his work in high-end
graphics, performance
programming and virtual reality, will
kick off the 139th AES International
Convention in New York City on
Thursday 29 October with his
keynote speech, entitled Virtual
Reality, Audio and the Future.
“Michael’s address is a great
opportunity to bring awareness of
VR to the audio community,” says
AES 139 co-chairman Jim Anderson.
“In the future, audio will contribute
to this fi eld in ways that we can only
presently imagine.”
Oculus’s Rift headset, which the
AES says is “poised to transform
gaming, storytelling, fi lm and
much more”, can be paired with an
immersive audio feed to simulate
a true virtual-reality world. At last
year’s Commonwealth Games in
Glasgow (see PSNEurope July 2014)
a Rift and four-capsule Soundfi eld
microphone array deployed by BBC
R&D gave viewers the sensation
of “being transported inside the
stadium and being part of the
crowd”.
Returning to the convention for
a second year is the Live Sound
Expo (LSE), held in association
with PSNEurope’s sister magazine,
US-based Pro Sound News, which
off ers expert advice to the live sound
engineers who make up 25 per cent
of AES Convention attendees. With an
emphasis on practical applications
– from touring and theatre sound
to installed sound and houses of
worship – the LSE will address
topics including the changing state of
wireless audio; virtual soundchecks
and networking; and console and
microphone design and use.
The second Live Sound Expo
will be broken up topically across
the convention’s three days into a
‘Broadway day’, ‘house of worship
sound/fi xed install day’ and ‘tour
sound day’, each with dedicated
presentation and panel programmes.
Complementing the Live Sound
Expo is the ever-popular Project
Studio Expo (PSE). Presented in
association with Sound on Sound
magazine and sponsors Genelec,
Neumann and Prism Sound, the
PSE off ers attendees the chance
to connect with their peers and
get hands-on experience with the
latest tools and techniques in audio
engineering and production.
Topics covered include ‘making
the most of your studio purchasing
budget’, ‘the fi ve most common
recording mistakes’, ‘personal
networking for the audio professional’
United States
www.psneurope.com/business
P6SEPTEMBER
2015
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Virtual reality, audio forensics and advice on how not to run a recording session
are among the highlights at the AES’s 139th Convention in New York City
Calm before the storm: New York’s Javits Center as it won’t appear in November
Oculus’s Michael Abrash, keynote speaker
www.psneurope.com/business
P7SEPTEMBER
2015
United Kingdom/United States
By Dave Robinson
SSE, Sound Image form transatlantic alliance
PA hire giants SSE Audio Group in the
UK and California-based Sound Image
have announced their collaboration in
a transatlantic joint venture. Dubbed
the United Audio Companies (UAC), the agreement
is designed to provide all the resources required,
including “a common touring infrastructure and
around-the-clock support”, for touring clients
working on either side of the Atlantic.
“It’s not just a US company operating via
an EU satellite office or vice versa in the US,”
explains SSE Audio Group MD John Penn. “It’s
two full-service national PA companies with a full
complement of staff, service facilities, vehicles,
production managers and their long-developed
support networks that are made available to the
touring production – in addition to the equipment
inventory and crew.
“It means that when a tour hits a snag, SSE in
Europe or Sound Image in the States are far more
likely to resolve the issue quickly.”
Each of the partnering companies has
introduced common technologies to facilitate
the transition between continents: for instance,
SSE has added a JBL VTX system to its rental
stock (which is principally L-Acoustics kit). All
productions will have additional local contacts
assigned to assist planning and coordination and
reduce down time.
www.uac.global
and ‘building and developing a career’, and Prism
will present its Mic to Monitor workshop series,
which aims to “dispel the many myths surrounding
the recording process” (see PSNTraining, PSNEurope
August 2015).
AES 139 is also slated to host “the most in-
depth technical programme of the year for audio
professionals” in the form of four days of workshops,
tutorials, paper sessions, career development
events and more covering recording and production,
live sound, broadcast and streaming, mixing and
mastering, game audio and systems integration.
Research papers this year will tackle forensic
audio, cinema sound, sound reinforcement and
spatial audio, while there will be tutorials on
interactive music, microphone techniques, AES67
interoperability, intellectual property and the
impressively specific ‘low-frequency behaviour in
small high-accuracy listening environments’.
Mark Frink, a veteran live sound engineer, writer
and Live Sound Expo host, says: “AES in New York
was where I introduced a live sound loudspeaker
networking users group in 1987 at the 83rd
Convention, and it has always been a destination for
professional live sound. [The AES Convention] is the
only pro-audio trade show to address standards and
professional papers, while showcasing demo rooms
and new products,”
“This year’s AES Convention programme is set
to be one of the largest and most in-depth in recent
years,” adds Jim Anderson. “The committee has
put together a very timely and important set of
presentations for our return to New York City with
the hope of reaching every attendee on a level
that inspires and enlightens them. Once again, our
convention will serve as the hub of professional
audio ideas and innovations for the international
community.”
The 139th Audio Engineering Society Convention
will take place on 29 October–1 November at the
Jacob Javits Center in New York City.
www.aes.org
Mike Sprague, director of touring, Sound Image; John Penn, MD, SSE; Dave Shadoan, president, Sound Image;
Jesse Adamson, business development, Sound Image; Yan Stile, hire director, SSE; Dan Bennett, project manager, SSE
www.prosoundawards.com
P8SEPTEMBER
2015
Pro Sound Awards
Sponsors and shortlists and winners, oh my!
The empress crowned
Colette Barber, Abbey Road Studios’ long-serving
studio manager, will receive the lifetime
achievement award at the Pro Sound Awards on
24 September.
Barber, who announced her retirement after 36 years at
the end of June, joined Abbey Road in 1979 as an accounts
temp and rose through the ranks to become the ‘studio
empress of London’ at the world-famous recording facility.
She was made a fellow of the Association of Professional
Recording Services in November.
“I am extremely grateful to even be considered for this
award and would be honoured to accept it on behalf of
everybody at Abbey Road Studios, who work so hard to
make it, in my opinion, the best recording studio in the
world,” Barber says. “I have spent an amazing 36 years at
Abbey Road, and, although I am retiring early next year, I am
very excited about its future, which includes the creation
of new studios and fi lm facilities. I will miss not being a
part of it but I am very proud to have even been a part of its
incredible history.”
Previous Pro Sound Awards lifetime achievers include
Grammy-winning recording engineer and Meyer Sound/
Constellation consultant John Pellowe and veteran
acoustician Andy Munro.
As the event approaches, PSNEurope is also delighted
to announce that global post-production/creative services
provider Technicolor will make its Pro Sound Awards debut
as photobooth sponsor.
Technicolor’s sound division, Technicolor Sound
Services, off ers sound design for feature fi lms, television
programmes, video games, DVDs and other digital
media from state-of-the-art facilities in London, Toronto,
Hollywood, Paris and Bangkok. Technicolor is shortlisted
in the best broadcast facility category (for its facility
in Lexington, Soho), as well as for best sound in post-
production.
Recognising outstanding achievement in professional
audio, PSNEurope’s Pro Sound Awards return to the
Ministry of Sound nightclub in London for the third time on
Thursday 24 September.
Focusrite (which sponsored February’s PSNPresents
event at the Ham Yard Hotel in Soho), Martin Audio and
Soundcraft are also supporting the event, sponsoring the
studio category, the drinks reception and the rising star
award (see box), respectively.
A range of other sponsorship opportunities – from
headline sponsor to category, red-carpet and afterparty
sponsorship – are also available; contact PSNEurope ad
manager Ryan O’Donnell ([email protected]) or
account manager Rian Zoll-Khan (rzoll-khan@nbmedia.
com) for more details.
For ticket information, email Georgia Blake at
www.prosoundawards.com
www.technicolor.com/london
Tickets are available now for £49, which includes
drinks reception, food, the awards and the afterparty.
And a splendid social occasion!
More information at www.prosoundawards.com
RISING STARSPSNEurope sister title Audio Media International
revealed its 10-person shortlist of up-and-coming
pro-audio ‘rising stars’ last month. As in 2014, the
winner of the award – sponsored again by
Soundcraft – will receive their trophy from
AMI editor Adam Savage on the night.
The fi nalists are:
Stuart Allen-Hynd
Transfer engineer, Jungle Studios
Dean Cross
Head technician, Bucks Students’ Union
Andy Egerton
Monitor engineer (Mumford & Sons, The Maccabees)
Stanley Gabriel
Production director, Spitfi re Audio, and composer/
programmer/engineer
Steve Goodison
Engineer/producer, Old Pig Farm studios, Sheffi eld
Jonas Andreas Jensen
Sound designer, Sony Creative Services Group
Riley MacIntyre
Assistant engineer, The Church Studios
Zoe Martin
FOH and monitor engineer (The Radiophonic
Workshop), teacher at BIMM Brighton
Eric Milos
Owner, Clear Lake Recording Studios, North
Hollywood
Sam Turner
Freelance recording/mixing engineer, SoundQuake
Sponsored by
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P10SEPTEMBER
2015
Vocal channel
Our greatest challenge…
T he pithily accurate comments
of Brit Row MD Bryan Grant
on how audio is undervalued
in last month’s PSNLive
supplement reactivated some dormant
thoughts of my own.
I have felt for many years that the
single greatest challenge facing the
modern live sound industry is that audio –
even great audio – is taken almost entirely
for granted. Outside of our little world
there is virtually no understanding of
what it takes to fill a space with powerful,
controlled and intelligible sound. There
is not the slightest grasp of any of the
underlying technologies nor the skills of
our practitioners, and this manifests itself
in a total lack of how do they do that? – the
fact that, as just one example, a festival-
goer can rock up to some remote off-the-
grid location and enjoy fabulous audio
miles from any utilities is not considered
in any way remarkable.
It’s at least partly our own fault. The
rugged yet modest pragmatism on which
the industry prides itself means that jobs
just get done with the absolute minimum
of drama – no matter where or when or
under what conditions, the show will go
on. The live sound industry is filled with
people who are totally focussed on doing
whatever it takes to make sure that it all
happens, and that is a truly remarkable
yet brutally undersold thing. On top of
this, we are guilty of creating something
of a closed shop. Historically the industry
did not give up its knowledge and secrets
easily, though the doors are much more
open than previously with many more
avenues of entry available to younger
people looking to make a career in live
sound.
Further, and especially in recent
years, we are obliged to compete with
visible technologies that make a greater
immediate impact on the senses. Lights,
lasers, SFX and video are now simply
extraordinary, forming hugely important
parts of many larger shows, and their
ability to dazzle and impress, even if only
fleetingly, always seems to make a bigger
impact on our punters. But, the central
fact remains, no audio equals no show
– no exceptions. Until there is a much
greater understanding of this absolute
value, our profession will continue to be
regarded as the poor production relation.
It’s in all our interests to get this done,
and in my view there is no one better
placed to lead this vital awareness-
raising exercise than our trade
associations. In much the same way
that BEIRG has done an amazing job of
fighting our corner for radio frequency
space, could PLASA, the PSA and
perhaps others lead the charge?
As SSE boss John Penn once wisely
said to me, “No one goes home whistling
the lights...”
What about the artwork?
Plenty of us remember sitting in
front of the stereo, listening to
some killer records and reading
through all that information
on the LP sleeve. We knew the record
label, the publisher, who guested on the
recordings, where the music was recorded,
who mixed it, who mastered it all, what the
lyrics were (if we could figure out what on
earth they were singing about)… Man, what
an amazing amount of real-estate for the
artwork!
Cassette tape inlays brought that
acreage down originally, but you still
had those cool accordion-style fold-outs
containing all the info. The early ’80s
introduced the compact disc; however, we
could still find out everything we needed
about our favourite music.
Now, in the current musical environment
of streaming, we’re not only being deprived
of sonic quality, but none of that ‘cool’
information is available for us to peruse.
On top of that, we’re left with a pitiful inch-
and-a-half of artwork!
That brings us to the question: What
happened to our credits? Months and
sometimes years go into making a
record. The musicians, the songwriters,
the engineers, the producers, the studio
personnel, the backline techs, the
publishers, the management – all part
of the team that ensures you as the
consumer gets the most satisfaction out of
your purchase.
I do realise I’m in danger of sounding
like an old-timer, daydreaming about the
‘good old days’, but I vividly remember
my dad waking me up every day to go
to school with Time on side one of Pink
Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon. The
quality of the sound and the music just
drew me in. Even at that early age, I had to
know more. Who played it, who recorded
it and who was responsible for that
mesmerising album artwork.
Needless to say, this all leaves me
wondering where we stand in today’s
musical fast-ood land: not just artwork
wise, but more importantly with giving
credit where credit is due.
Thanks to the hard work of several
organisations, especially the Grammy
P&E Wing and the MPG, we’re well on the
way to standardising certain sections of
the metadata that is attached to musical
works. The ultimate goal will be that all the
credit- and royalty-based information is
attached and embedded in the files. And,
of course, for the music creators, labels,
graphic designers and software developers
to get together to ensure that all this
information translates cross-platform and
is collated in a database accessible to the
collection agencies in order to guarantee
accurate royalty payments.
And since we’re talking about software
developers, let’s find a funky way to have
artwork ‘pop up’, give you the option to
look through lyrics and credits information
and access links to websites, social media
and extra content. There are hints of
this showing up on the grid, but we need
standardisation. Let’s keep the dialogue
going.
WES MAEBE is a freelance recording, mixing
and mastering engineer and a
board director of the APRS
DAVE WIGGINS is a freelance marketeer and
pro-audio pundit
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www.psneurope.com/business
P12SEPTEMBER
2015
Movers and shakers
Two new sales managers boost systems integration team
Sennheiser UK serious about SI
Sennheiser has made two new
appointments to its UK sales force.
Mark Haigh (left), who most recently
spent 13 years at Bose, and Kevin
Gwyther-Brown, who was head of sales at
Enlightened Lighting, both join Sennheiser UK’s
systems integration (SI) team as channel sales
managers.
Haigh will take on responsibility for the company’s
SI dealers in the Midlands and north of England and
Gwyther-Brown the south and south-west of the UK.
“Mark and Kevin are great additions to the
Sennheiser UK team,” says Simon Holley, sales
director, pro AV and systems integration, at
Sennheiser UK. “We are delighted to welcome them
on board and are looking forward to working together
on some exciting new projects.”
www.sennheiser.co.uk
Aimline, a German manufacturer of digital steerable
loudspeaker columns, has announced that Trius
will become a distributor in Germany. Aimline, which
debuted at ISE in February, is led by a team of veteran
pro-audio professionals including Tobias Schulte
(ex-Tannoy and Turbosound), Nigel Miller (Tannoy and
Tascam) and Claus Behrens (Lab.gruppen, TC Group).
www.aimline-audio.comwww.trius-audio.de
Loud Technologies has named V Hypersound & Light
as its new distributor in Cyprus for its Mackie and Ampeg
brands. “It is both an honour and a privilege to represent
Mackie and Ampeg in Cyprus,” says Hypersound’s
founder, Vassos Mouzouras.“We strongly believe that we
share the same values [and] dedication to quality, service
and innovation, and we look forward to a long-lasting,
fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship.”
www.loudtechinc.comwww.hypersound.com.cy
Michael Kinzel, a pro-audio industry veteran who has
held senior roles at beyerdynamic and Kling & Freitag,
has founded his own company, Kinzel AVL, which will
serve as a Europe-wide sales network and logistics,
marketing, communication and after-sales service for
Chinese manufacturer Tendzone.
www.tendzone.comwww.kinzel-avl.com (coming soon)
DEALER NETWORK
Avid has appointed Paula E. Boggs
to its board of directors. Boggs is
a former lawyer for Starbucks, a
voting member of the US National
Academy of Recording Arts and
Sciences and songwriter/lead
vocalist with the Paula Boggs Band.
www.avid.com
Loud Technologies, the parent
company of Mackie, EAW and
Martin Audio, has announced the
appointment of Larry Pendergrass
to the position of senior vice-
president of engineering of its
music gear group.
www.loudtechinc.com
Peter Robberechts has joined
Riedel Communications as sales
manager for Belgium from
Outside Broadcast’s Mediasense
division. He was previously COO
of production company Talent &
Vision.
www.riedel.net
Lawo has appointed Robert
Charles ‘Chas’ Rowden to head up
its global strategic sales. Rowden,
who has 30 years of experience in
senior sales roles in broadcast and
production, was previously senior
sales manager, EMEA, for Calrec
Audio.
www.lawo.com
Neumann&Müller Event
Technology has named
Stephan Hartmann as the
third member its executive
management team, alongside Prof.
Eberhard Müller and Alexander
Ostermaier. Hartmann joined
Neumann&Müller in 1981.
www.neumannmueller.com
TSL Systems has appointed
Roger Henderson to the role of
CEO. He joins TSL Systems from
Calrec Audio, where he spent
six years as managing director.
He has also worked at Trilogy
Communications, Chyron
Corporation and Ascent Media.
www.tsl.co.uk
P14SEPTEMBER
2015
Get started with Dante at PSNEurope.comThroughout August the PSNEurope website has
hosted Getting Started with Dante, an eight-part
video series which provides a high-level practical
view of Dante audio networking for professionals
and novices alike.
Part one sees Audinate’s Brad Price show
how Dante audio networking is “revolutionising
AV with high performance, low installation costs
and hundreds of products to choose from”. The
remaining installments include a demonstration
of a basic Dante audio network in action, and how
to use Dante controller, the free audio-network
management software from Audinate.
Watch part one at www.psneurope.com/dante-overview.
www.audinate.com
BY JON CHAPPLE
BY JON CHAPPLE
5 September–19 DecemberBritannia Row: Live sound intermediate course
Twickenham, UK
www.britanniarow.com/courses
18–20 SeptemberInternational Conference on Spatial Audio
Graz, Austria
www.tonmeister.de
29 SeptemberInstallFutures
London, UK
www.installfutures.com
20 OctoberSennheiser: Wireless mics and monitoring
essentials
Leighton Buzzard, UK
portal.sennheiser.co.uk/training/course/locale/en/no/21
www.psneurope.com/training
Ampco Flashlight dLivers the goods
A guide to verifying audio system
performance, written by InfoComm
volunteers and industry experts
You developed an audio system for a client that
took many hours to perfect. You step back, gaze
upon your masterpiece and nod in satisfaction.
You’re done, right? Not so fast.
Before you can turn that system over to the
client, you need to verify that its performance
meets requirements – and doing so involves more
than just the system itself. Not only do you need
to test the system, but you should also verify that
the project is in compliance with industry norms.
How do you do that in an organised and sequential
manner?
Read the full article at
www.psneurope.com/now-hear-this
THE ESSENTIALS: NOW HEAR THIS
Ampco Flashlight Sales, a division of Utrecht-based
sales and rental giant Ampco Flashlight Group,
took Allen & Heath’s new dLive digital mixing desk,
launched in June, on a ‘demo tour’ throughout the
Netherlands in August.
The demonstrations were hosted by TM Audio’s
Martijn Verkerk, who visited Utrecht, Assen,
Leeuwarden, Bergen op Zoom and Limbourg with
the new console, which had been two years in
development and off ers twice the speed and power
of its predecessor, the iLive. (TM Audio has been part
of the Ampco Flashlight Group since 2014.)
The Allen & Heath dLive features FPGA
processing at its core, with an array of control,
expansion and networking options, starting from a
base price of €20,000 for a small venue solution to
€30,000 for a larger touring system.
“It really is the ultimate mixing system, with
all the processing tools and power that the most
demanding engineers would expect, and the
fl exibility and networkability to cater for any
application,” said A&H senior project manager Nicola
Beretta in June. “This is coupled with […] what we
believe is the fastest workfl ow in the industry. dLive
is equally at home in fi xed installations, such as a
house of worship or theatre, as it is at festivals and
out touring.”
www.ampco-fl ashlight-sales.nl
www.psneurope.com
P16SEPTEMBER
2015
New products
K-ARRAYKR802
BEYERDYNAMICDT 1770 PRO
What is it?
The “next step in the evolution” of beyerdynamic’s
DT 770 PRO studio/monitoring headphones.
Details:
A triple-layer compound membrane in the DT
1770 PRO reduces unwanted partial vibrations,
allowing increased accuracy in the reproduction
bass and overtone reproduction. Comfort has also
been considered with exchangeable ear cushions
covered with soft velour or artifi cial leather and
a spring-steel headband that is adjustable and
equipped with exchangeable padding.
And another thing…
The included coiled cable and straight cable,
which are part of the basic version, are single-
sided and securely attached to a lockable Mini
XLR connector.
www.beyerdynamic.com
What is it?
K-array’s loudest portable loudspeaker system.
Details:
The self-powered, 142dB KR802 features a pair of
KMT218 2 x 18” subs each with two channels of
2,500W matched to two KY102s with 4”
neodymium speaker elements. The systems
eature two channels of Class D amplifi cation,
housed in the subwoofer. The rear panel provides
input for a balanced line signal, a balanced
microphone signal with phantom power, and
digital signals in AES/EBU protocol, also on an
XLR for ease of cabling.
And another thing…
All DSP functions, including EQ, can be controlled
with remote managing software via USB or RS485
on a standard XLR.
www.k-array.com
SYMETRIXXIN 4, XOUT 4 and XIO 4x4
What is it?
Three new products allowing integrators to quickly
and easily add extra inputs and outputs to their
SymNet DSP systems.
Details:
xIn 4 is an audio input expander for SymNet
Dante-scalable systems featuring four mic/line
inputs with +48 VDC phantom power, while xOut
4 is, similarly, an output expander. Symetrix xIO
4x4 is an audio input/output expander for SymNet
systems sporting four mic/line inputs and four line
outputs.
And another thing…
All three devices are confi gured using the newly
updated SymNet Composer software, eliminating
any requirement for hardware DIP switches, front-
panel menus or third-party software.
www.symetrix.co
What is it?
The latest addition to Roland Pro A/V’s growing
line-up of OHRCA (Open High Resolution Control
Architecture)-based live mixing consoles.
Details:
Measuring under 30” (74cm), the M-5000C off ers the
features of the M-5000 in a smaller footprint for touring,
broadcast, theatre and live performance applications.
And another thing…
The M-5000C will make its European debut on HHB
Communications’ IBC stand this month.
proav.roland.com
ROLAND M-5000C
www.psneurope.com/business
P18SEPTEMBER
2015
The strategic position
Since the launch of the fi rst of its SD range of digital mixing
consoles, DiGiCo’s technical director, John Stadius, and his R&D
team have championed the use of FPGA technology over the
available alternatives. He explains what sent him down this path
– and why he is confi dent it’s still the right one for audio mixing
Hooray, hooray for FPGA
W e used Analog Devices SHARC
DSPs in our fi rst DiGiCo digital
console, the D5 Live, when the
company was formed in 2002. We’d
been using them since 1996 in the post-production
consoles made by Soundtracs, the company bought
and built on by DiGiCo, so it was a technology we
were very familiar with. It was certainly the right one
to continue with at that point, but we were already
investigating diff erent processing options and
deciding what would be the right thing for DiGiCo’s
products in the future.
We decided on the use of FPGAs (fi eld-
programmable gate array chips), which, combined
with our propriety Stealth Digital Processing (DiGiCo’s
fi rst use of a single large-scale FPGA for audio
processing, and another signifi cant development for
us), became the core of the SD range of consoles and
continues to be the heart of the audio in our new S21
console.
Today there are three technologies commonly used
to process audio: DSP, FPGA and, more recently, Intel
or similar X86 processors such as the i7. They all
do a similar job, so why did DiGiCo choose the FPGA
approach over the other two, and how is it still the
best approach?
I’ve already mentioned that DSP has been
around the longest. FPGAs suitable for use as audio
processors became available at the start of the 21st
century, around the same time as the fi rst iterations
of the i7 style of processor. Over the years, all three
technologies have progressed: SHARC DSPs from
Analog Devices are now on their fourth generation,
and the i7 is currently on its fi fth generation, soon
to be sixth. While FPGA vendors have progressed (in
a similar way in terms of hardware), the tools for
compiling the devices have also got more effi cient.
On its own, DSP and Intel chips are similar in
the way they process audio: ie one thing at a time.
Using multiple DSPs means a lot of the work can
now be done in parallel, in a similar way to FPGA,
but the audio engine becomes very complicated and
large – 40 DSP chips takes up a lot of space and are
often spread over multiple printed circuit boards with
interconnections. This can make it less reliable than a
single PCB design with one or two chips, such as our
Stealth engine. It will also require a lot more power
than a single FPGA, creating a lot more heat, which
can create other design risks and challenges.
So what about the Intel approach? The i7 was
designed for desktop PC-type applications, so
it doesn’t have the fl exible I/O functionality for
interfacing to audio devices. The I/O is pretty much
limited to PCIe Ethernet and USB, making interfacing
to standard (non-network) audio interfaces complex.
For example, to create a MADI port, you may need a
special PCIe interface from the CPU to a dedicated
MADI block. This is expensive and requires a lot of
hardware and special driver software. With FPGAs,
you just connect their pins to a simple buff er chip and
you have a MADI I/O. Simplicity in a design like this
often means more long-term reliability and a lower
latency.
The Intel i7 and similar are not easy to scale down
as the complexity of their I/O remains for all levels
of audio engines. It also has a much higher power
consumption than the equivalent FPGA design, which
means an active cooling system is normally required,
as well as an operating system to make it work, and
this can be very expensive to develop time-wise.
You could use a third-party OS but, again, that’s an
additional cost and complication.
In the demands of the live audio world boot time
is also an important factor. When you use an FPGA,
the device can be up and passing audio in a second
or two. This is particularly important after a power
cut. X86 processors require the BIOS to boot fi rst,
followed by its operating system, before fi nally
allowing the audio to fl ow. This is simply too long
when you need to get up and running fast.
What’s more, the FPGA approach requires a single
PCB that can sit within the console surface, using the
same power supplies, reducing the risk of external
connection failure.
Our designs have to stand the test of time so
our users and clients have time to get a return
on their investment. In contrast to this, Intel
processors generally have a limited product life
cycle; they change models every few years. This
www.psneurope.com/business
P19SEPTEMBER
2015
means that a console using them will have to have
its hardware frequently updated or risk being left
behind. Conversely, despite FPGA devices continuing
to evolve, their manufacturers will supply current
versions for between 10 and 20 years and they still
benefit from the enhancements to the development
tools. Our product upgrade program shows how
effective this is, with more features being able to be
added over the lifetime of our products.
It’s often the case that the engine control software
in a PC-based console will be running on one of the
cores of the CPU in the audio engine. This normally
runs on a non-real-time operating system, such as
Windows or Linux. If the control software crashes and
has to be rebooted, the audio will be lost. The only
way around this is to have two processors running
separately, again increasing complexity and cost.
Designing one processor for audio and application
control with no fail-safe is like having all your eggs in
one basket.
It took us five years to make FPGA work exactly
how we wanted it to, but it has so many advantages,
including scalability; a very fast boot time, delivering
almost instant audio; future-proofing, with designs
that can migrate from one generation to another
using common design tools and don’t require an
operating system to run; lower latency; low power
consumption; and the FPGA audio engine is much
simpler to manufacture.
So if they are so good, why doesn’t everyone use
them? The simple answer is the initial development
time. DiGiCo took around five years to develop its first
FPGA-based product. It requires a special skillset to
achieve this. Programming in a high level language
for X86/i7 processors does get a product to market
quicker, but, as we’ve seen, it has disadvantages.
One console manufacturer implied recently, when
discussing their new X86-based product, that it was
simply unfeasible to deliver the number of channels
and processing power that a console would require
using standard DSP or FPGA.
Maybe for them – but Calrec, part of the Audiotonix
Group, has been doing more than their quoted
channel number for years by using a low number of
FPGAs in extremely demanding applications.
There is no doubt that using FPGAs has allowed us
to dramatically expand the capabilities of our entire
SD range without making any changes to the basic
hardware of the product: all upgrades and expansions
have been achieved solely through firmware and
software. This is all down to the use of FPGAs, and is
the simple reason why we will continue to use them
for the foreseeable future.
www.digico.biz
GLASGOW | 20-21 JANUARY, 2016 LEEDS | 10-11 MAY, 2016
John Stadius,
technical director,
DiGiCo
World
www.psneurope.com/studio
P20SEPTEMBER
2015
Studio
Some much-loved outboard and collaborators old and new were involved in the recording of Keith Richards’
first album away from The Rolling Stones for more than two decades, writes David Davies
Return of the Human Riff
S everal lengthy tours with The Rolling Stones
and a best-selling memoir, Life, mean that
Keith Richards has hardly been resting on
his considerable laurels in recent years. But
aside from 2005’s Stones album, A Bigger Bang, and
a few fresh tracks on compilations, new studio work
featuring the iconic guitarist has been decidedly thin on
the ground since the turn of the millennium.
That all changes this month with the release of
Richards’ third solo album – and first since 1992’s Main
Offender – Crosseyed Heart. A hugely enjoyable record
that possesses some of the same exuberant energy
as Stones landmarks such as Exile on Main St, it took
shape in relaxed fashion over three years and finds
him reunited with long-term collaborator, drummer/
producer Steve Jordan.
“After doing all the book promotion, Keith didn’t feel
much like playing and I didn’t think that was right,” says
Jordan. “He’s writing all the time so there were plenty of
songs for us to work with. As the recording developed
it stepped up to two or three days per week, but it had a
very low-key start.”
Joining them on the adventure was engineer Dave
O’Donnell, who has worked with Jordan on several other
projects during the last decade. He confirms that the
record was built around initial live takes featuring just
Richards and Jordan, and observes of the duo that they
are “natural musical brothers. Everything they play is
great, so getting a track was just a matter of fleshing out
the arrangement or the sound.”
Essence of Keith
In keeping with the relaxed mood, recording centred
upon two of the team’s favourite New York studios. After
early sessions at One East Studios, operations shifted to
Studio 1 at Germano Studios – not least because of its
Exigy S412G custom four-way monitor system (“really
one of my favourites in the world”, says Jordan).
To best capture the rootsy, organic sound for which
Richards is renowned, it was decided to track to 2”
tape via a Studer A827 before continuing overdubs
and mixing in Pro Tools. An SSL Duality desk was also
employed during the sessions, albeit primarily for
monitoring.
Plenty of Germano Studios’ classic gear was pressed
into service, including Neve 1081 and 1084 four-band
EQ/mic-pres, as well as Chandler stereo limiters and a
Fairchild 670 compressor “which is all over the record”,
notes O’Donnell.
Recording the primary duo of Richards and Jordan
also involved plenty of tried-and-trusted equipment.
Recording Crosseyed Heart with guitarist Waddy
Wachtel and Steve Jordan on drums (Photo: J. Rose)
Photo: Mark Seliger
www.psneurope.com/studio
P22SEPTEMBER
2015
Studio
Slight of Hand
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Introducing the SSM micro bodypack transmitter.
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25 and 50 mW RF power settings
75 Mhz (3-block) tuning range
Mics selected for Keith included the Shure SM57,
beyerdynamic M160, Telefunken ELA M 251E and Royer
R-121, while Jordan –who had two kits set up at any one
time – was recorded with the Coles 4038, Sennheiser
MD 421-II and Neumann U47, among other mics.
“Some songs they would get in a couple of takes.
Some took longer, simply to work towards the desired
arrangement or to maybe change instruments or the
sound. But performance was never a problem,” says
O’Donnell.
With Richards also singing, playing bass on most
tracks, and contributing keyboards, Crosseyed Heart
is very much the distilled ‘essence of Keith’. Recalls
Jordan: “I realised that what people probably wanted
to hear from a new solo record at this point was more
Keith, so he ended up playing a lot of different parts.”
Nonetheless, there was room for some striking
contributions from friends old and new, including
Norah Jones, Ivan Neville, keyboardists David Paich
and Charles Hodges, and guitarist Waddy Wachtel. On a
poignant note, the album also features some of the final
recorded performances from the Stones’ much-loved
saxophone sideman, Bobby Keys, who passed away last
December.
‘Just a joy’
Mixing took place at both Germano Studios and
another local facility, Brooklyn Recording Studio, before
mastering legend Greg Calbi applied the finishing
touches at Sterling Sound.
“I really feel that we got what we wanted with this
album. Basically, if you’re a fan of rock ’n’ roll you’re
going to love it,” says Jordan, who hopes there will
be some live shows to support the release if other
commitments allow –which, in his case, include a
forthcoming fifth stint as music director for the Emmy
Awards and work on The Verbs’ fourth album, Garage
Sale, with Meegan Voss.
For O’Donnell, the sessions shared much of the
sheer love of music-making that characterised one of
his other recent projects, James Taylor’s Before This
World, which he also produced. “The reality is that with
musicians of this calibre, you set up and capture what
they do as best you can,” he says. “Working with Keith
and Steve, everyone knows what to play and falls into
the mix perfectly. The whole project was just a joy all the
way through.”
Crosseyed Heart is released by Republic Records on
18 September.
I realised that what people probably wanted to hear from a new solo record at this point was more Keith, so he ended up playing a lot of different partsSteve Jordan
Photo: Kevin Mazur
Netherlands
www.psneurope.com/broadcast
P24SEPTEMBER
2015
Show preview
Catch ’em in the RAIW e hate to be the bearer of bad
news, but if you’re reading this it’s
September and (what passed for)
summer is, sadly, all but over.
Still, every cloud and all that: the coming of the ninth
month of 2015 also marks the return of the mother of
all broadcast trade shows, IBC, and with it a whole host
of brand-spanking-new broadcast audio gear.
PSNEurope will, as always, be breaking the big stories
from the event as they happen, but if you can’t wait that
long, or won’t be attending (you really should: they’re
showing Inside Out on the IBC Big Screen on Monday!),
here’s our hopefully-not-too-out-of-date second round-
up of everything we knew at press time. (Read part one
in PSNEurope August 2015.)
Studio furniture specialist Custom Consoles will
showcase a new version of its EditOne desk.
The new EditOne goes beyond a traditional
rectangular confi guration by using sculpted MDF
support panels rather than metal legs. The curved
theme is carried through to the desktop and a raised
monitor shelf.
DPA Microphones, which will bring its NAB-launched
d:facto Interview and d:fi ne In-Ear Broadcast Headset
microphones to IBC, will be running a daily competition,
giving visitors the chance to win a DPA microphone.
Anyone who visits the booth during the day and has
their badge scanned will receive a DPA pin and be
entered into a prize draw.
Genelec’s compact Smart Active Monitoring (SAM)
series of studio monitors will feature in a small 3D audio
set-up at IBC.
The Smart Active Monitor concept off ers its users
automatic acoustic calibration for systems up to 25
speakers and fi ve subwoofers, making it ideal for
multichannel systems. The SAM range consists of three
diff erent products: The 8320A, a two-way system with
a 4” bass driver and ¾” tweeter; the 8330A, also a
two-way system, with a 5” bass driver and 3” tweeter;
and the 7350A, a subwoofer featuring an 8” drive unit
in Genelec´s patented Laminar Spiral Enclosure (LSE)
cabinet.
Products from Merging, PSI Audio, Nagra Audio and
Sonosax – a “display of Swiss excellence” – will feature
on the Merging Technologies stand.
Merging staff will be on hand to show the latest
solutions in its broadcast and post-production range.
“See how Ovation off ers the most powerful solution
for live play-out and show management,” says
Merging, “Pyramix shows why it has been a leader
in DAW technology for so many years and see how
your facility can be dramatically transformed by using
[our] RAVENNA/AES67 networked audio products.”
A demonstration of 3D panning using Pyramix 10
promises to be a stand highlight.
Sennheiser will use IBC 2015 to promote its AVX
wireless microphone system for video cameras.
The compact AVX, launched at NAB in April, plugs
directly into the XLR of a camera where it automatically
pairs with the mic and switches on when the camera
does. It then adjusts the correct audio levels and
transmits using
a specially protected link the
licence free 1.9GHz range.
Soundcraft will show
its Vi5000 and Vi7000
digital mixing consoles.
First seen in Frankfurt in April, the desks replace
the Vi4 and Vi6, respectively, off ering optional 96kHz
processing, upgraded channel counts and improved
hardware reliability.
The Vi5000 and Vi7000 provide a choice of compact
Custom Consoles EditOne
Sennheiser AVX
More of hall 8’s fi nest, battling to banish those September blues
Studer Vista V
P25SEPTEMBER
2015
control surfaces with new local rack and active
breakout box hardware, delivering simultaneous mixing
of up to 128 inputs and 32 mono/stereo buses with
up to 384 I/O, allowing unlimited record feeds from
all channels. Sound quality is assured with ultra-low
noise microphone amplifi er designs and enhanced
96kHz 40bit fl oating point digital audio processing,
with the fi rst-ever digital implementation of the classic
BSS DPR901ii dynamic EQ adding to its channel
processing armoury. Eff ects contain eight independent
Lexicon multi-FX units and a BSS graphic EQ on every
bus output. Both consoles also feature an additional
dedicated 64ch MADI interface for Realtime Rack – a
collaboration with Universal Audio that gives users
access to industry standard UA studio plugins.
The Vista V digital mixing console, built around
Harman sister brand Studer’s Infi nity Core processing
technology, will also be showcased on the same
stand. The 52-fader Vista V is based on the
same Quad Star
technology as its predecessor,
the Vista X, but in a more compact
footprint for smaller studios, OB
trucks and large live productions.
The Infi nity Core uses CPU-
based processors to deliver
800+ audio channels and
more than 5,000 inputs and outputs. The use of these
processors allows for scaling up to even larger channel
counts and for running third-party algorithms, being
able to program in high-level languages like C++ – never
possible when using DSPs and FPGA – speeds up the
time taken to implement new features.
The Infi nity Core also provides 12 high-capacity
A-Link ports (1,536 channels per port) for D23m I/O
integration or direct connection into routing systems
from Artel, Evertz, Riedel and more. The Vista V also
off ers easy integration into most AoIP networks used in
broadcast, including Dante, Livewire and AES67.
Stagetec will unveil an important update for its ON
AIR fl ex broadcast console.
Thanks to the new XACI card, the ON AIR fl ex’s control
logic is now fully embedded into NEXUS, doing away
with the need for an external host PC and boosting its
virtual console-control features.
The Remote User Interface (RUI) is based on web
technologies like JavaScript and Webkit and provides
access to the console’s control logic from almost any
web-savvy device, including mobile devices and tablets,
irrespective of their.
As of IBC 2015 both the control logic and web-based
RUI are available without an external host PC, meaning
the ON AIR fl ex joins other Stagetec consoles that run
their audio and control routines without any help from
an external computer.
Tieline describes its Genie Distribution multi-network
codec as “the world’s fi rst multichannel and multi-
network 1RU codec”. Capable of connecting up to six
simultaneous connections over IP, SIP, ISDN and POTS,
the codec replaces satellite, circuit-switched and MPLS
IP infrastructure and can stream multiple algorithms
simultaneously, at diff erent sample rates and bitrates,
over all network transports.
The Genie Distribution supports up to six
simultaneous EBU N/ACIP tech 3326-compliant SIP
connections and a variety of connections, including 3
x bidirectional stereo connections, 2 x stereo and 2 x
mono bidirectional connections, 1 x stereo and 4 x mono
bidirectional connections and more.
The 2015 International Broadcasting
Convention takes place at the Amsterdam RAI on
10–15 September.
www.ibc.org
(With thanks to Mike Hallinger)
www.psneurope.com/broadcast
Merging Technologies Pyramix 10
Stagetec ON AIR fl ex
Tieline Genie Distribution
Soundcraft
Vi7000
United Kingdom
www.psneurope.com/broadcast
P26SEPTEMBER
2015
Broadcast
The UK’s Digital Production Partnership has issued three reports on new TV delivery technologies, including
one on UHD. DPP’s Andy Quested tells Kevin Hilton what’s in the detail, for surround broadcasting and more
UHD is object of DPP
New television delivery and production
formats have developed over recent years
but now broadcasters are faced with a
shift to higher tech ways of working more
quickly than might have been expected. Connectivity
and transfer of audio and video over IP (AoIP and VoIP)
are being consolidated; ultra high-definition (UHD)
services have been implemented in India and the UK,
with Germany to follow this month. All this is happening
before international standards have been put in place,
with sound in particular still an issue to be fully decided.
National trade bodies are offering interim advice, with
the British Digital Production Partnership (DDP) issuing
three new guides during this August.
The DPP was formed by the BBC, ITV and Channel 4
to agree specifications and guidelines for the delivery of
tapeless, data-based programmes to UK broadcasters.
It has produced advisory documents for SD and HD
productions, covering audio considerations such as
loudness. The three new reports are Ten Things You
Need to Know About Connectivity; Ten Things You Need to
Know About Ultra High Definition; and Home Truths No1:
Reaching Nirvana over IP, a report from the first DPP
at Home event, where 30 industry figures discussed
the claims being made for IP-based production and
broadcast.
The reports are the first to be issued since 1 April,
when the DPP became a not-for-profit limited company.
“The DPP’s mission is to help the broadcasting industry
by easing the transition to digital workflows,” comments
DPP managing director Mark Harrison. “These three
publications show the quality of the industry [and the]
wide expertise the DPP can pull together. They will be an
invaluable resource for our members.”
UHD is the most obviously pressing technology area
where producers, broadcasters and facilities need
guidance. The DPP report on the subject describes
the technology, lists the relevant technical terms and
outlines what effects it will have on TV production. This
includes the main visual selling points of UHD: bigger
pictures, higher frame rates and dynamic range and
wider colour gamut. On the audio side, the situation
is less clear. Although NHK’s 22.2 format has long
been linked to 4K and 8K and recent tests of UHD have
featured 5.1, the current guidelines suggest only stereo
as the sound partner.
This perhaps should not be seen as too shocking.
Speaking to PSNEurope on behalf of the DPP, Andy
Quested, the BBC’s head of technology for HD and
UHD, points out that there was no set audio standard
for HD but 5.1 became a major part of the format. The
BBC has decided on 5.1 as the minimum requirement
for its UHD productions. “There is a big gap where
audio is concerned, although it is closing,” Quested
comments. “5.1 is the minimum for delivery of high-
end programmes through BBC Worldwide. These are
only interim guidelines while we’re working with the
DPP but stereo isn’t good enough to meet audience
expectations.”
The ultimate aim with UHD is to have some form
of immersive surround sound, including a sensation
of height as well as width and length. There were
always doubts about implementing 22.2 because of
the number of loudspeaker channels involved. Quested
observes that even NHK is beginning to question the
viability of the format for production. “We need to find a
more efficient way to deliver surround,” he says. “Fixed
channels are not viable in terms of production. On
something like the Olympics there are many sources
from various locations. These could have different
options when they arrive at the sound desk and each
would have to be reproduced as 22.2. Some sources
will be pre-mixed but there still won’t be enough faders.
We have to think differently about that and how the
audience hears the sound.”
For these early stages of UHD, Quested says there
will be no changes to the audio requirements. “But in
the second phase, when the standards have settled
down, there needs to be a move away from channel-
based operation to objects,” he says. “There will have
to be some form of object-based descriptor for how
the signals being delivered to the home are decoded.
SMPTE and the ITU are looking at this for mapping and
are moving away from channels. If we start with 5.1 and
then move to objects that will be easier.”
While films and high-end drama and documentaries
are clear beneficiaries of immersive sound, Quested
points out that not all programmes will require some
form of enhanced surround: “As we move into object-
based spatial audio there will be anything from two
speakers up to infinite. But there are other issues to
consider, such as audibility. We have an aging population
and we have to be careful with a flexible approach
because we don’t want to upset the audience. What is
good sound for people who know about and work in
audio can be bad for everyone else.”
The DPP reports can be downloaded from the
organisation’s website. Further publications on UHD and
the other subjects are planned for later in the year.
www.digitalproductionpartnership.co.uk
5.1 is the minimum for delivery of high-end programmes through BBC Worldwide … stereo isn’t good enough to meet audience expectationsAndy Quested, BBC
Andy Quested
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www.psneurope.com
P28SEPTEMBER
2015
Feature: Broadcast consoles
Broadcast mixing consoles have not changed massively in appearance of late, despite the wholesale move to digital. The
diff erences lie beneath, with more routing and networking capability. But the main function of the desk is to mix, and that
seems to be more of a priority once again, as Kevin Hilton reports
Strictly mixing
The advent of new technologies on long-
established equipment can often detract
from what the device was originally
designed to do. Over the last five or so
years the traditional mixing console – the core
of the sound control room that is used to take
incoming feeds and mix them into a balanced,
finished output – has been supplemented with
routing and switching functions through having
sophisticated network systems connected to it.
This has come about through the changing nature
of TV programmes and how they are produced. With
increasingly complicated and fast-moving productions,
routing and networking are ever more important.
Interconnection between consoles and routers is
well established in broadcast centres where signals
have to be passed round and shared between various
departments, calling for video and audio switchers and
servers to talk to each other seamlessly. This has now
extended into the mixing desk having its own digital
router that can take feeds from stage boxes in the
studio, and anywhere else inside or outside the studios
complex, before distributing them. v
Now that this combination is established,
manufacturers and users alike are looking to push the
routing function more into the background and give
prominence once again to what the mixing console
– and its operator – was always intended to do: mix.
Not that the situation can go completely back to how it
was before: there is now less of a division between the
mixing and routing functions, and the sound mixer is
responsible for both.
Everything at once
“The blurred line between mixing and routing does
indeed exist,” agrees Phil Owens, eastern US sales
for Wheatstone. “That’s because today’s audio board
is really the user interface for the audio router. That
router, in general, has become more decentralised. An
IP-based system like WheatNet-IP will consist of many
networked I/O and processing devices that can be
spread throughout the facility and beyond, as opposed
to a centralised router cage with I/O cards in the rack
room.”
Owens sees the modern audio system being
divided into functional blocks: acquisition, mixing/
processing and distribution. “The ‘acquisition’ block
is very interesting today,” he says, “because you may
be acquiring mic audio from the next room or remote
audio from [a great distance] away sent to you via IP
Unicast. That mix will also include server playback
sent to you over the in-house LAN. It can include MADI
[multichannel digital audio interface] from an intercom
system or another MADI equipped router. And, of course,
there are still HD/SDI embedded sources. All of these
sources are available on the control surface – aka the
audio board – for mixing and processing.”
Bosse Ternstrom, a sound mixer, producer and R&D
engineer with Swedish (Sveriges) Radio, agrees that
the audio mixer is now responsible for more functions
The George Lucas stage
sound gallery at Elstree now
features a Studer Vista X
www.psneurope.com
P29SEPTEMBER
2015
and runs them all from the audio desk. “Everything has
ended up in our laps,” he comments. “Ever since DAWs
and digital consoles made their way into our lives, more
and more of the functionality is really up to a single
user. Back in the day there were tape machines and
other gear that needed physical assistance, such as
pressing record or loading a tape, using the patchbay
or whatever. All that ended up being done by you, in a
closed environment. It is just you who sees what is being
done and in which order.”
Another trend Ternstrom identifies in what the
modern broadcast console has to do is centralisation,
the dream being that anyone can mix and control
a programme being made in one studio or location
from a control room some distance away. “There is a
very complex structure in the background but it is still
dead simple for the end user,” he explains. “In TV more
resources are centralised, which essentially saves
them a lot of money as they can send small crews to
the actual event and have video mixers, audio mixers,
producers and everybody else in-house, with just a
cameraman and presenters at the site.”
Far away so close
Lawo is currently involved in trials of remote production
in the UK and other European countries using its digital
consoles and the RAVENNA audio-over-IP (AoIP) system.
“RAVENNA is a transport system that can be used for
networking but also on a WAN [wide area network]
basis,” says Barry Revels, Lawo’s UK agent. “In the tests
streams are being sent up and down from football
grounds in the north of England to studios in London,
with remote control over the local mics. It’s a completely
new concept for workflows and efficiency and is based
on devices with IP addresses working end-to-end rather
than point-to-point.”
A key part of this is the Viscon (Visible Connection)
Navigator software that allows all the equipment to be
visualised on the external PC being used for control.
“This doesn’t have to be done through the master
control room, it can come into the audio suite where the
mixing is being done,” Revels says.
There is now a growing trend in broadcasting for
audio control rooms to be able to work with more than
one studio or location, rather than being dedicated to a
specific facility. This has been recognised by most of the
leading console manufacturers, which are producing
more general-purpose desks that can be used for a
variety of applications or simpler consoles for use by
less experienced operators. Lawo launched the mc236
at IBC 2014 for the lower cost market, with features
suited to music mixing as well as on-air broadcast.
“There is not so much control on the user surface but
there are soft buttons that can be used for specific
functions,” says Revels.
Democratising the mixing console
Calrec Audio introduced the desk now branded as the
Summa at IBC 2013, aiming it at local news stations
and lower budget channels that might not have a
trained sound engineer or operator working full-time.
The control surface has been designed to be as simple
as possible so that non-professional or inexperienced
operators – including lighting technicians and
production staff – would be able to run it. To do this, the
channels have been stripped down to the basics, with
features such as input gain made easy to find.
Dave Letson, Calrec’s vice-president of sales, explains
that this style of operation is proving popular for
news and sports programmes: “There is a need to get
fixed-format shows like that on air and they’re being
done without an audio operator. The presenter is often
responsible for putting up his or her own mic but the
director is running the whole show.” Letson adds that
consoles have changed considerable over the past 10
years from being a desk with a patchbay to being linked
The OB market has fully embraced digital consoles
but still needs them to be straightforward and easy to
use by a pool of freelance operators. Arena Television
has expanded its fleet with several new trucks
over the last few years, including the recent OB11,
featuring a Calrec Artemis desk, and OB14, which
broke the mould for the UK market in featuring a
Lawo. The company is in the early stages of building
another truck; OBX will cater for 4K production and
is intended to be as technologically up to date as
possible. Arena’s head of sound, Tim Rowden, says
there are still issues in terms of routers handling both
4K and AoIP. While saying that an IP network is being
considered, Rowden acknowledges analogue will still
play a part with connections on the tail board. “The
console is likely to be a Calrec Apollo,” he says. “We
need a desk to be easy to use with the ability to make
changes on the fly. The main difference will possibly
be some decent ceiling speakers in case we need to
do Dolby Atmos.”
www.arena-tv.com
Console and routing considerations for outside broadcast
The blurred line between mixing and routing does indeed existPhil Owens, Wheatstone
www.psneurope.com
P30SEPTEMBER
2015
Feature: Broadcast consoles
to stage boxes through a routing system. “In that way
the desk is that much nearer the mics today,” he says.
“There’s also the ability to swap studios and control
rooms round and use the console that makes sense for
the studio production.”
A similar approach to this is being used by BBC
Studios and Post Production (S&PP) at its Elstree studio
complex. Three audio control rooms equipped with
Studer Vista 1 desks are able to work with one of four
studios or the main lot during the making of the soap
opera EastEnders. The Vista 1 is a smaller, more basic
version of the larger Studer consoles that BBC S&PP
uses at its studios. “They’re being used by experienced
sound supervisors who are able to concentrate on
setting up and running the desks without getting into
all the detail of the technology,” comments sound
supervisor Andy Tapley [who you may remember from
PSNPresents in March – Ed]. “They’ve got the faders
and a couple of snapshots but the desk is doing more
in the background with remote control by MADI and
embedding and de-embedding, with everything injected
to Avid for editing.”
Tapley says that sound supervisors have always
been responsible for routing and patching sources and
outputs but that now everything is done on a graphical
user interface. “I haven’t plugged a mic source on
double-enders for quite a few years,” he says. “There’s
now huge potential for different scenarios, including
band set-ups and so on.” Tapley adds that while the Vista
1 is good for a soap opera, it would not be the thing for
a light entertainment (LE) extravaganza such as Strictly
Come Dancing.
This show is due to start its ninth run soon and is also
produced at Elstree, only on the big George Lucas stage.
A Vista X has now been installed in the sound gallery
for this production to cope with the large number of
sources that Strictly calls for, including presenter and
competitor mics and miking the live orchestra. “We’re
using RAVENNA to link to Pyramix, with two MADI and
24 AES feeds linking into the Horus interface,” Tapley
explains. “That’s necessary because of the high track
count on big LE shows these days. Strictly has gone
up from 88 to 128. We upgraded the Vista 8 desk to
the Vista X and a lot more is possible now with that
expandability.”
Angst removal
Tapley adds that the greater amount of processing
and automation on modern consoles means operators
can get on with the serious business of mixing rather
than more mundane, albeit important, tasks like
routing: “It takes away the operational angst so you can
concentrate on the content.” A recent innovation that
also gives mixers more freedom is auto-mixing, which
features on many leading desks today. Systems such
as Lawo’s AutoMix and VistaMix from Studer are not
intended to do away with the operator but to deal with
level changes during fast-moving talk shows.
“Mic automixing has become more popular lately,”
Phil Owens at Wheatstone acknowledges. “We have it
built into our D3 and IP64 boards and it provides gain
averaging, gating and ducking on a selected group
of inputs. It balances soft talkers with loud talkers,
downward expands mics not being addressed to reduce
ambient pickup, and allows a host mic to cause guest
mics to duck when the host is speaking. That really
helps in those shouting heads segments.”
Rather than being a replacement for the sound mixer
or a prop for less experienced operators, automixing is
seen as an aid, that allows the engineer to finesse the
mix and not have to keep on riding faders. According
to Dave Letson at Calrec it can also be used creatively:
“In the US one guy used it really gently to mix a quartet
accompanying a female singer-guitarist,” he says.
“Likewise people are using automixing to avoid making
mistakes, such as missing someone speaking on air.”
After a concentrated period of development resulting
in new features for consoles, broadcast sound engineers
and manufacturers alike are realising that technology
can be more effective when it’s less intrusive.
www.bbcstudiosandpostproduction.com
www.calrec.com
www.lawo.com
www.wheatstone.com
Andy Tapley (left) and Tony
Revell mixing Strictly on the
older Vista 8 desk
Germany
www.psneurope.com/live
P32SEPTEMBER
2015
Live
By offering squeezed PA companies and installers high output in a compact footprint, Coda Audio
claims to have created ‘a new category in line arrays’. Jon Chapple felt AiRAY at the big launch
AiRAY vision
It’s mid-July and PSNEurope is sitting on
the grass behind Coda Audio distributor
Audiovation’s HQ in Wenden-Gerlingen, Germany.
It’s a comfortable 26°C and a slightly strange
Teutonic-reggae cover of Wish You Were Here is giving
Coda’s brand-new AiRAY line-array system a workout
less than 100 yards away.
It’s not a bad way to spend a Wednesday morning.
But, as you may have deduced, PSNEurope is not in
Wenden on holiday: rather we’re here to experience
what Coda’s sales and marketing director, Paul Ward,
is calling a “new category in line-array systems”.
The last time PSNEurope was a guest of Coda
was at the October 2012 launch of the AiRAY’s
predecessor, the ViRAY. A medium-sized line
array which incorporates the then-new DDP (Dual
Diaphragm Planar) wave-driver technology, the ViRAY
was seen by many as an ambitious bid from the
Hanover-based manufacturer to seriously challenge
the world’s ‘top five’ established loudspeaker brands.
The ViRAY was well received, with especial praise
for its innovative double-coil compression driver
and star turns at Creamfields festival, the Pro Sound
Awards-nominated WWI musical 14–18 (see PSNLive
2014), comedian Jack Whitehall’s 2014 UK tour and
its recent installation in the Liverpool Philharmonic
Hall (the UK’s first ViRAY install).
Like the ViRAY, the AiRAY (pronounced “eye-ray”) –
first seen at Prolight + Sound in April – incorporates
the DDP driver, a patented evolution of the annular
ring diaphragm driver created by Coda Audio founder
Svetly Alexandrov in 1996, and the AiCOUPLER
sensor-controlled subwoofer technology and linear-
phase DSP processing (called ‘ViCOUPLER’ in the
ViRAY). However, while it may be argued that with
the ViRAY the company was too heavily focussed
on specs appeal (a transgression in which it is by
no means alone), 2015’s Coda Audio is increasingly
occupied with more practical concerns.
Not just about the sound
In a speech to the 85 dealers, distributors and
members of the press assembled in Wenden, in the
Sauerland, about 45 miles from Cologne, Paul Ward
outlined that the AiRAY system, despite its impressive
vital statistics, is “not just about the sound”.
Highlighting savings in truck space and manpower
– two people can rig the system as opposed to
six or more – as well as the associated increase
The AiRAY/ViRAY hangs as seen from the DiGiCo SD10 at the mix position
Placebo FOH engineer Ian Nelson (left) tutors Rawad Saad, the
owner of Coda’s representative in the UAE, Sound on Stage Events
www.psneurope.com/live
P33SEPTEMBER
2015
in profit margins, he emphasises that Coda “wanted to
make something that was relevant to the current market
situation” and “sympathetic to the guys who are [going to
be] using it”.
It’s this that is AiRAY’s primary USP: that of a line-array
system which combines the output of a large-format
system with the flexibility of a compact one – hence ‘a new
category in line arrays’ – to reduce operating costs and
increase the profitability of the sound companies using it.
“AiRAY was conceived to address the growing needs of
system integrators and rental companies alike,” explained
Ward. “No other manufacturer has provided these sonic
results in a lightweight package that has the same footprint
as a dual 8” system.
“AiRAY changes the way the market will look at high-
output sound systems, now and in the future. We wanted to
use our technology to create tangible benefits for the user
without compromise in the performance. This has been
achieved to a level which will set the standard for many
years to come.“
This was then ably demonstrated by Alexandrov on an
X–Y-axis graph – the X axis showing weight/portability, from
“large, heavy, not flexible” to “compact, light, very flexible”,
and the Y output, from “low output” to “very high output”
– which pitted the AiRAY against standard 2 x 12” and 2
x 15” (large and heavy, high output) and 2 x 6.5”
(compact and light, low output). The AiRAY, with a
maximum peak SPL of 148dB from its 40kg boxes,
falls, naturally, somewhere in the top right.
Value for money was also paramount for
Alexandrov’s team when considering how the
AiRAY would be rigged: its integrated three-point
rigging system is designed to reduce investment
cost by sharing system components with the
ViRAY, including the aforementioned SC2-F bass-
extension system and SCP subs, SCV-F flyable
subwoofer and even identical bi-amp cabling.
“Usually a sound system is a package of different
system components like low [-end] extensions,
subwoofers, frames, amplification, etc,” says
Coda’s official launch blurb. “Therefore investing in
a new system requires the purchase of its specific
system components, increasing considerably the
cost. [AiRAY] allows ViRAY users to upgrade easily
to AiRAY using their existing SC2/SCV cabinets,
LINUS RACKs, cables, etc.”
At the Audiovation demos, 12 AiRAY and three
ViRAY boxes per side were complemented by
SC2-F bass extension modules and SCP-F subs.
In a mature industry mostly dominated by a
select few speaker manufacturers, Coda’s pitch
for the AiRAY is refreshingly direct: roughly, ‘We’ll
match Brand X on specs, but we’ll do it a lot more
cost-effectively’.
But PA companies’ operating costs aren’t the
only thing Coda is targeting with the AiRAY. With
potential uses including both large events like
On day two of the launch, Coda also demoed its new dual
8” passive HOPS (High Output Point Source) system.
Introduced at Prolight + Sound 2015, HOPS comes in
two hardware options – HOPST, for mobile applications,
and HOPSi, for permanent installations – and is
optimised for near-field applications in small-to-
medium-sized venues, providing 100° x 100° coverage
for applications including corporate events, product
presentations, exhibitions, small live shows, DJs, small
nightclubs and AV rooms or as stage monitors, frontfills
and under-balconies.
On the HOPS
www.psneurope.com/live
P34SEPTEMBER
2015
Live
festivals and arena shows and small and medium-
sized applications such as corporate events, club
tours or small theatres, the system’s size and weight
(or lack of it) affords it an adaptability lacking in many
larger competitors. According to Coda, the “large
size, weight and inflexibility of [large, high-output]
systems, as well as higher operating costs” has
meant traditionally that “sound companies need to
keep different systems for different applications.
AiRAY changes the rules.”
One rig to rule them all
The company also highlights another ‘unique solution’
where AiRAY excels: in older venues with limited
ceiling-load capacities. In particular, Alexandrov
– who described the system as “the most difficult
product Coda has ever created” –identified Europe’s
historic theatres as a potential install application:
“they are beautiful but weak,” he said, “so they [have
to] fly small, low-output systems [which are lacking in
sound pressure]”.
One attendee also pointed correctly to the AiRAY’s
smaller footprint as being beneficial at festivals and
large outdoor concerts, where organisers want to
block as little of the view of the stage as possible.
In addition to the standard ‘pro-audio demo’
playlist of light jazz, world music, dodgy a capella
cover versions and Phil Collins, the Wenden demos
included two ‘live’ mixing sessions with Placebo’s
FOH engineer, Adlib Audio senior engineer Ian Nelson.
(Adlib is one of two UK Coda dealers and the exclusive
dealer for ViRAY and TiRAY systems.)
Nelson, who has worked with Brian Molko and
Stefan Olsdal’s alt-rock act for almost two decades,
worked his magic on the multis from a recent
live show before handing over his DiGiCo SD10 to
attendees to try their hand at mixing songs like Loud
Like Love and Space Monkey. “If you want to come
down here and show me what a terrible engineer I
am, feel free!” he joked.
Although Wednesday was plenty loud enough, the
system was given more of a workout – although,
Ward assured us, there was plenty more headroom
available – on Thursday morning, when guests were
requested to stand as far away from the speakers
as physically possible without backing into a hedge
and given a bone-rattling blast of U R So Fucked by
Infected Mushroom.
While all on site were impressed – including your
correspondent, whose notes were full of words like
“detailed”, “natural”, “smooth” and “non-fatiguing” even
as his heart vibrated out of his chest – other reactions
were mixed: workers on a nearby industrial estate
phoned to request some AC/DC, while the residents of
a village several kilometres away complained to the
police about the noise. (Tough crowd.)
Still, it’s the customer, not the Sauerlandish
curtain-twitcher, who is always right, and the
response from the former was sufficiently positive
that Coda received several orders on the day,
including from 14-18 hire company Studio Haifax,
which bought 48 AiRAY boxes with four LINUS
RACK40s and 28 SCP subwoofers with four LINUS
10Cs via Benelux distributor Viladco.
“Attendees were very impressed with all
aspects of AiRAY,” says Coda Audio’s Bjoern Marek.
“Audiovation’s demo area is a paved space with a
grassed slope behind to the back of it. When Ian
Nelson put his multitrack mix of Placebo through
the system, people were literally pushed up the hill
because the SPL was so great!”
www.codaaudio.com
Italy
www.psneurope.com/live
P36SEPTEMBER
2015
Live
Look, up in the sky!
On 26 July, in Cesena, near Rimini, Italy,
1,000 musicians (250 drummers, 350
guitarists, 150 bass players and 250
vocalists), selected from applicants from
all over Italy, recorded the Foo Fighters’ song Learn to
Fly in an appeal to the rock band to come and play in
the city.
A seven-minute YouTube clip of the performance,
rounded off by a heartfelt plea from organiser Fabio
Zaffagnini to the members of the band, soon went
viral, with 22 million views at press time (add one
more at youtu.be/JozAmXo2bDE). It quickly reached
the attention of the ‘nicest man in rock’, Dave Grohl
– who responded with a video message humbly
accepting the invitation.
The event, accomplished on a very tight budget
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Provided as standard on Apollo, Artemis and Summa consoles, Hydra2 is yet another reason the world’s most successful broadcasters rely on Calrec.
2 A R T E M I S
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s... a thousand Foo Fighters fans and a whole heap of recording kit in a
park near Rimini. Mike Clark was our man on the ground with viral video-mongers Rockin’ 1000
Penolazzi (left) and Ferrari (All photos: Roberto Ugolini)
www.psneurope.com/live
P37SEPTEMBER
2015
and entitled Rockin’ 1000 was staged in a Cesena park. The
48-track recording of the audio was made by Sandro ‘Amek’
Ferrari and Vanis Dondi, interfaced via ADAT/MADI with the
production set-up.
The rest of the audio team comprised sound designer
Francesco Penolazzi, sound and lighting supervisor Cisko,
Alberto Paderni and Lucio Boiardi Serri of Bluebeet Studio,
responsible for mix and mastering, and Francesco Filomena
(protocol engineer and MIDI specialist).
Penolazzi positioned 48 AKG 414 ULS microphones
overhead throughout the ‘stage area’ in wide cardioid
configuration. (Mic stands were mounted atop wind-up stands
to reach the required height.) The band was thus covered in
sections, obtaining a more selective compact mix. The consoles
used were a Yamaha PM5D + DSP5D (PM5D brain without
control surface) and an 01V96.
On 9m lifts a short distance from the mega band, the audio
team positioned two more 414s (one cardioid and one figure-
of-eight for the ‘MS’ technique), two Sennheiser MKH816
shotguns and two Sennheiser MKH40 cardioids in X–Y mode.
Positioned on a central riser and facing the
1,000 (though barely seen in the video) the
‘guru’ band, who wrote the parts and selected
the musicians, were covered with near-field
placement of four MKH40s, an EV408s, an SM57
on the snare and BSS DI boxes.
The rest of the mics were around 100 classic
Shure SM58s, distributed between vocalists stage
front and elsewhere among the musicians.
As monitors, the vocalists had an Adamson
rig comprising 12 B218 subs and 12 MH-225
mid/high cabinets, supplied by Paride Pironi’s
TD Rent. Point-source speakers, mounted to
give 180° dispersion, were chosen, as line-array
characteristics were deemed to be unsuitable.
Cans for a conventional click track were
only available for 250 musicians, so the other
participants followed a ‘luminous click’ provided
by 12 DTS LED fixtures mounted on the 18’ tower
hosting conductor Marco Sabiu.
Apart from the sheer scale of Rockin’ 1000,
another incredible aspect of the event was that
the crowd of over 2,000 watching the recording
managed to remain silent during the seven takes
in total it took to make the recording and video.
Rockin’ 1000 production manager Claudia
Spadoni comments: “I’ve worked on a lot of large
complex events, but everybody’s enthusiasm for
this event was something you don’t see every
day, and turning a dream into reality was really
magic!”
www.rockin1000.com
L–R: Penolazzi, Zaffagnini and Cisko
Conductor Marco Sabiu
The drum section
France
www.psneurope.com/live
P38SEPTEMBER
2015
Live
France’s Bastille Day spectacular, held
annually in the shadow of the Eiff el Tower,
again sparked huge celebrations this year.
The 2015 quatorze juillet fi reworks display
took on an extra signifi cance as its theme, ‘Paris
Welcomes The World’, was geared very much to the
city’s bid to stage the 2024 Olympic Games.
A classical concert in the Champs de Mars,
presented by the French National Orchestra and
Grand Choir of Radio France (plus soloists) was staged
in front of over 500,000 spectators, with millions
more tuning in to live broadcasts on Radio France and
France 2 TV.
After experiencing problems with sound continuity
in 2014, pristine signal transmission was essential,
so Radio France’s head of sound reinforcement,
Bruno Lompech, contracted Gilles Bouvard’s Events &
Entertainment (GB4D) and tasked it with designing a
sophisticated Optocore network based on a site-wide
dual-redundant ring. The resulting signal transmission
was largely over AES3 and digital MADI, with analogue
back-up made possible by the deployment of Optocore
DD32R-FX and XR6-FX-8MI/LO devices.
Bouvard provided seamless network and audio
signal transmission between several control rooms:
FOH, broadcast, monitor and fi reworks soundtrack.
He says: “The main requirement was to create a
reliable optical fi bre network to eliminate any risk of
electromagnetic interference or use of galvanised
cables between the various points to be connected.”
Out in the fi eld, two Lawo FOH mixing consoles
were linked to Adamson E15 line arrays via Lake
LM44 processors, with an Innovason SY80 console at
the stage. Low latency was the top priority, and in this
respect broadcast preferred an Optocore solution to
other protocols used for delays out in the Champs de
Mars. Meanwhile, analogue broadcast feeds were sent
from a Studer Vista 5 in the Silence OB van.
The recommendation of Bouvard to Radio France
had originally come from sound engineer Stéphane
Pelletier, of PA company Lagoona, who had been
impressed by GB4D’s deployment of the large Optocore
network for the Joan of Arc Festivals in Orleans. (It was
Pelletier who implemented the audio PA system for
Radio France in Paris, assisted by Delphine Hannotin).
Gilles Bouvard, Radio France and Optocore networked up a storm in the shadow of la tour Eiff el for Bastille Day
Tower of power
www.psneurope.com/live
Following his appointment, Bouvard
got to work designing a complex
schematic which was presented to
Laurent Fracchia, sound director at
Radio France, and other FOH sound
engineers, and the Optocore network
principle was adopted.
For his television sound mix,
Fracchia needed analogue converters
in the form of two Optocore X6R-FX-
8MI/8LO because only four MADI ports
were available on Silence’s Vista 5, and
these were required for stageboxes
and multitrack recorders. Analogue
audience mics were also captured and
distributed via the Optocore preamps.
The Vista 5, meanwhile, streamed
orchestra, choirs and final mix to
FOH, where all mixing consoles were
connected to the Optocore network
via MADI. This protocol was recovered
via three Optocore DD2FR-FX: two for
the Lawo NOVA routing system, which
was connected to both Lawo MCe32
and MCe 24 consoles, and one for the
Yamaha DM1000, which was equipped
with a 16 I/O MADI card.
While the DM1000 handled
advertising play-ins and firework
soundtracks, both Lawo desks
were used to capture live the Grand
Orchestra and Great Choir of Radio
France (and soloists).
In total six DD32R-FX interfaces
were deployed, along with two older
X6P-8MI/8LO – connected to AES ports
of the DD32R-FX – three DD2FR-FX and
six X6R-FX-8MI/8LO.
Both the Lake LM44 processors and
Lab.gruppen PLM20000Q amps were
connected to the Optocore network via
AES3 from a DD32R-FX with analogue
back-up.
Finally, production also used
analogue video monitoring devices,
utilising composite video I/O built
into the DD32R-FX and DD2FR-FX, for
control in the OB van, FOH and the
fireworks soundtrack.
Lompech states: “The Optocore
solution not only brought us the peace
of mind necessary for an event of
this magnitude, but the technology
itself, the simple implementation and
security against external interference
through the use of the fibre were all
huge advantages.
“I was also impressed by the
minimal latency time for the routing
of signals – whether they be analogue,
digital or in the MADI format.”
Lompech’s original request had
been merely to set up a number of
secure signal transport topologies
from the console to the various control
locations. “But we realised we could
use the Optocore network to route
signals from the ambient mics to
the mobile recording unit and also to
connect the outputs of the console
returns to the stage monitor amps,” he
observes. “Finally, we were able to use
the Optocore network for routing and
analogue video signal control.”
He adds that for the future he
is already considering a more
comprehensive solution where the
whole transport of microphone
recording can be entrusted to the
network. “With the MADI protocol
being present on most consoles,
signal transport time being so fast and
Optocore’s preamps corresponding to
our expectations, a sharing of resources
will produce an even more qualitative
solution. In terms of installation this will
greatly simplify the task.”
Such is the strength of their resource
that GB4D were simultaneously
handling a similar Bastille Day festival
in the city of Toulouse, where they used
22 Optocore devices to cover distances
of up to 6km (3.7mi). “The reason we are
able to undertake such large projects
requiring Optocore is because we have
18km of quad single-mode optical fibre
in our rental fleet,” concludes Bouvard.
www.optocore.com
www.gillesbouvard.com
www.radiofrance.fr
Gilles Bouvard (left) and Radio France’s Bruno Lompech
Republic of Ireland
www.psneurope.com/live
P40 SEPTEMBER
2015
Live
An Outline C-12 system driven by Powersoft X
amplifiers for the very first time. The result?
Perfection, suggests Michael Burns
Outline takes field for Carreras and Jenkins
This summer saw the City of Cork Symphony Orchestra (CCSO) at Cork’s
legendary Musgrave Park for a blockbuster concert. Superstar Welsh
mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins and Spanish tenor José Carreras
performed full sets with the CCSO, with Outline’s GTO C-12 also showing
true star talent in tackling a tricky venue.
Dublin-based EQ Audio and Events has supplied events in Musgrave Park, a well-
established fixture in Irish rugby, on previous occasions, but, as production manager
Shay Hannon found out, a new grandstand had been built over the winter months.
“We treated it like a new venue when commenced the design for this show,” says
Hannon. “One of the main challenges was its proximity to residential properties - and
ensuring that we had no audio spillover at these properties. Thankfully, with Outline’s
OpenArray 3D software package, this issue was able to be addressed in the advanced
stage of the project and the system was exactly as predicted.”
Steven Carr, FOH for Katherine Jenkins for the past five years approved of the PA
design. “The venue is primarily used as a sports ground but the production team made
a decent attempt at turning it into a concert venue,” says Carr. “The main acoustic
challenges were caused by the reflective nature of the grandstands themselves and the
varying height at which the audience members were located, making coverage tricky.”
“We used 12 Outline GTO C-12 per side for the main left and right hangs, with some
Outline Butterfly CDH-483 cabinets for fills,” Hannon explains. “Outfill hangs comprised
10 CDH-483s per side, with some shadow fills behind FOH mix, again, with CDH-483
cabs.”
“All the CDH-483s were powered with (Powersoft rebadged) Outline T7 amps, while
the GTO C-12s were powered by the brand new Powersoft X8 amplifiers,” he adds.
EQ’s Outline kit had been supplied by CUK Audio, whose live sound brand manager
Rich Soper was under no illusion why Hannon had gone with this choice for the PA. “A
very consistent and transparent sound was needed with a very even coverage and zero
coloration,” says Soper. “That’s why EQ chose to deploy C12.”
“As usual it stunned everyone that heard it,” continues Soper. “The riggers love it as
the integrated rigging system is a thing of beauty, it goes up incredibly quickly.
“At 70kg per box you can get an awful lot of SPL hanging on a one-ton point for the
smaller jobs. Considering its SPL is the same as ‘the market-leading large-format
system’ but the size is much smaller and the physical size of the amps are so small, it
greatly reduces set up times and transport costs.”
The Powersoft amps also proved to be a good choice. “The X Series were amazing
in terms of power output, ease of use - and much to the delight of the site manager - a
huge saving in generator fuel,” says Hannon. “To be able to power 24 GTO and 16 GTO
Subs using six amplifiers makes the X Series an essential tool for the touring market.
“Even though we had used the system before in the same venue, it didn’t cease
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P41SEPTEMBER
2015
to amaze in terms of its performance. The vocal clarity and tone was second to
none and the excellent HF throw and coverage of the the GTO C-12 stunned José
Carreras’s FOH engineer, Peter Schneekloth.”
Indeed, Schneekloth, who has worked with Carreras for 14 years, gave a one-word
response – “perfect” – when asked how well the Powersoft X Series amps worked
with the Outline GTO C12 system.
“The system delivered a very good sound as a starting point, so I only had to make
some phase-alignment and fine tuning of EQ,” says the engineer. “I just added my
Lexicon PCM reverb plug-in with an RME interface for orchestra and vocal reverb. I also
had two custom-modified dbx376 valve preamps with de-essers.
“The centre, frontfills, outfills and subs were mixed via separate auxes. Usually
I prefer to do the main mix all by myself, but in Cork it was a big pleasure working
together with Steven Carr.”
Carr had an Avid Profile at FOH for Katherine Jenkins. “There was a Midas H3000
looking after onstage monitoring,” he adds. “We had d&b M4s as wedges and the
vocal mics were all Schoeps mk4. When I arrived on the morning of the show I walked
around and made some EQ and level adjustments using a combination of my ears and
acoustic measurement software.”
Overall Schneekloth said the coverage was “very even”. “We had a grandstand at
one side, with nothing on the other, so it was an asymmetric venue,” he says, “and the
grandstand was relatively big compared to the stalls area.”
“We made a few changes with the outfills for the grandstand, but the rest worked
from the beginning very well. It was a great help to work with the engineers and
technicians from EQ Audio, as well as the support of Francesco Ferretti from Outline.”
“The benefits of a system like the Outline I used are clear,” concludes Carr. “Good
sound quality, good efficiency and plenty of headroom. All the guys onsite were very
helpful and keen to make the show a success. I was very grateful for that.”
www.outlinearray.com
www.eqaudioandevents.com
Italy
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P42SEPTEMBER
2015
Installation
Phil Ward follows the Yellow Brick Road to Rome and meets the Wizard of Bose
The Interpretation of Themes
Sigmund Freud may have focussed on
the unconscious, but more important in
today’s themed world of entertainment
and distraction is the very conscious
engineering of customer experience – and, as just
one part of a multimedia supply chain, pro audio is
getting very good at it.
A theme park, for such is the famous old Italian
film studio Cinecittà nowadays, is in many ways
the ideal place to showcase a broad catalogue of
professional loudspeakers. The sheer variation in
acoustic spaces – you could say the many different
areas of experience in-fill – constitute the full set
of demands that any single project could have.
Consequently all the solutions are laid out under
one roof or, in a place like this, one sky and scores of
rooves from sound-stages-turned-theatres to, yes,
the inside of a submarine.
Ambient speakers put sound effects in odd
corners. Outdoor speakers make the hedgerows and
fences talk and sing, providing cues for actors and
other scheduled events that transform typical days
here into a kind of surreal calendar that Freud would
have loved. Small, medium and large stages spring
up everywhere for various shows, needing all levels
of sound reinforcement from simple to large – and,
since this is a flagship Bose Professional installation,
that means all the way from portable L1 Compact
arrays to every size of Panaray models and full-scale
RoomMatch hangs.
The different areas of the park are largely
dedicated to one film genre or another, associated
with the golden years of Cinecittà’s output. Not just
Spaghetti Westerns, then – also Gnocchi Horrors,
Spirali Sci-Fis and Ravioli Rom-Coms. Cinecittà
World’s ‘Main Street’ is modelled on 1920s New
York, complete with cops and gangsters, but another
zone which recreates an Old West town is the first
promenade wherein visitors encounter original
music written by Spaghetti Western legend Ennio
Morricone. It comes to them via 20 Bose Panaray
402-II outdoor mid-highs and 10 MB12 subs, delayed
and programmed via the unique combination of
Bose’s ControlSpace signal processing, MediaMatrix
and Dante networking – as is the whole park. Remote
control access is everywhere, and all is zoned,
planned and programmed.
Except, that is, for the daily Enigma show in Teatro
1, once used for the filming of Joseph Mankiewicz’s
Cleopatra among many other Cinecittà triumphs.
It’s an independent system, but it’s one of Bose
Professional’s signature standalone theatre installs
and deals with a lot more than the Queen of Egypt.
“It’s a nice show,” observes Akira Mochimaru,
general manager of Bose Professional, who toured
the facility a week before PSNEurope, “but it’s mostly
playback. Acoustically, this huge sound stage – like
an aircraft hangar – is not very friendly. The system’s
doing a good job, especially with a reverberation time
of about four seconds. RoomMatch is managing to
The idea behind the park was to keep the spirit of movies alive after the studio effectively closedRiccardo Capo, Cinecittà World
The outdoor stage has left and right
clusters of RoomMatch modules
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P43SEPTEMBER
2015
control that.”
There are 16 RoomMatch modules, 10 RMS215
bass modules, eight RMS218 subs, six RMU208
front fills, 14 PowerMatch PM8500N networkable
amplifiers and four ControlSpace processors with
Dante cards. Enigma is mixed on a Yamaha QL5,
and there’s another one in Teatro 4 where a smaller
sound reinforcement system hangs six RoomMatch
modules, with four RMS215s, four RMS218s, six
PowerMatch PM8500Ns and one ControlSpace DSP
with Dante.
Cinecittà World puts on this multimedia confection
every day, but the space is eminently useable for
medium-scale concerts and tours passing through
the area. It’s not clear yet how the commercial
relationship between the theme park and the real
world will evolve, but the potential is vivid. Once
filming of a remake of Ben Hur is completed, in the
wider expanses of the site still used as an actual
backlot, the park will add more zones and attractions
until half of Lazio contributes to the illusion.
The current expanse of the park makes good use
of the latest DSP technology. Federico Carnevale,
professional and live music account manager at Bose,
explains the invisible web of sound. “MediaMatrix
routes the signals from the audio players to all the
zones, and is also on the Dante network,” he says. “So
we have several amplifier racks in different zones,
but they’re all connected to the network. Typically, one
processor has a range of amplifiers with different IP
addresses. From MediaMatrix you can route a signal
to each address or to a single channel or a choice of
channels, enabling you to distribute the audio signals
on the network.”
“So the amps are not all together in one control
room; they’re located all around the park,” adds Paolo
D’Innocenzo, Bose Professional’s sales manager for
Italy. “There are about 10 nodes: at every node there
is one rack of amplifiers and MediaMatrix hardware,
and every node is connected via Dante. Dante is the
‘cloud’ that manages all the signals.”
There are short cable runs between the
loudspeakers and the closest amp rack, and then a
fibre-optic link between the racks and one control
room that contains all of the signal sources: the
fibre ring was put in earlier, with a channel set aside
for audio.
“MediaMatrix is the audio management system,”
continues D’Innocenzo, “giving the amplifiers their
signals, and we placed the amps to optimise the
cable lengths from the control room. With so many
nodes, the cost of the cabling was high: one of the
aims of the design – conceived and executed by our
technical manager Moreno Zampieri – was to keep
this cost to a minimum. The amplifier positioning
therefore ensures the least amount of cabling from
the control room to all the speakers.”
There are two wi-fi networks, too: one is for
visitors, so they can look up whether it was George
Cole or Peter Ustinov who played Flavius in that
aforementioned Pharoah fable; and the other is for
services, via which the audio team can access single
nodes and modify channels, settings and signal
sources using an iPad. This is in fact V-LAN, Yamaha’s
proprietary local area network, and there is a QL3
console in the control room overlooking the central
piazza. In a very modern way, it acts as an automated
hub rather than a board operated by the equivalent of
a FOH engineer.
There is, however, a direct visual link from here to
the largest outdoor stage, spread between two of the
sound stage-cum-theatres and facing the piazza and
its cooling fountains, with left and right clusters of
eight RoomMatch modules each and 16 RMS215 bass
enclosures. But mixing is done on the ground, iPad in
hand, dodging the kids as they run in and out of the
fountains like screaming otters – just your everyday
sound engineering challenge in a place like this.
Even the bubbles are on the Dante network, actually.
This stage is also on the network, so in between
the regular outdoor performances it locks into the
background music system and keeps the fountain of
audio flowing at all times.
Riccardo Capo, general manager of Cinecittà World,
has long experience in theme park management
but acknowledges that this is the only one in Italy
with such a focussed identity. “This was the second
Cinecittà site,” he reveals, “built by the great producer
Dino De Laurentiis in 1960, and many famous
international films were shot here. The idea behind
the park was to keep the spirit of movies alive,
after the studio effectively closed. Unlike Universal,
for example, we don’t base the zones on specific
films – only the genres, in broader terms. It’s our
interpretation of the various themes.”
It was the recently deceased George Cole,
by the way.
pro.bose.com
More zones and attractions are due to be added to the parkComposer Ennio Morricone (red shirt) tours Cinecittà
The outdoor stage has left and right clusters of RoomMatch Bose Professional’s Paolo D’Innocenzo (left) and Federico Carnevale
Belgium
www.psneurope.com/installation
P44SEPTEMBER
2015
Installation
Custom Renkus-Heinz speakers provide the thunder at the 4,000sqm Plopsaqua water
park in De Panne, which opened in March, reports Marc Maes
Top of the PlopsP lopsaqua is the Plopsa group’s first water
park. Located near the popular Plopsaland
De Panne theme park on the Belgian coast,
Plopsaqua is backed by a private-public
partnership, with De Panne’s local authority granting an
annual dotation in turn for special rates for the seaside
town’s residents. The subtropical water park has a
capacity of 1,250 on its 4,000sqm site.
“We didn’t want to build a traditional indoor
swimming pool,” explains Plopsaqua project manager
Steve van Camp. “The average indoor water parks all
have a glass ceiling, palm trees, slides and wild water
rivers. We opted for a closed construction, allowing us
to implement and control special effects. The project’s
sound design was assigned to Face; together with
[lighting company] Painting with Light they took on the
challenge, and the result is astonishing.”
Having worked with Plopsa in its other parks (three
in Belgium, one in Coevorden in the Netherlands and
the Holiday Park in Hassloch, Germany), Face was the
obvious partner when it came to sound reinforcement
for Plopsaqua.
In addition to an interactive ‘disco slide’ and the 65ft
Sky Drop – “the highest point on the Flemish coast!” –
Plopsa wanted to incorporate a storm pool with waves,
thunder and lightning.
“The thunderstorm is reproduced by a Renkus-
Heinz CFX81 speakers, driven by Powersoft amplifiers,
processed by Media Matrix NION and programmed
by a TiMax 2 SoundHub,” explains Steven Kemland,
Face’s project division manager. “In the months before
the opening, we upgraded the main Plopsaland park’s
complete audio system. We replaced the existing
network with four Media Matrix NIONs taking on the
sound control for each of the park’s thematic zones,
‘Mayaland’ and the 2,000-seater event hall.
“Each individual zone, and some of the main
attractions in the park have a dedicated playlist, with the
Media Matrix triggering individual sound files and sound
effects. The Media Matrix’s X-DAB bus feature allows us
to control up to 512 channels. And, of course, the system
serves as a PA system for [pre-recorded or live] safety
or emergency messages for the public.”
A fifth Media Matrix NION was installed in the
Plopsaqua park. “The challenge here was to create a
genuine thunder storm, moving over the storm bath
and exploding above the 15m x 15m rain-shower zone
before softly fading away,” continues Kemland.
With a constant water/air temperature of 30°C, the
project required extra measures to counter the chemical
reactions provoked by chlorine in the pool. Speakers,
rigging and components had to be treated to withstand
the harmful combination of moisture, high temperatures
and chlorine. Sixteen custom chlorine-proof Renkus-
Heinz CFX81 speakers were flown above the storm
bath. “The speakers are in a special chemical finish,
and so is every bolt and plug used in the rigging,” says
Wickie the Viking (he’s the chap in the longboat) is the water park’s mascot (Photo: Plopsa)
Face used chemically treated rigging for the Renkus-Heinz speakers
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P46SEPTEMBER
2015
Installation
Kemland. “The system complies with the strict safety
parameters used in these environments.
“Another problem was the acoustics: traditional
acoustic ceiling panels would suffer from the chlorine.
The solution was to surround the pool with a specially
treated 150m-wide waterproof Showtex backdrop.”
Despite their compact size the Renkus-Heinz CFX81
cabinets, with a powerful 8” woofer and 1 HF driver,
were the best choice for the project: Kemland used the
SoundHub to create the thunderstorm effect and its
roll-out across the 16 speakers. “Instead of steering the
sound over individual speakers, the TiMax uses the full
configuration, creating a realistic surround effect of a
tropical storm,” he says. “Stijn Vermeiren, Face’s project
engineer, had a difficult task to fulfil [Plopsa’s vision for]
the concept, but he did!”
The speakers were powered by Powersoft Ottocanali
4K4 DSP+D amplifiers. “The big advantage of these
eight-channel amplifiers is their compact size and
that they have the Dante protocol on board,” says
Kemland, adding that Face also has responsibility for
maintenance for all of the Plopsa parks. “And with both
the MediaMatrix NION and the TiMax using Dante as
well, we have full control over the whole chain. A Dante-
enabled special effects PC records the show with MOTU
Digital Performer software; the signal is then routed,
using Dante, via the NION, to the amplifier,”
Plopsaqua’s initial visitor target of 250,000 per
year was modest: almost 100,000 people came
to experience the park within three months of its
opening, and plans are now underway to open a Plopsa
‘Aquapark’ in the Plopsa Holiday Park in Hassloch,
Germany.
“This project is the result of years of experience and
a professional approach, making this thematic water
park one of kind,” concludes Van Camp.
www.plopsa.be
www.face.be
www.outboard.co.uk
www.peaveycommercialaudio.com
www.powersoft-audio.com
www.renkus-heinz.com
The park has already welcomed 100,000 visitors (Photo: Plopsa)
The MediaMatrix and Powersoft
amplifiers are placed in one rack
The chlorine-proof Renkus-Heinz speakers are flown over the storm bath (Photo: Face)
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Germany
www.psneurope.com/installation
P48SEPTEMBER
2015
Installation
Stage Entertainment’s Andreas Hammerich and Michel Weber commissioned
an “impressive” all-KV2 system for Stuttgart’s SI-Centrum theatre
That’s entertainment
A fter being impressed by demos of KV2
Audio systems at Prolight + Sound in
April, Andreas Hammerich and Michel
Weber, theatrical sound coordinators for
German production company Stage Entertainment,
began discussions with award-winning sound designers
Rick Clarke, John Shivers and David Patridge about the
possibility of implementing KV2 sound reinforcement
into its forthcoming shows.
An opportunity arose at the modern SI-Centrum
Stuttgart, an 1800-plus-seat venue opposite the
Apollo Theatre, which required sound design for a new
production of the musical Chicago. The brief was to
design a new sound system that could deliver clear and
concise dialogue combined with dynamic
orchestration.
“My focus was to achieve consistent
and transparent coverage of the whole
theatre so the sound appeared to becoming
directly from the stage, not the PA,” explains
Andy Austin-Brown, KV2 Audio’s technical
projects director, who assisted in designing
the system. “It needed especially to
perform adequately with low-level signals,
delivering them clearly to every seat in
the house.”
Austin-Brown implemented KV2 Audio’s
ESR215 full-range theatre solution,
enhanced by ES2.6 subwoofers, EX12
centre and stage infi lls and multiple EX6 enclosures for
stage monitoring and frontfi lls.
The full system comprised four ESR215s – each
consisting of two front-loaded 15“ speakers with an
8” midrange and 3” compression driver, driven by an
ESR3000 amp incorporating all amplifi cation, EQ and
fi ltering – fl own in an upper and lower pair left and right
of the main auditorium; two double 15“ subwoofers (an
EX2.5 Active and ES2.6 slave were fl own centrally); four
Active EX12s fl own either side of the subs as downfi lls
to cover the front-central rows; and fi ve ESD6s used
across the front of stage for frontfi lls, driven by an
ESP2000.
“The results of our cooperation are impressive,” says
Andreas Hammerich. “We received nothing but positive
feedback from the offi cial opening night, and I’d like
to thank all concerned.”
www.kv2audio.com
www.stage-entertainment.de
John Shivers was given the chance to experience
the Royal Alexander Theatre Toronto’s newly
installed ESR-series system for its production
of Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Kinky
Boots, running until 8 November.
“I am really impressed with the overall sound
quality produced by the ESR215,” comments
Shivers. “The sound is just fantastic, with vocals
sounding natural and with excellent clarity. The
excellent performances from the actors on stage
and the musicians in the pit make for a sound that
is nothing less than spectacular.”The SI-Centrum has been equipped with a KV2 ESR215 full-range theatre
solution, enhanced by ES2.6 subwoofers, EX12 fi lls and EX6 stage monitoring
The 1800-seat SI-Centrum Stuttgart is host
to a new version of the musical Chicago
www.psneurope.com/installation
P50SEPTEMBER
2015
Installation
Church & Sound gave Berlin’s Gedächtniskirche a fully networked Symetrix-centred audio overhaul
Dante on up the Kaiser
The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
(Kaiswer-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche) is
a well-known Protestant church and a
landmark of west Berlin. Built in the 1890s,
it was badly damaged during bombing raids in 1943
and rebuilt and completed in 1963. The damaged
spire of the old church has been retained and the
ground floor transformed into a memorial hall, giving
a unique appearance nicknamed the ‘hollow tooth’
by locals, while day-to-day worship activities take
place in glass-panelled buildings on either side, which
feature over 21,000 stained-glass tiles.
As the 1,000-seater church is often used for
concerts and recitals alongside regular worship
services, the building management committee were
acutely aware of the archaic audio system’s pitfalls
and knew that required speech intelligibility levels
were not being met. Given that the building hosts
many foreign visitors and dignitaries, the audio
system was a priority for renewal. The need for this
was especially noticeable during the changeover
between service types, which regularly exceeded the
allocated 20-minute period. To deliver a solution, the
church brought on Rainer Zincke, the owner of Berlin-
based systems integrator Church & Sound, who has
significant experience in pro-audio system design for
acoustically and aesthetically challenging spaces such
as houses of worship.
Zincke specified a modern line-array loudspeaker
system with digital beam-steering capabilities in
the form of Fohhn Lfi 450 column units powered by
Fohhn DSP-equipped system amplifiers. A Fohhn
network bridge, installed to handle the monitoring and
management of the digitally steerable loudspeakers,
is controlled by serial output strings from a Symetrix
SymNet Radius 12x8 DSP. The network bridge recalls
specific presets from the Fohhn amplifiers and
matches them to the varying acoustical requirements
of each specific event. To ensure user-intuitiveness,
all controls demands are handled through the SymNet
Radius 12x8 DSP via a rack-mounted Axiomtek GOT
5100T-830 10.4” touchscreen running Symetrix’s
Windows-based SymVue GUI application. For
redundancy and more concise control options a set of
hardware remotes, including Symetrix ARC-SW4e and
ARC-K1e units, are provided around the building and
mounted into single-gang EU wall sockets.
Programmed by Riccardo Pusch with support
from Trius Audio’s Udo Stoof, the SymNet Radius
12x8 handles site-wide zoning, level control, preset
selection and system management. Due to Symetrix’s
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P51SEPTEMBER
2015
support for Audinate’s Dante media networking
technology, Zincke also selected other Dante-
supporting components for the system – including an
Allen & Heath GLD 80 for live events, such as gospel
recitals, and Shure ULX-D handheld and bodypack
systems – alongside non-networked products such as
various AUDIX M-series condenser microphones.
Because of the vast number of inputs required for
the church, Church & Sound staff opted to expand the
pre-determined I/O count of SymNet Radius 12x8 by
adding input and output expansion devices including
SymNet xIn 12 and xOut 12, which offer flexibility for
the system to grow and be added to should the need
arise. When a live event preset is triggered, inputs
from the SymNet xIn 12 are switched from being
routed to the SymNet Radius 12x8 DSP and are sent
instead to the GLD 80 where they can be mixed by a
duty engineer. The solution has proved to work very
well for the venue, dramatically reducing changeover
time and increasing efficiency.
“[SymNet] required a very low learning curve and
delivers significant capabilities with over 600 virtual
DSP options to choose from,” comments Zincke. “For
us, an important feature was that the SymVue GUI is
included completely free and delivers tailored remote
control options for easy end-user operation, saving
additional costs normally required for third-party
control systems.”
www.church-and-sound.com
www.fohhn.com
www.gedaechtniskirche-berlin.de
www.symetrix.co
The 120-year-old church’s ‘hollow tooth’
was badly damaged by Allied bombs in 1943
www.psneurope.com
P52SEPTEMBER
2015
Feature: Stadiums
Increasingly demanding technical expectations and a busy calendar of major sporting events
have helped to keep the stadium market busy these past few years. But to what extent can the
sector be considered a pace-setter for innovation when it comes to audio, asks David Davies
Making a song and dance about stadiums
I f one was to compile a list of the 100 most
important public buildings of modern times, then it
is a fair guess that at least a fi fth of these would be
stadiums or arenas. Moreover, to think about this
portion of construction would also be to paint a portrait
of the contemporary sporting calendar, with the Fifa
World Cup and the Olympics among the tournaments to
have prompted both new-builds and refurbishments.
Whatever your views on the long-term ‘legacy’
of global sports gatherings, these events have
certainly resulted in some architecturally-striking and
technologically-advanced stadiums – from the Olympic
Stadium in London built ahead of the 2012 Olympics
to the fi ve new stadiums established in Brazil ahead of
the 2014 Fifa World Cup, as well as the many facilities
upgraded ahead of major tournaments, such as the FNB
Stadium in Johannesburg, which featured in the 2010
World Cup.
Many sporting organisations, including Fifa and
the Union of European Football Associations (Uefa),
have extensive technical requirements that play a
fundamental role in shaping the construction of new
venues, while standards such as EN54 for fi re detection
and fi re alarm operation are also increasingly critical.
But designers and consultants are also seeking to
enhance stadiums in numerous other ways – and many
of these pivot around sound-related improvements.
Raising standards
All suppliers who spoke to PSNEurope confi rmed
that there has lately been a general raising of audio
specifi cation in both new-builds and refurbs, with the
multipurpose nature of many contemporary venues
helping to determine system selection.
“The demand is increasingly oriented towards
versatile, high-performance systems,” confi rms
Antonio Ferrari, market manager, audio contractor
and director of the engineering support group at
RCF. “Customers’ requirements often include a good
acoustic performance both for entertainment and
[emergency] paging. The diff usion of high-quality music
and announcements plays a key role, along with the
increasing importance of having systems be compliant
with European norms for emergency paging.”
Ferrari confi rms that Fifa and Uefa requirements
are becoming “more and more popular even when the
stadiums will probably not host the World Cup or the
Champions League, because they are perceived as
marks of top level acoustic performance.”
Over at Lab.gruppen, product engineering manager
Håkan Gustafsson and product research manager
Klas Dalbjorn acknowledge what they describe as
The demand for new audio systems bound for installation in stadiums has increased dramatically in the last one-and-a-half to two yearsStuart Schatz, Bosch Security Systems
Baku Olympic Stadium, which hosted the recent European Games
www.psneurope.com
P53SEPTEMBER
2015
“an increased demand for higher SPL and higher
audio quality at stadiums. To lift the total experience
for the audience, more music and show elements are
integrated into the sports event. Sponsors also demand
good clarity and impressive delivery of their content.”
It is true to say that this month’s most important
sporting event, the Rugby World Cup – which
commences on 18 September and runs through until
the end of October – has not generated any brand-new
venues. But a quick glance at the calendar for the next
few years – Euro 2016 alone is generating four fresh
stadiums (in Lille, Nice, Lyons and Bordeaux) and five
renovated ones (in Marseille, Paris, Saint-Etienne, Lens
and Toulouse) – suggests that there will be plenty to
keep suppliers and consultants busy.
No wonder, then, that Bosch Security Systems
applications engineer Stuart Schatz surveys the
overall market and reports that “the demand for new
audio systems bound for installation in stadiums has
increased dramatically in the last one-and-a-half to two
years”.
Solution selection
Although systems chosen for stadiums are the subject
of considerable variation, the desire for quality and
consistency is seemingly leading some venues to
install large amounts of equipment from a select
number of respected vendors. Take, for example, the
2014 Fifa World Cup, where eight of the major venues
in the 12 host cities featured audio solutions from the
Harman family.
“From inception through delivery, each component
in our family of brands is designed to provide a
sophisticated, integrated and affordable audio solution,”
remarked Robert Klesser, national sales manager,
install and cinema, at Harman Brazil, at the time. By way
of illustration, he pointed to an overall spec list across
venues that included Harman’s IDX communication
systems, AKG microphones, BSS signal processing,
Crown amplifiers, Soundcraft digital consoles and JBL
loudspeakers, while a large number of Studer Vista
consoles were used for the broadcasting of the event.
Not surprisingly, speaker design receives a
particularly high level of scrutiny. The streamlining of
cabling requirements, ease of installation and ability
to withstand the vagaries of the weather are the
requirements that tend to be universal.
Although able to provide both passive and active
systems, RCF has “recently provided an increasing
number of self-powered systems; they combine very
good performance and exceptionally easy wiring”,
says Ferrari. “For example, we have created a range of
active solutions for fixed-install applications that are
customised both in their mechanical parts – in order to
simplify installation, maintenance and improve weather-
resistance – and in the electrical/electronic ones. Our
engineers have developed dedicated electronics that
allow detailed monitoring and precise control of each
speaker system down to each single component (ie
transducer, power amplifier, power supply, wiring),
combining all information on a unique platform,
integrated in the RCF RDNet control system for an
easier overview.”
Over at Bosch Security Systems, however, there is
a feeling that demand for passive speakers remains
significantly higher than that for active designs. “At
least here in the USA, it seems as though contractors or
integrators don’t want the risk of getting up to the arrays
if the amplifier module fails,” says Schatz.
His Bosch colleague, director of marketing application
design Oliver Sahm, concurs: “Also, in all other regions
known to me, self-powered loudspeakers don’t play any
major role. Arguments might be weather resistance,
accessibility for service and maintenance, redundancy
concepts with entangled wiring between amplifier racks
and loudspeakers, and concepts with spare amplifiers
A recent audio overhaul at the Sports Authority Field
at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado, led to the
extensive specification of Lab.gruppen amplifiers and
JBL loudspeakers. The installation was carried out
by Parsons Electric, working to a system design by
Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon and Williams (WJHW).
The upgrade was to include a retrofit of the
stadium’s scoreboard loudspeakers, as well as
wholesale changes to the bowl loudspeakers.
Approximately 600 loudspeakers feature throughout
the main stadium seating bowl: mounted underneath
decks, to structures that hold lighting, to the bottom
of the scoreboard, and on top of the scoreboard.
Mark Graham from WJHW worked with EAE
and JBL to produce a loudspeaker with a high-
quality 100V, 500W transformer, resulting in the
production of some custom JBL WRX low-frequency
loudspeakers. Instead of just a single horn and LF
driver, they sport one LF transducer and two HF
drivers to cover the extra distance between the
loudspeaker spacing entailed in the project.
There are very few available amps that can power
four of those cabinets at 500W a piece, hence the
selection of Lab.gruppen PLM series four-channel
amplifiers. In total, 100 PLM 10000K and 30 PLM
20000K units were specified.
The project also called for a DSP platform to be
available on game days. Lab.gruppen and QSC’s
previous collaboration to produce script allowing
the Q-Sys networked audio solution to monitor all
key functions of the Lab.gruppen system proved
to be crucial in this case. As a result, Lab.gruppen
amplifiers are able to interface with other third-party
software for the Q-Sys system so operators can
monitor system status and health, use it to control
volume and mute unused areas of the stadium.
In Denver, amplifiers are deployed in four specific
rooms, one in each quadrant of the stadium. The
breakout boxes on the Q-Sys system run AES digital
audio into the Lab.gruppen PLMs, while an analogue
back-up is in place for unlikely scenarios where
some major network failure or another fault occurs
on the digital side. In such instances, the amp would
automatically switch to the analogue feed.
new-look mile hiGH stadium denver features100+ Lab.gruppen amplifiers
www.psneurope.com
P54SEPTEMBER
2015
Feature: Stadiums
in racks to take over in case of broken regular working
amplifiers.”
Networked nation
Given that stadiums are often seen not only as
benchmarks for technical quality, but also as a
representation of an individual nation’s own status on
the world stage, it is hardly surprising that they are
frequently the venue for the deployment of some of
the very latest technologies. Accordingly, networked
audio – as well as tighter integration with other building
systems, including IT – continues to ascend the stadium
shopping list.
For Lab.gruppen, Gustafsson and Dalbjorn say that
they “definitely see a high demand for integration both
on signal distribution, control and monitoring. Our
D Series [of amplifiers] has the slogan ‘Integration
Superpower’ because it accommodates a wide range
of audio connectivity and integration with virtually any
audio matrix or control software through its open third-
party protocol and dedicated models for Biamp Tesira
integration.”
Historically, there has been plenty of CobraNet to be
found in arenas and stadiums worldwide, but now it
seems that Audinate’s Dante media networking solution
is assuming the status of go-to technology.
“Digital audio and control networks as well as video
networking have become more and more important,”
observes Sahm. “Dante seems to be the favourite audio
standard. CobraNet is not asked for any more for new
and major installs.”
Schatz adds: “The need for connectivity hasn’t
changed the approach of the loudspeaker system, but
it has meant involving the networking and IT teams a
lot earlier in the process to work through cabling, and
whether or not we use the building’s network or create
our own.”
Indeed, anecdotal evidence related to PSNEurope by
its regular consultancy contacts indicates that audio
experts are now generally being brought onto such
projects at the earliest stages, in order to engage in
constructive dialogue with architects, IT chiefs and other
stakeholders. Audio (and video) might once have been
regarded as an afterthought – but not any more.
Fan engagement
With project leaders aware of the contribution to be
made by high-quality AV systems, it seems inevitable
that the future will bring additional calls for bespoke
solutions. Certainly, there are plenty of recent examples
of customisation from our featured suppliers – just
consider RCF’s involvement in the Baku Olympic
Stadium in Azerbaijan, which hosted the European
Games earlier this summer.
As Ferrari observes, the company supplied no fewer
than 270 specially adapted TTL55-A active speakers,
chosen for their vocal clarity and high SPL. “All cabinets
are weatherproofed and were customised with metal
backbones and internal supports for additional safety,
to make sure that the line array’s weight is safely
supported by the steel structure and not just by the
cabinets’ marine plywood. Each single cluster is easily
accessible thanks to independent motors, capable of
lowering the frame at the tribune level. [In addition],
all modules are equipped with a sophisticated fault-
monitoring board, while reporting occurs through the
RD Net control system.”
The allure of remote system monitoring and its ability
to minimise sometimes problematic work-at-height
doesn’t need to be unpicked. But its appeal is only
likely to grow as stadium systems become evermore
tightly integrated. Add in the huge upswing in mobile
connectivity that will be required for major sporting and
music events as promoters, sponsors and advertisers
work to deepen fan engagement, and it becomes clear
that the stadium of the future will be an increasingly
complex place – and one in which the flexibility and
reliability of systems is destined to be at a premium.
www.bosch.com
www.harmanpro.com
www.labgruppen.com
www.rcf.it
KEY POINTS:• Major sports events – including the Olympics,
Uefa Euro football championships and Fifa World
Cup – have helped to keep demand for new stadium
systems at a healthy level
•Dante-based networking is proving to be
increasingly popular, while some observers point to a
growth in demand for self-powered speakers
• An increasing amount of discussion is taking place
between architects, IT personnel and AV specialists at
the earliest stages of a new-build or refurb
Westfalenstadion in Dortmund features
14 custom RCF TTL 33A line-array units
If It’s About LIVE SOUND, It’s At AES139!LIVE SOUND EXPO comes to New York City
this fall at the 139th AES Convention.
Whether you are in the hot seat as FOH engineer mixing to a crowd of thousands, in an intimate local club mixing your favorite band, or handling the audio for a house-of-worship facility, the upcoming AES139 Convention in New York City is your one source for all things audio.
With three days of exhibits, the Live Sound Track, and the Live Sound Expo, plus four days of workshops, technical papers and program content tailored to the current audio and communications landscape, once again, the AES Convention will be THE audio event of the year and cannot be missed.
Our Live Sound Expo at the 139th Convention offers expert advice for the broad spectrum of live sound engineers (some 25% of Convention attendees) with an emphasis on the practical, bringing professionals with decades of experience to the stage to inspire and educate attendees.
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK JACOB JAVITS CENTER139
AUDIO ENGINEERING SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION
TH
CONFERENCE: OCT 29 – NOV 1, 2015EXHIBITS: OCT 30 – NOV 1, 2015
For more information visit our website at: www.aesconvention.com/139
If It’s About AUDIO, It’s At AES!
AES139 Live Sound Expo
itinerary and areas of focus: Friday, October 30 – Broadway/Theater
Saturday, October 31 – Worship & Install
Sunday, November 1 – TouringAdmission to the Live Sound Expo is included with your FREE Exhibits-Plus advance registration.
The Live Sound Expo sponsors are:
For AES sponsor opportunities contact
Graham Kirk: [email protected]
www.psneurope.com
P57SEPTEMBER
2015
Fairfield Halls and giant balls, through the eyes of PSNEurope
Hither & jurorPlease send all contributions for Hither & Dither to
What could possibly link these three pictures, taken at
the Wilderness and Roskilde Festivals this summer?
Steve Connolly finally leaves NewBay after 10
years, several of which he served on PSNEurope…
cheers, mate – you’ll be missed!
While the editor’s been on jury service in Croydon, he took in the local sights, oh yes. Here’s the legendary
Fairfield Halls: Tangerine Dream thrilled the likes of producer Flood there in the mid-70s. Now all we have to
look forward to is Peppa Pig and the Hoff. Sigh
Soundcraft founders Phil Dudderidge (left) and Graham
Blyth, 42 years after starting that console business, at
Phil’s family-curated Chillstock last month
www.psneurope.com
P58SEPTEMBER
2015
Backtalk
Diplomas and diplomacy with Roskilde’s sound policeman. By Dave Robinson
Morten Büchert
Making a living from music creation and audio
engineering “since the age of 18”, Morten
Büchert’s day job is to teach students at the
Royal Academy of Music and the Rhythmic
Conservatory in Copenhagen. But each year, he serves
a critical role as the principal audio consultant for the
‘Danish Glastonbury’, Roskilde – a seven-day, multistage
international festival, run for charity since 1972 and held
on a purpose-built showground 35km west of the capital.
How long have you been working with the
festival, Morten?
For 15 years. I’m not infl uenced by any company; I’m
freelance. It’s important to be non-partisan. I have a huge
depth of knowledge [because of my teaching] but I don’t
know every manufacturer, so I use my ears to guide the
festival on what sort of brands and PA companies they
should hire. The acoustics is important to me.
You are the ‘sound policeman’, it would be fair to
say... but you’re not ‘the bad guy’?
[Pause] I don’t have any jurisdiction as to tell people what to
do. I can challenge the festival, the PA companies and the
designers on their decisions – and my approach could be
much more mathematical, using physics and so on – but I
use dialogue [with] the engineers and designers. You could
call me a policeman… you could call me a friend.
I feel warmer already! Maybe you’re a
diplomat too?
Everything everybody out here does has to serve the music.
Decisions, cables, preamps, whatever; it has to serve the
music. My approach to guiding festivals and PA companies
is to make sure the framework is right, it is up to the highest
standard and [that the audience] realise the vision and
intention of the music from the artist’s point of view.
When you say ‘guiding’ in terms of equipment, to
what level?
How companies approach the design phase, how they
hang the speakers… Roskilde is based on volunteer
work and over the last 15 years there has been a whole
professionalisation of the business.
[One] focus here has been to control the sound level, to
monitor sound pressure levels at festivals. When I came
onboard in 2003, there were no level regulations from the
government. With bigger PA companies comes a bigger
responsibility, both for audiences and the neighbours.
We came up with a two-year plan, with punctuated
measurements fi ve times per show, with every PA
company instructed to take notes of the sound level. After
those two years, we enforced a regulation based on those
measurements to 103dB Leq over 15 minutes – my friend
Jacob Navne invented the measurement programme
10EaZy, based on the European Directive 10EC, as part of
his engineering diploma on that project. (Editor’s note: SG
Audio Aps’ 10EaZy package has become a European standard
for accurate SPL monitoring across Europe.)
103: That’s a relatively high level!
We are lucky because for Roskilde, bands and engineers
come from all over the planet, where they have more
restrictions; like in Switzerland, where rules that come with
fi nes. We tell them, ‘yesterday you could play 96, today you
can play 103’; they take it as a gift. We don’t have limiters at
the show!
What do you do building up to a festival?
I’m involved with the heads of audio and production. Wwe
say, ‘How was it last year? What do we want to achieve this
year? What’s new, are the tents diff erent?’ So at the Avalon
stage we have a Meyer LYON system, and we have to adjust
to that, dispersion angles and coverage etc. I help them
fi gure out what to do. Then the PA companies deliver the
fi nal system to me – and I could do a lot of measurements
based on physics – but I see myself as a representative of
the audience, so when serving music the PA must sound
reasonable – power and coverage – so I put on some music
and ‘start the dialogue’.
You’re not walking around with an NTI Audio
Minilyser taking readings?
My ears are my main tool, and I trust my ears. I know a lot of
sound consultants use a lot of measurements; they adhere
to a diff erent strategy. My approach is much more human. I
believe that raises the quality of the shows in general.
Do you have the proverbial curmudgeon on the
periphery who phones and complains every year?
[Laughs] When we had the proactive initiative a few years
ago, we tried to do something about sound levels before
someone else did it! Fifteen years ago it was point source
not line arrays, so the contribution to the neighbourhood
was a lot more diff use and non-linear, with much more low
end… now the reactions from neighbours are, oh, it’s just
like a clock radio turned all the way down, and they much
prefer that.
What is the itch that you just can’t scratch?
It’s an old pet peeve of mine: the acoustics. You can have a
good sounding system but still a bad sounding room. The
festival needs to deliver on that. So on some of the stages,
there are more speakers in the ceiling, or we’ve applied
rock wool behind stages to dampen the sound, but there’s
always something.
Doesn’t technology make your job easier?
Yes if you use it to your advantage. The more technology
that comes out, the music doesn’t always get better. You
might have bands that bring out an X32 console which
has a lot of features but costs nothing: playing that on
a set of speakers that cost a couple of million [krone, or
£200,000] there’s something there that doesn’t add up. But
I don’t know how to alter that, because lower prices give
opportunity to a lot more talent.
www.mortenbuchert.com
www.roskilde-festival.dk
Th e wireless and most
of capturing