The J.K. Tyl theatre in the Czech Republic city of Plzen (Pilsen) is one of the city’s most historic cultural landmarks. Built in 1902, the impressive building honors the city’s outstanding theatre tradition, which is second only to that of the capital, Prague. The theatre has recently benefitted from a significant audio system upgrade which has seen the installation of a sophisticated EtherSound digital audio network and an Innovason Eclipse GT digital console.

MUSICDATA, an EtherSound sales partner in the Czech Republic, selected cable from German cable manufacturer, Sommer Cable as the backbone of the system with an AVM500-ES EtherSound network matrix from Auvitran which enabled star as well as daisy-chain connections. The AVM500 is connected to the control room via optical fibre. The result is a completely flexible network which enables high quality audio signal transfer from seven different locations. Sound technicians are able to move any of the Innovason SR-16 16-in/16-out stage boxes to any of the connection points to cater quickly and easily to the demands of any given production.

In addition to the Eclipse GT, the control room has also been equipped with two computers loaded with recording and playback software. These are using the Auvitran AV3rd EtherSound/ASIO bridge.The recording studio workstation in the control room has a direct connection to the network and has the ability to record sound from anywhere on stage or even from ambient microphones in the auditorium. The studio can also add streams to the network, thus to the Eclipse – itself capable of recording up to 64 channels of high quality digital audio – or directly to the monitored lines, or even to the PA system. The final mix from the Eclipse is also sent directly to the PA system in AES/EBU format.

“This is the most complex EtherSound system we have ever installed,” commented MUSICDATA MD, Tomas Ourednicek. “Working in an historical listed building like this beautiful theatre is never easy – in fact, it was very difficult indeed, but we still ended up running over 870m of CAT5 cable and 70m of optical fiber! Furthermore, the whole network is completely scalable and therefore ready for any future expansion. We put our long experience of working with EtherSound and Innovason to very good use in this installation, and I am pleased to report that everything works absolutely perfectly!”

Petr Solc, the theatre’s sound director is equally pleased. “The combination of the new Eclipse GT with the EtherSound network is fantastic. The console itself it well laid out, incredibly versatile and very user-friendly, and the digital patching has made our everyday workflow much easier. Having direct and instant access to the network from the console allows us to react to and implement even the most difficult requests from our director, conductor and all the other artists. It’s a big step forward for us in every sense.”

Spokane, WA – Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena has added dual Digigram ES8mic analog-to-EtherSound input modules and Digigram ES8out EtherSound-to-analog audio bridges to its video and broadcast suite. At the same time, the Arena also put its Yamaha M7CL console, originally installed in 2007, on an EtherSound network with AuviTran’s AVY16-ES100 card, while reconfiguring that network in a hybrid star / daisy chain using an AuviTran AVM-500ES Network Matrix. Technical Specialist Monte Koch, who manages AV at the Arena for the Spokane Public Facilities District, uses Stardraw Control with ESMonitor software to give video technicians input / output switching while limiting their access to the rest of the EtherSound network.

Spokane Arena presents events ranging from Spokane Chiefs hockey, to arena football’s Arena Cup championship game, Gonzaga college hoops, pro bull riders, concert tours and more. “We needed to integrate video and front of house with the broadcast suite and the announce / music playback booth,” Koch explains. “Now we have 64 bidirectional audio channels, and a robust network architecture. We’ve gained a lot of flexibility — for instance, we can archive AV programming without re-patching.”

When Spokane Arena upgraded its video displays to HD, Koch seized the moment to expand the audio system as well. “Only Digigram offered compact analog endpoints with the terminations we needed and the versatility we wanted, at a cost that fit our limited budget,” he reports. “Now we can pick up audio from the Yamaha SB168-ES stage box, or any location with an input, and route it to any sound system or video production link in the building.”

Spokane Arena encloses 6.2 million cubic feet. Its 12,000 seats are routinely packed with noisy, enthusiastic fans who generate over 108 dB SPL on lung power alone. But there’s also plenty of AV horsepower available, thanks to a Meyer Sound powered loudspeaker system installed in 2009, along with the Arena’s original EtherSound network. An exploded cluster of 23 MSL-4 powered cabinets covers the main bowl, while a delay ring of 19 UPA-1Cs keeps things intelligible in the upper seats. A dozen HP700 subwoofers deliver plenty of low-end muscle.

Support areas (concourse, dressing rooms and backstage hallways) are handled by QSC-powered Bose speakers controlled by QSControl.net. Along with the audio mixing desk and network computers, the AV control room has controls for video, theatrical lighting, Cyberlights, house lights and the 350 degree LCD ribbon board.

About Point Source Audio

Point Source Audio manufactures and distributes worldwide a unique line of lightweight bendable boom ear worn microphones—known as the “toughest” ear worn microphones in the industry. As a result of PSA’s pro-audio expertise and its admired reputation for sales and service support, the company has also been recently named Digigram’s Master Distributor for the Americas. The world-renowned brand of Digigram sound cards, IP codec products, and Ethersound audio networking technology are now available from Point Source Audio.

The MEDEF (Confederation of French Employers/Entrepreneurs), held its annual "Summer University" last September in Jouy en Josas, near Paris.

So, hands up who thinks that EtherSound and Optocore are incompatible? Well, in the immortal words of Ira Gershwin, it ain’t necessarily so, as was recently proved at the Belgian HQ of Amptec, professional audio distribution and sound solution specialists throughout the Low Countries. It ain’t necessarily complicated, either...

Stadium Arena (www.stadiumarena.se) in Norrköping Sweden, just received the "EtherSound" treatment!

(This is an update to a previous note, posted here)

Per Wennling, who is accompanying the deployment of an EtherSound audio network at the Helsingborg City Theatre just notified us that the institution also -with his help- just installed EtherSound in one of the smaller stages. The devices used are one Yamaha LS9 console and one DME24N matrix plus Auvitran AVY16 ES100 ES-cards.
As stagebox the staff is using two Yamaha AD8HR and one Digigram ES8Out preconfigured in a Plug-and-Play-manner so they can be easily moved between the two stages (two different ES systems) without having to change any programmed setup. The DME24 feeds and processes the house PA system on and around the stage.

Allen & Heath’s iLive digital mixing system has been employed for Juan Presbyterian Church’s recent musical production, ‘Unfailing Love’, in Incheon, South Korea.

“I have always been an avid Allen & Heath user and find the desks excellent value for money. My first mixer was a GL4 and there is an ML5000 VCA console installed at the church,” explains H. T. Kim, executive mixing engineer at the Juan Presbyterian Church. “Some engineers I know are still concerned about the stability of digital mixers and I was one of them before I touched iLive. By the first day of the show I had complete confidence in iLive and it is surprisingly intuitive for a digital system. One of the key benefits of going digital is the scene memory and recall function, which saves a lot of set up time as you can recall settings from the previous night’s performance.”

Unfailing Love is a retelling of the passion of the Christ in musical format. Audio requirements included 20 wireless mics and music sources.

“The iLive pre-amp provided plenty of headroom - it’s really something different from any other digital mixer. The smooth feel of the iLive-144 surface controls gave me that familiar “analogue” feel, and the built-in compressors, noise gates, EQ and de-essers were really helpful for shaping the voices of the performers. The reverb provided an excellent vocal effect and the output EQ, especially, did a great job to refine the overall sound quality. Allen & Heath's years of design experience are evident in the system’s functionality; I think this could be the best digital gear on the market!”

Switzerland’s 7th annual ‘Dance with the Wolf’ festival recently took place in Corbeyrier with Allen & Heath’s iLive digital system managing monitor mixing.

The two day festival is a celebration of everything Celtic, with Celtic food, folk tales, dance and most importantly, music. The event hosted 8 bands over the two days from Ireland, Brittany and Wales.

“I have managed monitors for the festival for several years and decided to use A&H’s digital system this year,” explains Roland Dupertuis, from Allen & Heath’s Swiss distributor, Decibel SA.

Comprising an iDR10 stage rack and iLive-144 control surface, iLive managed a range of musicians playing a diverse range of instruments from electric guitars and bass, to harps, mandolins, bagpipes and accordions.

“All the musicians praised the sound quality on stage, and the scene recall is very fast so in two minutes the desk is ready for the next set, and there’s no laborious manual set up that you get with analogue mixers. I had forgotten to update the configuration settings for one of the bands prior to the show but the system is so intuitive I was able to correct the problem during the short change over period. The preamp is also excellent, so I only use the hi-pass filter for 90% of the time,” concludes Dupertuis.

Allen & Heath has launched the iLive Configuration Utility, a new online tool to aid customers wishing to purchase the new modular digital system.

The Flash-based web application enables the user to build their own iLive system, selecting iLive control surfaces, iDR10 MixRacks and the various components needed, to design a system tailored to their specific requirements.

The application comprises 3 screens, starting with the iLive surface, followed by the MixRack, finishing with the addition of extra modules or accessories. There is a simple 'drag and drop' configuration utility, whereby modules can be ‘dragged’ to the corresponding slots on the back of an iLive surface and MixRack. An item code is generated for each iLive surface and iDR10 MixRack built, and up to 5 surfaces and 5 MixRacks configurations can be saved during the process. Upon completion, the configs can be forwarded to a local sales representative.

“As iLive is modular with a wide variety of options and components, it can be difficult for customers to visualise and cost a system. This tool allows them to explore the range of options available, pick and choose according to their requirements, and match their budget,” explains Allen & Heath’s sales director, Bob Goleniowski. “Everything can be saved, recalled and sent to our sales distribution network, which also eliminates any order errors. It will really help streamline the sales process for this complex product.”

Cheshire hire company, The Audio Group, recently employed Allen & Heath’s iLive digital system to manage a festival for M.A.D Sound and Lighting near Aberystwyth, Wales.

Comprising an iDR10 mix rack and iLive-80 control surface, the system managed FOH audio for the 2-day event at Pafiliwnbont in Pontrhydfendigaid, which featured 10 top Welsh bands including Huw Chiswel, Sibrydion and Radio Luxemburg.

Audio Group’s director, Paul Adamson, said: “We have been looking to purchase a digital audio system for some time and iLive’s audio quality and features make it very appealing. With everything on board, we don’t need to carry big outboard racks of EQ and FX processing.” The iLive system was complemented by a Logic Systems VA Line Array at FOH and Logic LM20 monitors, with amplification from MC2.

“The event manager was anxious at the thought of a digital console at FOH. He asked ‘where’s your multicore?’, and walked away scratching his head when I explained we had already flown the two pieces of CAT5 required off the truss!” commented freelance sound engineer, James Jewry, who was driving iLive throughout the festival. “We reached sound checks in no time and as I hadn’t used the iLive before on location I was surprised at what was to follow; the audio is rich and detailed, all the onboard FX simulations are superb, and the features and flexibility of the system really impressed me. As soon as you select a channel everything is in front of you, unlike other digital desks where you have to navigate a little to find what you need. We especially liked the mute buttons, which are like Allen & Heath’s analogue boards.”

“If you’re thinking of buying a digital board and you dismiss iLive, to put it bluntly you’re either deaf or stupid. “It doesn’t sound like a digital board should, it just sounds awesome. Enough said,” concluded Jewry.

An interesting story posted on the Yamaha Commercial Audio website.

New Birth South Metropolitan Church, a brand new build 4,000-seat worship facility in the south metropolitan area of Atlanta, GA, is the latest so-called “mega-church” to benefit from a state-of-the-art digital audio network built around three INNOVASON digital mixing consoles on an EtherSound network. Established in 2001, New Birth South now numbers over 12,000 members and has recently moved to its new home on 43 acres of land in McDonough, GA. The new premises boasts a technologically sophisticated AV system which also benefits from high quality digital multitrack recording thanks to a PC equipped with an LX4646ES soundcard from Digigram.

Kent-based PA company, SRD Group, recently added two Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing systems to its hire inventory. The two systems, comprising an iDR10 mix rack plus iLive-112 surface and iDR10 mix rack plus iLive-80 control surface, enable the company to field a complete FOH and monitor solution.

“We evaluated a variety of products before deciding to purchase iLive, looking at overall value for money, quality of sound, features, ease of use and flexibility. We chose iLive because of its simple interface for analogue desk users and its ability to provide full DSP to every input and output. iLive’s flexible architecture and micro footprint makes set-up very easy, yet we still have the capacity to manage up to 64 inputs and 32 outputs,” explains Stuart Roberts, MD of SRD Group.

SRD Group provides dry hire or complete event management services for entertainment and corporate clients, specialising in concert sound. The team, including in-house staff and freelance engineers recently attended an iLive training session in preparation for this summer’s busy event schedule.

“Overall, iLive’s sound quality is, in my opinion, as good if not better than the competitor products we evaluated. The mic pre-amps are very natural sounding with loads of headroom, the EQ responsive and easy to use, and the in-built effects and dynamics are every bit as good as the well known outboard processors we use with our analogue consoles," continues Roberts.

“The thing that really tipped the balance for me is the flexibility that Ethersound brings to the more unusual shows we regularly manage. The ability to route anything to anywhere including the 4 slots on the back of the surface and then control it all from a laptop if required is the icing on the cake.”

Norwegian PA rental company, Lydfiksern, used their new Allen & Heath iLive system to its full potential during this year’s Sami Grand Prix (SGP) music contest.

SGP is part of the renowned Sami Easter Festival, the biggest cultural gathering of the Northern Europe’s indigenous Sami people, held at the Bakteharji Arena in Guovdageaidnu.

FOH engineer, Thomas Mikarlsen, selected the iLive system – comprising an iDR10 stage rack and iLive-144 control surface - for the event, and took full advantage of the 8 effect engines, using no outboard processing.

The show was broadcast live by Norwegian national station, NRK, and for the first time in the event's history the FOH mix was used for the broadcast rather than the usual separate mix provided by NRK's own engineers.

Lydfiksern also provided a multi-track recording system for record producer, Bernt Mikkel Haglund, comprising the Ethersound B 64-track split output from the iLive’s iDR-64 DSP mix engine and a computer equipped with a Digigram LX6464 card.

“Haglund raved about the sound quality being the best provided in the history of the event and now looks forward to mixing the festival CD,” explains Mikarlsen. “The iLive performed flawlessly once again with its warm musical sonic quality, fat-sounding effects, and flexible user interface.”

Allen & Heath’s French distributor, Audiopole, is supporting a new show "Yvan Le Bolloc’h and My Guitar is called Return", a musical comedy show in the Gypsy tradition.

Yvan Le Bolloc’h, who is a famous French TV star, developed the show after he met several Gypsy musicians.

Yvan performs the comedy section of the show and also plays guitar alongside Patrick Batiste, lead singer, Yannis Patrac, and the rest of the band.

Sometimes the iLive system – comprising an iDR10 stage box and iLive-144 control surface - is used for front of house and monitors. Is this case a 10-wedge speaker line is complemented by a two in-ear monitor line, all controlled by iLive.

Except for the electric bass, the stage is filled with acoustic instruments and vocals, which bring out the iLive's sonic quality – the preamp sound, compressor and extensive effects.