Issue Eight | September 2003 LLeeeeddss UUnniitteedd’’ss NNeeww PPAA SSyysstteemm In this Issue: New Mini Line Array Elton’s Historic Show W8L’s Festival Blitz Audio Goes Offshore The Martin Experience Issue Eight | September 2003 C Cover Story: New PA system for Leeds’ Elland Road stadium 3 Product News: Mini Line Array (W8LM) and Sub (WLX) arrive at PLASA 4-5 o Elton John: His historic Maltese concert, with Capital Sound Hire 6 Corporate News: Martin Audio’s Management Buy-out 7 n Preparing for the Proms: How Line Array blew them away at Blenheim 8-9 Audio Offshore: The inspiration behind Fusion, on the Orkney Islands 12 Café Iguana sets new standards in Florida 13 t W8LC’s dinner date at Duke’s in Durham 14 Sierra Nevada World Music Festival 15 e Euro Festival Focus: On PinkPop (Holland) and Rock Im Park (Germany) 16-17 Chicobum — and launching our Line Arrays in Italy 18 n Aurateq/Mission hook up big style in South America 19 Audia make their mark — in Bordeaux and Morocco 20 t Perspex Wedges the real hit of Eurovision 21 Phlippo, PFL and Roma give Belgian sales a boost 22-23 s Global opens in Ljubljana 23 Skansen scores for DM Audio 24 Telesine’s successes in Istanbul 25 Rea Sound busy in bars and churches 26-27 TAG provide chamber music in Fremantle’s Metropolis 28 Delhi’s Mojo working; Wellington tastes Sandwich 29 Peace Festival in Barcelona; Pattaya Festival in Thailand 30 Far East: Lafite (Shenyang) and Beach Club (Kota Kinabalu) open for business 31 Wavefront users around the world 32 Right At The Cutting Edge This month marks a double celebration. The company, started by the charismatic Dave Martin, returns to a state of independence, having engineered a successful, and amicable management buyout from parent company, TC Where to see us Group. The full story appears on page 7. Sept 7-10: PLASA 2003 , WThe cEompanyL’s lateC founderO was verMy much a fEree spirit and he would undoubtedly have approved of the latest episode in Martin Audio’s history. We will be sure to drink a toast to his memory on the stand at PLASA, where London, UK we will be launching our Mini Line Array (W8LM). Oct 1-3: PALA , Singapore . K And this is the second cause for celebration, as our family of Line Array systems — to suit all budgetry and U Oct 10-13: AES , , d r application requirements — is now complete. o f New York, N. America t r a D There is also a third reason to raise a glass. At 32-pages, this edition of The Edge is the largest we have produced, , d Nov 18-20: Cine Asia , t L and is precisely double that of the launch edition three and a half years ago. e v i Bangkok, Thailand t c a r e However, The Edge is NOT a ‘willy waving’ exercise — it is an organic entity, and its size reflects the growing t n I Nov 21-23: LDI , e success our loyal network of distributors is experiencing around the world. The stories in this edition — which r a u Orlando, N. America q cover a complete global span — say as much about you as they do about Martin Audio. S d e R Feb 17-19: PALME , : As usual it would not have been possible without help from our media friends in the industry. Thanks are due n o i t to Mike and Sarah at Gasoline Media, for keeping us in touch with the Synco network axis, and to Mark Dubai, UAE c u d o r Cunningham, who joined them at the PinkPop Festival in Holland, where the W8L was rigged loud and proud p Mar 19-21: NSCA , d n (the words and photographs were adapted from a story originally featured in the Summer 2003 issue of Total a n Las Vegas, N. America g i Production ). Special thanks go to Martin Audio’s Martin Kelly, for taking his pen and camera into parts of the s e world yet to be breached by even the doughtiest of war photographers … and to our posse of co-opted D correspondents within our distribution companies, who have taken time out to source the stories and Cover: Leeds United’s Elland Road Stadium. photography that appear in this edition. We are grateful to you all. Jerry Gilbert Leeds United’s Elland Road Stadium Gets New Public Address System Crowds at Leeds United catalogue from Martin giving 90° x 60° coverage, The system is fed from a Football Club’s Elland Road Audio, and the expertise of and five AM404 stadium networked Bosch Praesidio, stadium will be able to hear EASE specialist, Peter Child, horns, with a spread of 40° x digital software controlled broadcast messages and who produced data and 40° — mounted at the front PA/VA system running on a emergency evacuation system verification for of the stands, with five redundant ring based, fire procedures with a lot more all four stands WTUB (twin 6.5" + three 1" rated fibre optic backbone, clarity — thanks to a new alongside AIS Director soft dome) cabinets as under backed up by a UPS system Martin Audio-based public Stephen McCay. balcony fills. Four Blackline — and an auto start address installation carried H2’s (10" + 1", horn-loaded generator — provided by the In total AIS have distributed out by leading system mid/hi pack) for covering club. Inputs include a 25 Blackline F12 (12" + 1") integrator, Advance the pitch, complete the number of feeds from the DJ enclosures in the North, Integrated Systems. system design. station, a fully monitored South and West control room mic used by The company were one of stands, with some the police and a remote four firms asked to tender to of the pre-existing back-up mic located outside their own design and their enclosures being the stadium. submissions where checked redeployed for for statutory compliance on infill duties. The new sound system was behalf of the Football installed in time for the To provide the Trust by consultants, AMS Premiership season kick off coverage and Acoustics. on August 16. quality required AIS’s Managing Director for the impressive Alan Inkster says that the East stand, they Left to right: Alan Inkster (AIS requirement was for an also needed some managing director), with Martin Wood, emergency sound system long throw senior project engineer responsible for that would comply with enclosures — and Elland Road. All Blackline cabinets and BS7827 and the Guide to Martin Audio again had the WTUB’s were weather- The stand in the background is the East Safety at Sports Grounds purpose solution, supplying Stand which is over 35 metres high and proofed for external use and (“The Green Guide”). five AM906 large-format features the AM stadium horns. fitted with high quality 100V lightweight composite His company was line transformers. material stadium horns, supported by a large product 3 NEW PRODUCT•NEW PRODUCT•NEW PRODUCT•NEW PRODUCT•NEW PRODUCT•NEW PRODUCT•NEW PRODUCT•NEW PRODUCT•NEW PRODU W8LM Mini Boosts Line N Array Family E W P R The three-way, active/passive W8LM Mini Line Array has Technical Specifications (single enclosure) been designed for multiple applications in areas where the Line Array principle is demanded but space is at a premium. TYPE Three-way, compact line array element FREQUENCY RESPONSE 60Hz-18kHz ± 3dB Although incredibly compact, the W8LM is a full-bandwidth, HORIZONTAL COVERAGE ANGLE (-6 dB) 100º (down to 800Hz) O 2 x 8" and 2 x 1" system and can be used in many situations HORIZONTAL COVERAGE ANGLE (-10 dB) 120º (down to 700Hz) without additional sub-bass. VERTICAL COVERAGE ANGLE (-6 dB) 7.5º LF+MF SECTION 1 x 8" (200mm)/2" (50mm) voice coil, Using proven array principles from its larger siblings, and an reflex-loaded direct radiator, evolution of the Hybrid™ loading technique, a low/mid 1 x 8" (200mm)/2" (50mm) voice coil neodymium driver, front horn-loaded, rear output with a sensitivity greater than 100dB is easily achieved, reflex loaded HF SECTION 2 x 1" (25mm) exit compression drivers, D rising to 106dB for the HF. horn-loaded By using innovative mid-horn geometry and a toroidal wave RATED POWER LF+MF: 400W AES, 1600W peak guide, a constant directivity, horizontal pattern control of over HF: 75W AES, 300W peak Passive: 400W AES, 1600W peak 120º (700Hz-18kHz) is maintained, ensuring no tonal SENSITIVITY (1W@1M) LF+MF: 100dB imbalances off axis. HF: 106dB Passive: 99dB rising to 105dB at HF U The captive, quick deployment rigging system allows inter- MAXIMUM SPL (CALCULATED @1M) LF+MF: 125dB continuous, 131dB peak cabinet angles of 0-7.5º to be set as a flown or ground-stacked HF: 125dB continuous, 131dB peak Passive: 124dB continuous, 130dB peak system as determined by the Viewpoint array optimisation NOMINAL IMPEDANCE LF+MF: 12 ohms software. As all cabinets are hinged at the front, the spacing HF: 12 ohms between adjacent elements remains the same irrespective of Passive: 12 ohms CROSSOVER 300Hz passive, 2.2kHz active or passive, C splay angles, ensuring smooth vertical dispersion and the selected by rear mounted switch continuation of all the Line Array principles. CONNECTORS 2 x Neutrik NL4 input/ link sockets ENCLOSURE Vertical trapezoid with 3.75º wall angle To make system design even more cost-effective, the W8LM Multi-laminate birch ply construction is a 12-ohm cabinet, and up to eight cabinets can be powered FINISH/GRILLE Textured paint/perforated steel grille ENCLOSURE DIMENSIONS (W) 620mm x (H) 241mm x (D) 400mm from one Martin Audio MA2.8s amplifier.