HARMAN’s Studer Selects Danmon Asia as Distributor for Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar

HANOI, Vietnam — HARMAN’s Studer has appointed Danmon Asia as its distributor for Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar. The agreement includes distribution of the entire Studer product range including OnAir and Vista audio mixers, Stageboxes, RELINK interfaces, D21 MasterSync and MultiFeed distribution equipment and the CMS Call Management System.

"Studer was for many decades the world leader in audio tape recording and today enjoys equal success with its mixing consoles and audio infrastructure products,” commented Robert Rosenberg, Managing Director of Danmon Asia. "We are very confident that our customer base will appreciate both the high sound quality and the versatility offered by the OnAir and Vista mixers in particular. Our Scandinavian colleagues have promoted and sold both products very successfully in their various countries."

"This partnership with Danmon Asia is a logical way to increase Studer's brand visibility and product availability across Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar," added Keith Prestidge, Asia Pacific Sales Director for Studer. "Hands-on demonstrations and listening tests are essential for major purchases such as audio mixing consoles, along with access to a fast and experienced technical support team if a system needs expansion or maintenance."

Danmon Asia (www.danmonasia.com) is one of Vietnam’s leading suppliers of audio and video equipment for broadcast and professional applications. The company operates sales, installation and service for television stations, film and video production companies, post-production houses, educational institutions and other public and private businesses and institutions.

Danmon Asia is part of Dan Technologies A/S (www.dantechnologies.com).The Dan Technologies Group is a privately-owned group of companies and one of the world’s leading suppliers of audio, video, transmission products and digital media solutions. The Dan Technologies Group operates internationally from offices in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, Germany, Vietnam and Dubai.

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for year ended June 30, 2012. 

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Pick Of The Hits - JBL in Lighting & Sound America, February 2013

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HARMAN’s Soundcraft Studer to Hold Open House Sessions at Church at the Mall

LAKELAND, Florida — HARMAN’s Soundcraft Studer mobile truck will be coming to the First Baptist Church at the Mall on March 4 and 5, 2013 for Open House sessions focusing on live sound mixing for houses of worship. The Church at the Mall in Lakeland, Florida can accommodate almost 2,500 congregants and is equipped with a Studer Vista 5 M2 digital console.

The sessions will provide hands-on training about how to use Soundcraft and Studer consoles in a house of worship environment, along with instruction about the particular requirements of house of worship mixing and audio production for live sound and broadcast.

“Mixing audio for a house of worship can be just as complex and demanding as mixing sound for a rock concert or theater production, especially when you have to mix a full praise band, choir, preacher and others, deal with the acoustics of a large sanctuary or mega church and possibly also create separate mixes for a live broadcast, recording, foyer and other areas” said Katy Templeman-Holmes of Soundcraft Studer. “The Open House is an opportunity to learn from us and from some of our users basic through advanced theory to hands-on tips and tricks on how to get the most out of Soundcraft and Studer consoles and the specific features that make them ideal for house of worship applications.”

Attendees will have the opportunity to work with Soundcraft and Studer factory experts to receive demos and training on various consoles, from their general operation and signal flow to the consoles’ unique features. Jason Bethune of HARMAN Professional’s regional rep firm Dobbs Stanford will be on hand both days to cover all HARMAN-related questions.

The Open House will be held at the First Baptist Church at the Mall, 1010 East Memorial Blvd, Lakeland, FL 33801. Details are available at usa.soundcraft.com.

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for year ended June 30, 2012. 

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Ministry of Sound Adds HARMAN’s Soundcraft Si Performer in Major Audio Upgrade

Ministry of Sound’s production manager Chris Thoms with the
Soundcraft Si Performer.

LONDON, United Kingdom — Ministry of Sound closed last month for its annual technical overhaul—with HARMAN Professional brands, distributed in the UK and Eire by Sound Technology Ltd, being the main benefactors.

During the 3-week shutdown, the world-famous club extended its existing BSS network and provided an additional four channels of AKG DMS 700 wireless capability; but the piéce de resistance is found in 103—the venue's second dance room—where a new Soundcraft Si Performer digital console now partners the Soundcraft Si2 in the adjacent box.

This is the centrepiece of a substantial upgrade, authorised by production manager Chris Thoms.

Although other spaces within the club have been reconfigured, including the VIP Room, it is 103 that has undergone the biggest change, in order to bring it more in line with its larger neighbour. As a result, it is now an adaptable space which can also feature headline acts.

This has included re-locating the DJ console, boosting the sound and giving the room its own dedicated FOH console for the first time, in a new booth offering better sightlines across the dancefloor.

"It made perfect sense to invest in a new console—since we also handle corporate work and film shoots," said Thoms, explaining the rationale. "We wanted a good sounding desk that was easy to use and spoke to Ben Todd at Sound Technology. Although we conducted a lot of research, this presented the best solution—particularly since the new Si Performer contains all the best elements of Soundcraft's superior Vi platform—minus the screen."

At the same time Ministry of Sound purchased a Compact Stagebox, which with the MADI card and single Cat5 connection to the Si Performer gives them a capacity of 64 I/O's.

"With the I/O expansion not only do we get the increase in channel count but if we have a band playing we can plug in over MADI and the Si Performer will double as a monitor and front of house console," Thoms continues. It is simple for the FOH engineer to control the console from the surface, whilst a monitor engineer controls it simultaneously via the free Soundcraft ViSi iPad control app (or vice versa).

As for channel assignment, the DJ feed takes up four channels, a further four channels are used for booth monitors, there are two crowd mic channels for the radio feed, the AKG radios are on four channels … and the remainder are spare.

Chris Thoms says the immediate increase in sound quality has been matched by the ease of use of the desk.

"The way you assign channels to busses [with the Assignable Fader Layers] and can customise these on any page is fantastic. For instance, our main operating page will have DJ inputs, VCA, busses for radio mics, crowd mic levels and if we want to mix a band we go to Layer B. The desk feels solid and the faders are quick—you seem to get a lot more for your money with an Si Performer."

At the same time the club has boosted its BSS Soundweb network and with the broadcasting of its live radio shows, has now replaced its Cobranet routing infrastructure entirely to create a new 256-channel Blu-Link matrix, chosen for its low latency. The club has also added a BLU-BOB 8-channel output expander, installed in the radio studio from which they perform a broadcast mix of the two main rooms on a Saturday night. It is also used for logging the broadcast material for PPL royalty purposes, taking a direct feed from the Soundweb network.

Finally, Ministry of Sound has added four channels of AKG DMS 700, with extra receivers and lapel mics to match the four channels in The Box (purchased with D7 capsules last summer for a Hadouken! live show). "We have the diversity antenna, and this will give us a chance to share channels between the two rooms," he states.

"This significant investment will keep us ahead of the game," Chris Thoms concludes. "We will now try and incorporate the equipment we have here in our touring concepts around the world."

HARMAN (www.HARMAN.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for the twelve months ending June 30, 2012.

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HARMAN’s JBL Loudspeakers Provide Gold-Standard Sound for the University of Minnesota’s Mariucci Arena

NORTHRIDGE, California – Named for John Mariucci, the “Godfather of Minnesota hockey,” Mariucci Arena is home to the Golden Gophers, the University of Minnesota’s men’s hockey team. The 10,000-seat facility opened in 1993, and after almost 20 years its audio system wasn’t sounding so golden anymore. Enter Parsons Electric of Minneapolis, Minnesota, who along with Richmond, Virginia-based A/V and architectural services firm Anthony James Partners renovated the sound system with HARMAN’s JBL PD (Precision Directivity™) Series loudspeakers. 

“Mariucci Arena was a challenging environment because we had a reverberation time of about eight seconds, and there is nothing in the way of acoustical treatment,” said Tim Habedank, System Specialist for Parsons Electric. “The rink acts as a big, perfectly flat reflector so all the sounds the players make on the ice are bouncing up into all areas of the arena. Combine that with crowd noise during games, which can reach over 100 dBA, and overcoming the sheer volume of the space was a challenge.”  

Parsons Electric installed 28 PD5322/95 and PD5322/64 loudspeakers in 12 clusters, flown from the ceiling and aimed throughout the arena. Four corner clusters contain three PD5322/64 loudspeakers each, while the other eight clusters each include one PD5322/64 and one PD5322/95. In addition, four PD5322/95 loudspeakers are used as floor fill.

“The best thing about the PD5000 Series loudspeakers is their pattern control and directivity,” Habedank noted. “A big box is required to achieve this level of control, but the PD boxes are not too big to the point of being distracting. They give us the performance we need, they provide high fidelity and high output but most importantly, the pattern control is terrific.”

Complementing the PD loudspeakers are 12 JBL ASB6128 subwoofers hung in four arrays of three subs each, while 14 JBL Control 25 loudspeakers provide under-balcony fill. “It’s a pretty big arena, but those subs can really shake this place,” Habedank said.

In addition, 13 JBL CBT70J-1 Constant Beamwidth Technology™ column speakers are used to fill the press box and upper suite areas. “The CBT’s worked perfectly, enabling us to achieve tremendous clarity and intelligibility in the upper areas of the arena by focusing the coverage into the narrow seating area,” Habedank pointed out. “They also have a pretty wide coverage pattern so we can space them out pretty far from each other.”

“The system at Mariucci Arena demonstrates the excellent pattern control of PD Series loudspeakers and their ability to create relatively small but powerful arrays,” said Brad Ricks, Senior Application Engineer, JBL Professional, who was instrumental in the system design.

“The JBL system rocks,” Habedank concluded. “They get as loud as we need them to be, and we could even drive them harder if we had to. There are not too many other loudspeakers we can trust in such a challenging acoustic environment.”

For more information on Parsons Electric, please visit www.parsonscorp.com

HARMAN (www.HARMAN.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for the twelve months ending June 30, 2012.

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GRAMMY®-Nominated Producer John Schneider Relies On HARMAN’s AKG K240 Studio Headphones

VIENNA, Austria – Nominated for a GRAMMY^®for Best Classical Compendium in 2013, producer, engineer, artist and internationally recognized performer John Schneider has relied on HARMAN’s AKG K240 headphones for the last five years in his studio when recording and mixing the unique music of Harry Partch with his band, PARTCH.  The band’s most recent 3-disc album – Partch: Bitter Music – was produced by Schneider with AKG headphones as they offer the “most realistic sound” available.

Harry Partch was an innovator in the world of classical music, creating custom-made, unique instruments, including the Boo II, Quadrangularis Reversum and Harmonic Canons, among a vast list of others, which play notes scaling a 43-note octave. 

Bitter Music was recorded and mixed at the Architecture studio in Los Angeles, utilizing the K240’s recommended to Schneider when he was a radio broadcast engineer. He adopted the K240 headphones for their true sound during recording and playback. 

“I wanted the flattest, best and most realistic sound when I was in the studio,” Schneider said. “There is no other type of music like the sound of Harry Partch, so to understand the beauty of the scales and intricate instruments, the sound must be exactly as it was intended. AKG’s K240’s are honest, with no extra sound boosting.  Other headphones are used for that experience, but the K240’s provide me with the true sound of a mix; everything I put into it – no more, no less.”

For more information about AKG, please visit http://www.akg.com and http://www.youtube.com/AKGacoustics. For more information or videos of PARTCH, please visit http://www.myspace.com/partchensemble/videos.

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for year ended June 30, 2012. 

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Pick Of The Hits - AKG on Everything Audio Network, February 2013

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HARMAN’s JBL Loudspeakers and Crown Amplifiers Team Up to Provide Slam-Dunk Sound for Indiana Hoosiers’ Assembly Hall

NORTHRIDGE, California — Indiana University’s Assembly Hall, a 17,000-seat indoor arena is the home to the Indiana Hoosiers—one of the most storied teams in college basketball. The arena, which opened in 1971, was recently retrofitted with a new audio system featuring HARMAN’s JBL loudspeakers and Crown amplifiers.  Pensacola, Florida-based All Pro Sound in conjunction with Sweetwater, Inc. of Ft Wayne, IN., handled the installation in coordination with New York-based Acoustical Design and consulting firm SIA Acoustics.

“Before we were called in, Assembly Hall was still using its original sound system from 1971. The arena had a lot of existing acoustical treatment but the sound quality in the lower frequencies was unbalanced and made it difficult for the crowd to hear speech announcements clearly. Needless to say, we had to bring the system up to today’s standards for performance, coverage and intelligibility,” explained Sam Berkow, Principal at SIA Acoustics.

As an older facility, Assembly Hall’s unique architecture caused some challenges in the installation process. The logistical difficulties of mounting the speakers to cover the arena’s unusual steeply raked seating proved to be difficult. “Any big arena like this is going to present some acoustical issues, but Assembly Hall is unique in that most of the seating is on two very steep sides of the court and go up high, and there are also balconies that are even higher,” added John Fuqua, Vice President, All Pro Sound. 

“Because of the seating layout, we had to fly the speakers at 80 feet above the floor. We installed a mix of JBL VERTEC® VT4888DP midsize powered line array elements, PD5322/95 full-range speakers and ASB6128 subwoofers specifically to provide the best coverage and performance to all the seating areas,” stated Fuqua.

The PD5322/95 loudspeakers and ASB6128 subs are powered by eight Crown Macro-Tech i Series MA9000i, six MA5000i and 10 CTs 1200 amplifiers. Five BSS BLU-160 digital signal processors are also part of the system.

                                                                                                                                           

For the main arrays All Pro Sound installed six hangs of nine VT4888DP line array elements each, spaced around the arena. The 10 PD5322/95 speakers are used for upper balcony fill and are flown from the existing catwalk system. The ASB6128 subwoofers are hung in four arrays of four boxes each, placed near the outer main arrays.

“Sam Berkow and the SIA Acoustics design team chose this combination of HARMAN equipment because the JBL speakers are the right match in size and coverage capability, especially considering the odd vertical layout of the seats at the sides, and the electronics complement the speakers perfectly to achieve the highest level of performance for the venue,” concluded Fuqua.

“For this system, the job was contracted, the equipment procured and the installation completed in just 19 days from the receipt of the notice to proceed. We coordinated with HARMAN representatives, All Pro Sound, retailer Sweetwater and the Indiana University staff to streamline the process and facilitate this quick turnaround. It was an impressive amount of work to be completed and be up and running within such a tight schedule,” added Berkow. “We are extremely happy with the results.”

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson. The company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 20 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $4.4 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012.

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Williams Arena’s Sound Is on the Rebound With HARMAN’s JBL Loudspeakers

NORTHRIDGE, California – It’s called “The Barn,” officially known as the Williams Arena, home of the University of Minnesota’s Golden Gophers men’s and women’s basketball teams. The Barn’s 14,625-capacity main arena has been renovated with an all-new sound system that includes more than 100 HARMAN’s JBL loudspeakers. Parsons Electric of Minneapolis, Minnesota was the systems integrator for the project. Parsons collaborated with Richmond, Virginia-based audio/video consulting and architectural services firm Anthony James Partners.

According to Tim Habedank, System Specialist for Parsons Electric, Williams Arena is a large, reverberant space, making it a challenge from a system design standpoint. “We had a reverberation time of about seven seconds,” Habedank said.

“The shape of Williams lent itself to a line array system because the hanging points were far enough away from the seating that we needed speakers that would cover a large area,” Habedank noted. “Williams has three seating levels, so we were able to direct the boxes to the different levels as needed.”

Parsons Electric installed eight line arrays, each comprised of six JBL VRX932LA-1 Constant Curvature loudspeakers, along with two additional arrays of four VRX932LA-1 loudspeakers each for court coverage. The system also features four subwoofer clusters, each containing three JBL ASB6128 subs, while 20 Control 30 loudspeakers are installed for upper balcony fill with 48 Control 29AV loudspeakers for lower balcony fill.

In addition, Parsons Electronic separated the VRX system into three zones—one for each level—so each zone can be controlled discretely with a touchpanel. “Williams is a multi-purpose arena, so for events that don’t require the full system, the top two levels of speakers can be turned off if only the lower level speakers are required,” Habedank said. “Or the top level can be turned off if only the lower and middle levels need to be reached. The system is easily configurable depending on the requirements of each event.”

“The VRX system really packs a punch and covers Williams Arena very well,” Habedank added. “We did some level shading on the system to ensure that every seat in the arena is separated by less than a few dB. We have really nice, even coverage with the VRX line arrays.”

For more information on Parsons Electric, please visit www.parsonscorp.com

HARMAN (www.HARMAN.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for the twelve months ending June 30, 2012.

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Dream Big! HARMAN’s Soundcraft™ Vi6 Console Handles Mixing Duties for Salesforce.com’s DreamForce 2012 Meeting

SAN FRANCISCO, California — Engineer Michael Jackson of BPIAudio recently used a HARMAN Soundcraft Vi6 digital mixing console for Salesforce.com’s annual meeting at DreamForce 2012 in San Francisco.

Salesforce.com is a leading enterprise cloud computing company that offers social and mobile cloud technologies that enable companies to connect with customers in entirely new ways. The company made a big splash at DreamForce 2012, the world’s largest vendor technology conference—its annual meeting, billed as “The Cloud Computing Industry Event of the Year,” was held at DreamForce 2012 in the entire South Hall of San Francisco’s Moscone Center.

Jackson handled the front of house mixing for the meeting and chose a Soundcraft Vi6 console supplied by the Los Angeles office of multinational sound contractor Creative Technology. Maurice Dozal of Creative Technology served as the audio lead for the event.

“This event was more like a theatrical production or rock concert than a typical sales meeting with a bunch of people in a ballroom,” Jackson said. “The South Hall of the Moscone Center takes up a city block. The Salesforce.com event was staged in the round and held 14,000 people. The activities included everything from intimate conversations where the speakers used lavalier and head microphones, to motivational speakers, to DJs, dancers and hip-hop artists where the volume exceeded 105dB.”

Jackson used the Soundcraft Vi6 for all front of house duties, which included mixing the audio for a number of presentations, interactive Internet demos and other activities. “This was one of the most varied and challenging programs I’ve ever had to mix, and I had to get ready for it on a very short installation and preparation schedule,” Jackson said.

Not only was Jackson faced with a hectic program schedule, but he also had no room for error. “The Soundcraft Vi6 was a great choice for such a major sales event, where the client had one chance to make a big impression,” he said. “The Vi6 was extremely flexible and its large number of inputs and outputs were able to accommodate the extremely demanding requirements of DreamForce 2012.”

“The Vi6 sounded wonderful and performed perfectly,” Jackson concluded.

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,900 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for year ended June 30, 2012.

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HARMAN’s JBL Professional VTX Line Array Series Wins GOOD DESIGN™ Award From the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design

JBL Professional’s VTX line array loudspeakers
(including the V25, pictured) earned a 2012
GOOD DESIGN Award from the Chicago
Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.

NORTHRIDGE, California – HARMAN’s JBL Professional today announced that its VTX Series line array loudspeakers have won a 2012 GOOD DESIGN™ Award from the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. Founded in 1950, GOOD DESIGN is the world’s most prestigious, recognized and oldest design awards program and covers new products designed and manufactured in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

“We are honored to have received a GOOD DESIGN award for our JBL VTX Series loudspeakers,” said Paul Bauman, Senior Manager, Tour Sound for JBL. “This award validates our efforts to create a new standard in line array technology with a series of products that exemplify the goal of ergonomic, innovative design in the service of exceptional audio performance.”

The JBL VTX Series is the company’s new flagship range of line array loudspeakers and subwoofers for tour and installed sound and incorporate JBL’s most advanced components, materials and technologies. At the heart of VTX is the D2 Dual Driver, a revolutionary device developed by JBL that dramatically improves the sound and performance of high frequencies. The D2 driver operates in conjunction with a host of additional JBL technologies to set new standards in fidelity, clarity, power density and musical accuracy in professional sound reinforcement applications.

For more information on the GOOD DESIGN Awards, please visit www.chi-athenaeum.org/gdesign/

HARMAN (www.HARMAN.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for the twelve months ending June 30, 2012.

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HARMAN’s JBL Professional Loudspeakers Give Sound to the Stars at the 55th Annual GRAMMY® Awards

(Left) Bryan Bradley, Vice President, General Manager
of the HARMAN Professional Loudspeaker
Business Unit and (right) Mark Ureda,Vice President,
Strategy and Technology, HARMAN Professional, in the
Television Committee Room at the GRAMMY Awards.

NORTHRIDGE, California – HARMAN’s JBL loudspeakers were at the heart of Sunday’s 55th Annual GRAMMY® Awards, with JBL VTX line arrays comprising the live sound reinforcement system at the STAPLES Center and an LSR6300 Series 5.1 surround sound studio monitor system used in the Television Committee Room.

The annual GRAMMY Awards telecast, known as Music’s Biggest Night®, is presented by The Recording Academy® to honor outstanding achievements in the production and performance of recorded music. The GRAMMY Awards were broadcast live in HDTV and 5.1 surround sound on the CBS Television Network. More than 28.1 million people watched this year’s Awards telecast, the second-largest audience for the GRAMMY Awards since 1993.

This year’s Awards were hosted by LL Cool J and featured performances by The Black Keys, Mumford & Sons, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, among others. The rock band fun. earned Best New Artist and Song of the Year for “We Are Young,” while Gotye won Record of the Year for “Somebody That I Used to Know,” along with two other GRAMMY Awards. Mumford & Sons earned Album of the Year for Babel.

ATK Audiotek supplied the live sound reinforcement system for the Awards, which featured left-right columns of 12 VTX V25 fullsize line array elements per side for the main PA, with additional left-right columns of 12 V25 per side for out fill, along with a center cluster of 18 VTX S28 arrayable subwoofers in cardioid mode (two arrays of nine S28 subs each), for a total of 66 VTX loudspeakers. Six VRX932 Constant Curvature loudspeakers served as front fill, with left-right rear delay arrays of eight VERTEC® VT4889 fullsize line array elements each. Powering the loudspeakers were 16 Crown Audio VRack 12000HD and four VRack 4x3500HD and the entire system was configured using JBL HiQnet Performance Manager™ software. The house sound system at the STAPLES Center, featuring VERTEC VT4888ADP-DA powered line array elements, was used to supplement the live sound system with five enclosures from the center end array used for rear upper deck and VIP box coverage.

“This year we used the newest evolution of the JBL line array,” said Jeff Peterson of ATK Audiotek. “The V25 had a very clear and smooth high end which didn’t distract our attention. All of the low-end power we’re accustomed to with the VT4889’s was there and then some. The S28 sub is so efficient we never came close to using all of the available power. Tying it all together, Performance Manager gave me all the control and monitoring I needed.”

In the Television Committee Room, Michael Abbott, Audio Director for the GRAMMY Awards, along with Recording Academy executives, relied on JBL LSR6300 Series studio monitors to listen to the mix of the show in real time. “We were able to take advantage of the LSR6300 Series’ RMC Room Mode Correction technology to ensure that we were accurately hearing the subtleties in the mix,” Abbott said. “As has been the case for several years, the LSR6300 Series performed flawlessly at the GRAMMY Awards.”

For more information on ATK Audiotek, please visit www.atkaudiotek.com

HARMAN (www.HARMAN.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for the twelve months ending June 30, 2012.

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HARMAN’s JBL Professional Loudspeakers Fill Out the Sound System at Penn State’s Beaver Stadium

NORTHRIDGE, California  – Beaver Stadium, home to Penn State University’s Nittany Lions football team, is one of the largest in the country with a capacity of almost 107,000. In fact, it is the second-largest stadium in the Western Hemisphere. The stadium has expanded six times in its history and recently, systems contractor Clair Brothers upgraded Beaver Stadium’s sound system with the installation of more than 140 HARMAN’s JBL loudspeakers to improve its performance in a number of coverage areas.

“We had already replaced the main PA system in 2007 with a comparatively small JBL VLA601 and VLA301 line array system, but work still needed to be done to address areas in the North and South end zones of the stadium where the sound from the main PA is blocked or where we determined that additional coverage was needed,” said Jim Devenney, Sr. Systems Designer and Project Manager at Clair Brothers. “The balconies are large and present significant acoustical barriers. There were already speakers in place in these areas but they had been there for a while and needed to be upgraded.”

“In the South end zone there are three separate areas, the main PA does not cover since the PA shoots over the top of the entire area. The tight down angle from the top of the scoreboard makes it impossible for the main PA to adequately reach those areas.”

“The lower level is used mostly for student seating, we mounted 16 JBL All Weather Series AW295 all-weather speakers on the face of the balcony to cover these seats between the balcony and the field. In addition there are 36 of JBL’s All Weather Series AWC82 outdoor speakers positioned in two alternating rows of 18, with 18 pointed straight down and another 18 placed in between them and aimed back away from the field to cover the area under the balcony.”

“The Club Level is the next level up and here the balcony directly blocks the sound from the main PA. To remedy this, 14 AW295 speakers face toward the field and 52 AWC82 speakers are placed facing down. There’s a seating area under the scoreboard that also needed attention. We added 24 JBL Control 25AV indoor/outdoor speakers to deliver sound to the people sitting under the scoreboard.”

“The top of the lower level seating in the North end zone is also shaded from the main system by an overhanging balcony. We installed 10 AWC129 speakers here.”

When it comes to installation challenges Clair Brothers has seen it all, yet the Beaver Stadium upgrade threw the proverbial fly in the ointment for Devenney and crew. “Putting up the speakers was the easy part,” Devenney said. “Our installers loved the speakers as they were well-designed and easy to mount. However, we had to install them during the Penn State football season so we had to put up and take down the scaffolding after every game. The schedule was also so tight that we had the speakers flown from the plant as soon as they were manufactured! We still were able to complete the installation in four weeks. The stadium’s operations staff was very helpful with logistics, ensuring the system installation would stay on schedule.”

HARMAN (www.HARMAN.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets — supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported net sales of $4.4 billion for the twelve months ending June 30, 2012.

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HARMAN’s DigiTech Appoints US Music Corp as Exclusive Distributor for USA

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — In a move that immediately upgrades the ability to provide complete customer and dealer support, HARMAN’s DigiTech today announced it has appointed US Music Corp (USM) as its exclusive US distributor effective April 1, 2013. Headquartered in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, USM is an international MI company that manufacturers and distributes worldwide.

Commenting on the agreement Craig Paller, Senior Director, Sales, HARMAN Signal Processing stated, “We will be working closely with US Music Corp over the next six weeks to ensure a smooth transition for our dealers and make certain we continue to provide comprehensive sales and technical support across the country. We look forward to joining USM’s portfolio of class-leading companies and benefit from their network of resources to enhance DigiTech’s national presence.”

“Adding DigiTech to our lineup was an easy decision. We strive to work with dedicated manufacturers that are committed to developing innovative products that move the market forward. DigiTech has a rich heritage as a manufacturer of some of the most well known guitar effects and they are a great complement to our extensive existing line of guitars, amplifiers and related products,” added Barry Ryan, President of US Music Corp.

“The synergy of DigiTech now being part of the USM family will benefit the entire sales channel. We are beginning a relationship with a highly capable partner that understands our business and the day-to-day requirements of our customers in order to be successful,” Paller concluded.

For more information on US Music Corp, please visit: www.usmusiccorp.com

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson. The company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 20 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $4.4 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012.

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HARMAN’s BSS Audio, Crown and Soundcraft Take Pole Position at New Circuit of the Americas Grand Prix Racetrack

AUSTIN, Texas — It’s enough to set any motorsports enthusiast’s pulse racing – the newly completed Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is the first purpose-built Grand Prix racetrack in the U.S. The complex hosted the 2012 Formula One United States Grand Prix, and upcoming races will include the MotoGP, FIA World Endurance Championship and American Le Mans Series. The 300-acre Austin, Texas facility is built around a state-of-the-art 3.4-mile circuit track with a capacity for 120,000 fans. An integral part of COTA is its public address and Emergency Communication System (ECS), featuring HARMAN’s BSS Audio networked digital signal processors and Crown power amplifiers which also receive input from the venue’s Soundcraft mixing console to serve a variety of sound reinforcement needs throughout the venue.

“Although the audio system is used for announcements and music during races and other activities, a facility like Circuit of the Americas requires an emergency notification system that meets public safety requirements as mandated by the National Fire Protection Association,” explained Brian Elwell, senior consultant and vice president of design firm Acoustic Dimensions (www.acousticdimensions.com). “The system has to serve as both a PA and an Emergency Communication System.”

“For 51 weeks out of the year COTA is used for purposes other than auto racing, so the audio system also needs to be suitable for concerts, events and activities throughout the entire facility, both indoors and out”, emphasized Elwell. “The Soundweb London network is an integral part of making everything work, acting as a core system that runs all audio signals everywhere including emergency notification to the 20,000-seat amphitheater and 40,000 people in the Grand Plaza area. As an example, we can instantly switch from using the PA system as a music source for a selected area in the complex to taking a single emergency paging mic and feeding it everywhere in the facility in case of a facility-wide emergency. We also have redundant signal paths to all audio components in the system to make sure everything is online, all the time.”

The project required that audio processing and amplification be installed in more than 30 different rack locations around the track as well as the grandstand, pit building, Grand Plaza indoor facilities and COTA’S Tower Amphitheater. A Soundcraft Si Compact 16 digital mixing console with CobraNet™ option card is used to mix various audio sources and integrate the console’s audio outputs with other components in various parts of the installation. CobraNet-compatible BSS Audio signal processing includes seven BLU-800 processors, two BLU-320 and six BLU-120 input/output expanders, three BLU-80 processors and 13 BLU-32 input/output expanders. The system also includes six BLU-10 programmable controllers. Matched to different loudspeaker zones and requirements, more than 70 Crown amplifiers are installed throughout Circuit of the Americas, including CTs 1200 USP4CN, CTs 4200A, CTs 3000 LITE, CTs 2000 LITE, CTs 1200 LITE, CTs 600 LITE, MA5000i, and 1160A models.

“We chose Crown power amps since their onboard DSP is extremely effective, and they work hand in hand with BSS components via HARMAN HiQnet™, noted David Battershell, project engineer for Ford Audio-Video Systems (www.fordav.com). “And in our experience the BSS Audio Soundweb London system enables designers and installers to provide an audio networking and processing solution for large-scale facilities at a price no other system can match. HARMAN’s HiQnet networking protocol links it all together and provides real-time monitoring status for all of the Soundweb London processing, Crown amplifiers and loudspeaker cable runs around the track. This ensures the system meets the emergency communication system standards as specified by the design team.”

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson. The company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 20 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of about 13,400 people across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and reported sales of $4.4 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012. 

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