Quick-Change Artists: Puresound Masters the Art of Fast Setup and Breakdown at Breakaway Ministries with HARMAN’s JBL VERTEC® Line Arrays

ORLANDO, Florida — Breakaway Ministries, a non-denominational weekly Bible study organization on the campus of Texas A&M University, began in 1989 when 12 students came together to worship, and has grown to where thousands of college students gather every Tuesday night primarily in Reed Arena basketball arena or Kyle Field football stadium. Houston, Texas sound contractor Puresound supplies a HARMAN’s JBL VERTEC® line array sound system for the weekly gatherings, which are more challenging than a usual house of worship gig for Puresound owner Wes Mathew and crew— they have to set up the entire system in an hour and break it down in an hour.

“It’s like setting up a portable mega-church,” said Mathew. “From one week to the next we could be in either Reed Arena or Kyle Field so we’re constantly on the move. The logistics of both locations give us just about an hour to set up the system, from pulling in the truck to handing the worship leader a live microphone. When the service ends we have an hour to break the system down.”

To facilitate such a speedy setup, Mathew and a special team of Breakaway volunteers rely heavily on JBL VERTEC VT4888ADP midsize and VT4887ADP compact powered line array elements, along with VT4881ADP powered subwoofers. Because they only have an hour, building rigging and flying speakers is impossible. The loudspeakers can be quickly and easily ground-stacked, thanks to their quick-release pins, end-mounted metal frames, front and rear hinge bars and other features that enable fast, stable setup.

Another major plus is the VERTEC built-in DrivePack™ amplifier module. “With the powered VERTEC loudspeakers it’s literally plug and play,” Mathew said. “It also makes it much easier to bring more or fewer speakers depending on the venue and the event—we can just add or subtract arrays as needed without having to deal with bringing extra amps or figuring out how many amps to leave behind.”

In Reed Arena, Puresound uses four VT4888ADP powered line array elements per side to cover the center section of the court or stadium, and six VT4887ADP powered line array elements per side to cover the sides of the facilities. Six VT4881 powered subwoofers and four JBL SRX728S subs placed along the ground by the portable platform stage handle the low end. Crown XTi4000 amplifiers power the subwoofers. At Kyle Field, Puresound uses a similar configuration with the arrays spaced apart every 25 yards.

“The VERTECs work well in a ground-stacked configuration in these applications because the height of the platform stages we put the line arrays on and the curved stacking configuration of the arrays place them in positions where they cover most of the seating really well and deliver clear, intelligible sound,” Mathew noted. “We don’t really need to fly any of the speakers.”

As Breakaway Ministries grows, Mathew expects the system to grow with them, and JBL VERTEC’s modular, powered design and Puresound’s “portable mega church” approach will help ease any growing pains.

HARMAN (www.HARMAN.com) designs, manufactures, and markets a wide range of audio, lighting and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer, and professional markets. It is a recognized world leader across its customer segments with premium brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, and Mark Levinson®, and leading-edge connectivity, safety and audio technologies. 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 14,300 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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Firehouse Productions Rocks the Nokia Theatre LA LIVE at 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony with HARMAN’s JBL Loudspeakers and Crown Amplifiers

LOS ANGELES, California – The 28th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony was held on the west coast for the first time in 20 years at the Nokia Theatre LA LIVE in Los Angeles. This year’s inductees included Public Enemy, Heart, Albert King, Randy Newman, Rush and Donna Summer, with Lou Adler and Quincy Jones each receiving an Ahmet Ertegun non-performer award. Sound for this year’s ceremony featured more than 50 of HARMAN’s JBL VERTEC® line array loudspeakers powered by Crown I-Tech HD Series amplifiers.

Red Hook, New York-based sound contractor Firehouse Productions had the Nokia Theatre’s impressive house JBL VERTEC sound system at its disposal, which includes 14 VERTEC VT4889 fullsize line array loudspeakers per side for the main left and right clusters and six VT4889 loudspeakers per side for left and right outfill. To pump out the low end, 22 VT4880A fullsize flown subwoofers are arranged in cardioid configuration, along with eight VT4880A subs per side stacked at the left and right sides of the stage in a cardioid arrangement. The standard house system at Nokia Theater also includes six VT4887A subcompact line array loudspeakers for front fill and even JBL AC2212/00 plus six PD5212/64 loudspeakers for loge and mezzanine delays, respectively.

For the Induction Ceremony, Firehouse Productions added three more hangs of six VT4886 subcompact line array elements each for left, center and right balcony delay clusters and additional VT4886 enclosures for distributed front fill. Audio networking and signal processing was provided by BSS Audio Soundweb London components.

Firehouse has provided the sound for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony before, but this was the first time the company did the event in a proper theater. According to Mark Dittmar, Firehouse’s lead design and integration engineer, Firehouse immediately benefited from a space with good acoustics and a world-class PA system already in place. However, he noted, “With this being rock and roll’s biggest awards night, we wanted a system that would completely blow peoples’ minds for the bands, but maintain good intelligibility for the speeches.” Knowing the Nokia Theatre LA LIVE was already equipped with VERTEC gave Dittmar a feeling of confidence going in, having used VERTEC line arrays for more than a decade for their superior sound quality.

Dittmar has depended on Crown amplifiers since Firehouse Productions began and finds that the I-Tech HD Series offers power and flexibility he can’t achieve with other products. I-Tech HD amplifiers were deployed for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremonies to power the additional VERTEC arrays, along with the original Crown I-Tech amplifiers which power the house PA.

“One of our favorite aspects about Crown is the ability to build a custom library of presets that enable us to control any speaker in our inventory with the proper power and optimize their EQ, delay and other parameters,” Dittmar stated. “In particular, the inclusion of the newest VERTEC V5 preset tunings in the Crown I-Tech HD Series amps really took the performance of the loudspeakers beyond anything we were able to achieve before in terms of coverage, coherence, tonal balance and overall clarity."

For more information on Firehouse Productions, please visit www.firehouseproductions.com

HARMAN (www.HARMAN.com) designs, manufactures, and markets a wide range of audio, lighting and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer, and professional markets. It is a recognized world leader across its customer segments with premium brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, and Mark Levinson®, and leading-edge connectivity, safety and audio technologies. 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 14,300 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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Liu Huan’s Wan Shi Da Center Performance Thrills With HARMAN Professional Stage

BEIJING, China – For nearly two decades, singer/songwriter/history professor Liu Huan has delighted fans throughout China with his Mandarin popular music.. His signature suit and black braids are unforgettable as he continues to perform on the international level, including a 2008 Beijing Summer Games Opening Ceremonies appearance. At recent a performance at the Wan Shi Da Center, Huan entertained a crowd of more than 18,000 fans as he performed a vast number of his hits with the backing of a complete HARMAN Professional audio system.

Complete with Crown amplifiers, JBL VerTec line array elements, AKG microphones and Soundcraft digital consoles, a professional group of audio technicians and musicians, including artist San Bao and designer Jin Shaogang, gathered to ensure the HARMAN setup provided the perfect sound for the enthusiastic fans in attendance.

Performances included the former bassist of Lin Dian, Wang Xiaodong, jazz musician Kong Hongwei, the domestic lead-guitar player Li Yanliang, each accompanied by the Taurida Governorate Orchestra of St. Petersburg, Russia. Additionally, members of “The Voice of China” -- Zhen Hong, Liu Yue, Ji Ke Jun Yi, Quan Zhendong and Wang Naien – came on the stage to perform with Huan.

The pickup work using AKG microphones was designed, installed and debugged on site by HARMAN Professional Technical Manager Tang Lei. Fourteen AKG wireless microphones were used for main vocals and backup during the concert. To enhance stability and reliability of the wireless microphone system, an AKG HUB4000 Q was supplemented for monitoring. Additionally, the antenna system, which was composed of SRA2 B/W active directional broadband UHF antenna and PS4000W active broadband UHF antenna crossovers, was used to ensure the stability of signal transmission and provide the best RF power and advanced multichannel performance for the wireless microphone system.

Two Soundcraft Vi6’s and a Vi1 digital console had the responsibilities of FOH and monitor mixing, respectively.  According to Shaogang, the Soundcraft consoles performed perfectly, with complete stability in the audio signal.  It put a great finishing touch on the AKG wireless channels.

JBL VerTec VT4888 and JBL VT4889 series line-array speakers were deployed for the concert, with JBL VT4880 arrayable subwoofers at the front of the front stage. Forty-eight JBL VT4889-1 3-way line-array elements, 16 JBL VT4888 3-way line-array elements and 20 JBL VT4880A ultra-low frequency line array speakers were hung above the stage for full fill and side fill, with two groups of JBL VT4887 line array elements hung on each side above FOH to satisfy the audiences on the back field’s three floors.

Forty-eight Crown IT9000HD and eight IT4000 digital amplifiers were used for full range and side range amplification. Twelve IT-12000 HD digital amplifiers were used for subwoofers, while eight IT9000 HD digital amplifiers were used for back fill.

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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ATK Audiotek and HARMAN’s JBL VERTEC® Line Arrays Prove Victorious at Super Bowl XLVII

ATK Audiotek deployed its custom-designed
cart systems, loaded with JBL VERTEC line array
loudspeakers, for Super Bowl XLVII at the
Superdome in New Orleans.

NORTHRIDGE, California  – Providing audio services for the Super Bowl for the 16^th straight year, ATK Audiotek deployed its custom-designed, cart-based audio system for Super Bowl XLVII, held at the Superdome in New Orleans. Once again, ATK Audiotek equipped its carts with HARMAN’s JBL VERTEC® line array loudspeakers for the Halftime Show of the National Football League’s championship game. The carts were also used for the rendition of “America the Beautiful” featuring the Sandy Hook Elementary School Choir and Jennifer Hudson, as well as Alicia Keys’ performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

CBS’ Super Bowl XLVII broadcast reached an average of 108.41 million viewers in the United States, while a record 164.1 million people in the U.S. watched all or part of the telecast for at least six minutes. Beyoncé starred in the Halftime Show, which included a reunion performance with Beyoncé and her former Destiny’s Child bandmates, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. The Post-Game Show included the Lombardi Trophy presentation, awarded to this year’s NFL champion Baltimore Ravens.

For Super Bowl XLVII, ATK Audiotek deployed 16 of its custom-designed cart systems, which allow for easy setup between events, and quick transport of the JBL VERTEC loudspeakers on and off the field. Eight of the carts included five VERTECVT4889 fullsize line array elements, while the other eight carts included four VT4889’s. Each cart was also equipped with two VT4880A fullsize arrayable subwoofers, while the four carts that split the 50-yard line for field foldback also each held two VRX932 Constant Curvature loudspeakers.

“We have relied on VERTEC line arrays in the Super Bowl for several years running and they have not let us down thanks to their reliable performance and high output,” said Kirk Powell, Engineer in Charge for ATK Audiotek. “In one of the world’s most widely-viewed televised events of the year, we need an easily-deployed, world-class loudspeaker system and that’s what we have with VERTEC.”

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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Maryland Sound Re-Elects HARMAN’s JBL Line Arrays for President Barack Obama’s Second Inauguration

NORTHRIDGE, California – Barack Obama was sworn in as President of the United States for a second term on January 21, 2013 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. As it has since 1996, Maryland Sound provided the main PA system for the inauguration, relying on a combination of HARMAN’s JBL VTX and VERTEC® line arrays, Crown amplifiers and Soundcraft digital consoles to provide clear sound quality to the over 1,000,000 people in attendance. 

The ceremonial program, which included President Obama’s oath of office and his inaugural address, took place on the Capitol grounds, and also included music from the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir and the fifth grade chorus from P.S. 22 on Staten Island. The program also featured performances by James Taylor (“America the Beautiful”), Kelly Clarkson (“My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”) and Beyonce (“The Star-Spangled Banner”).

At the Capitol, Maryland Sound provided an assortment of JBL VP7315, VP7215, Control 25AV and AE Series AC28/95 loudspeakers. For the massive audience that filled the Capitol Grounds and National Mall, Maryland Sound deployed 12 of its custom-built line array towers, each featuring 16 VERTEC VT4889 fullsize line array elements. Crown ITHD12000 amplifiers powered the system.

The program culminated with the Inaugural Parade, following President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and their families for 1.2 miles until they reached Lafayette Park. Maryland Sound supported the main parade route with nine loudspeaker towers, each ranging from 10 to 12 VERTEC VT4889 fullsize line array elements, powered by Crown ITHD12000 amplifiers, with Soundcraft Si Compact 24 digital consoles.

At Lafayette Park, Maryland Sound erected two towers each containing four hangs of eight JBL VTX V25 fullsize line array elements. Crown ITHD12000 amplifiers powered the audio, which was mixed with a Soundcraft Si Compact 24 digital console. 

Audio at the Presidential viewing stand outside the White House featured 25 JBL Control 25 loudspeakers, powered by Crown ITHD12000 amplifiers.

The entire system was configured using JBL HiQnet Performance Manager™ software.

“It is always an honor to provide the audio system for the Presidential Inauguration and the challenge is always to provide the best audio quality possible while giving consideration to the sightlines of the crowd at the Capitol and National Mall,” said Bob Goldstein, President of Maryland Sound. “As we always say, the audience matters, and never is that clearer than at the Inauguration. JBL’s VTX and VERTEC line arrays, along with Crown amplifiers and Soundcraft consoles, once again played a crucial role in making this event a success.”

For more information on Maryland Sound, please visit www.marylandsound.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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Pick Of The Hits - Harman in Backstage, January 2013

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Sound Image Upgrades Audio System at Gibson Amphitheatre with V5 Presets for HARMAN’s JBL VERTEC® Line Arrays

NORTHRIDGE, California – Delivering world-class audio to the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal City in California, Escondido, California-based Sound Image recently upgraded to Crown I-Tech HD power amplification and added the new V5 presets to the Amphitheatre’s HARMAN JBL VERTEC® line array system.

Originally built as an outdoor venue in 1972, the Gibson Amphitheatre was converted in 1982 and is now the third-largest indoor theater in California, seating approximately 6,000 people and has won several Pollstar awards as Venue of the Year. The Amphitheatre hosts a variety of events including concerts, performances, as well as occasional award shows. The existing PA system at the Gibson Amphitheatre includes 24 VERTECVT4889 fullsize line array elements (12 per side) and 24 VT4880 fullsize arrayable subwoofers, with six hung per side plus six stacked per side. The system also features five VT4888 midsize line array elements on each side of the stage for additional outfill and two JBL DrivePack® VT4888DP enclosures per side for flown downfill. 

The upgrade of the system with the V5 settings also included the addition of 54 Crown Audio I-Tech 12000 HD amplifiers. System control is provided via HARMAN’s HiQnet System Architect™ platform with an extensive custom control panel interface that was developed by Gary Sanguinet of Sound Image.

The new and improved V5 settings provide the Gibson Amphitheatre with a significant improvement in sound quality. This includes greater horizontal coverage, improved system response to equalization, and improved interaction between arrays. Paul Bauman, Senior Manager of Tour Sound at JBL Professional, commented, “The Gibson Amphitheatre has provided an important proof of performance test bed throughout the development of V4 and V5 presets and it has been a pleasure to work with front of house engineer George “Barney” Barnes, Mark Sidlow, Rick Merrill and the Sound Image team to really dial in the system—it’s a great-sounding venue that really highlights what is possible to achieve with VERTEC V5.”

“The biggest improvement for me is the increase in usable midrange information as well as vastly improved headroom,” Barnes said. “Being an ‘in house’ rig, protection is a must and great improvements have been made in that regard with no problems.”

The system has been greatly accepted by prestigious engineers and bands such as Rush, Jason Aldean, No Doubt, Dukes of September and Dream Theatre.

For more information on the Gibson Amphitheatre, please visit www.gibson-amphitheatre.net

For more information on Sound Image, please visit www.sound-image.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 13,900 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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Studio Berar Makes Lasting Impression at The Prodigy’s Warriors Dance Festival With HARMAN’s JBL VERTEC® Line Arrays and Soundcraft Vi6™ Digital Consoles

Studio Berar provided JBL VERTEC® powered line
arrays and Soundcraft Vi6 digital audio consoles
for the Warriors Dance Festival in Belgrade.

BELGRADE, Serbia – Studio Berar recently provided an extensive HARMAN audio system for The Prodigy’s Warriors Dance Festival at the Kalemegdan Fortress in Belgrade, Serbia. Co-promoted by the team behind Exit Festival, the event featured an eclectic and innovative lineup, while the sound reinforcement system included JBL VERTEC® powered line arrays and Soundcraft Vi6 digital audio consoles.

The music at the Warriors Dance Festival favored heavy beats and heavy guitars and joining The Prodigy in Eastern Europe's party hub were acts such as Skrillex, Caspa, Zane Lowe and Feed Me, while Ritam Nereda, Goblini, Eyesburn, Lollobrigida represented the domestic forces. As the leading hire company in the region, which has built its reputation over almost three decades, Studio Berar was contracted by The Prodigy and the AAA Production team to satisfy an audience of over 20,000 fans who massed at the main Warriors Dance stage and two supporting stages.

Momcilo and Emil Berar project-managed the entire event for Studio Berar, while the audio team was led by system engineers Ivan Paplacko, Zoran Matic and Aleksandar Pejin. The company fielded its front-line JBL VERTEC rig, while each performing band brought its own sound technician to pilot their show mixes on Studio Berar’s Soundcraft Vi6’s at both the FOH and monitor positions.

The main stage was equipped with two 16-element hangs of VERTEC VT4889ADP-DA powered fullsize line array elements, with a pair of 8-element VT4889ADP-DA line arrays providing outfills, four VT4888ADP-DA powered midsize line array elements (for infills), two hangs of four VT4888 (sidefills), and a pair of 10-element VT4888ADP-DA line arrays as delays. In total, Studio Berar also deployed no fewer than 52 VT4880 fullsize arrayable subwoofers. The whole system was processed using dbx DriveRack 4800’s while 12 Crown I-Tech I-T8000 and 24 I-Tech I-T6000 powered the passive elements of the system.

According to Studio Berar’s Marketing Manager Lazar Josanov, the Warriors Dance Festival offered many sound technicians the opportunity to work on Soundcraft’s Vi6 consoles. “A lot of the engineers who worked on the Vi6 for the first time were like children with a new toy!”

Josanov added that the clarity and strength of sound impressed both visitors and performers. “The whole festival sounded great, and all bands who performed, both local and visiting, were more than satisfied with the overall production,” he said.
The Prodigy themselves took the stage at 1:00 A.M. and with the very first rhythms brought the audience into delirium with their unstoppable movement and energy. “The perfectly clear sound shook the fortress area while the fantastic lighting effects were in perfect coordination with each song beat,” Josanov added.

For more information on Studio Berar, please visit www.studioberar.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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