Electro-Voice International Concert Sound Academy held in Straubing

Around 40 participants from 13 different countries attended the Concert Sound Academy in Straubing

From July 21-23, 2013 Electro-Voice hosted its International Concert Sound Academy at its European HQ in Straubing, Germany. Around 40 participants from the entire EMEA region – including pro sound experts from Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Russia, France, Nigeria and Great Britain – enjoyed there three days of seminars that were at once interesting and entertaining. Practical experience gleaned from a visit to the concert given by Joe Cocker at the Bluetone Festival (using an Electro-Voice XLC system) was another of the highlights of the course.

The motto of the Academy, “the theory and practice of experts for experts,” was borne out by a series of seminars focusing upon the new OMNEO media networking architecture. This innovative technology offers unprecedented possibilities for sound system deployment, including the transmission of a multi-channel audio stream of a very high quality with extremely low latency. OMNEO also offers comprehensive and reliable system control for professional media networks beyond sound reinforcement – control that, given sufficient bandwidth, is virtually unlimited. The technology was seen in action recently at the CHIO international equestrian championships in Aachen, where for the first time ever – thanks to OMNEO – an ELA, pro sound and intercom communications system from RTS was supervised and controlled via a single IP-based network. Training in the use of IRIS-Net and the software LAPS rounded off the first day of seminars.

The theoretical emphasis of the course was upon the OMNEO network architecture, IRIS-Net and the fundamentals of rigging

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On the second day, the participants from thirteen nations had the opportunity of raising their level of expertise in the day-to-day practice of the professional sound sector. Here, the subjects covered included rigging and the use of a variety of sub arrays and system setups.

Europe’s largest demo hall was the scene of the three-day International Concert Sound Academy

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The course was conducted by an international Academy team comprising five experts in the field of concert sound: Christian Gress (Senior Sales Manager Electro-Voice), Andreas Koestlinger (Tech Support), Fredi Palm (Key Account Manager Mobile Audio), Tony Sawyer (MEA Technical Support Manager) and Neal Allen (Concert Sound Sales Consultant with Bosch ProSound UK). “It’s the philosophy of our Academy to give participants information of real practical utility to take home with them: knowledge and tips that will considerably facilitate their day-to-day work, as well as the requisite theoretical basis, such as an understanding of the physical limitations of different systems,” reports Gress. “Judging by the feedback we received from participants, we certainly succeeded at this Academy. Participants were able to experience the full range of possibilities of this platform in Europe’s largest demo hall. It astounded many of them and they were extremely enthusiastic.”

Commented Kamil Swobodzinski, Vice President Sales Communication EMEA: “It is our goal to ensure that the full potential of our concert sound systems is exploited in the field. For this to be possible, it is essential that the people who use it have the requisite expertise. Adjusting a line array to a particular venue, to the area that has to be covered and to the desired sound characteristics takes a certain amount of know-how, which is what our Academies are designed to impart. At the end of the day, what we seek to ensure is that every concertgoer enjoys the optimal acoustic experience.”

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