PA Plus and Crown Amplifiers Help “Howie Do It” On NBC’s New Comedy Series

ELKHART, Indiana – Canadian-based sound company PA Plus recently deployed Crown amplifiers in a unique live sound application for “Howie Do It,” an upcoming unscripted comedy television series, commissioned by NBC starring Howie Mandel. PA Plus provided the sound for the live studio audience at the Colosseum at the Caesars Windsor casino in Ontario, as well as the broadcast portion of the production. The Colosseum is a 5,000-seat venue that was utilized for the show, which was the largest ever studio audience for an NBC series show.

Crown I-Tech amplifiers provided the power and processing for the system. All I-Tech amplifiers are equipped with comprehensive status, fault, and load monitoring via standard Ethernet networking and Harman Professional’s HiQnet™ connectivity and control protocol and System Architect™ interface. “System Architect easily allowed us to create and store a series of presets dedicated to the broadcast,” stated Mark Radu, systems engineer at PA Plus. The I-Tech amplifiers also feature advanced DSP processing which can be utilized for additional adjustment of line arrays.

“We were contacted by Ian Dunbar, who was head of audio for this project, to provide a complete audio solution for both the live studio audience as well as the broadcast production,” stated Radu. Providing sound for a live television event was not an easy task and the setup presented many challenges. “The production team was building its own stage and set in front of the existing setup. This then required dedicated sound, lighting and video systems to support the television tapings,” stated Radu. With the venue already equipped with an in-house Harman system, PA Plus was able to choose components from the existing sound system to use in support of their sound integration. “As host to the production, The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor offered the use of any or all of their in house installation to expedite the setup. After discussing matters with the venue’s production manager, Todd Therrien, we came up with a plan that would best serve the television production yet still be non-disruptive to the regular operation of the venue,” Radu added.

The I-Tech amplifiers powered 26 JBL VerTec VT4887 compact line array elements that covered the bleacher section of the audience. “Everybody involved was familiar with the product, the venue is a VerTec installation and we fully support VerTec within our own inventory,” added Radu. JBL SRX712M monitors provided audio support for the floor seating. “Outfitted with the same family of driver components as the VerTec series, the SRX712M’s would allow for a smooth transition between the floor seating and the bleacher sections,” stated Radu. The floor level seating was covered by nine JBL SRX712M’s and was augmented by six additional SRX712M’s utilized as front fills.

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Audio Analysts Continues A Tradition Of Excellence and Takes Live Sound To A Higher Level With Crown I-Tech HD

For Audio Analysts, excellence in tour sound is a tradition that began over 35 years ago. The company’s commitment to excellence and delivering the highest quality sound has made it the choice for sound reinforcement for the biggest names in music including Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Shania Twain, Sammy Hagar, Norah Jones, The OffSpring, No Doubt, and Ringo Starr. It’s with this mission in mind that Audio Analysts has chosen the new Crown I-Tech HD amplifiers to power its tour sound division.

For Audio Analysts, the quality of performance of the new I-Tech HD comes to no surprise. “We have been using Crown amplifiers since the early 1970’s. I can remember when we were utilizing the D-75, D-150, and D-300. Over the years we’ve tried other brands but we always come back to Crown as our flagship amplifier,” stated Albert Leccese, Vice President of Engineering for Audio Analysts.

I-Tech HD features a new user-inspired DSP engine co-developed with BSS called OMNIDRIVEHD. The new LevelMAX limiter suite offers higher SPL out of existing loudspeakers while at the same time better protection and minimal sonic degradation. Harman HiQnet™ System Architect™ mirrors the typical browser navigation interface to provide tour sound professionals with an interface to access a host of power configuration and control functions.

“We are always searching for the best possible audio products for our customers. Our world-class clients strive to play at the top of their game, which demands superior performance on our part. The Crown I-Tech HD is a testament to that attitude, which validates our continued support for our clients. Audio Analysts strives for innovative technologies that reinforce our efforts to supply our clients with the best equipment at a fair price,” stated Leccese.

“Audio Analysts reputation in the live sound industry speaks for itself. When we build a product such as I-Tech HD we go straight to customers like Audio Analysts and get their thoughts and opinions on what they need to see in an amplifier. We take pride in knowing Audio Analysts have and will continue to use Crown products such as I-Tech HD because they believe in what we are providing, stated Marc Kellom VP of Marketing for Crown.

“The new Crown I-Tech HD offers users an unparalleled sound quality. These amps deliver a lot of power for their small size and weight. Also, the next generation DSP allows for more precise algorithms for system EQ and tuning. Of course with Crown you have the ability to easily network your amplifiers as well as utilizing Harman HiQnet System Architect. Ultimately Crown gives you the best bang for your buck, when you look at the price and what you get in terms of performance and features,” added Leccese.

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Sound Image To Put 10 Million Watts of Crown I-Tech HD Power On The Road

The introduction of the Crown I-Tech HD series amplifier has caught the attention of the entire tour sound industry. Most notably, Southern California-based Sound Image Inc. has agreed to purchase over 800 I-Tech HD amplifiers for its tour sound business. “Our customers are extremely demanding and I-Tech HD gives Sound Image the ability to take our system performance to unprecedented levels,” stated Dave Shadoan, president of Sound Image Inc. “At Sound Image we have always prided ourselves on providing the best sound possible to the clients we serve.” Sound Image’s touring division is known as a provider of premium live sound systems, working with major artists such as Rascal Flatts, Jimmy Buffett, Eric Clapton, and Taylor Swift to name a few.

At its core, I-Tech HD features a new user-inspired DSP engine co-developed with BSS called OMNIDRIVEHD. The new processing engine features Linear Phase FIR filters that offer unrivaled crossover performance for sonically pure tunings. The OMNIDRIVEHD processing engine also features an innovative new suite of limiters called LevelMAX™. The new LevelMAX™ limiter suite offers higher SPL out of existing loudspeakers while at the same time better protection and minimal sonic degradation. Harman HiQnet™ System Architect ™ mirrors the typical browser navigation interface to provide tour sound and contracting professionals with a familiar interface to access a host of power configuration and control functions.

“We designed the Crown I-Tech HD with sound companies such as Sound Image in mind. Many of the new features we engineered on this amp are the result of great feedback we received from companies like Sound Image. At Crown we have an understanding of our customers and their need for powerful and rock-solid performance from their sound reinforcement equipment,” stated Marc Kellom, vice president of marketing at Crown.

“There were a lot of features that stand out in this new amplifier that are going to help us be more efficient. The new built-in DSP is a major advantage, because it makes our job easier when it comes to EQ and tuning. Additionally, the front panel USB slot is going to save a lot of time when it comes to configuring entire racks of amplifiers. Ultimately, Crown took a great amplifier and made it even better for what we do,” stated Shadoan. “I-Tech HD amplifiers offer our tour sound business a level of performance that is unmatched. I-Tech HD has the ability to raise the bar on not only amplifier performance, but system level performance as well. Combined with our JBL VerTec line arrays the I-Tech HD amplifiers allow us to achieve levels of performance that were not previously attainable.”

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Crown Audio Appoints Guillermo Sanchez Business Developer For Central and South America

Crown Audio today announced the appointment of Guillermo Sanchez to the position of Business Developer for Central and South America. In this role Sanchez will be responsible for supporting the sales within the region and working closely with the customer base to ensure all products are tailored to meet their needs. He will report to Director of Marketing for Installed Sound, Brian Divine.

Previously, Sanchez served as Chief Sound Designer and Engineer for Corporacion Dynaco. In this role Sanchez was responsible for preparing and engineering sound reinforcement equipment for live music, corporate events, television. He also engineered sound solutions for events such as parades and political events in this role.

Sanchez is also the former owner and Chief Sound Designer and Engineer for Dynacoustic. In this position he specialized in the design and engineering of sound equipment for major live sound events.

“Guillermo has over twenty-five years of experience as a sound engineer. As a veteran of the industry he’s well aware of the needs and challenges of our clients and his background will prove to be a major asset for them to tap into,” stated Divine.

Commenting on his appointment, Sanchez said today, “After over twenty-five years spent in sound design and engineering, I now get to work for one of the companies that I relied on so often in my career. This is an outstanding opportunity and I look forward to the challenge of assisting others in their sound design needs. I’ve always relied on equipment from companies that stood behind their products and Harman is known throughout the industry for just that.”

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Crown Audio Supercharges System Reliability On 660A Series Amplifiers For Commercial Sound Marketplace

In a move to address the needs of both its contractor and end user communities in all vertical markets, Crown Audio today introduced its 660A commercial sound amplifier with a re-engineered high bandwidth filter that provides comprehensive system reliability in the most demanding fixed installation environments. The 660A represents a renewed commitment to providing the highest quality amplifiers for commercial and industrial audio.

“The 660A is among the most complete amplifier packages designed specifically for commercial applications,” said Phil McPhee, marketing director for Crown Audio. “For this reason we added a new high bandwidth filter to make it among the most reliable in this product category.”

The 660A has six inputs and six 60W power amplifier channels for multi-zone systems. It can drive different types of speakers in different areas of a facility. The amplifier is ideal for applications in schools, hospitals, factories, restaurant/retail, house of worship, fitness facilities, and 5.1 surround systems. These low-cost units provide all necessary features in a simple building-block format. The sound system can be upgraded as a facility expands, allowing for the addition of more mixers for more inputs, or add more power amps to handle more zones.

The amplifier features balanced Phoenix-type line inputs and touch-proofed screw-terminal speaker outputs. Its advanced protection system includes output current limiting, DC protection, circuit breaker/fuse, and thermal protection. The 660A is backed by Crown’s 3-year full warranty.

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