2005 News Articles
Colossal vocals and multi-part harmonies have become the signature of Meat Loaf’s music, and his live show is no different. Massachusetts’ Scorpio Sound have supplied the man’s touring needs for many years, but their new additions from the XTA Series 2 range have made quite a difference. 2004’s rescheduled UK dates (after Meat Loaf’s health problems late last year) see the XTA C2 to the fore.
George Wehrlin has been with Meat Loaf for 15 years and mixed his FOH show since 1994: “At Scorpio, we were looking for alternatives to the e“Last time we were in the UK with Meat, I used a rack of C2s and G2s at a show in Leeds with Stage Audio Services. They performed flawlessly and I was pleased with the "sound", or lack thereof, of the comps. I used them on five backing vocals and they really helped me control the blend of the harmonies. The side chain EQ is useful on my female vocals because I can compress just the high mid peaks in their voices. Although I haven't tried every possible setting, it seems to me you could pretty much tailor the sound to get exactly what you want out of the unit. Very versatile.xisting dual comps out there. The C2s came along at just the right time, specifically because our analogue comps were literally falling apart and couldn't be trusted at all.
“I'm not quite sure when I first heard of XTA, but Scorpio has been using XTA 226s for probably as long as they've been out. I believe we got one to try and loved it and now it's the only processor we use on our main systems in the US.”
2003’s European dates have been supported by Sirius, who recently took six XTA DP226s for their Martin W8L system, and these went straight out on the Meat Loaf dates.
“Like the other XTA products we own, the C2s have stood up to the road very well. These units have been in my rack for over a year now and have been shipped all over; I have had zero problems. We feel pretty confident the XTAs will be with us for quite some time.”
Princess Anne officially opened the Town House in Hamilton, near Glasgow on 8th September 2004. Originally the old city chambers, library and town hall, the three separate buildings have now been linked to form one major complex housing a library, marriage suites and two state-of-the-art venues.
The two multi-purpose venues have been given a 10 million pound refurbishment. The main auditorium is an 800-seat theatre that boasts an L'Acoustics line array system, Lab.Gruppen amplification, a 40-channel Midas FOH console and Soundcraft monitor console that are EQ'd by XTA GQ600's with the entire system under the control of XTA DP6i's.
The Technical team are Kenny Farquharson, Chris Adam and David Rentoul. All three act as general theatre technician, covering all duties, but Kenny's forte is lighting, Chris's audio and David's AV and lighting.
The main auditorium will be used for theatre, live music and as a conference facility, as well as community-based arts. “We will be having everything from solo acoustic shows to large scale theatre,” says Adam. “The overall EQ for the system was done with XTA’s AudioCore software, which made the job very easy. The installation was carried out by Stage Electrics and also included the installation of an automated flying system and a state of the art lighting rig.”
The main auditorium will be used for theatre, live music and as a conference facility, as well as community-based arts. “We will be having everything from solo acoustic shows to large scale theatre,” says Adam. “The overall EQ for the system was done with XTA’s AudioCore software, which made the job very easy. The installation was carried out by Stage Electrics and also included the installation of an automated flying system and a state of the art lighting rig.”
The Avon room is a 250-seat banqueting hall again controlled by XTA DP6i's. It is equipped with Nexo loudspeakers, a Midas console and MC2 T2000 and T1000 amplifiers. “We’ve been really happy with the amps,” continues Adam. “We’re still fairly dusty after the building work, but they haven’t even flinched.“
We have three presets on the DP6i's so that the stage can be set up in either a left, centre or right hand situation. I’d used XTA 226 processors before and was impressed with them, so I was really glad to find out that XTA had been specified for the Town House. The AudioCore software is just very simple to use, and although our system won’t need much changing, any little tweaks will be absolutely no problem.”
T he IAB Institute of Audio based in Utrecht, Holland, has been running comprehensive training courses for the worlds of theatre, live music and television for the past 12 years. One element of this is a regular Sound Reinforcement seminar, where Dutch theatre and rental company employees can augment their audio skills. The course is designed to help sound engineers to better analyse a sound picture and produce a mix on up-to-date digital equipment. To ensure its technologies reflect current live sound practices, the Institute has equipped itself with digital loudspeaker management, EQ and dynamics units, including XTA digital signal processors.
“During these seminars, small classes practice building and setting up a complete sound system,” explains IAB’s Frans Ockeloen. “We have a stock of XTA equipment, purchased from TM Audio, including the full Series 2 range and GQ600s. They are used for set up of the sound system, with the D2s being used specifically for dynamics processing in ‘real-life’ practice lessons, during which the students are looking at screen projection of theatre show whilst doing a real time 32-track live audio mix, so that they are working in what is as close as is possible to a real mixing situation.”
Before they start a lesson, participants practice balancing EQ and dynamics with interactive teaching materials that IAB has developed by the European Media Master of Arts program, a cooperation between the University of Art and Portsmouth University.
IAB has also found that an increasing number of companies require staff training and, as part of their program, they have developed on-site training as well as classes held in IAB’s own studio. They have already held seminars at RAI, the Vredenburg Theatre and the Toneelhuis in Antwerp, amongst others.
“During the last seminar, participants had a broad base to use as real practice,” continues Ockeloen. “We have found it very important for the students to work on representative equipment. This is why we now have XTA processors for them to use, as they have become an industry standard.”
Kylie Minogue recently gave a one-off performance for 500 VIP guests of Deutsche Bank at the Finca Mas Solers outdoor casino, just outside Barcelona. Kylie’s system providers Capital Sound Hire supplied the PA, with XTA DP226 crossovers specified for speaker control, on a Martin Audio W8LC Line Array system.
The 70-minute Greatest Hits show, was a mixture of numbers from the last two major tours, Fever and A Night Like This performed on a custom built set. Capital Sound’s Paul Timmins has been working with Kylie for the last four years, and although this was only a one-off show, the preparation took in excess of two weeks, with ten days rehearsals and four days on-site time.
At front-of-house, Martin Audio W8LC Mini Line Array loudspeakers were flown in two hangs of seven per side, under a pair of W8LX subs, with a floor-mounted W8LS on each wing with DiGiCo D5 Live digital mixing consoles at both FOH and monitor positions. Chris Pyne was FOH engineer with Rod Matheson on monitors and Dave Wooster as system tech.
The system was tuned using the XTA DP226s. Four DP226's controlled the 16 x W8LC line arrays, four W8LX and two W8LS subs. The W8LC’s were running 6-way, with two mid bands and three high bands in use. The overall PA was flown quite low to help achieve an even and intimate experience. The subs were controlled using one DP226 and the frontfills (had they been needed) would have been assigned to another 226.
“XTA’s proprietary AudioCore PC control software was used as the interface for managing the system – it is quick and simple to use” explains Pyne. “This allowed us to time align the subs and lows in the system. It’s quick and simple to use. EQ wise I use the AudioCore to eliminate any unwanted audio lumps in the venue and then use an XTA GQ600 1/3 EQ as a general grab during show time.”
The production values for this show were developed to the same high standards as all shows, but the Barcelona event differed for a number of reasons. Chris Pyne: “Since our regular drummer/MD was not available the musical content had a different dynamic than usual. Also it was the first time we have done an outdoor show with Kylie and also one of the first ever private corporate shows.”
And the combination of XTA, Martin Audio and DiGiCo was perfection. “The show was superb,” concludes Paul Timmins. “Chris and Rod have worked with Kylie for so long it was effortless.”
January 2005 will see the release of a complete wireless system to allow control of our products through AudioCore via a WiFi Ethernet link.
XTA have spent a considerable period of time searching for a reliable, straightforward solution to creating a wireless system that can interface with our units. The obvious choice of standard network is to utilise the ‘Ethernet’ system as utilised by computer and control systems worldwide.
We have developed a new version of our popular computer interface ‘AudioCore’ to work with local area networks (LANs) and wireless local area networks (WLANs) using the TCP/IP protocol. This system means there is no need for COM port redirection software to use external USB to serial converters. These can prove troublesome, especially with laptops.
We have found that the Netgear WG511T wi-fi card provides greatly extended range and improved stability, over and above any WLAN systems built into laptops or tablet PCs (such as those featuring ‘Centrino’ processors).
The solution for the connection to the serial port on our processors is catered for by the Wiser WLAN to Serial converter. This device is small, stable, and easy to set up. New software has been developed for the DP226 and DP224 so that it may reprogram the Wiser’s basic features and required settings for hassle free configuration. We also have a utility program that allows more comprehensive setup of the device via a PC, if the default settings are not suitable .
The kit contains the Wiser converter, the Netgear Wifi card and all necessary cables and software on CD
XTA is pleased to announce the release of a new digital option that may be fitted to the DP226/6i, the DP224, SiDD, all Series 2 products and all OEM units.
This new digital interface includes a sample rate converter, which will accept AES audio streams up to 96kHz, and down to 32kHz
The card supercedes the current AES digital interface and comes fitted with digital inputs and outputs. Please note that the internal processing of all the units that accept this card will still remain at 48kHz, and the output sample rate remains at 48kHz when using the sample rate converter.
New software is required to control this card - this may be downloaded from the software section of our site. A series of application guides giving more detailed information on the card, and how it works may be downloaded from the Documents Section via the Tech.Notes link.
Inspired by Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew, Kiss Me Kate’s combination of Cole Porter songs and romantic antics started its UK run in Wimbledon Theatre at the end of August and continues around the country until February 2005.
The complete production package for the show is provided by Stage Electrics, with the sound element designed by Jem Kitchen and engineered by Graham Asher. With the emphasis on delivering a listening experience to make people ‘feel better’ the team has put together a sound system including MC2 amplification and XTA signal processing to ensure their desire for fidelity isn’t compromised in any way.
“When Jem designed the tour of Taboo at the end of last year, I had already met MC2 but we hadn’t yet got to the point of making an investment. However, I was using their T Series amps in a lot of installs and knew that they were really great,” says Stage Electrics’ Glen Beckley. “I had a couple of long chats with Ian McCarthy and I identified with his approach, so when he brought the E15 and E25 to show me I was really pleased.” Kitchen and Beckley had discussed the amplifiers they would use on Taboo and had wanted something light and easy to work with that they could load in in a day. “Ian came into view with a blue thing under his arm,” he laughs, “and I said ‘Hang on we need these, can I have 12 in four weeks time?’ I phoned Jem and said that I had found the missing link and it was going to be OK. So we did Taboo and that was great.”
The team has continued this philosophy with Kiss Me Kate. “We took all the various bits of equipment and loaded them into the Wimbledon Theatre and it was like you’d taken the accepted norm for a good quality sounding show and moved it to another level,” enthuses Beckley, adding that the process took 10 months of being completely obsessive about fidelity which, for them, is the most important aspect of their work. “We’re using seven E45s, nine 25s and two E15s. The MC2 amps play their role really well. There aren’t many amps I think sound better, and one of them is an MC1250. The E Series has worked out well because they allow you to have a show that you can tour sensibly without compromising the quality of your signal - and that’s the Holy Grail, to be honest.
“Continuing with the high quality requirement, we use all XTA on the show,” he adds. “One DP226 and seven DP224s. The majority of our racks are four way and we’re mostly using DP224s, but there is a specific reason why there’s a 226 in one of them: the Funktion One Resolution 2 is only 60 degrees wide, and in a wide house 60 degrees off the proscenium is not enough. So we use a pair of Resolution 2 SH, that are essentially the mid/high element without the 15, and we’ve got a clever bracket that allows you to hang an SH right next to a standard Resolution 2. It’s very light, so it can all hang on the same crossbeam position and that gives you about 110 degrees of width
We’ve got a DP226 so we have an extra pair of outputs, one for left and one for right that are still on the same zone of PA, but have their own processor output. To get the array happening correctly in the electrical domain as well as in the acoustic domain, sometimes you have to adjust the output response slightly, so that’s why its got its own output as opposed to just being paralleled off to the amplifier.”
Beckley uses XTA’s AudiCore software and a wireless LAN for set up so that he is able to wander round the various zones within each theatre. “AudioCore is great,” he says. “It’s quite simple to use, which is a great advantage on time saving.
“Kiss Me Kate sounds beautiful. You really have to listen to hear the loudspeakers. You want transparency and to get that you need a really great signal path - that’s exactly what we’ve got.”
XTA Electronics has unveiled the most advanced and powerful audio management system available: the groundbreaking DP428. The new digital signal processor provides everything needed for digitally interfacing and managing even the largest system. “Finding the best way to interface analogue people and digital technology is what we have been doing since even before we set up XTA. Having thousands of XTA digital signal processors in over a hundred countries worldwide tells us that we have got that interface right,” says XTA Co-founder/Director Andrew Grayland.
Like all of XTA’s products, the DP428 is the perfect solution for even the most demanding audio situation, something in which XTA takes great pride. “To be accepted on major tours such as Eric Clapton, Rolling Stones and U2, on theatre shows in London and on Broadway, plus be a part of the Olympics, the GRAMMYs, the Superbowl and other events that entertain worldwide audiences, gives us genuine satisfaction in the results of our work,” relates Grayland.
The DP428 Audio Management System is designed to provide the finest audio quality, best possible specifications, and ultimate reliability. “Our designs build in the finest sound quality at every stage of our processes,” Grayland notes. “Board layout, custom components, tolerances, materials — everything makes a difference. The pressure to compromise and cut a few corners is always there, but our experience tells us this would diminish what XTA stands for in product performance.”
Providing incredibly powerful control options, the DP428 offers 4x8 matrix capability, 48 dB crossover slopes, and a host of EQ solutions for addressing virtually any audio problem. There are four inputs, each offering gain control, a 28-band graphic EQ, eight filters, and a delay. Eight outputs each have gain control, polarity switching, delay, high/low pass filtering, and up to nine filters. Any input can be routed to any combination of outputs, plus all ins and outs can be phase-adjusted in 2 degree steps. The crossover offers a choice of two types, and 6, 12, 18, 24, or 48 dB per octave roll-off. Two-stage RMS and Clip/D-max limiters are available, with look-ahead for the Clip limiter attack time.
Digitally, the DP428 supports internal sample rates up to 96 kHz, and can accept external sample rates to 192 kHz. AES/EBU inputs are standard on the DP428, and front-panel LEDs keep the user informed of the unit’s status at all times.
To address the increased power and capability provided by the DP428, XTA’s industry-leading AudioCore PC remote control software has also taken a big leap forward. The DP428’s input/output routing can be controlled from simple screens, and EQ curves can be adjusted quickly and easily, even with tablet PCs. Up to 128 DP428s can be networked together and centrally controlled via AudioCore, using common XLR cables. For wireless control, XTA’s Walkabout Kit allows fine-tuning of the system from anywhere in the venue for great sound in every seat.
Fresh from a successful tour of North America, where until recently she was virtually unknown, Dido continues to triumph around Europe: from Lisbon and Frankfurt, to Brixton and the V Festivals in the UK. Each step of the way, Sound Art Touring system tech, Jamie Howieson, has utilised XTA processing to ensure flawless sound at every venue.
The ‘Life for Rent’ tour sees Dido performing hits including White Flag, Here With Me and Don’t Leave Home and also features Thank You, the record that shot her to fame when it was sampled by Eminem.
“I’ve been using XTA equipment for about four years now, mostly DP226s and DP200s with AES ins and outs. They’re really fast and easy to use,” explains Howieson. “At the moment, I’m using DP226s for time management and EQ on Capital Sound’s Meyer Milo line array system that we’re using for this tour.
“I use AudioCore [XTA’s software control system] all the time. I make a file for every show I do, anywhere around the world, within the programme. It’s a rock solid product. You just open up a window and there it is - all your stuff is there. It's quick, easy, very fast, accurate and reliable.
“The way I have things set up with AudioCore and the DP226s, I have both global and local control. I have EQ on the main mix and EQ on all the individual zones as well – infills, mono sums, and outer mono sums. And in the same machine I can get at the global EQ on my main line array.
“I can control all the DP226s via AudioCore with my tablet PC, which has a wireless Ethernet link to the main AudioCore computer. This allows me to walk into all my zones - so that this is Milo, Milo 1, etc - and I can walk up there and equalize it from where I stand. I’m a sound designer, so I always want everything to go one more step and the features where you can do summing, post and pre delay and EQ are really good.”
“I’ve used them all over the world in extreme heat and extreme cold - they're great.”
XTA Electronics is proud of its reputation through the professional audio industry as a company which offers a high level of customer support both in terms of technical enquiries, and service/repair support.
Due to advances in component design, many parts used in our older designs are either obsolete, or becoming prohibitively expensive to obtain. For this reason, several products have become obsolete over the years.
Within the last year production of the DP100, DP200, and DP202 has come to an end, as we are no longer able to manufatcure these units.
We have received a lot of enquiries about these older products since they were removed from the website, and so have set up an archive to offer continued support.
This section of the site willl offer manuals, related software, older software versions (AudioCore) , and EPROM images for all our discontinued products.
Currently, these are:
* DS400 Mic/Line Splitter
* RT1 Real Time Analyser
* DP100 Delay Line
* DP200 Equaliser/Processor
* DP202 Equaliser/Processor
