PEAVEY INT’L. HEADQUARTERS — Peavey Electronics Corporation has begun a company-wide Lean initiative that will maximize efficiency among its 33 facilities and strengthen the organization’s position in the global marketplace.

Lean manufacturing is a philosophy of maximizing efficiency within an organization. Although the movement first gained traction under the term “Lean� in the 1990s, the roots of Lean date to Henry Ford, and later, Toyota. Courtland Gray, Chief Operating Officer of Peavey Electronics, said that Peavey must refine its business model in order to position the company for continued growth. more

More than 120 pro audio professionals from around the world gathered in Houston, Texas from March 12-15 to attend the Electro-Voice PA Roundup, a grand audio expo hosted by Bosch’s Communications Systems Division.

The event was timed to coincide with the three-week-long Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at Reliant Park—attended by around 1.8 million people annually—where one of the world’s largest Electro-Voice X-Line sound systems is deployed annually by Houston-based EV partners LD Systems for the biggest live concert event series in the world (with a total annual attendance of around 1.2 million). The EV system at Reliant Stadium includes 112 EV X-Line boxes powered by an equal number of EV P3000RL and TG7 remote control amplifiers running IRIS-Net control and supervision software. For the first time in 2009, all system processing was via EV NetMax with FIR-drive. Click here more more details on LD Systems’ EV deployment for the Rodeo. more

The following information is courtesy of the 2008 CEDIA Electronic Lifestyles Designers’ Choice Awards. For more information on how to become a member of CEDIA, or information on its awards program please visit www.cedia.org or call (800) 669-5329.

2008 CEDIA Electronic Lifestyles Awards Entry: Best Large Home Theater Level II: $115,000-$150,000 more

President Barack Obama’s alma mater, Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii, recently installed a new Electro-Voice XLE super-compact line array sound system in the school’s theater with the help from Audissey, a Honolulu-based AV and control technologies provider. The new system fulfills the long-held dream of Punahou’s Technical Director, Brian Gilhooly, to equip the theater with a left-right system design to replace the building’s center cluster, which Audissey installed at Punahou nearly 15 years earlier. more

Soundcraft has taken the already successful MPM and MFX Series of mixers and given them both hardware and audio performance upgrades.

The new Soundcraft mixers, known as the MFXi and MPMi Series (emphasizing the high input count on each), build on the strength of the original range by using vertically mounted PCBs with the control pots being nutted to the front panel. This not only increases the rigidity of the mixer and gives a firm operating feel, but also aids servicing should it ever be required. As part of this review, all aspects of new the layouts were reviewed taking into account customer feedback over the past 18 months and this has yielded many other subtle but significant improvements to the layout, graphics and operation when compared to the original consoles. more

Initially announced at last year’s Pro Light & Sound, the partnership between Soundcraft, Studer and Optocore is bearing rich fruit as the companies develop further features for the interface between Soundcraft and Studer consoles and the Optocore fibre network. Last year, Optocore and Soundcraft Studer co-developed the DD2FE network MADI interface that allowed Studer Vista and Soundcraft Vi Series consoles to transmit up to 128 input and 128 output channels of audio over an Optocore network. more

Demonstrating the outstanding performance value and versatility of the C 214 microphone, AKG today launched the C 214 Stereo Set today at NAMM. The rugged construction of the C 214 delivers a highly detailed and accurate sound not only in the studio, but on the road as well. The introduction of the Stereo Set provides users with a complete solution that delivers outstanding performance and excellent quality from a pair of C 214s. more

Soundcraft Studer is now established as one of the world’s leading providers of digital consoles offering a full range of consoles to the Theatre market, from local and provincial theatres right up to Broadway/West End venues.

The Studer Vista range of consoles is rapidly growing in the theatrical community, with the Vista 5 recently used on large-scale productions in New York on the new productions of West Side Story and Road Show, The Musical. more

More option interface cards for the Soundcraft Vi Series Digital Live Sound consoles have been released, expanding the applications of the highly popular digital mixer into Broadcast, and adding easy capabilities for direct recording from the desk.

Using the ADAT card, it is possible to connect 2 ports of 8 channels (inputs and outputs) to an ADAT-equipped hard disk or software-based recorder, so 2 cards would enable 32 channels of audio to be recorded and played back almost instantaneously. more

Intelligently designed to include a dynamic range of equipment for any drummer, the Rhythm Pack features some of AKG’s finest microphones at an incredible price. The Rhythm Pack is fully-equipped with a D 112 Dynamic Bass Drum Microphone, 2 C 430 Miniature Condenser Microphones for overhead recording and 3 D 40 Dynamic Instrument Microphones for toms and snare. In a single package, drummers are equipped with everything they need to perform both in the studio as well as on stage. The durable Rhythm Pack is designed with a rugged aluminum carrying case for protection and 3 mounting brackets, 3 mic stand adaptors and 2 windscreens are also included. more