Last month’s PLASA Focus in Leeds saw the event cemented as a must-attend date on the pro-audio calendar, says Dave Robinson
THIS WAS the year PLASA Focus, now in its fifth outing, came of age. Visitor numbers were reported to be up by 8.5% on 2011: that’s 2,680 visitors over the two days. The press release will tell you the
show gave “unparalleled access to the newest and most innovative products on the market”, and that was certainly the case. Highlights included: Generation-II Software and the new XL48 ‘digi-log’ mic preamp from Midas (first time in Leeds for the Kidderminster team); Sennheiser’s XS Wireless Series; and, attracting a lot of attention, the UK premiere of the Yamaha CL Series digital consoles. And that’s not just because Yamaha Commercial Audio once again bagged a booth adjacent to the free buffet. What made the show so
effective is that, in one or two days, in a compact location in an unfamiliar but vibrant city, the pro-audio professional could see most of the headline-making launches from Frankfurt, but without the hassle of flying to that all-too familiar place. What’s more, Leeds presented the opportunity to discover who’s working for who, after the usual post-Prolight + Sound distribution/staff shuffles. At PLASA Focus we learned
that Gary Jackson has left the SSE Group and is working for Sound Technology; that Arthur Achard and Roy Parrot have joined the newly renamed ProSound (see full
story, p55) as MI South and MI North sales representatives respectively; that Tony Gravel has departed Audio-Technica; and RTS’s Adrian Richmond is off to join AV processing specialist Axon. We saw EM Acoustics’ Dave
Kelland on the Stage Electrics booth for the first time, following a distribution arrangement sealed earlier this year; and Ohm sharing a space with expanding reseller Impact, as the two operations revealed an agreement to collaborate on a new line of speakers, ‘Jet by Ohm’. Also present was FBT Audio
showcasing its new Installed Sound division, now thatTrantec’s Mark Parkhouse has been installed in the UK office; and we talked to JoeCo’s Joe Bull about the need for clearer methods of educating the wider community about networking technology. We saw the Traction Sound
boys, holed up in the Holiday Inn next door, and heard their PA technology. Tasty. For Caroline Moss, who has
been working in PR for 10 years, it was a chance to say goodbye to her associates atMidas and hello to the glorious world of magazine publishing (cough). The PLASA Focus model is a
proven success, and a welcome opportunity to press buttons, and more importantly, press the flesh. I hear the evening party was pretty good too… www.plasafocus.com/leeds
Impact MD Grant Lester (right) with Ohm’s head of sales Clive Kinton (left) and Impact sales manager Ralph Stockley