28 l February 2014
www.psneurope.com
livenews BELGIUM
AED Group hosts major K2 line array showcase
Belgian hire giant previews forthcoming L-Acoustics system to international audience ahead of the Winter Games, writes Marc Maes
ON THE occasion of AED Group’s annual open days late last year (11-12 December 2013), the company’s audio rental division, AED Rent, became the first operation to present an official showcase of the new L-Acoustics K2 line array system. While AED Group has been beta-testing the system discreetly at various events across Europe, this was the array’s debut in front of a large international audience – some 1,000 audio professionals, in fact.
“The crucial quality of the
new K2 series is the weight: at only 56kg, the enclosures weight only half as much as the V-DOSC or K1 speakers,” says Piet Verstraete, head of
UNITED KINGDOM
Flare appoints Orbital Sound as first distribution partner
PRO-AUDIO SUPPLIER Orbital Sound has become the first distribution partner for Flare Audio Limited. Chris Headlam’s south London-based sales and rental operation will represent the entire Flare portfolio of live, studio and installation loudspeakers in the UK and Irish markets. The news emerged as the two companies co-hosted a demo day in mid-January at the Brighton Centre. Flare Audio managing
director Kristin Hanson says: “Our two companies have complementary backgrounds – live touring, entertainment installations, studios and events – making for an extremely
the sound department at AED Rent. “The speakers are fully compatible with the K1 and K1 SB low cabinets, allowing users to create flown combinations of K1,
Verstraete says AED Rent
have ordered 96 units of K2, and the first batch is expected to be delivered in April. The Group’s inventory of V-DOSC
“The crucial quality of the new K2 series is the weight: at only 56kg, the enclosures weight only half as much as the V-DOSC or K1 speakers”
K1-SB or K2. And the K2 uses a 12-inch speaker instead of a 15- inch. The K2 will allow us to target a much broader client group; whereas the K1 was more for a select group of companies and assignments on big festivals, the K2 is the perfect solution for smaller events.”
Piet Verstraete, AED Rent
will gradually be replaced by the K2 enclosures, he adds. AED has made a number of substantial investments in L-Acoustics equipment over the last decade, and owns several thousand full-range cabinets, subwoofers, monitors and more.
AED’s Piet Verstraete (left) and Koen Conaerts
Official K2 roll-out is
expected in March in time for Prolight + Sound, while some 200 cabinets are reported to be earmarked for use during the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
powerful combination. At Flare Audio, we are introducing what is essentially a new approach to sound reinforcement, making the choice of our first major distributor absolutely key. We were looking for a company that would embrace new ideas and relish the prospect of bringing real innovation to the marketplace, while always putting the customer first. Orbital Sound has an outstanding reputation on all counts, and represents the ideal match for us.” Orbital sales director Tom Byrne continues: “Flare Audio’s innovative R&D approach has created a range that delivers high definition audio with exceptional vocal clarity. This is combined with an extremely accurate sonic footprint that is present in every Flare Audio design – from the studio monitors to large-scale stadium line arrays. This unique blend is something that excites us from a distribution perspective.” No stranger to controversy,
Flare’s Davies Roberts (left) seals the deal
Flare Audio founder Davies Roberts has raised
At the open days, AED Group also inaugurated its brand new 4,000sqm AED Store, offering both new products, used AED gear and customers’ second- hand equipment for sale.
www.aedrent.com
eyebrows in some circles with his range of designs based on the theory of Waveform Integrity, and the filing of patents for concepts including ‘Space’ enclosure structure technology and ‘Vortex’ exhaust technology. Byrne says Orbital’s first task will be to establish a nationwide network of partner dealers for the products. “We have a broad canvas to
work on,” he notes, “with products that deliver outstanding performance whatever the application, across the live entertainment market, commercial venues, AV, houses of worship, studios, festivals and touring. “We will also be putting in place the very best of training and application support, combined with building market awareness.” With operations in the UK and in the US, Orbital Sound supplies professional audio solutions for sale or rental to clients worldwide, and is ISO 9001 certified in the UK.
www.flareaudio.com www.orbitalsound.co.uk
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