The ’Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hawaii and the Queen Elizabeth II Planetarium in Canada have both recently completed retrofits to improve their facilities and guest experience, using amplifiers from LEA Professional to provide the audio gravitas for tales of the stars above. Both planetarium teams contacted George Barnett, co-founder and Technical Director of SSIA Technologies to help them improve their audio.

‘LEA won our hearts over with their first amplifiers,’ Barnett says. ‘We just loved the engineering – it was fantastic. It had good power, a small chassis, lots of features, and a very clean design. When the planetariums allowed us to spec each system, I said LEA is the way to go.’

Few cities’ weather will support a year-round rooftop bar, but in Miami the competition to be this year’s Next Big Thing is relentlessly fierce. Recently, the city’s Brickell area has recently seen Rosa Sky stake its claim as the go-to place to mix and mingle. 

Located on the 22-storey roof of the AC and Element Hotel, Rosa Sky offers panoramic views of the Miami skyline as a backdrop to its tapas and cocktails, supported by a roster of live DJs and music makers.

An essential consideration in the viability of Rosa Sky was its sound...

Among the largest and most prominent theatres in Berlin, the latest production staged at the Friedrichstadt-Palast is a fantasy tale played out on the ‘largest theatre stage in the world’. Entitled, Falling | In Love, its ensemble of 100 artists, and use of colour and exuberant costumes is accompanied by visual design and technology from bright!.

‘The Friedrichstadt-Palast team were searching for a tracking solution that could manage both the sound and light tracking needs for their newest Grand Show, Falling | In Love,’ recalls Phillip Neyses, Head of the Technical Department at bright! ‘This was the first time the theatre had considered a tracking solution.’

Known for its versatility, the743-seat Concertzaal Tilburg in the Netherlands hosts events ranging from small symphonic and chamber music to amplified concerts, festivals, musical theatre and conferences. To better serve this diverse programming and audience, the venue recently upgraded its sound with the installation of a new L-Acoustics Kara II concert sound system.

‘Our goal with this upgrade was to address some of the acoustic challenges we’ve faced over the years,’ says Concertzaal Tilburg Technical Manager, Pernel van Herpt. ‘The Kara II system gives us more flexibility to accommodate our varied programme while ensuring consistent sound quality throughout the hall.’

Marking the 20th anniversary of their album Hopes and Fears, Keane recently undertook a UK arena tour spanning six arenas for seven shows, with two nights at London’s O2 Arena.

‘While Keane are known for their melodic ballads, their live performances demand a very dynamic sound,’ says Keane front-of-houe engineer, Philip Harvey.

‘Our goal was to deliver a powerful rock show that ranges from intimate moments to thunderous crescendos, while ensuring every seat received consistent audio impact.’