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Corporate Sound & Lighting Inc.

Article appearing in Pro Sound News Magazine, December 1995

“Corporate and Black-Tie functions are not like regular club gigs where if you have a bad night, the audience half expects it and they know they can always come again another night when you’re ‘on’.” states Joe Klein, president of Corporate Sound and Lighting of North Attleboro, Massachusetts. “As a sound professional specializing in corporate and industrial event sound, I need to be ‘on’ constantly. These events are extremely important regional fund-raisers, annual parties or very intense, morale building, national shareholders or sales meetings. A lot is riding on the audio presentation. If it’s ‘off’, the whole mood, flow and message is lost, attendees are discouraged, corporate executives are disappointed and I would never be called back to do the job again. There can never be any mistakes.”

To make all of his events perfect and continually generate repeat business for his company, Joe stays on the cutting edge of audio technology combined with proven, established technology, to meet the growing demands of his clients. Corporate Sound and Lighting stocks several of the better known loudspeaker lines, but it was the recent acquisition of Technomad loudspeakers that Joe attributes to his continuing success specializing in providing sound and lighting for many New England based corporate giants.

“Technomads are the ultimate in multi-purpose loudspeakers,” Joe states. “Since acquiring the Technomads at the end of 1994, I’ve been using them for all of my corporate events. Depending upon the speaker model, Technomads can function as monitors, floor or flying side-fills, drum monitors, you name it. When I use the Technomads, I find I need only about half the amount of loudspeakers than with other loudspeaker brands. The coherency and linearity is fantastic. Gain before feedback is incredible and the dispersion is mindboggling. There is no lost energy and even behind the FOH system, on stage, the coherency is fantastic. I can’t get over the efficiency of the Technomad loudspeakers. The Technomads sound so natural compared to anything I’ve ever heard.” Joe continues, “Since the Technomads are the only self-casing loudspeakers I know of, set-up and tear-down is fast and easy and truck packs are a safe, secure and solid dream-come-true. What other speaker systems are out there where you can just throw the lids on them, stack and latch and away- you-go?”

Events range in size from a small sales meeting of 300 for the computer peripheral manufacturer EMC2 to a Dorchester political rally of 3,000. One recent event was the Cardinal Cushing Charity fund-raiser held at the Sheraton in Boston. 1,500 people gathered in the 100 foot long and 80 foot wide main ballroom for this prestigious annual affair. “The event called for extreme high-fidelity for video audio playback and strong voice articulation for many speeches and announcements. For the FOH, I used a small Technomad system consisting of two Berlin 400-watt two-way full range cabinets, two Cairo 800-watt three-way bi-amped cabinets, two Chicago 1000-watt subwoofers and two Noho 300-watt full range cabinets were used as delay loudspeakers. I was concerned about providing clear, articulate sound under the two balconies that ran down the full length of each side of the room. The wide dispersion pattern from the FOH full-range Berlin and Cairo cabinets covered the under balcony area so completely and efficiently, additional under-balcony loudspeakers were not required.” Joe continues, “There were so many people at this event they were actually sitting on the loudspeakers. The Technomads have such a smooth, transparent and clean delivery, the sound level was as comfortable right in front of the loudspeakers, as it was in the back of the room.”

Another recent event involved a 15 piece big band lead by the great band leader, Illinois Jacquette. The Price Center charity fund-raiser, held in Mansfield, called for a flown FOH system consisting of only two Berlins and two Cairos. Two Nohos were flown and utilized as side fill cabinets. Joe states proudly, “Mr. Jacquette could not get over the amazing articulation coming out of, what he referred to as ‘those tiny little loudspeakers’. The Technomads were very responsive even through some of the most delicate dynamics. Mr. Jacquette stated, the music that evening gave him ‘that warm blanket feeling.'”

Amplification is exclusively Hafler model Pro 5000s. According to Joe, “The 5000s are one of the most pleasing sounding amps. They are very fast and have a great damping factor. I only use four Pro 5000 amps to power a Technomad FOH system consisting of two Berlins, two Cairos, two Chicago subwoofers and two Noho cabinets. Since the Technomads are so efficient, the Haflers are the perfect match for them.” For much larger events or should multiple events occur at the same time, Joe inventories fourteen of the Pro 5000 amps.

Mixing consoles are Soundcraft 200s. “I have three of the 200s as well as a Mackie 1604 with the expander unit and a 1202. The Mackies are usually reserved for the smaller gigs while the Soundcraft 200s go out on the live band situations and major corporate gigs. I also have an old Yamaha MC2408M that still works great.” Outboard gear is LA Audio 4C four channel compressors, Yamaha Q2031 Stereo EQs, Klark Teknik DN300 mono EQs. Effect units are from Lexicon and Yamaha. Wireless microphones are exclusively Shure LS Series Diversity wireless microphone systems with antenna distribution. “I’ve found the Shures to be very reliable in the many, many diverse situations I find myself in. I also use many other brands of mics including Beyers, Sennheisers, AKGs and EVs.”

One such diverse situation was a First Night Celebration on New Years Eve in Northampton. Several sound companies were contracted to supply over thirty Technomad loudspeakers for 12 different indoor event sights around town. Joe concludes, “The Technomads are just amazing. No matter where you were the sound was perfect. Whether it was in a very reverberant church or a small theater, the Technomads seemed to tame every acoustical environment. It was a real pleasure to work with the other sound companies in putting on such a flawless and joyous event on the first day of 1995. I stated then it was a good omen for the year and that turned out to be very true. Business has been and continues to be great.”

Technomad Installed at the College of New Jersey Football Stadium

Ewing, New Jersey – The College of New Jersey recently installed a new, fully weather-resistant sound system in 9,000 seats New Jersey Lions Football Stadium. The system consists of eight 350 watt Technomad Noho/C loudspeakers powered by two QSC PLX amplifiers. The system is used for game announcements and pre-recorded music playback.

The College of New Jersey Lions Football Stadium is an all-purpose field used year-round for Soccer, Lacrosse, Field Hockey, and Football. The field also hosts Division 1 and 3 Conference teams. The field also plays host 13-15,000 guests and students for the College’s annual Graduation Ceremony.

The College of New Jersey’s Jon Bannan, oversaw the installation of the system. Jon is in charge of overseeing all upgrades to, as well as installations of, all of the school’s Sound Systems. Having never heard the Technomad loudspeakers before, Jon made the decision to purchase the Noho/C loudspeakers based upon the company’s reputation of producing mil-spec loudspeakers that can withstand all forms of in climate weather and abuse. Another important decision was the low-profile appearance of the Technomad Noho/C loudspeakers. Jon states, “I had looked into other weather-resistant loudspeakers, but they were big and unsightly and could not be mounted where they had to be positioned. Even if I could install the other loudspeakers where they had to go, they would have obstructed the sight-lines of too many seats.”

Jon notes, “It had to be a clean-looking, low profile system installation yet have the output I needed to cover 9,000 people. I didn’t want oversized, unsightly white or beige air raid horns or bulbous cannon-looking things hanging from all the light poles.” Jon ponders, “Air raid horns? The Cold War is over, and the latter option would look like the wind blew all the plastic garbage cans up onto the lampposts.” Jon continues, “The Technomads were also hundreds of dollars less per speaker.”

Jon states, “When the loudspeakers finally arrived, they appeared even smaller in real-life then what I had expected. I was starting to get worried that they were going to be too small in comparison to the overall size of the stadium.” Jon continues, “But, as soon as I powered up the amplifier rack and pumped some music through the system, I was very impressed. The Noho/Cs absolutely amazed me.”

The Stadium’s light poles were perfectly positioned for the installation of the eight Technomad Noho/Cs. “It’s as if someone had this speaker installation in mind when they installed the light poles,” Jon says. The poles are located halfway up the stadium seating, providing the perfect place where the Noho/C loudspeakers could provide complete sound coverage for all the seating, and not obstruct sight-lines. Jon states, “Installing two Noho/Cs per pole allowed me to provide the tightest, most accurate and even sound distribution.”

Jon adds, “The Nohos respond extremely well to my changes on EQ and I was able to dial-in the exact setting that made everyone on staff very happy. The Noho/Cs is extremely EQ compliant and offers me unrivaled control over every type of program material, regardless if it’s recorded music, spoken word or sound effects.” Jon notes, “A soundman can add lower end punch to the music program during half-time events with just a simple low-frequency EQ boost, and the crowd can actually hear and feel it!”

The two QSC PLX 1602 power amps, running in parallel, drive the Technomad loudspeakers. A Furman ASD 120 Power Sequencer, a DBX 266XL, a Rane dual31 band EQ, and Alesis 12R mixer make-up the signal processing equipment. To keep the processing gear free and clear of prying hands, the processing rack is located in a separate room. A Sony Tape Deck and CD player is located in the Press Box. Twelve wall-mounted mic jacks are also strategically installed in the Press Box. Jon notes, “All a tech has to do is plug in a mic and cue the commentator.” Jon points out, “The system is not constantly staffed by a tech, so I designed the system to be as turnkey as possible. All a tech or an announcer has to do is turn the key and they have power.”

“My boss, the Athletic department, the teams and the cheerleaders are very happy with the dramatic improvement in the sound quality and clarity the Noho’s produce,” Jon states proudly. “The wide dispersion and quick cut-off of the Noho’s 12″ coaxial driver is as equally impressive as the high-fidelity sound it produces.”

With the previous sound system, Jon continually experienced problems with ‘sound bleeding’ off the field into the surrounding neighborhood. “I don’t believe a lot of effort was put into the properly installing the previous speaker system,” Jon notes. “You could hear sound everywhere except on the field. Pedestrians and neighbors of the school could hear the announcer and music far off campus, unintelligibly and loudly I might add, which resulted in many complaints.” Jon quips, “I don’t think we would have received so many sound bleed complaints if the previous sound system just sounded halfway decent.”

Jon concludes, “As soon as the system was up-and-running, I walked the field and the seating and I could not find a single hot spot or dead spot. It’s complete, even distribution. Then I stepped outside of the complex for the most important test. The sound cut-off to more than acceptable levels as soon as I got out of the seating area. The best part, no complaints opening day and since then! Just compliments.”

Through Rain, Snow, Sleet and Hail, Technomad Loudspeakers Continue to Wail





The newly installed Technomad loudspeaker system at the new Greenport, NY Outdoor Ice Rink, recently rode out the 70 MPH assaulting winds and weather of the Blizzard of 05 with flying colors. The rink, located at the edge of Greenport Harbor in the Greenport, is continually subjected to the extremely harsh winter marine environment consisting of pelting, salt-laden frozen rain, snow, and ice build-up. This little Eastern Long Island seaside village isn’t the healthiest environment for a permanently installed outdoor loudspeaker system, let alone anything else that’s susceptible to the ravages of the Atlantic’s fall and winter storms. Hence the brand new, four-acre Mitchell Park in the Incorporated Village of reason Technomad loudspeakers were selected for the project.

The sound system was installed by Don Fisher’s Sound Productions, established in 1972, of Southold, New York. Specializing in sound system installations and rentals, in 33-years Don has installed sound systems in restaurants, churches, schools and public and municipal facilities, as well as providing turnkey lighting and sound for live summer events, in all of the summer resort towns and communities of Eastern Long Island. Don points out, “My business runs from all-live sound rental events during the summer, including the Montauk Marine Basin Shark Fishing Tournament all the way out east, to all-installation business during the winter months. It’s safe to say during my long career, I’ve been hands-on with most of the high school auditorium sound systems on Eastern Long Island.”

Don points out that the Honorable David Kapell, Mayor of Greenport, had the foresight to require the installation of a quality weather-resistant sound system for the newly built Ice Rink. Don states, “Mayor Kapell recognized the need for a sound system that would be of true Show/FOH quality audio to attract and keep patrons entertained on the ice as well as survive the environment. My research determined that Technomad loudspeakers were the only Ironclad loudspeakers that could handle the application.”

The installation took place during the first three weeks of January 2005, with Sound Productions acting as the design consultant and installation supervisor and Johnson Electrical Construction Corp. of Hauppauge, NY handling all of the electrical and wiring installation. Don again used North Fork Welding to design the custom loudspeaker rigging, (that Don considers “artwork”), which would secure the Technomad Cairo loudspeakers to the four Musco light poles.

Architect Mark Ours of the New York City-based architectural firm Sharples, Holden, Pasquarelli, aka: SHOP, designed the unique cabinetry for the installation of the system’s front end, consisting of a Mackie 1202VLZ mixer, Tascam CDA500 CD/Tape player, dbx Drive Rack and two Crown MicroTech 1200 power amps that power the four bi-amplified, stereo Technomad Cairo Loudspeakers. One wired Shure 565SD microphone is plugged directly into the Mackie mixer for public address announcements and a second microphone input was installed at the base of one of the Musco light poles for ‘on ice’ performances.

The only structure that is a part of the ice rink facility houses the refrigeration/pump system and Zamboni as well as a small 10-foot by 10-foot ice skate rental booth. The electronics needed to be installed in a finite area above and below the rental booth’s counter area and, Don states, “Mark designed beautiful 19″ Oak rack cabinets with splash guards and false fronts to conceal and protect the system wiring.”

Following the Rink’s grand opening on January 22, the Blizzard of 2005 blew through the Northeast until it subsided late in the day on January 23. Don concludes, “On Monday, when the sun and skaters came out, the sound from the Technomad system was as rich and clear as it was on opening day and it remains that way. I’m confident that this Technomad system is going to be around for many more Blizzards to come.”

For more info about Sound Productions, please contact:

Don Fisher
Sound Productions
631-765-2757
2975 Young’s Avenue,
P.O. Box 39,
Southold NY, 11971-0039


Technomad Articles : Technomad at the Dolphin Mall

April 30, 2001 – Miami, Florida – Located just five miles west of Miami International Airport at the intersection of the Florida Turnpike and Dolphin Expressway; the Dolphin Mall opened its doors to eager shoppers on March 1, 2001. The 1.4 million square foot retail/entertainment center is Miami-Dade County’s largest, featuring more than 150 stores, an 850-seat, 24,000-square-foot food court with nine different restaurants, eateries and entertainment venues with another 50 concepts debuting by midsummer 2001. The outdoor food court and entrance areas make use of Technomad WeatherTech Loudspeakers, which were installed by Pro Sound Inc., of Miami, Florida.

Also known as Professional Sound Services, Inc., the company is headquartered in Miami, Florida, with branch offices located in Orlando, Florida, as well as Las Vegas, Nevada. The company was founded in February 1975 providing audio and theatrical lighting services to live entertainment events. Over the years, Pro Sound, Inc., evolved into a design, sales, and service firm to many theatrical and club venues, which eventually lead to the professional and commercial installation markets. The company now services sports facilities, convention centers, hotels, nightclubs, theaters, meeting facilities, houses of worship, courtrooms, corporate boardrooms, schools, universities and government facilities.

Predominantly the business comes from the Southeastern United States, with a representative amount of business conducted throughout the U.S. Business also takes the Pro Sound, Inc., staff to the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Central and even to South America.

Rick Scharmann, vice president of ProSound Inc., states, “Pro Sound is principally an engineering based company with strong project management experience and an excellent service support structure. The company owns its 13,800 square foot building in Miami. The Orlando facility is housed in 2,500 square feet of space which is adequate for its operations, while the Las Vegas office is somewhat larger.” Rick adds.

“The Company has a diverse group of core technical specialists that support the operation with a total of over 40 employees on staff. The average employee has over 9 years of experience in audio, security, and CCTV systems. The more senior employees average approximately 14 years or greater of systems experience.”

South Florida is famous for it’s humidity and harsh outdoor environment and Rick is the first to state, “Outdoor loudspeakers don’t last long in the brutal Florida environment. Rick notes, “Even through the Dolphin Mall is several miles inland from the ocean, it is still close enough for the salt air, compounded with the humidity, to wreak havoc on outdoor loudspeakers. For these kinds of applications, we need reliability and quality for the customer, which was pretty hard to find in the past.”

For the Dolphin Mall’s outdoor areas, the entrances and the food court, Rick installed Technomad WeatherTech™ Loudspeakers. There is one Technomad Paris 616 installed at each of the Mall’s six entrances. The large, open-air, central food court is completely exposed to the environment, and a total of 17 Technomad Vernal 15T 70volt loudspeakers cover the expansive area.

Continuing, Rick says, “The output and coverage pattern is very good compared to other loudspeakers of the same physical size. With the Technomad Vernal’s, we found that in the case of the Dolphin Mall, we needed half the number of loudspeakers for the installation compared to if we used similar dome tweeter-loaded loudspeakers of the same physical size.”

Technomad’s Vernal 15 features a 1″ diameter ceramic high-frequency driver, mounted on a 120¡ X 120¡ horn. The Vernal also features an impressive detailed and articulate low-end response from its purpose-built 5.5″ bass transducer: a component that took Technomad over two years to design and perfect. The 60 watt (120 watt peak), 8 Ohm Vernal 15 features a sensitivity rating of 91 dB SPL (800 Hz to 10 kHz, 1w/1m C.W.) and can deliver maximum, long-term SPL of 96 dB (100 dB peak), at a frequency response of 100 Hz -18 kHz. A single Crown CT Series CT410 power amp drives the 17 Vernal 15T 70-Volt loudspeakers.

Rick states, “The Vernal provides excellent full-range fidelity and outstanding long throw coverage, which is why they were used in this application.”

Rick continues, “With the Technomad Paris 616, its output was so great, we only needed one Paris at each of the six mall entrances to cover these substantially large areas.”

The audio specifications of the Paris 616 are equally impressive. The Paris features two custom-designed, rubber-surround 6.5″ polymer mid/bass drivers treated with proprietary low-residue coatings for long-reliable service. The 1″ diameter ceramic high-frequency driver, mounted on a 90¡ X 90¡ horn, offers high-fidelity, audiophile quality performance over large indoor areas, as well as large outdoor areas, even in the most severe weather conditions. Designed for maximum fidelity, dispersion and throw, the 250 watt, 6 Ohm Paris 616 features a sensitivity rating of 95 dB SPL (1w/1m C.W.) and can deliver maximum, long-term SPL of 116 dB at a frequency response of 65 Hz -18.5 kHz. Three Crown CT Series CT210 amps drive the Paris 616, with one Paris loudspeaker per channel.

Both the Vernal 15 and Paris 616 are also available with a 70-Volt internal transformer with 8, 16, 32 watt switchable taps. Technomad loudspeakers a fully sealed, 1/2″ thick, Military Specification, roto-molded polyethylene cabinet, backed by a ten-year unconditional warranty.

“This is not the first time we installed Technomad Loudspeakers,” Rick points out. “We’ve installed them in outdoor applications at the J.W. Marriott, as well as other hotels in South Florida. We’ve also had very good success with them in over-the-counter sales to several cruise ship companies; which is the worst imaginable outdoor environment for a loudspeaker.”

Rick adds, “Technomad makes a very good quality loudspeaker that sounds great in for harsh environment installations. They are my first choice for harsh outdoor environments where sound quality and reliability are paramount.”

Prosound Inc. has offices in Miami, Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada.

For additional information, please contact:

Prosound Inc.
Rick Scharmann, Vice President
scharmann@prosound.net
1375 Northeast 123’d St., Miami FL 33161
P: 305 891 1000
F: 305.891.300