Author: karl

Technomad – Proud to Sound Like a Bunch of Screaming Monkeys

Here is a somewhat unusual application for the Technomad Vernal 15. We were contacted by Tara Harris of Yale, who needed reliable, powerful, lightweight, and sonically accurate loudspeakers to carry into the dense and inhospitable jungle terrain of the Kibale National Forest of Uganda. Click here for a map of the area.

Tara studies black and white colobus monkeys ( click here for more info on these handsome fellows ), and used the Technomad Vernal 15 to play the sounds of dogs, eagles, and chimps.

The Vernal 15 was driven by a high-powered 12-volt amplifier. The loudspeakers were hoisted high into the jungle canopy to maximize projection (you can see the lifting wire in the photo to the left).

Unlike all other subcompact loudspeakers, the Vernal combines military-specification reliability, weatherproof construction AND outstanding sound quality. The Vernal features a horn loaded ceramic high-frequency driver that greatly outperforms ordinary dome-tweeter designs.

Technomad loudspeakers have been used for several field-research biology applications. Animals studied include lions, hyenas, and now monkeys. We look forward to adding more species to this list.

Technomad Speakers Set Sail On the Queen Mary 2

The Queen Mary 2, the largest and most expensive cruise ship ever built, set sail from her homeport of Southampton, England on her maiden voyage ­ a Trans-Atlantic trek to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida ­ with a full complement of Technomad loudspeakers distributed throughout her exterior entertainment decks. Nautilus Entertainment Design, a La Jolla, CA, based design and engineering firm, was commissioned to write the specification for the QM2, and given the responsibility to design the local entertainment systems. The result of this effort was to outfit the new luxury liners pool and entertainment decks with state-of-the-art, high-fidelity Technomad loudspeakers.

The QM2 measures 1,132 feet from stern to bow, some 113 feet longer than the original, venerable Queen Mary, and holds 2,620 passengers and 1,253 crewmembers when fully loaded. The vessel, larger and more populous than some land-based cities, is the new flagship ocean liner for the prestigious Cunard Line, which also sails the luxurious Queen Elizabeth 2 and Caronia cruise ships.

The distributed, exterior sound system called for high-fidelity audio to match the ship’s lofty standard of excellence. In addition, any outdoor/exterior deck loudspeakers would have to withstand year-round exposure from the sun, sky and seven seas. For nearly a decade, Technomad’s weatherproof line of loudspeakers remains the first choice for high-fidelity outdoor sound by nearly all cruise ship lines. Technomad’s mil-spec construction is able to withstand salt spray, humidity, fog, rain, penetrating tropical sun, unrelenting constant year-round use, and fast transitions between hot and cold temperatures.

Harbour Marine Systems delivered and installed a wide array of Technomad models to provide coverage across different outdoor multi-zone listening areas on the Queen Mary 2. 38, ultra-compact, 2-way Technomad Vernal-15T loudspeakers, 13 of the larger, 2-way Technomad Vienna 16-T loudspeakers and eight, 2-way Technomad Noho-C Install loudspeakers are installed throughout QM2, including the palatial Pavilion Pool and bar area, located on the upper-most deck of the vessel.

Additional foreground sound in the QM2÷s exterior entertainment areas is handled by a combination of four bi-amped, three-way Technomad Cairo loudspeakers, supported by 2-way Technomad Noho loudspeakers. Low-end sound reinforcement comes from four powerful Technomad Chicago sub-woofers, each of which features a 12-inch and 15-inch low-frequency driver.

Harbour Marine Systems and Cunard chose Technomad loudspeakers because of their unique combination of incredible durability, wide dispersion and high-fidelity sonic reproduction.

All Technomad loudspeakers feature a four layer, acoustically transparent grill system that breaks up wind driven rain, sprayed water and liquids. Any water that does get onto the chemically treated drivers (speaker cones) simply rolls off without penetrating the drivers. For extreme weather conditions, Technomad loudspeakers also feature a watertight lid. With the lid attached, Technomad loudspeakers are the only off-the-shelf speaker system that meets Military-Specification 810F. Technomad loudspeakers have an ATA III rating, are splinter-proof and resistant to impact, chemical cleaners and even fire.

Also attractive to both Harbour Marine Systems and Cunard was Technomad’s willingness to stand by their craftsmanship, as evidenced by the most comprehensive warranty in the industry: 10 years cabinet, 5 years external cabinet hardware and 2 years electronic component warranty.


The Pavilion Pool deck on the QM 2. Technomad loudspeakers are installed around the perimeter.


The Majestic Queen Mary 2

Technomad Installed at Premiere Baja Mexico Nightclub / Resort

» More Information on Outdoor Audio Systems

Papa’s & Beer, located in Rosarito, Mexico, resemble a mysterious fantasy city one would expect Indiana Jones to stumble across in his traverses through the darker continents of Africa or South American. Six story tall wood pillars as wide as a car tires, support fantastically designed wooden structures that appear as if they rival gravity to stay aloft. Palm trees and other exotic foliage sway in the hot Mexican breeze and in the evening, huge, natural gas-fed flames make Papas & Beer visible, if not from space, then to ships out on the horizon. This massive, multi-level structure, sprawls on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, a quick thirty miles drive south of San Diego. On any given evening, especially weekends and those times during the year when colleges around America release their party-starved masses, this Mecca to beguilement, plays host to over 4,000, sometime scantily clad, thrill seekers. Herman Addleson, President of Bright Ideas, of Chula Vista, California, comments, “I have seen young ladies make use of only Papa’s & Beer bumper stickers to create some very interesting bikini designs, especially when the parties really get going later in the evening.” Mr. Addleson adds, “Needless to say, Papas & Beer can be a very fun place.” Mr. Addleson, along with assistance of towards 2000 of Burbank, California, takes credit for installing the new 24,000 watt sound system consisting of, primarily Technomad loudspeakers, QSC amplification, and Rane DJ equipment. The location of the massive Papa’s & Beer nightclub is a mere few hundred feet from the Pacific Ocean, and a steady wind comes off the water constantly. The salt air, blazing sun, sand and incredibly fine dust, and often times, sea spray, does not make for the healthiest of atmospheres for loudspeakers and other very sensitive audio equipment. The first task was to install a powerful enough speaker system to make the party goers happy, but also to make the management happy in the respect they did not want to repair weather damaged loudspeakers constantly. Mr. Addleson, turning to Danny Quinones of towards 2000, needed to find a loudspeakers system that would endure these harsh elements.

Danny recommended Technomad loudspeakers for the project. Danny was familiar with Technomad loudspeakers from reading about similar Technomad applications aboard Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and American Hawaiian Cruise Lines, as well as Universal Studios Hollywood. Built into military specification 810E cabinets with highly weather resistant components and drivers, Technomad loudspeakers are designed for installations such as Papas & Beer. Technomad manufactures the only line of off-the-shelf high-powered, high-fidelity loudspeakers that are resistant to water, sand, salt, temperature, mold, mildew, and condensation, chemical, insect and other damage. To withstand what the Pacific can do to sensitive audio equipment, Technomad was the best choice for the Papa’s & Beer installation. Nineteen QSC MX and EX series amplifiers, totaling over 24,000 Watts of power, drive the 44 speaker sound system. The QSC amplifiers were chose for “reliability” according to Quinones, indifference to the unforgiving environment and the high demands of the sound system. EX 2500s fuel the lows with 1,000 Watts/ch at 2 Ohms, while EX 1600s power the mids (800 Watts/ch), and EX 1250s handle the highs (600 Watts/ch). The EX and MX amplifiers also feature high-efficiency step-linear output circuits to minimize waste heat and increase efficiency by up to 40%. The Class H-type circuits allows the amplifiers to use less power when it reproduces lower-power signals, yet keeps a reserve of high power available for accurate reproduction of peaks. Eight Technomad Cairo-3 way biamped loudspeakers are suspended over the large open-air, elevated primary dance area and the centralized volleyball court. The very deep low-end response of the Technomad Cairo eliminates the need for additional subwoofers, thereby allowing more floor space for the dancers, as well as delivering greater low-end into areas that cannot accommodate large format subs. Eight ultra-compact Technomad Chicago subwoofer, newly augmented with Cerwin-Vega subs, are distributed in ‘close-quarter’ areas where larger format subwoofers would eat-up too much physical space. Four Berlin 15/H model loudspeakers are used in the secondary dance area, along with two ‘surviving’ JBL SR-series 15″ 2-way cabinets. Eight Noho/C loudspeakers are distributed through-out the entryway to the facility, and on two of the upper level bar areas and the mini dance floor next to the main bar. Eight Electro Voice SX 200 loudspeakers, augmented by four Electro Voice SB 200 subwoofers, provide the music for the two ground level main bar areas. The newest innovative audio mixing gear available from Rane, Denon and Studio quad was installed along with a unique zone-control system. From the booth the DJ can control five different zones of sound in 8 different areas of the facility. The DJ booth was completely re-designed and enlarged to make room for the new equipment. Two Rane mixers, Studioquad effects, a BBE Sonic Maximizer, crossovers and limiters are from DBX and Rane, dual CD and cassette players are from Denon, two Techniques turntables and a Samson wireless mic system adorn the massive, air-conditioned DJ booth that overlooks the entire facility and the 4,000 partiers who are usually on hand. A new modular rack system with storage capacity for over 1,500 records, 1,000 CDs and 500 videos, was also installed. DJ’s can quickly find the music or videos they are looking for on the fly, as opposed to having the music partially hidden and inaccessible as in the past.

Mt. Snow Rocks with Livintrust and Technomad Berlin 15/H Loudspeakers

Mt. Snow, located in beautiful West Dover, VT, is one of the premier ski areas on the East Coast. This past winter, they held one of their premiere events, The Bud Light Anti- Gravity Grail, and Technomad loudspeakers played an important part in the weekend’s activities. Right before the event, Mother Nature dumped 9 inches of snow onto the mountain, although no one in attendance seemed to mind. As always, the park crew and cat drivers dealt with the weather, and the pipe competition went off without a hitch. The folks at Mt. Snow “amped” up the proceedings a little more by combining the Grail and another event, The Mega Mother Hucker, into one action-packed weekend. In the middle of all this weather and competition was Technomad Berlin 15/H loudspeakers, used by the rock group Livintrust to provide entertainment to the sizable crowd assembled for the events. Based out of New Haven, CT and playing in clubs from NYC to Boston, Livintrust is an up and coming act with international success on their minds. Great songs and stage show made this group a standout, and the Technomad Berlin 15/H loudspeakers did a fantastic job of rocking the sizable crowd, despite the cold and changing weather conditions. Skiers and snowboarders alike were heard to remark they had never heard a live band sound as good as Livintrust sounded that weekend, thanks to the Technomad Berlin 15/H loudspeakers. Reference Links:

Spectators watch the band at Mt. Snow, a Technomad Berlin 15/H loudspeaker on a stand visible in the right foreground

“Big air” at Mt. Snow, Technomad Berlin 15/H loudspeakers rocking the crowd to the sounds of Livintrust

REFERENCE LINKS

» Berlin 15/H Loudspeakers
» Why are Technomads so Weatherproof?
» How Technomads Are Made
» Customer Comments


Technomad Articles : Technomad at Pyynikki Open Air Theatre, Finland

Tampere, Finland – The Pyynikki Open Air Theatre, located on a beautiful wooded cape near central Tampere, with its world-famous revolving auditorium, is one of the oldest, and the most popular, open-air theatres in Finland. Scandinavian weather wreaks havoc on the sensitive technical equipment required for such a venue. Traditional “All-Weather” loudspeakers, that were designed for sunny California, usually become quite troublesome when installed outdoors for any amount of time through the hot, but sometimes very wet and cold, Finnish summer season.

Some 70,000 people saw and heard the “Unknown Soldier.” A historic production based on the Finnish-Russian war in the Joselininniemi, 1941-1944. The “Unknown Soldier” is almost a national epos for the Finns. Everyone in the auditorium knows the story, which was written in 1954. The show was the largest production ever performed at the Pyynikki Theatre. Of the total production budget of 13 million Finnish Marks – approximately $2.5 million US – 130,000.00 Finnish Marks was used to update the sound reinforcement system.

The sound system designer of the show, Simo Savisaari, has experienced years of problems with soaking wet plywood loudspeaker cabinets, left ravaged from the weather. The previous loudspeakers were installed in the trees surrounding the theatre, from early May, when the weather is still usually quite chilly, until early September. At the end of those five months, most loudspeaker cabinets are completely ruined, even though extreme measures are taken to protect them, such as covers, tarps, etc.

“We used to call them disposable loudspeakers,” states Simo. “Most of the loudspeakers are hung in very awkward positions around the cape, so it is impossible for us to take them down every night. This installation is tough on traditional loudspeakers. Plus, it is a bit difficult to get the financial chief to buy new loudspeakers every year!”

SPEAKERS OF THE STORM

When Simo started to prepare for the spectacle; he decided to renew the whole speaker system with the highly weather resistant loudspeaker system. Based upon product reputation, Simo contacted Technomad LLP Technomad’s Finnish distributor, Musiikki Mode, provided the loudspeakers, and the sound crew of the Pyynikki Theatre gathered for the listening-test. The Technomad loudspeakers, designed to meet US Military Specifications, are extremely weather resistant, the sound was very intricate and detailed, and the unbelievable warranty from the manufacturer assured the Pyynikki team Technomad loudspeakers were going to the backbone of the new sound system.

Simo is very pleased with his choice of loudspeakers. The Technomads have lived through the Finnish summer with no problems at all. Customized cast frame bass and coaxial drivers start out with paper cones, but after Technomad’s proprietary three-step chemical process is applied, the driver material more resembles plastic then paper. Technomad’s unique chemical treatment assures the cones will not absorb, or be effected by, water or moisture. The driver material will maintain the proper balance and mass to provide accurate audio in all environments. Technomad’s chemical process also extends the lifespan of the driver itself in extremely hot and dry conditions by preventing the cone material from drying out, weakening and cracking in short periods of time. Water, should it get on the drivers, simply sheds away, like water beading and running off a freshly waxed car.

A Technomad loudspeaker is built into a 3/4 inch thick, one-piece rotomolded shell, they are watertight when their protective lids are attached, and they are also highly resistant to the dust and sand that is kicked-up by the production’s extensive use of pyrotechnic effects. The three-layer, acoustically-transparent WeatherTech™ grill system, with its tight perforation pattern and inner layers of mesh and foam, breaks down and sheds away the most tenacious wind driven rain or water. These incredibly fine mesh and foam inner layers also prevent insects, rain, sand and even the finest dust from entering the cabinet. The precision-density, internal polyurethane foam also acts as a massive filter that collects extremely fine dust that might get past the three-layer grill system. Therefore, highly destructive dust is prevented from adversely affecting the voice coils and diaphragms.

Technomad loudspeakers meet US Mil-Spec 810E, and the cabinets are ATA III rated. Therefore, users of Technomad loudspeakers include the US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. The Finnish Army recently enlisted on Technomad’s reference list, as well.

Simo notes, “Technomad’s product warranty is unbelievable. A Technomad cabinet is unconditionally warranted for ten years and the drivers and electronics are warranted against manufacturer’s defects in workmanship for two years! Technomads could probably can even withstand normal air-cargo transportation with no packaging! And that is a lot to withstand!”

SURROUNDED IN THE WOODS

The sound system of the Pyynikki Theatre is very straightforward. There are eight Technomad Cairo 15/C three-way, bi-amped loudspeakers and four Studiotec subwoofers surrounding the auditorium. As the auditorium revolves 360 degrees, the loudspeakers are used as main stereo pairs or as surround channels, depending on the current position of the rotating stage. Timo Alhanen cues the music and effects, composed by Anssi Tikanmäki. “It feels like the whole auditorium and the woods are full of sound. The audience of approximately 1,000 is right in the middle of the battle scene of the performance, with the machine-gun company all around them,” notes Timo.

Simo notes, “It’s wonderful to have some real sound pressure level from the new Technomad speaker system. Earlier we had to run the system at its limits, but with the very efficient Technomads, we have a lot of headroom!”

The increased fidelity is already making the sound design for next season more ambitious. “We’re going to go beyond the traditional dog-bark and car-horn stuff,” quips Simo. “The audience has become savvier and they are demanding much more from the overall performance. Prior to the Technomad system, the main point was to work with what we had and make sure the people just heard SOMETHING.”

Simo concludes, “I honestly can’t think of a better loudspeaker for outdoor use. The Technomads sound excellent and can withstand any weather. Take it from me; we sure do have ‘any weather’ over here.”

Equipment:
Console:
Sound craft Spirit Studio 16-8-2 Processing:

Processing:
Alesis Quadraverb
Yamaha SPX900
TC Electronic 2240 parametric EQ
2 x KlarkTeknik DN3600 EQ
2 x Alesis M-EQ 230
Behringer Ultracurve
2 x BSS Dual Time Corrector
Audiotec crossover

Mics:
2 x Sennheiser MKH816 P48 shotgun
2 x Sennheiser MKH416 P48 shotgun

Sources:
5 x Sony MDS500 MiniDisc
3 x Sony MZ-1 portable MiniDisc

Amps:
10 x Crest Audio VS900
1 x Peavey PV1.3K
2 x Inkel 2 50W

Delay PA in auditorium seating area:
12 x JBL Control 1 AW

Main PA:
8 x Technomad Cairo 15/C three-way, bi-amped loudspeakers
4 x Studiotec 2 x 15″ subwoofer