HARMAN PRO GROUP SOUND SYSTEMS PROVIDE REINFORCEMENT, INTELLIGIBILITY AT FIERA MILANO, ONE OF EUROPE'S LARGEST EXHIBITION CENTRES

Soundcraft, JBL Professional, Crown and BSS components comprise state-of-the-art audio system to advance communication and versatility at one of Europe's foremost and busiest exhibition venues.

FRANKFURT, GERMANY, 28 March, 2007 - In an application that matches architectural innovation and design with cutting-edge audio systems integration, The Fiera Milano, one of Europe's biggest exhibition centres featuring a vast array of conference rooms, auditoria and exhibition halls has just completed the installation of a comprehensive new audio system with Harman Pro Group components from BSS Audio, JBL Professional, Crown International and Soundcraft.

Milan-based equipment importer and distributor Audio Equipment s.r.l. has supplied nearly 300 Control Contractor Series loudspeakers of various sizes, and an elegant multi-purpose theatre/cinema auditorium system using high-power models from the fixed installation-oriented AE Series. Thanks to the control and connectivity power of other Harman Group products, from BSS Audio, Crown, AKG, Soundcraft and dbx, the JBL-equipped venues can be used individually or in endlessly flexible combinations, depending on customer requirement.

Built on a former industrial site once occupied by a refinery, the Fiera Milano now encompasses 345,000 gross square metres of undercover exhibition area (plus 60 thousand square metres outdoors), eight huge halls almost totally free of columns, 74 conference rooms, 84 refreshment spots, and parking for 10,000 vehicles plus another 10,000 planned.

The heart of the Fiera Complex is a nucleus of nine conference rooms, which make up the Stella Polare Conference Center, built around the newly-opened Auditorium, designed by the architect Alessandro Speroni.

Depending on requirements, the magnificent Auditorium can be used as a congress hall (seating 1,000, 750, or 350), or to show films, thanks to a Dolby Cinema sound system and a disappearing 45 m2 screen; as an auditorium for classical music concerts or theatre; as a unique and large space for events, fashion shows, or gala dinners, accommodated by moving the seats, which are all removable, or as a stage for fashion shows.

The theatre is elegantly furnished with 1,008 leather seats in a specially created shade of green, with solid oak flooring, walls, ceilings and stage. The room is totally soundproof with exceptional acoustics, designed by consultants Müller-BBM from Munich. A total of nine JBL AM6215/95 high-power two-way enclosures, horizontally positioned, have been built into the ceiling using motorised fittings which enable them to be retracted at the touch of a button. This system is supported by 16 JBL Control 29AV-1 speakers, wall-mounted down the sides of the auditorium, which form the surround sound system. A further four JBL Control 29s are used for stage monitoring purposes. Powering is via six Crown CTS2000s and two CTS3000s. Audio Equipment's engineers still intend to install a pair of JBL ASB6128 subs, once they find some space!

Controlled at front-of-house by a Soundcraft MH3 40-channel analogue console, the shell-shaped auditorium is capable of hosting virtually any type of presentation, from the screening of a feature film, to corporate speechmaking, even live music concerts. The use of BSS Audio Soundweb devices enable the auditorium's facilities to be configured to cinema mode or lecture hall or concert venue, all with perfect equalisation, with just one click on the PC. Soundweb is also able to configure the Auditorium into nine separate zones, each with its own JBL AM6215/95 under independent audio control.

The Stella Polare Center has JBL Control Series loudspeakers throughout its 17 meeting rooms, including the highly original LEMs, four egg-shaped silvery 'pods' which each house two meeting spaces. A standard template of four Control 1 Series loudspeakers, with amps, microphones and a small mixer, are used in each of these.

Spread over two floors, there is a series of six larger conference rooms, which have moveable walls, allowing them to be used singly or in one large-room format. When all the partitions are in place, each meeting space has four Control 25 Series speakers mounted on each sidewall, with a pair of Control 29s at the front of the room. BSS ProSys PS-8810CN devices are used to network the different conference rooms, their control rooms and translation booths, together with the Auditorium and its seven on-site translation booths, which are, located about a kilometre away, connected by fibre optic and CAT6 cables.

About the Harman Pro Group:

The Harman Pro Group (www.harmanpro.com) is the world's largest provider of professional audio products and system solutions for commercial sound, contracting, tour sound, recording and broadcast, musician, portable PA and cinema applications. The Group is headquartered in Northridge, California and includes industry leaders AKG Acoustics, BSS Audio, Crown International, dbx, DigiTech, JBL Professional, Lexicon, Soundcraft, and Studer. The Group is part of Harman International Industries, Incorporated (NYSE: HAR), a leading supplier of high-quality, high fidelity audio products and infotainment systems for the automotive, home and professional markets.

udio products and infotainment systems for the automotive, home and professional markets.