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XTA’S DP200 SERIES PROCESSORS FILL THE HOUSES ON BROADWAY

— Broadway’s top shows use as many as 20 XTA DP Series processors per theater —

— The Full Monty, Annie Get Your Gun, 42nd Street, The Producers, and Blue Man Group are just a few of this season’s hit shows that feature the XTA DP Series processors —

111th AES CONVENTION, NEW YORK, NY, November 30, 2001 — Broadway continues its love of the award winning XTA DP Series audio processors. Compact, powerful and reliable, the DP Series is integral to the sound on a string of Broadway’s hits. Broadway sound designers are using scores of DP200, 202, 224 and 226 processors, with well over a dozen units in place per show. No wonder XTA is enjoying such a long run on the Great White Way.

“I’ve been using the XTA DP224 and DP226 units for the last year or so, and the DP200 and DP202 systems for three or four years now,” says Tom Clark, one of the founders of Acme Sound Partners, a collective of top-tier Broadway and theatrical sound designers in Manhattan. “They are incredibly reliable, and that’s why I stay with them.” Clark designed the sound for theatrical hits such as Anton Chekov’s The Seagull, The Full Monty and Annie Get Your Gun, and each production utilizes several XTA DP Series Processors. 

“The sound has to be great for all of these shows,” says Clark. “The musicals, obviously you want great vocals. But people are also coming to see The Seagull because it has huge Hollywood names in it, including Meryl Streep, Kevin Cline and Christopher Walken. People associate the best sound possible with these names in feature films. The DP Series Processors help maintain the level of sonic quality in the theater.”
 
Clark uses the DP226 and DP224 units as systems controllers between the console and the sound system, but also uses several at insert points into the console modules for an enhanced degree of control over individual microphones. He also extolled the fact that the DP200 can be controlled externally by XTA’s AudioCore Windows™ control software, using both existing and future AudioCore series products, giving him the freedom and flexibility to check the sound from any part of the theater remotely. “It’s a great unit,” he says.

At Sound Associates, sound designer and company President Peter Fitzgerald has 20 DP200 units in place on his system for the smash musical 42nd Street. “We have them both as system controllers between the FOH console and the sound system, and as individual processors for specific microphone channels,” Fitzgerald explains. In both applications, Fitzgerald uses the DP Series Processors mainly for time delay and EQ. “But there’s a lot more functionality in each unit if I need it,” he adds. Fitzgerald has also had 10 DP200 units out on the road with the former Broadway hit Fiddler On The Roof. “It’s a great system for time-aligning the sound system to the room on the road,” he says. “I really like the unit — it’s easy to use, reliable, quiet and transparent sonically to the sound system, and it’s a proven technology. I doubt I could count how many DP200s we actually own. But I know it’s a lot.”

David Strang, General Manager of ProMix Electrotec NY, says that many of the 100-plus XTA DP200 systems his company has in inventory are in New York City theatrical productions, including The Producers, Blue Man Group, Contact, Blast and Tick Tick Boom. 

“The DP200 units literally started at the top when they first became available,” recalls Strang. “They went right into Rent, which was one of the top shows on Broadway at the time five or six years ago. They’ve stayed at the top ever since. They’re reliable and great-sounding. But just as important, they combine so much functionality into a single rack-space unit, including delays, EQ and speaker control, and that allows them to replace a lot of other signal processing gear.”
 
The DP200 is a compact and powerful DSP based audio processing unit, ideally suited for fixed installations, where it combines the functions of multiple conventional products in a compact 1U-high unit. The DP200 is extremely comprehensive, providing 2-input/4-output format, 10 configurations including 4 crossover modes, 4 x 8 bands of parametric equalization, up to 682ms of delay, variable High- and Low-pass filters, 4 output limiters and digital level controls for each output. The DP200 is also available with optional AES/EBU inputs and outputs. The unit is designed for quick adjustment via easy-to-use front panel controls, or it can be controlled externally by XTA’s AudioCore Windows™ control software, along with both existing and future AudioCore series products. 

XTA is a British manufacturer of signal processing equipment for the live sound, permanent installations, broadcasting, and recording markets, and is exclusively distributed in the U.S. by Group One Ltd. of Farmingdale, New York. Group One is also the exclusive U.S. distributor for Celestion Professional Products, Milab Microphones, CADAC and SPL Electronics, as well as a number of prominent lighting products.

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—For more information on the complete range of XTA products, contact Sue Adamson, 
Group One Ltd., 200 Sea Lane, Farmingdale, NY 11735. Tel: (631) 249-1399;
 Fax: (631) 753-1020; Email: suea@g1ltd.com; Web: www.g1ltd.com

XTA is exhibiting at Booth #824 during the 111th AES Convention in New York, NY.