Direct Pro Audio Provides Sound For the Durham Museum's Christmas at Union Station

Direct Pro Audio is proud to be the sound system provider for the Durham Museum in Omaha, Nebraska. Join us for Christmas at Union Station 2010!


Direct Pro Audio has provided 4 Renkus-Heinz ICONYX IC-16 speakers and a wireless head end consisting of Audio-Technica 5000 series wireless microphone systems. The ICONYX digitally steered system provides beautifully clear sound for the entire Great Hall museum space, an extremely challenging acoustic environment. 


As the home to Omaha’s largest indoor Christmas tree, The Durham Museum’s Christmas at Union Station is one of the region’s most cherished traditions. Union Pacific Railroad began the tradition over 75 years ago by cutting down a Christmas tree from along its right of way in the Pacific Northwest and transporting it to Omaha’s Union Station. The tree greeted the thousands of passengers arriving on trains during the holiday season in the heyday of passenger rail service.


The Durham Museum, with the assistance of many community partners has continued the tradition by accepting donations of trees from local homeowners and putting it on display during the holiday season. Each year, Union Pacific employees cut down the tree and place it in The Durham’s Suzanne and Walter Scott Great Hall. Then the talented design team from Mangelsen’s decorates the tree.




Tree Lighting Ceremony Friday, November 26, 4-7PM
The annual Tree Lighting Ceremony is a holiday favorite! Renowned vocalist, Michael Lyon will give a live performance in front of The Durham’s beautiful Christmas tree. His Frank Sinatra style of music is certain to put you in the holiday spirit. During this family-friendly event, you can also take part in cookie decorating, create holiday crafts in Mangelsen’s Craft Corner, and children can share wish lists with Santa and Mrs. Claus under the glow of the tree.

Direct Pro Audio Provides Harman Sound Solutions for Bar Louie Locations across the United States

Awarded "Concept of Tomorrow" by Restaurant Hospitality Magazine, Bar Louie is a casually cool neighborhood restaurant & bar, featuring warm, upbeat surroundings with contemporary photography, mosaic tiling, wood-paneled walls, modern lighting and plasma televisions. It is a favorite gathering place for family and friends.

Specializing in oversized sandwiches and artfully concocted signature cocktails, Bar Louie also offers an extensive selection of appetizers, pastas, entrees and a wide assortment of interesting beers, microbrews and wines by the glass or bottle.

Direct Pro Audio has provided professional sound equipment from the Harman family of brands, including JBL MRX speakers, Crown XTi amplifiers, and DBX Zone Pro processors to Bar Louie locations across the United States; including St. Louis and Kirkwood Missouri, Naperville Illinois, West Homestead and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, Boyton Beach Florida, Evanston Illinois, and Milwaukee Wisconsin.

For more information about Bar Louie, visit http://www.BarLouieAmerica.com/.

To check out the extensive offerings of the Harman Family visit http://www.harman.com/EN-US/Pages/Home.aspx

Direct Pro Audio New Location Now Open!

Direct Pro Audio is proud to announce the opening of our new Omaha, Nebraska location! We are still in the process of moving, so please excuse a little mess.


Our new location in Omaha will provide local customers a more convenient location to find and shop from. We plan an updated and expanded sales experience with interactive lighting, sound and video demonstrations and more product in stock.

"We know this new location in Omaha will provide our customers with the best possible shopping experience in the Metro Area." said John Manhart, Partner with Direct Pro Audio LLC. "We look forward to inviting all our Metro area customers to our grand opening in early December 2010."

New Address:
4022 South 108th Street
Omaha, NE 68137

The new location is just north of 108th and 'I' streets. To access from Interstate 80 westbound or 680 southbound, exit on 'I' street and take a left (East). Drive to 108th Street and take a left (North). We will be on the left (West), just next to Oriental Trading Company.

To access from Interstate 80 eastbound, exit at 'L' street. Merge onto 'L' street then take a left (North) at 108th Street. Go north past 'I' street and we will be on the left (West), just next to Oriental Trading Company. 

From the north, we can be accessed from the Rockbrook Village area by going South from 108th and Center, and over Interstate 80.

Our phone numbers 866-444-8090 and 712-256-5446 will continue to work. Our new Omaha number will be 402-991-1488 and fax 402-991-1499.

Omaha Art Space Gets Focused with Renkus-Heinz

Kaneko Bow Truss Room Outfitted with Renkus-Heinz Self-Powered Speakers  

Omaha, NE, November 2010. Founded by renowned artist/sculptor Jun Kaneko, the Kaneko organization is a public non-profit established to provide a space and resource for creative arts in the Omaha area.

The Bow Truss Room is a large open gallery space that's described as "not a museum, gallery, library nor research center, but an open space for open minds that nurtures and promotes creativity in the arts, sciences and philosophy." The space hosts a wide range of programs, performances, exhibits and presentations, ranging from artists' exhibitions and lectures to music and dance.


The space, designed by Los Angeles architect Mark Mack, joins three warehouses together via a glass and steel atrium, creating a light and airy environment that is exceptionally conducive to the arts. One of the buildings, a former truck garage, has been converted into the Bow Truss Room, a large flexible 92,000-square-foot space with concrete floor and walls and a high, curved ceiling. It's an acoustically live space with more than enough reflective surfaces to make intelligibility an issue.


Audio for the hall was designed by Chicago-based Threshold Acoustics LLC, who specified four Renkus-Heinz PN82 self-powered two-way loudspeakers to cover the space. The system was installed and commissioned by Direct Pro Audio of Omaha.


"The room is exceptionally challenging, acoustically, with lots of hard, reflective surfaces," says Direct Pro Audio's John Manhart who, along with DPA's Dan Allen, performed the installation. "The PN82's tight focus contributed to the overall even distribution of sound, and the built-in amplification and RHAON processing let us precisely tune the system to meet the challenging requirements of this room. The Renkus-Heinz speaker voicing sounds amazing, and there is plenty of headroom and clarity in the system."


The space and the system made their debut with a night of music and conversation starring musician Roseanne Cash and noted musicologist Dr. Daniel Levitin.

Direct Pro Audio Announces New Omaha Nebraska Location

Direct Pro Audio is proud to announce plans to move to our new Omaha, Nebraska location, starting in early December 2010. The specific grand opening date will be announced shortly.

Our new location in Omaha will provide local customers a more convenient location to find and shop from. We plan an updated and expanded sales experience with interactive lighting, sound and video demonstrations and more product in stock.

"We know this new location in Omaha will provide our customers with the best possible shopping experience in the Metro Area." said John Manhart, Partner with Direct Pro Audio LLC. "We look forward to inviting all our Metro area customers to our grand opening in early December 2010."

New Address:
4022 South 108th Street
Omaha, NE 68137

The new location is just north of 108th and 'I' streets. To access from Interstate 80 westbound or 680 southbound, exit on 'I' street and take a left (East). Drive to 108th Street and take a left (North). We will be on the left (West), just next to Oriental Trading Company.

To access from Interstate 80 eastbound, exit at 'L' street. Merge onto 'L' street then take a left (North) at 108th Street. Go north past 'I' street and we will be on the left (West), just next to Oriental Trading Company.

From the north, we can be accessed from the Rockbrook Village area by going South from 108th and Center, and over Interstate 80.

Our phone numbers 866-444-8090 and 712-256-5446 will continue to work. Our new Omaha number will be 402-991-1488.

DPA Project Profile - Kaneko Bow Truss Room

Direct Pro Audio has recently completed a sound system at the Kaneko Bow Truss Room.

In 2007, Omaha philanthropist Dick Holland agreed to support the transformation of the truck garage at 1111 Jones Street in Omaha Nebraska into the Bow Truss Room. The Bow Truss Room is a flexible use space for various public events - concerts, art displays, lectures, and others. The internal steel girders, called bow trusses, rest on the exterior walls which support the curved roof leaving the interior space free from any columns or interior walls so the 9,200 square foot space is entirely free from obstruction.

In May 2008, nearly 500 people attended the first public use of this space, a lecture by internationally renowned National Geographic World Explorer Wade Davis. Since then the space has been used for many public programs, conferences, meetings, and performances related to creativity.

In 2010, guided by design from Threshold Acoustics of Chicago, Illinois, Direct Pro Audio installed a system consisting of four Renkus-Heinz PN series active loudspeakers. Each speaker is equipped with onboard RHAON software and amplification. Input wall jacks on each side of the room allow a production company to plug in their equipment and have seamless audio coverage for the entire room.

The project was completed on time and within budget.

Direct Pro Audio SWAP MEET is MAY 22nd, Saturday!

LET DIRECT PRO AUDIO HELP YOU MAKE A SOME MONEY OFF THE OLD GEAR YOU HAVE JUST COLLECTING DUST. IF YOU HAVE SPEAKERS, AMPS, GUITAR, CORDS-CABLES, DRUMS, HORNS, CD PLAYER, TURNTABLES, VIDEO CAMERA, EQUALIZER, COMPRESSOR, PRE-AMPS, WELL YOU GET THE PICTURE ANYTHING. PLEASE MAKE SURE THEY WORK.

Direct Pro Audio and MISTA SOULL Team Up

Direct Pro Audio is happy to announce that Mista Soull has joined our team as Head of Marketing, Promotions, and DJ Sales.

Mista Soull hosted the number one show on Power 106.9 for 5 years. Mista Soull is the founder and CEO of the CROWD ROCK DJs COALITION (www.crowdrockanation.com), a nationwide DJ social network.

Mista Soull is one of the premier DJs in the Midwest for the last 20 years. He was main attraction at such iconic Omaha venues as the Parthenon, the Millenium, Izms, and the legendary Planet Soull.

Mista Soull has joined Direct Pro Audio to expand the local customer base as well as to pursue nationwide sales opportunities in the club and digital DJ market.

One of the first projects Mista Soull will pioneer is SkidooNow, a DJ-centric social networking site aimed at DJs, promoters, bands, clubs, and entertainment venues. Members will be able to upload and share information regarding their upcoming events free of charge.

“My goal is to bring the Direct Pro Audio brand to the next level” said Mista Soull.

Contact Soull at soull@directproaudio.com,  www.mistasoull.com or 712-256-5446.

Power Struggle: Amps and Speakers

"Which amp should I use to power these speakers?"

It seems that this is a very common question. The answer is relatively easy, once you know the 'secret'. Before I reveal the 'secret', let me take a few sentences to explain power ratings provided by speaker and amplifier manufacturers.

Speaker Power Ratings

RMS? Continuous? Program? Peak? Why can't they all rate speakers the same way? The answer: MARKETING! Bigger numbers are more impressive. Here is a quick rundown of the terms and what they mean (in general)

RMS (Root Mean Square) - The average power which a speaker is capable of handling. Typically the most common standard professionals use to look at speaker power ratings.

Program - This is usually the power rating at which a given speaker should be consistently driven at.

Continuous - Some manufacturers use this interchangeably with RMS, others with Program.

Peak - The maximum amount of power a given speaker can handle at any given moment. In other words, a very short power spike.

Here is a very general rule of thumb: RMS is the lowest rating, Program is twice the number of watts as RMS, and Peak is twice the number of watts as Program.

Here is an example of a speakers power ratings:

RMS: 250 Watts

Program: 500 Watts

Peak: 1000 Watts.

*** Please note that this is an example, and different speakers may have different ratios on their ratings.***

Amplifier Power Ratings

Amplifier manufacturers typically provide power ratings at a specific impedance rating. HUH? This simply means for a number of ohms, 8 ohms and 4 ohms being the most common, and occasionally, 2 ohms.

Here is an example of an amplifiers power ratings:
Stereo 8 ohms: 450 Watts
Stereo 4 ohms: 650 Watts
Stereo 2 ohms: 1200 Watts
Bridge Mono 8 ohms: 1300 Watts
Bridge Mono 4 ohms: 2400 Watts
***Please note that, again, this is an example, and different manufacturers will have different ratios of power from impedance to the next.***

OK, So how do I pair up Speakers to Amplifiers?
Here is a little analogy to use with speakers and amplifiers.

A worker can lift 200 pounds. During his 8 hour shift, all he does is carry 200 pounds from place to place. At the end of his 8 hour shift, the worker is very tired, as he did the maximum amount of work he can do.

This same worker is asked to lift 300 pounds. He can do it, but after 4 hours he is so tired, he cannot do any more work.

The same worker is asked to carry 100 pounds. The worker can do this easily. At the end of his 8 hour shift, he is tired, but not nearly as worn out as when he carried 200 pounds all day.

In this analogy, the worker is the amplifier, and the weight he is carrying is the speaker.

When an amplifier that is capable of 500 watts is put onto a speaker that is rated at 500 watts, then that amplifier is doing the maximum amount of work it is designed to do. When the same amplifier is powering a 700 watt speaker, it is working harder than it was designed to work, and is very very inefficient. When that same 500 watt amplifier is driving a speaker rated at 450 watts, it is working just as hard, but is more efficient at doing the work.

THE SECRET


Power your speaker with +/- 20% of the wattage it is rated at, using the 'Program' power rating.

Example:
For a speaker rated at 500 Watts, power it with 400 to 600 Watts of power from the amplifier.
(500 Watts x 20% = 100 Watts, 500 Watts - 100 Watts = 400 Watts, 500 Watts + 100 Watts = 600 Watts)

It's that easy! Following this system, and running your equipment properly, should lead to a long, happy relationship between you and your sound system.

DPA Visits RockNRollRentals in Austin Texas.

Direct Pro Audio believes in sharing any information that is useful to other retailers in our industry. And, we found another company that feels exactly the same way. In this tough economy it is vital for companies to band together to help one another out, so we can weather the storm together. Although located 1000 miles away in Austin, Texas, Rock'nRoll rentals allowed me to visit and learn how they run the most awesome monthly rental program I've ever seen in the pro audio business. When I first walked in the door, my emotions completely ran away from me. I was simply awestruck by the sheer amount of pro audio gear available in their MASSIVE inventory.

Don't get me wrong, Direct Pro Audio has been doing weekend rentals since we opened our business. The main difference is, that Rock 'n Roll rentals offers their products at a very low monthly rental rate. A rate so low, that it is almost as cheap to rent the gear for a month as it is to rent for a weekend. The real beauty is, this cuts down on labor and wear and tear on the gear as it goes out, to someone who winds up taking care of it for however long they rent the gear.

My visit was in the middle of a rainy Wednesday afternoon. Not only was I surrounded by massive piles of rental gear, but happy customers drifted through the aisles checking out all the awesome offerings. So whether you're looking for a recording set-up, or a massive PA, Rock 'N Roll Rentals in Austin, Texas is the only name you need to know!

Visit them yourself online at rocknrollrentals.com, trust me, you'll be BLOWN away!

Norah Jones Rocks with Sennheiser and Neumann

MONTREAL - Singer/songwriter Norah Jones is supporting her fourth studio album, The Fall, with a tour and performances on late night TV. The album, produced by Jacquire King, is a rock ‘n' roll departure from Jones' earlier work. But Jones' voice has not changed, and FOH engineer Brett Dicus continues to rely on Neumann gear for vocals and a backline of Sennheiser wired mics and wireless PMs.

Depending on the acoustical circumstances, Jones sings into a Neumann KMS 104 cardioid or a KMS 105 super-cardioid. Both microphones deliver the Neumann studio sound with the handling required for a live performance. "Above all else, the most critical sound reinforcement tool that we bring with us to every date is Norah's Neumann vocal microphone," said Dicus. "She's been using some variant of a Neumann microphone or a Neumann capsule with a Sennheiser RF transmitter for almost all of her touring career. On those rare occasions where we're asked to use something else, we miss the studio-quality high-end and lifelike sibilance that we get ‘out of the box' with the KMS 104/105."

More at FOH Online

New Web Site: Hand Held Wireless Microphones

"A hand held wireless microphone allows me the freedom to express myself without worrying about being tethered to a cord. It is essential for my performance. ” — DJ Tasty Jay

For years, musicians around the globe have been cutting the cord and entering the world of hand held wireless microphones. Now, it has never been easier to get started!

Direct Pro Audio has built a new web site to organize the major brands of professional hand held wireless microphone systems. We carry only top brands, like Audio-Techncia, Shure, Sennheiser, and AKG.

We invite you to browse this web site and contact us with any questions!

Visit www.HandHeldWirelessMics.com

Crown Introduces new XLS Power Amplifiers

Today at the 2010 NAMM show Direct Pro Audio saw Crown's latest power amplifier. The new XLS series of power amplifiers promise to deliver huge amounts of power in a robust and affordable package. The XLS power amplifiers feature Class D output devices and weigh in at less than 10 pounds, making them perfect for mobile DJ applications. Best of all the new XLS amplifiers have onboard limiting as well as basic crossover functions.

To ensure compatibility with all types of audio devices the Crown XLS amplifiers feature XLR, quarter inch, and RCA inputs. As if that weren't enough, the Crown XLS power amplifiers are stable into a 2 ohm load.

To make sure your gig goes off without a flaw the Crown XLS amplifiers provide extensive protection and diagnostic capabilities including current limiting, DC protection, circuit breaker and thermal protection.

The best part is of course, the warranty. The Crown XLS amplifiers feature the famous three-year no-fault fully transferable warranty.

Direct Pro Audio Heads to NAMM 2010!

Direct Pro Audio is excited to be attending the 2010 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California!

Follow our NAMM 2010 Blog at:

• http://namm2010.blogspot.com/

Direct Pro Audio Family Remembers Trixie

Today Trixie, Direct Pro Audio's great friend and mascot passed away... We will miss her very much, as she has been with us since the very beginning. Godspeed Trixie!