FEATURE: CONCERT VENUES Power and precision
Line arrays and more powerful amplifiers have effected something of a ‘quiet revolution’ in concert venue audio over the past 10 years. But what are the primary factors that influence system specification in different sized venues? David Davies asks a selection of leading manufacturers
QSC Q-Series speakers have been installed at concert venues including the Boston Symphony Hall
[KEY POINTS]
IT WOULD be stretching things a little to say that audio for concert venues has changed beyond all recognition during the last half-decade. However, the impact on venue operators and their audiences of increasingly carefully targeted speaker technologies and more powerful amplifier topologies should not be underestimated. The emergence of more
easily configurable processors and compact consoles has also helped to shape this quiet revolution. But the focus of this article is on speakers and amplifiers, and the obvious – and sometimes not-so-obvious – factors that inform the design and specification of systems in venues of increasingly large capacity.
A SYSTEM FOR ALL SEASONS Regardless of size, it’s clear that expectations of permanently installed systems in concert venues are now greater than ever.
30 April 2014
And there’s a good reason for this, as Paul Bauman, associate director tour sound of JBL Professional, observes: “In order to maximise ROI, these days many productions are choosing not to carry full ‘racks and stacks’, and there has definitely been a trend towards installing technical rider-friendly, concert-grade systems in concert venues to service the growing number of tours that are only carrying control and monitor packages.” Making life easier for visiting
productions necessarily requires specifying a permanent system that complements the greatest possible percentage of musical productions. Delivering sufficient audience coverage, SPL output capacity and low-frequency impact are, inevitably, pretty much universal concerns. “The system needs to be
properly specified to suit the majority of applications that will take place in the venue,” continues Bauman. “There’s
Most manufacturers cater to concert halls of all types with scalable or size-specific loudspeaker systems
no sense installing a system that is capable of doing Metallica if this is not the type of act that will be playing on a regular basis in the venue! Conversely, not having enough subwoofers is not a good option either and it’s important that the system is the right size.”
RIGHT SYSTEM, RIGHT SIZE Most audio suppliers offer a variety of systems to accommodate concert venues of different sizes. For the purposes of this article, we have identified three primary tiers: small (up to 2,000 capacity), medium (2,000- 4,000) and large (4,000+). From TC Group, the Tannoy
VX and VXP smaller format boxes can be suitable for small hall and even portable, unfixed applications. The beam-steering array
Class D-based amplifiers have allowed venues to deliver increased power from smaller numbers of units
technology offered by QFlex lends itself to “some concert halls, certainly spaces with problematic acoustics, reflective surfaces or aesthetic concerns”, explains Mark Millar, communications manager for TC Group’s Install and Tour Brands. Meanwhile, the large SPL VQ Series lends itself to larger spaces, while fellow TC brand
Lab.gruppen offers a variety of amplifier powers to match different spaces and audience sizes. Neal Allen, concert sound sales consultant at Bosch ProSound UK, highlights the “reliability, intelligibility and acoustic performance” of its Electro-Voice XVLC Very Compact Line Arrays, which are particularly suitable for halls where limited size and weight are required. Like E-V, the QSC range also includes a host of size-specific line array
Total cost of ownership continues to rise up the priority list for new installations
options – ILA for smaller venues, and WideLine-8 and WideLine-10 for medium and large spaces, respectively – while Renkus-Heinz’ scalable IC Live system can be configured to match venues of all scales. Martin Audio also puts the emphasis on scalability, with its current charge into the concert venue space led by the Multicellular Line Array (MLA) system – with MLA Mini, MLA Compact and MLA catering to small, medium and large venues, respectively. “With MLA, the user is able to define coverage areas along the length of a venue and reach levels of sound uniformity never before achieved,” says Martin Audio applications engineer Robin Dibble. A combination of “clarity, bandwidth, high power and
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