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LICA gets Meyer PA from AC-ET

The UK's University of Lancaster has invested £10 million on the Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts (LICA) building, and has turned to A.C. Entertainment Technologies for a Meyer sound system.

A.C. Entertainment Technologies’ audio division has supplied a high performance new Meyer sound system to Lancaster University in the UK.

The fully portable PA is based in the new environmentally friendly Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts (LICA) building, a £10 million cutting edge development that now houses all the University’s arts related courses including theatre, music, film, art, theatre, visual and design studies – which were previously dispersed around various areas of the campus.

The supply was co-ordinated by A.C. Audio’s sales manager, Peter Butler – who is based at the company’s Leeds office – and the University’s music technology officer, Dr Rosemary Fitzgerald. It was specified by senior lecturer and head of the music department Takayuki Rai, who is also a prolific composer, a highly respected electroacoustic specialist and talented performer working with interactive computer music and real-time signal processing techniques.

The equipment supplied by A.C. Audio consists of two Meyer CQ1 wide dispersion speakers – featuring a patented constant-Q horn design, and four UPJ-1P full range speakers which are compact and lightweight, complete with a Yamaha O1V 96 VCM mixing console, which is small and can handle up to 40 inputs. The equipment was all fully flightcased and inclusive of stands and accessories.

It was the realisation of a long term dream of Takayuki Rai to have a Meyer system available at the Lancaster Institute of Contemporary Arts.

As a visitor to concert halls worldwide, he has found that Meyer speaker systems always have the flexibility and controllability to “satisfy my ears”. He notes that to get the best results for computer music concerts, the “clarity and power” of Meyer is definitely “in my experience, the best choice in the world.”

The relationship between A.C. Audio and Rai goes back to 2006. AC-ET’s audio division is an agent for most leading manufacturers in all pro audio equipment sectors, providing a complete one-stop service. Over the years it has supplied a variety of Yamaha equipment, including a DM1000 digital mixer to Takayuki for the Institute.

“Peter and A.C. Audio have been hugely helpful over the last five years,” said Rai. “They have always supplied excellent information and been knowledgeable and informed about both Meyer and Yamaha. I believe AC-ET to be one of a very small number of companies in the UK capable of supporting both of these premium brands so comprehensively.”

Butler visited the LICA building and several of the spaces in which it was proposed to use the new Meyer system – in particular the main auditorium – and discussed all the requirements in depth with Rai and Fitzgerald. From there, he compiled a working specification that was then quoted on.

As per procedure, the University also put the sound system specification/ upply out to tender. However, said Rai, “none of the other companies could come back with the precise and detailed information I needed”.

“Takayuki set his heart on a Meyer system to satisfy a very demanding set of requirements and because he knew he could rely on its quality,” said Butler. “As an acclaimed expert in the field of electroacoustic and computer music, he has an acute, critical ear for the correct way it should sound in a performance, and has put substantial energy and time into making the case for this very serious investment”.

The system will be utilised for numerous different applications, including performances of high-end processed audio, music playback, electroacoustic competitions and for showcasing the work of students on all the various courses in the LICA building.

www.ac-et.com